This is not about a Hess.

Discussion in 'Truck Stops' started by Vilhiem, Jan 28, 2015.

  1. Vilhiem

    Vilhiem Road Train Member

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    Here I sit off i24 in Tennessee, exit 135. My knobs are pulled for the night, belly full and my eyelids require studying soon. I'm parked at a Wilco Hess. Not much special here except for a couple things. It's your typical truck stop; fuel lanes with 30-minute breakers, a cat scale, showers inside and a fast food place. Yep. It's pretty typical.

    So, why am I saying anything if this is a typical truck stop? Well, that's easy. Check the area of the forum you're in, it's all about truck stops. Great right? Actually, I like the coffee and parking lot.

    In true professional driver fashion though, I'm going to purposefully hijack and derail my own thread. I'm going off-road folks. Brace yourselves.

    I've not lost my mind, I swear. But if you come here, park at the back of the lot and prepare to walk; you'll need the appetite before and exercise after. When you get out of your rig, look for a sign that says, "BBQ. Dine in/drive thru." Start walking.

    ive yet to try this fabled place out in Texas, but this will do until my tires carry me there. At least that's what I was thinking as I walked into the place.

    Im starting to lose your attention I imagine, sorry about that. The place you're aiming for is called Cafe 134. I had the ribs. You'll have to prove yourself a carnivore and tear the meat from the bones, but I managed to clean the bones pretty easy even so. The meat itself is rubbed with various spices and the sticky-sweet sauce is both smoky and even a little hot. But that's how I like it. Sweet, sticky, messy, hot, and more. ...no, it wasn't quite as good as sex, but the right adjectives will make anything sound close.

    Oh, and if they have the carrot cake for dessert, don't you dare hesitate to try it. Unless you're allergic to nuts, but it might be worth the risk. ;). It was served warm, slightly toasted on the top so the sugars had begun to caremalize. Now you can add the cream cheese icing. Yep. It was good.

    My only complaint was the Mac n cheese as I found it pretty tasteless.

    The moral of this story? Try the cafe with no truck parking next to the Hess off i24 in Tennessee (exit 135). I dare say it's close to enjoying under-the-sheet time, but I wouldn't try it literally. You might get kicked out.

    Oh, and one cautionary note. Their hours are 11-16:00 Monday through Friday. (Not sure about the weekend.)
     
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  3. pattyj

    pattyj Road Train Member

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    So is what you're saying is that BBQ was worth the walk?
     
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  4. Powder Joints

    Powder Joints Subjective Prognosticator

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    You know baby backs cook up real easy on your exhaust manifold, seasson wrap in industrial plastic wrap then foil, 4 hours later they will melt in your mouth, Papas work good there as well.

    This used to be part of drivers training in my cab. How to eat wonderful on the road.
     
  5. ‘Olhand

    ‘Olhand Cantankerous Crusty

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    Lol Powder been while since I played that game....not to mention how well a properly seasoned pork loin w/some veggies does...BTW..is that your hydra-glide...if so what year?
     
  6. SHO-TYME

    SHO-TYME Road Train Member

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    A little further walk and the Chinese buffet is pretty decent and has truck parking.
     
  7. Vilhiem

    Vilhiem Road Train Member

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    I saw that. I'll try there next when passing through, I'm usually a little leery of Chinese buffets like that. It's not without reason, but I'll spare the details. I just happened to want some ribs.

    ...as for using the manifold to cook, well I'd be willing to try that except my lack of experience makes me hesitant. But I know it can be done. Lack of time and still getting the industry down in other places keeps me occupied. I Lime to cook though. It's the thing I miss most is my own home cooking. The 4-hour manifold diet sounds like fun to me.
     
  8. crzyjarmans

    crzyjarmans Road Train Member

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    Well! that's 3 minutes I'll never get back :biggrin_25521:
     
  9. Vilhiem

    Vilhiem Road Train Member

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    So, that leaves you 13 hours and 56 minutes. Yep. Sorry about that.
     
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