Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Anyone know of good vegan noms along the highway or should I just pack hummus, tabboleh and pitas for the ride down?

I've been thinking for a while that someone ought to put together a database of veg-friendly restaurants organized by highway, rather than by town. Like, when I'm driving on Route 80 (which I do pretty often), I'd be willing to go to anywhere along a 30 mile or so stretch of it to stop for lunch, but I'm not willing to go too far off the highway and thus lose time. But searching every town along that stretch of the highway is a pain.

not vegan noms but just sayin, on 81S in VA there is a place called Hungry Mother state park. frealz!
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/hun.shtml

You could always detour to Asheville :)

I've found vegan noms a bit sparse along 81. Usually, I bring my own.

some day it'll happen. i have had veganroadtrips.com registered for some time now. my husband is working on designing the database right now. it'll take some time. but eventually you'll be able to actually use the site and any smartphone apps that go along with it. <3 i'll let you know when it's ready for beta testers.

doing it analog, it looks like you'll have bethlehem, allentown, harrisburg PA, roanoke VA, knoxville & chattanooga TN.
during your last leg you should probably switch to I-26 and go through asheville NC instead of TN. (and now finishing reading the thread, i see another great mind already suggested that)

the only place i've been to on that route is vegan treats. :-) but i'm sure that was already on your radar.

If you are going by Blacksburg, stop at Gillies. It is only a couple miles off 81. The VT campus is pretty. Also, stop at Natural Bridge. It is owned by wacko young Earth creationists, but it is still one of the geologic wonders of the east coast.

Roanoke's got a terrific co-op that has a nice selection of deli foods, muffins, desserts, etc.... http://roanokenaturalfoods.com/ and might be a good place to stock up on general provisions. If you're looking for a break for a sit down meal, there's a good Indian restaurant with vegan selections: http://www.yelp.com/biz/nawab-indian-cuisine-roanoke across the street from a coffee shop with good soy milk coffee/tea drinks. Also near the co-op is The Isaacs, which is very tasty (their garlic kale is dreamy). http://theisaacsrestaurant.com/

In Knoxville, I adore the Tomato Head: http://www.thetomatohead.com/. They also have a good co-op http://www.threeriversmarket.coop/, as well as Earth Fare grocery. You should also stop at Yee-Haw letter press downtown.

Chatanooga has one of the seventh-day adventist Country Life restaurants, but I haven't been there so can't vouch for it.

Happy travels!

Thanks!

chatanooga also has a big whole foods sorta market, but it still has the hippy element and is great--locally owned place--google for the name of it. they have awesome awesome hot n cold sammiches made to order.

Thank you all! I took linanil's advice and packed tons of snacks and then stopped at Rosetta's for lunch where we happened upon a Pandacookie, just pandaing around. She let us take her picture!

There are a ton of fast food places, including chipotle, but it is nice not to have to spend too long off the road with a wee infant.

Lava we stopped at the natural bridge but because of icicles there was no hiking and it cost a whopping $16pp just to go close enough to see it. It wasn't worth it for us (and we were not set up for the baby) - but maybe in the summer - it is really just 5 mins off 81!

And we did see Hungry Mother! I got excited and yelled your name T, and my husband thought I was nutso!

Stayed in Roanoke overnight and my husband brought me a box of food from Country Cookin - all vegan sides. I realize that my palate is just not used to processed food anymore. But it has vegan options and is right (2m) off 81 and convenient to the La Quinta

Yep, it is sadly commerciall owned. Even worse, it is owned by young Earth creationists. Jefferson (who used to own that land) would be appalled. It really needs to be a state park.

If you get there in the summer, I'd love to meet up with you!