STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21611: Missouri Malingering

September 12, 2006 on 7:50 pm | In On The Road |

Officically, i’m in East Saint Louis, Illinois, but it’s so close to St. Louis, Missouri that i’m overlooking that minor technicality so that the alliteration in this title works. (Writer’s prerogative).
After arriving about 0930 yesterday, I went in and had breakfast at the Subway franchise in the truckstop. This convinced me that I needed to find an alternative source of sustenance for dinner. Along with the above mentioned Subway, there is also a Taco Bell on premises, and a Burger King across the street. None of these “fast-food” places appealed to me. In fact, Taco Bell, in my humble opinion, qualifies as neither fast, nor Mexican, nor food. After geeking all day, I went into the truckstop and asked one of the cashiers if there was anywhere reasonably close where I could get a “hot” meal in a “sit down” restaurant. I was told that there was a Denny’s, and a Bob Evans about 6 miles east in Collinsville, IL. Not much help. I’d rather starve than eat at either one. After further consideration, I decided to give it a try anyway, and i’m glad I did. I found a “treasure trove” of eaterys. I guess that Denny’s is “fine cuisine” to the minimum-wage morons at the Pilot. In addition to the two mentioned above, there was an Applebees, a Zapatas (real mexican), a Ponderosa, a Ruby Tuesday, and a couple of others. I opted for Bar B Q at a nice regional chain called Bandanas. It was good. I had a 3-item combination platter of Ribs, Smoked Sausage and Beef. I had their Baked Beans and something new to me, Fried Corn-on-the-Cob as my sides. Both were excellent. The meal also came with 2 good sized slices of Garlic Bread. I was impressed. After dinner, I returned to the truckstop and geeked some more.
Today, I got up about 0630. After my morning ‘toilette’, I geeked until about noon. I went to the Subway and had a Roast Beef sub for lunch (I skipped breakfast). Then back to the truck for more geeking. About 1800, I decided to head back to Collinsville for dinner. I noticed a Steak House called Porters last night and decided to try it. It was in the vane of Ruth Chris Steak House. Top drawer all the way. The food was a bit ‘pricy’, but excellent. I had the 12oz Ribeye with Au Gratin Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus. YUM,YUM!! It came with a Garden Salad and a demi-loaf of Onion Bread. The loaf of bread was round, so I got to have four ends of a loaf (my favorite part) rather than the usual two. YEAH!! After this sumptuous feast, I drove back to the truckstop for a little more ‘geeking’ until bed time. Earlier in the day, I accepted a PrePlan whick picks up tomorrow in Jefferson City, MO and delivers in Rialto, CA. It is the same consignee that doesn’t allow pets as the load I gave up in Salt Lake City last week, but this time, I have time to arrange to trade it for another local delivery in the same area (LA) or T-Call it in Albuquerque. I’ll locate an empty trailer and go pick it up tomorrow morning.