pierre mclopez

Back in the 70's some friends were commuting daily to a Wyoming coal mine. They knew which road kill was fresh.

heraclitus

Not quite as extreme as some of you, but when I used to road trip in the US with my wife (fairly regularly until a couple of years ago) it blew me away that we could both get lunch at Taco Bell and still get change back from a fiver.

CPRich

Ha - my dad told me the same story of his grad school days. Free "tomato" soup.

EmailKid

Ha,

back when I used to drive from Alberta to university in Texas I'd pull into a campground late at night when no one was around and leave before anyone was up.

84fiero

Get a jar of peanut butter for cheap and easy protein that can last the whole trip. Goes great with discounted bread and no need for refrigeration or heating.

Concerto

Many places have lunch specials that are a really good deal. The other things is, there are often delis that offer amazing take out food at very low cost, such as in Burlington, Vermont. This August, I completed the full length of route US-9 from Champlain at the top of New York State, all the way down to Laurel in Maryland.

Kagehitokiri

in most of US - diners (and other local non-chain)

as others mentioned - grocery stores

pierre mclopez

Or.....you can travel with olive oil....just like Popeye!

Doc Savage

Yep, good trick. As is pitching a tent near enough someone else's campsite it could be confused as part of it without being so close you annoy the people in the campsite.

Visited Key West while still a student, and dropped by the visitors center to try to find a reasonably priced hotel - which of course didn't exist on that busy weekend (this was before you used to do much booking online). A guy about my age was trying to help me, and I was basically saying "You gotta be sh!tting me!" about the prices. He agreed, and said, "Look, don't tell anyone I told you this, but if you drive over here," pointing to a spot on the map, "you can pull your car in behind the first line of trees and sleep in you car and you won't get hassled. And the xxx store has sleeping bags on sale for $8 this week. Get a shower at the beach across the road in the morning."

Worked like a charm.

TallTitan

I think you mean Laurel, Delaware right? US 1 goes through Laurel, MD, whereas US 9 goes through Delaware.

In regards to the original topic, maybe I'm too used to high food prices around Washington, DC, but I was genuinely shocked that I could eat a decent wait-served meal at Cracker Barrel for less than $15 (the dish was roughly $8, I drank only water, and I tipped $3 to the waiter, which is 38% gratuity, so the waiter was properly taken care of).

Compare this to Subway where you're paying $10 for fast service food.

fly7b2

This may be fine dining compared to what people are talking about here, but if you're looking to splurge there's always Waffle House!

RustyC

Some Wal-Marts, like the one in FAI, have sections for overnight parking. You might get an electrical plug but that's about it. Truck stops might have showers (not free but cheap).

Besides the college experiences, Tahiti was a tough place for eating affordably. When I was there even a regular cheeseburger, fries and small drink at McDonald's was $8.50, or $11+ for the Big Mac meal. You could buy a baguette and lunch meat and keep it under $10, and food trucks were generally $10-12-ish but often better food and value. Moorea had less to choose from.

pierre mclopez

Taco Bell black bean burritos for less than $2.50 are an inexpensive and tasty alternative to meaty fast food.

EmailKid

I am afraid you lost me after Taco Bell .....

pierre mclopez

I just finished a 3000 mile road trip in the wilds of flyover country. Using an actual paper road atlas, I look for isolated squiggly lines and explore hidden Amerika. My diet is smart fat and reduced carbs. Most small towns have Dollar Generals, Pizza Huts, Subways* and sometimes Sonics. Not much to get passionate about, however vagabonds must be resourceful. Often even obscure roads intersect with generic interstate-Amerika where more fast food choices, while excellent for Metabolic Syndrome, distract from longevity.......

Taco Bell offers non-meat choices for those who wish to avoid animal fat and mad cow disease. Presented with few healthy choices in a culinary deprived locale, the Taco Bell black bean burrito (TB-BBB) is a welcome if uninspired opportunity for sustenance in the Trumpian wilderness.

TB-BBB's instant rice, pseudo cheese, black beans, sauce and tortilla are way better than any McD, W or BK fare.

I'm looking forward to expanding my horizons. I want to try a TB-BBB fresco with guacamole: instant rice, pico de gallo, black beans, omega-9 and tortilla. This, however is a little advanced, TB-BBB's are not an advertised menu item at TB and are made incorrectly about 20% of the time. We just have to be patient.....Charles Kuralt would understand.

* An India-native motel manager in Antlers, OK suggested a veggie Subway with toasted onions, green peppers and cheese before putting on the other stuff.

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ETA: After extensive local field testing, my TB preference is a fresco black bean burrito. However, for sheer bulk, a $1 cheesy bean and rice burrito is hard to beat.

I've also been investigating Pizza Hut opportunities. Appears Violife "cheese" is a new option. So if one could apply a coupon code (like from retailmenot.com), a $6 medium vegan or animal-fat-light pie might be a option.

And let's not forget, Wendy's salads are a decent choice.

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The Taco Bell black bean burrito will soon be discontinued. Gonna have to experiment. Maybe a bean burrito, fresco with rice and potatoes?