We want to know your favorite food!

I don't really care as long as it's not bland, over-salted, too "synthetic", etc. Also, enough with the portions that you might serve to Paul Bunyan. Smaller portions, at sensible prices will satisfy 80% of the drivers. You can't force huge, costly meals on 80% of the drivers, just to satisfy the 20%. If they truly feel they need 1,500 calories in a single sitting, they can order desert or an appetizer. I long for the days of the "blue plate lunch special"

I like basic american fare as long as it's reasonably good, and well prepared.

Beef tips, and noodles, chicken fried steak, salisbury steak, salmon patties, hamburger steak, beans and rice, beans and corn bread, stuffed bell peppers, Kiolbassa sausage and potatoes (browned in skillet), etc

And a well-rounded vegetable option changing from day to day ranging from beets to black-eyes peas, english peas, butter beans, fried yellow squash, mixed vegetables, etc.

Good yeast rolls, biscuits, and cornbread should be available daily. I understand many foods are not very "cost-effective" in a high-volume diner and it can be hard to know how much to begin with at lunch, but as long as the daily special changes regularly, you can hopefully learn ways to introduce variety without sacrificing quality. You'll always have plenty of your more "staple" selections readily available in the event you run out of the daily special.

 

No buffets that truck drivers are rummaging through with their unwashed hands after coming out of the ####ter stall.
No salad bars for the same reason. I want a dinner salad prepared by a cook that is wearing gloves.
And if I order a burger or shrimp basket, I want more than 5 french fries.
Oh, and I want large portions. Im a 6'2" tall MAN. I eat like a MAN. If those little girly man drivers want smaller portions, have a lighter fare section for them.

OP, when you are not at work, do you go to the truck stop to eat? Or do you go to Chiles, Applebees, Outback steakhouse? etc. etc.
Theres a hint. It IS still a restaurant. Make it a good QUALITY one.

 

Comfort food .

 

I think that would depend. If I had a truck stop near me that served good food, I'd MUCH rather dine there then any Applebee's or Chili's [unless perhaps I wanted an adult beverage with my meal] The food at a typical chain restaurant is rarely anything worth yearning to replicate. The only thing they have going for them is variety and they can offer the huge menu because of modern pre-cooked entrees they pull out of the freezer, then are merely heated and plated.

 

Me personally, I like country fried steak, meatloaf, pot roast, and a good 2 vegetables. How many truck parking spaces will your future restaurant accommodate, and what city?

 

I think for a truck stop diner, finding the right balance between quality, variety, convenience and availability, and price is the key. And yes it can be a difficult balancing act.

Also, the wait staff can make or break a diner. One experience with a rude, slow, or air-head waitress I can forgive and chalk it to a one-off bad experience. Two, and I'll never be back a third time.

 

Wine? Lol.

 

Menu 24hr Restaurant, Catering - Morris, IL - R-Place Family Eatery

R Place, Morris IL, is a good place to eat.
Check out there Menu.

 

Take out all the fast food joints with unhealthy junk. It seems the Loves, Pilot, and several small truck stops only have high fat, bland, same garbage food. The bigger truck stops with those Buffets (feed lot trough) with the drivers who shower monthly( whether they need it or not), do not wash his/her hands before rummaging through the buffet/salad bar.(NASTY !). Healthier, but tasteful homestyle food with quality that matches quantity.