printersdevil78

When I first read the headline for this story, I was totally expecting the guy to be Jeff Johnson, going for a new credit.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to travel much during the holidays this year... but there's still plenty of Roadfood to be had! Six days before Christmas, I partook of my final Roadfood of the year, both on the same day and both in Salisbury, MD, within a few miles (one within walking distance) of my work. Enjoy! In the '50s and '60s, this building used to house the Polar Bar, a popular restaurant and high school/college hangout. Flash forward to the mid-2000s and DeVage's, a popular sub shop, bought it and moved out of its original strip mall location and into this standalone building. Why is that important? Because as part of the deal, DeVage's also acquired the locally famous Polar Bar doughnut recipe! Each year, I help distribute dozens of these doughnuts as part of a goodwill campaign. And they are good! Ready to see what's inside? Boom! My favorite flavor is peanut butter, followed closely by orange, cherry coconut and original glazed. They have over a dozen (maybe 18?) in all, and they're especially good early in the morning when they're fresh out of the fryer. But then, what doughnut isn't? That afternoon, after a long morning of doughnut deliveries (and some actual work, as well), I made the very short trip to Sage Diner for lunch. This is one of those places that was about 15 different restaurants over the course of five or six years when I was growing up. Finally, sometime when I was in high school, the Sage moved in, and it's been there ever since. There's a second location in Eastern Shore Virginia, as well. The reason for its longevity? It's good! This place has a menu approximately 692 pages long, and I've never had a bad meal here. On this particular day, I chose a ham and cheese omelet with home fries. More often, I opt for the "Businessman's Lunch" of an open-faced Reuben with fries, chicken noodle soup and a dish of rice pudding with cinnamon and whipped cream... all for about $8. My favorite thing at the Sage, however, is its sweet potato waffle. Yowza! Anyway, that's it for 2012! What's on the horizon for 2013? Well, if the weather holds out, we're talking about an upcoming weekend trip to the Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads area... where the possibilities are endless (or at least more than we could rationally take in over the course of two days). Until then!

If I could choose only one, it would be the Steeplechase at Coney Island. If I could choose two, the other would be the Hydraulic Dive at Glen Echo Park in Maryland.

My 2012 haul: --Early 1950s "Jolly Caterpillar" ride sign from Euclid Beach Park --Other random Euclid Beach stuff (tickets, T-shirts, photos, books, a catalog, a VHS documentary, etc., most of which I already had, but which came as a package with the sign--I will say that the photos, which were original 8X10s taken circa 1969, were especially cool) --Lots of vintage trading cards from the 1930s-1970s --"From Dreamer to Dreamfinder" autobiography by former Disney cast member Ron Schneider --"Epcot" vintage 1982 coffee table book about the making of the park, rare first edition (found at Goodwill, no less) --"Card Collectors Bulletin" book, 1960 edition with original dust jacket (in the vintage trading card hobby, this is a fairly big deal) --Trivial Pursuit "Bet You Know It" edition --"Life in the Analog Age" comic book set --Vintage DC comics from the 1970s --Portable power station/jump starter --Staple gun --Swimming trunks and a surf shirt in my new size (a none-too-subtle hint from Kelly that now that I'm over 100 pounds lighter, I'm running out of excuses not to go to the beach with her) --Travel steamer (for when I'm away at work conferences or traveling with Kelly for weddings and other formal affairs that require stuffing dress shirts into suitcases) --Lots of "odds and ends" collectibles, including Disney park memorabilia, World's Fair memorabilia and a vintage holiday matchbook --Lots of various foods, including Barnacles snack mix, a Hickory Farms gift pack, exotic cured sausages, German and Polish mustards, pickled watermelon rind, cookies and candy (Andes Cherry Jubilee, all-cherry Mike & Ikes, Pretzel M&Ms, Russell Stover marshmallow Santas, etc.) --Budweiser barbecue sauce set --Two ties --Gift cards to Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse --$150 in cash and Visa gift cards Jolly, jolly, jolly!

In the spirit of Christmas Eve, I thought I'd post some photos from a really cool event we attended Friday evening. Earlier this year, a local gentleman announced the formation of the Create1Dream Foundation and its signature fundraiser, the Decorating Delmarva Festival of Lights at the U.S. 13 Dragway in Delmar, DE. To be honest, it didn't really seem like anything I'd be interested in. There are roughly 8 bajillion places to do the drive-through-Christmas-lights thing within three hours of where we live; I've been to approximately all of them at some point in my lifetime, and they're all pretty much the same. So one day a couple weeks ago I was driving past the dragway on a different route home from work than I normally take so I could stop at a particular store along the way to pick up a Christmas present and I saw the flashing, spinning lights of... a Paratrooper? That got my attention! I looked into it a little more, and at $15 a carload, Kelly and I decided to round up her parents and make this our "drive-through Christmas lights" stop this year. I'm so glad we did. I expected the regular Christmas light display that everyone else has. Instead, it was more like a smaller, more low-key version of the European Christmas carnivals I've seen photos of elsewhere on TPR (minus the alcohol, Mrs. Claus reminded me, as I shared my observation with her while chatting in the Santa line). And it had a strong community component. The civic group I'm involved with had a chance to participate, and we turned it down. Next year, I'm strongly suggesting that we get involved. In the meantime, merry Christmas, TPR... and enjoy! After paying at the ticket booth and tuning our radio to the proper station, where a number of DJs from local commercial stations took turns acknowledging the sponsors and explaining how the event works, we were directed to take Exit 1 toward the first leg of the light display. Instead of the same rebar-PVC-and-C9-lights that everyone else has, Decorating Delmarva converted the area into a faux village run by Santa and his reindeer, complete with appropriate corresponding sponsors. A local garage, for example, sponsored Prancer's Garage, the Local Owner Restaurant Association sponsored Rudolph's Diner, Comcast (which produces a local education program) sponsored the North Pole Schoolhouse, etc. It was very innovative and refreshingly different. On the final legs of the "lights," local non-profit organizations like churches, schools and civic clubs were invited to create their own displays for the six-week event. At the end, patrons are asked to vote for the display they liked best in each category, and the winning non-profits receive cash donations. It was a great idea, and since some categories had only one entrant, it really offered a low-to-no-risk way for some groups to raise funds while promoting themselves in the community. Local businesses also were encouraged to set up displays. This one was pretty neat; the guy actually recreated his storefront in miniature. You could tell he put in a lot more effort than some of the others. After the lights, we were directed to a parking lot, where we could get out and explore the rest of the festival. We parked next to the monster truck school bus! Lauryn can almost fit in the tire! This was the Paratrooper that piqued my curiosity in the first place. It was the only ride in the carnival portion of the event that Lauryn didn't ride; she had a bad experience on one of these a couple years ago, unfortunately. Including the Paratrooper, the carnival consisted of only four rides, but for the size and scope of the event, that was plenty, and the kids there had a ball. Others included the train... ...bumper cars... ...and Boomer's Ball Park. Why do they call it a "ball park"? That's why! In case the unique-looking Dino on the side of the Boomer's setup didn't clue you in, they don't care much for copyright law in these parts.... Here's Lauryn with Geoff... er, I mean, "Jimmy" the giraffe. I tried to explain to her who Geoffrey the Giraffe was. It made me feel old. Piggy eats the trash! Kelly has crabs! (She totally asked me to take this picture and post it with that caption. I'm sure I'll get in trouble for it, anyway.) Disembodied elephant head says... "Stay in school!" They also had a couple of games, though they weren't drawing much attention. The guy at the fishbowl game had the right idea--he was offering to let kids play for free, and if they "won," their parents had to pay to make it count. Fortunately for us, Lauryn has the hand-eye coordination of a 2-year-old. He let her try 10 times, and the ping pong ball didn't even reach the array of fishbowls on eight of those throws. They had a few clever ways of acknowledging the sponsors, including these oversized Christmas cards. Major sponsors, of course, like this home builder, received much larger displays. In the "food court" section, they had fire pits for making s'mores. I guess when you have enough insurance to run a dragway, adding a rider to cover visitors standing within 12 inches of an open flame really isn't all that expensive, comparatively speaking. Either way, it was a neat idea. The rest of the "food court" consisted of trailers and food trucks run by the carnival and local vendors. Santa piggies! Um... yes, please! I got the hot chocolate, which was good. Kelly and Lauryn opted for the apple cider, which was even better. Pumpkin funnel cake? Holy crap! Santa got my letter! Unfortunately, the pumpkin funnel cake tasted more like warm Crisco ladled over cold Crisco, fried crunchy and topped with grease that was past its prime. It's the only time I can remember that the three of us didn't polish off an entire funnel cake in one sitting, and in this instance, we made it only about a third of the way through before tossing it out. The churros, which Lauryn was thrilled with (she calls them "Disneyland sticks"). weren't much better, in my opinion. The fried pickles, however, were very good, though I usually prefer the chips over the spears. Pictured, from left: Kelly, Lauryn and a Disneyland stick. The event wasn't crowded that night, though I had expected it to be packed the weekend before Christmas. I suspect the rain earlier that day that made the grounds rather muddy, along with temperatures that night that dropped into the 30s following two straight weeks of unseasonably warm weather, probably had something to do with it. Either way, the indoor, heated "Santa's Village" section provided a nice respite from the cold. Inside, local vendors as far as the eye could see! Some were selling things, but most were giving away samples or providing demonstrations. It reminded me of a state fair in some respects. Throughout the "village," they had entries in the event's coloring contest hung on the walls. Patrons were asked to vote on the one they liked best. The Santa line wasn't long, but Santa spent quality time with each child, so there was a slight wait. As noted earlier, Mrs. Claus was there, too. They had a photographer, but unlike 99 percent of these types of setups, he was just kind of there in case someone didn't have a camera. In fact, he didn't even take a picture unless he was asked. You could take all the photos you wanted with your own camera or phone, which was a really nice perk. Finally, we ended up at Santa's Entertainment Arena. This is the stage where live entertainment is provided. They had a local school chorus performing at some point that evening, but we didn't stick around for it. This was also the "Festival of Trees" area, where Christmas trees decorated by local middle school students (or, more likely, staff) were on display. Once again, visitors were asked to vote on the one they liked best, and the winning school received a prize or donation. I apologize for the less-than-stellar quality; unfortunately, my camera doesn't do well with miniature lights. And, of course, like any good themed attraction, you exit through the gift shop! But don't worry; we'll be back next year. Thanks for reading!

^Well, don't blame the postal service!

^Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by Carthay. I'd heard it was supposed to be the Blue Bayou of DCA. While Blue Bayou has an amazing atmosphere, the couple times I've eaten there, I thought the food was just sort of "meh" and grossly overpriced, even by Disney standards. Carthay Circle, on the other hand, was priced just slightly above, say, Rancho del Zocalo, and it was some of the best food I had this year, theme park or otherwise. Plus it had an impressive atmosphere. Last part of the Disneyland Resort posted below. Enjoy! After lunch, it was time to head to the Jingle Jangle Jamboree at Big Thunder Ranch. The main (and only, really) reason we came here was that I wanted to see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. But it turned out to be a really fun little area that (thankfully) people seemed fairly unaware of or uninterested in. Case in point: free (free!) games and coloring for kids, and characters walking around with absolutely no lines or glued-to-the-hip handlers. It was so laid back that Goofy actually walked over, grabbed a coloring page and sat down to color with the kids... and no one bothered him! It was like, "Hey, Goofy's here. That's cool. Can someone pass me the red crayon?" Of course, the reason the Jingle Jangle Jamboree is included in the food thread is... Mrs. Claus' Tasty Treats! We were still full from Rancho del Zocalo, so I didn't try any, but the Monte Cristo Bites on the menu were awfully tempting... ...and Country Bear approved! The neatest part of the Billy Hill and the Hillbillies show was when two of the Country Bears came out and joined them on stage for the finale. After the show they wandered around the area, and after a few photo requests, just like Goofy, no one really bothered them. Gomer waited in the food line with park guests, and it was like he was just another tourist from Idaho or something. I've been going to Disney parks for years, and I've never seen anything like it. Later in the afternoon, I crossed the final "must-do" Disneyland food stop off my list, the Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland. The menu is limited, but usually really good. Except this time it wasn't so much. The jalepeno cheese-filled pretzel was fine, but the Banyan beef skewer, I thought, tasted like chicken. I took it back to the counter and asked if maybe they had given me the wrong thing, but the woman assured me it was beef. I showed Kelly, and she said it *could* have been beef... she guessed. Either way, I loved the sauce just as much as I always have... I just wasn't too crazy about the mystery meat. Kelly wanted to stop at the candy shop on Main Street on our way across the street for our final visit to DCA. I usually don't pay too much attention to the theming in these shops, but as I waited for them to walk around, this old music machine really caught my eye. I visited a museum earlier this year that specialized in these types of machines and even had one that supposedly was formerly used at Disneyland. Kelly got into the holiday spirit with a Santa Mickey cupcake. Lauryn and I opted for chocolate-covered red velvet Mickey Mouse cake pops with marshmallow ears. I chose traditional... ...while she went for the Mickey-head sprinkles. Both were delicious. Over at DCA, I did some browsing along Hollywood Boulevard while waiting for Kelly and Lauryn to ride the Tower of Terror and came across this pretend candy store... ...and some of its "not for sale" confections. After their Tower of Terror ride, Lauryn didn't feel that great, and Kelly had been complaining all day that her feet hurt, so they decided they would just rest for awhile, then go back to the hotel and call it a vacation. I hit a few more DCA rides, then meandered over to the World of Disney at Downtown Disney... where I ran into Kelly and Lauryn! My plans were to do some gift shopping, then have dinner at the newly opened Earl of Sandwich, one of my favorite food stops in Orlando. Kelly and Lauryn said they would join me, but wanted me to scout it out first since it was at the other end of Downtown Disney and they didn't particularly want to walk if they didn't have to, especially in the rain. When I got there, the line was out the door and around the corner, and they were predicting about an hour wait. Pass! By the time I got back to their bench, the rain had stopped, and Kelly suggested going back into Disneyland and trying Cafe Orleans again since we had enjoyed it so much the night before. Only this time they were all booked up, so we ended up shoulder-to-shoulder with roughly 10,000 other guests next door at the French Market. Even though the food at the French Market is served cafeteria-style, we still had a 20- to 25-minute wait in line (which, like Earl of Sandwich's, snaked outside and around the building). Inside, decorations were themed to the nearby Haunted Mansion Holiday. According to Kelly, I kind of looked like this wreath by the time we found a table and sat down. We carried our trays around for 10 minutes--and asking Lauryn to carry anything for that long without spilling it is asking for a miracle to begin with--looking for an open table. Hardly anyone was eating--they were saving tables for people who had just joined the now-30-minute line. After getting verbally abused by a gentleman who claimed he had "dibs" on a table (to save for the next half hour before anyone else in his family showed up, of course) from which people were leaving, I found a nearby table that was being "saved," informed the "saver" that we would be eating there, and that was that. Turns out he wasn't even saving the table for that particular restaurant; he was holding it so his friends could join him and have a place to sit while waiting for their reservation to come due next door at Cafe Orleans! Long story short: I hate people. The at the French Market was, as I recalled from several years prior, good, but not great. I got shrimp pasta and an apple tart, but wasn't as hungry as I thought I was; I didn't come close to finishing either. I don't remember what Kelly and Lauryn had to eat for dinner, but they shared this coffin-shaped chocolate cake for dessert. Two interesting things happened at the conclusion of this meal. We saw another couple wandering around with trays just as we had been, so we invited them to join us since we had a couple seats free. They thanked us profusely and told us we were, by far, the nicest people they had met at Disneyland. As we were getting up, Kelly accidentally bumped the chair in back of her with the one she was sitting in. The lady sitting there yelled, "Watch it! You almost knocked me off my chair!" Kelly, having grown increasingly tired of what she dubbed the "California attitude" we encountered throughout much of the trip, apologized, then said to me, "Wow, if I had known all this time I could just hit them and get away with it, this vacation would have been a lot more fun!" After dinner and a train ride back to Main Street, Kelly and Lauryn really did leave to go back to the hotel to prepare for our 4:30 a.m. departure to the airport the next day. Meanwhile, I made my way back over to DCA and got in the 35-minute single rider line for Radiator Springs Racers (where I got rained on again and encountered some more of that lovely "California attitude"). Afterward, I took a few more food-related photos on Buena Vista Street, including the very nicely done Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe. At the Julius Katz and Son store, I found this old-fashioned candy machine full of "Imagineered" candies. Almost all of these relate to Disney's earliest cartoons and "Alice" comedies. Graphically, this one was my favorite. If (when?) they get around to reproducing these boxes to actually sell with candy, I would buy this one. At the very least, I suspect each of these will eventually become pins and be sold as a limited-edition set for around $75. Because, you know, that's what Disney does. OK, notice above that I said "almost all" of the candies related to Disney's earliest production efforts? Not this one! I literally laughed out loud and absolutely had a smile on my face for the rest of the night when I noticed this particular faux candy box. A lot of people know a lot about Walt Disney, but this is a reference only the geekiest of Disney history geeks (like me) would get, and I couldn't believe they went to the trouble of including something this obscure that probably only .00000001 percent of park guests who even noticed it would understand. Walt and Roy Disney's father, Elias, didn't have anywhere near the financial success of his sons, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Unfortunately, he had a habit of investing in fly-by-night schemes and ideas in hopes of bettering his family's financial standing. One particularly bad investment was in the O-Zell Company, a Chicago-based producer of jams and jellies (with ill-fated intentions of expanding into carbonated beverages). He reportedly lost $16,000 on the deal. Still, it's part of the Disney family's history, and the Imagineers chose to immortalize this obscure little detail from a century ago in the form of this faux candy box. Anyway, I've said too much. Next up: the final Roadfood of 2012!

Our first day (on this trip, anyway) at Disneyland. Enjoy! Lauryn was in a foul mood that morning, stopping to cry three times before we made it to the castle. Once in Fantasyland, I told her I bet I knew what would put her in a better mood and proposed a churro break. She informed me that churros looked disgusting, and she had no intention of eating one ever. So I got one for Kelly and one for myself, and Kelly suggested Lauryn try a bite of hers. As you can imagine, Lauryn immediately started begging us to buy her one of her own. The churro vendor laughed, said he saw that coming a mile away and handed us the third churro, which he had waiting. And as a postscript, we went to a winter carnival earlier this weekend, and Lauryn saw a sign for churros at one of the vendors' booths. She got very excited and started yelling, "Disneyland sticks! Disneyland sticks!" Long story longer, they weren't anywhere near as good as the real "Disneyland sticks." For lunch that day, we ate at Redd Rockett's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, which serves one of my favorite dishes, chicken fusilli pasta. However, since I already have photos of RRPP from a previous vacation, I didn't bother to take any. So instead, please enjoy this picture of cabbage, also taken in Tomorrowland. It goes especially well with the Vas Peas served in Fantasyland. That evening took us to beautiful New Orleans Square, by far my favorite "land" at the original Disneyland. And Cafe Orleans is still my favorite restaurant at the original Disneyland (it had been my favorite restaurant at the resort, period, until our experience at the Carthay Circle the evening before). I was surprised at how quickly we were seated. We wouldn't be as lucky the next night. Lauryn ordered the pirate sipper, accompanied by her best impression of Captain Hook. I got my favorite Disneyland beverage, a mint julep. I told Kelly we would need to place two orders for the pommes frites, as I could eat one practically by myself. Again, until our meal at DCA the night before, this was my favorite dish at the Disneyland Resort. When they came out, Kelly took one look and said we had made a big mistake and should have just ordered one. By her third fry, she (jokingly) suggested perhaps we should have ordered three! At my suggestion, Kelly ordered the Monte Cristo. She loved it, but couldn't finish it all, so I ended up with the last piece. It was just right; I like the Monte Cristo, but the portion size here is always way too big for me (even when I weighed 100 pounds more than I do now). Besides the pommes frites (I didn't really eat a whole basket by myself, btw...), I got the French onion soup, which was good, but not great. After dinner, I took Kelly and Lauryn to one of my favorite spots at Disneyland, the quiet, serene, never-crowded (even when the park is filled to near capacity) Court of Angels... only to find that it had been turned into an outdoor merchandise location. I'm not one of those "Everything at Disneyland must be preserved exactly the way Walt left it forever!!!" nuts, but I'll admit I was a little disappointed. On the way out later that evening, we passed by the Jolly Holiday Bakery, which was new since the last time I had visited. We didn't eat there, but it looked fairly nice. During our morning churro stop the next day, the Abominable Snowman from the Matterhorn was turning the popcorn cylinder! For lunch, I had scheduled a stop at Rancho del Zocalo, a restaurant I had passed by many times, but never eaten at. The main reason I suggested it this time is because Kelly and Lauryn are Mexican food addicts... but any restaurant with Zorro on top of its entryway can't be too bad! I was really impressed by the interior. It really did resemble a quaint Spanish inn... with Coke products. Apparently, people live above where we eat. I hope today isn't garbage day.... Kelly really liked her citrus fire-grilled chicken, and I really, really liked the carne asada steak and red chile enchiladas! Lauryn was pleased with her tacos, and even the tortilla chips were surprisingly good. However, the best thing we got from this restaurant, as great as everything else was, was the tres leches cake! Kelly thought it was OK; I thought it was outstanding. "Om nom nom!" If you've never eaten at Rancho del Zocalo, there's one more thing you should know... its windows are a great place to get pictures of Big Thunder Mountain! Had I known then what I do now, I might have made a more concentrated effort to take a couple shots of Rainbow Ridge, as well... oh well. Up next... the thrilling conclusion of our meals at the Disneyland Resort!

Wow, that sucks. That happened to me a few years ago. Hope you're feeling better. On another note, after seeing your original post, I ordered one of those Silver Dollar City books for my very own, used on Amazon. The description said both the book and cover were in excellent shape. And when I received them, sure enough they were. Had they been attached to each other, that would have been even better....

My giftee has already posted that he/she doesn't plan to open his/her gift until Christmas, which is cool... I just hope they post photos once they do open it. My giftee last year never posted anything, which was slightly disappointing.

^Shhh! Stop telling them SFA doesn't suck! You're just going to make the lines longer for people like my family and me who actually enjoy the park for what it has become in the past few years. You're also wasting your time. Disney could buy SFA, revitalize the plans for Disney's America and turn it into one of the top 10 most visited parks in the world, and 90 percent of the posters you're trying to convince will still swear on their dead grandmother's false teeth that it's the worst park on Earth because, you know, it's SFA. Been there, done that.

I got barbecue sauce! Thanks, Secret Santa!

^Throw in a koala and I will gladly accept your proposal!

Just before Thanksgiving, we took a family vacation to Disneyland. Kelly put me in charge of planning the restaurants. Personally, I think I made some pretty good choices. Results below! After getting the resort around 1 p.m., our first stop was Disney California Adventure. More importantly, our first stop at DCA was Cars Land. Even more importantly, our first stop in Cars Land was the Cozy Cone Motel (sign seen here after dark because it's more impressive that way). After 10 hours in airports, airplanes and shuttle buses, we were famished! For the uninitiated (since I do send non-theme park enthusiasts to this thread every once in awhile), the Cozy Cone isn't really a motel... it's a restaurant. More accurately, it's a series of five snack stands made to resemble the cone motel from the movie "Cars," which itself was based on the modern remnants of the Wigwam Village motel chain. The detail here is really outstanding. There are probably more road cones used in the decor than on a standard Pennsylvania highway. And that's saying something! Even the seating area is cone-themed! It has even more atmosphere at night. And for the record, I stayed at one of the Wigwam Villages last summer--the details in this reinterpretation are 100 percent dead on, right down to the size and position of the side windows. First meal at the Disneyland Resort: chili cone carne! Om nom nom! We each got a Red's Apple Freeze, which most of you know is kind of like a frozen apple juice with marshmallow-flavored topping. The average online review of these concoctions goes something like this: "When Jesus comes back to Earth, this is what the holy grail will be filled with." Personally, I thought it was OK, but probably not something I'd get again. We also chose to share a "pop cone." The flavor of the day was dill pickle, and though I didn't think it tasted anything like pickles, it was indeed excellent. While Kelly and Lauryn were finishing up, I took a whirlwind tour of some of the other Cars Land structures, including Flo's V8 Cafe (again, seen here at night for added impressiveness). Lots of Googie fixtures inside, including this tire iron chandelier. Fun fact: Though they have it on display, you can't actually buy a cup of oil at Flo's V8 Cafe. Doc Hudson's former office serves as the restaurant's seating area. Why his "former" office? Because it's been converted into the Hudson Hornet Racing Museum. After taking in all three rides in Cars Land, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure and a quick spin through the Blue Sky Cellar, we arrived here for our dinner reservation. Oh yeah! For those who aren't familiar (again, non Disney, non-theme park enthusiasts), the Carthay Circle on which this restaurant was modeled was the theater where "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" premiered in 1937. Everything is incredibly ornate, starting with the entryway, which includes framed memorabilia from the night of the premiere. The lounge area is impressive. Though we had reservations, we were asked to find a table and wait here for about 15 minutes. It quickly became apparent that this was a ploy to upsell us drinks and appetizers. It was the only irritation about the whole experience, which was otherwise an 11 (on a scale from 1 to 10). However, the wait did give me some time to walk around the lounge area and take in the detail, including this case of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" cels that supposedly hung in Walt Disney's home. After passing on drinks and appetizers three times, our name was called, and we were led into this ornate elevator. When the doors opened, the attendant led us down a hallway that opened into the grand dining area. The restaurant is divided into several areas. We were led through another dining room and into a side area, where we were the only diners present at first (a couple other tables joined us before we were through). Here's the menu... ...and the bread plate. I have to say that the service here was unbelievable. Every time we got up, our napkins were refolded and placed at our setting when we returned. The servers were fanatically attentive (in a good way). And the price really wasn't much more than any other table service restaurant at Disneyland. I had been looking forward to trying the Carthay House biscuits ever since I first read about them online. Unlike the Red's Apple Freeze, the reviews turned out to be 100 percent accurate--these things were amazing! And they were probably the "worst" part of the meal! For those who don't already know, these are no ordinary biscuits! About the size of golf balls, the thin, crusty outside gives way to reveal a molten filling of ham, cheese and other savory goodness. The mango butter dipping sauce provided with them was fine, but I preferred them plain. Because we were there for the World of Color dining package, we were obliged to order either an appetizer or dessert with each of the adult entrees. The biscuits (which we shared) took care of my commitment. Kelly opted for the fall seasonal soup, autumn squash, and let me have a couple bites. It was absolutely phenomenal! Kelly also got a rose water soda, which you can see peeking through on the left. Imagine a drink that tastes like a rose smells (really!), and you've got it. It was good... or at least different... but the best part, in my opinion, was the sugar-glazed edible rose petal garnish (seen on the plate in the upper right-hand corner), which had the texture of crystallized ginger, but was very sweet instead of spicy. Between appetizers and entrees, the Pixar Play Parade started outside. Lauryn got up to watch through the glass doors of the balcony right behind our table, and the server came over to ask if we would like to go out on the veranda for a better view. Heck yes we would! The balcony also provided nice views of Condor Flats... ...and Buena Vista Street. (Another balcony on the other side offered a view straight down Buena Vista Street; the dining area it was attached to was empty, and I peeked out on the way back from the rest room.) When we got back to our table, our main courses (and folded napkins) were waiting for us. Lauryn opted for the steak and fried macaroni and cheese from the kids' menu. She proclaimed the steak the best she's ever had (though I can't recall her ever having had steak before, so take that for what it's worth). She had already filled up on biscuits, so I ended up with one of the fried mac-n-cheese balls. It was good! And then there was the cavatapi with braised lamb. Kelly and I both chose this as our entree, and to be honest, I was slightly disappointed that the pappardelle pasta with chicken meatballs that I had read about here on TPR had rotated off the seasonal menu... but the disappointment didn't last long! As good as that dish may have been, there is absolutely no way it could have been better than this! It was the best dish I have ever eaten on Disney property (and I've had some really good meals at Epcot...) and elevated the Carthay Circle to my favorite restaurant at the Disneyland Resort. Up next: More food on the other side of the esplanade!

"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" is awesome! One of our local stations used to air that and "It's a Wonderful Life" in the late hours of Christmas Eve/early morning hours of Christmas each year when I was in high school. Just finished boxing up my gift. It should be in the mail around lunchtime tomorrow.

From my 8-year-old stepdaughter just now: "I like watching 'Horaders.' It makes me feel better about my room."

Aww! I hope my Secret Santa gives me Shrinky Dinks, too!!!

Jem! That's truly, truly, truly outrageous! (You knew someone was going to say it....) I'm waiting on one more thing, then my package will go out, out, out... and, if the U.S. Postal Service is really on its game that day, eventually end up at a TPR member's house/apartment/condo/cave/Unibomber-style shack.

^Except he wasn't just playing a role! It was all good natured, in any event. In October, Kelly, Lauryn and I spent a weekend in Pennsylvania, attending the semi-annual Philly Non-Sports Card Show (which is held in Allentown, not Philadelphia) and stopping by Hershey's Chocolate World to pick up some discounted candy for the annual safe trick-or-treating Halloween block party I chair. Of course, we stopped by some Roadfood restaurants along the way. Enjoy! Back on page 6, I mentioned that I got a slice of coconut custard pie from Wert's Cafe in Allentown and intended to come back at some point to try more of its specialty items. Witness Wert's amber birch beer and onion rings! The birch beer looked like beer, but tasted like... well, birch beer. The onion rings, which everyone seems to rave about online, were kind of disappointing. I had to cover them liberally with salt and dip them in ketchup to make them taste like anything more than crunchy Styrofoam. What they lack in flavor they make up for in abundance; between the three of us, we were able to finish only about half of them. The Wert's Famous Cheeseburger and deep-fried pierogies, however, more than lived up to expectations! The burger was stuffed with sauteed mushrooms and onions on the inside, making it extremely moist and giving it a great flavor. Add some Velveeta cheese on top, and it was a really good burger. I had asked for mayo on the side, but didn't need it at all; instead, I converted it into a makeshift dipping sauce for the pierogies (which upped their calorie count to roughly 1,000 each). Lauryn's never met an ice cream she didn't like, and as far as she was concerned, rainbow sherbet was just as good as true ice cream. I got another slice of the wonderful coconut custard pie, and Kelly opted for a giant eclair (not pictured). After leaving Hershey the next day, we made our way to Abbottstown, PA, for the exclusive purpose of dining at Hofbrauhaus. The decor was "Pennsylvania German," if that make sense. The cheese spread they gave us to start was really good. I also was impressed with the variety of the bread-and-cracker basket, which included several varieties of Keebler bread sticks and melba rounds. I didn't even know they made those anymore. My meal came with soup, so I chose the goulash (which came out blurry, unfortunately). It was just kind of OK--something of a hearty, spicy vegetable soup. Kelly and I were intrigued by the potato dumplings, so we decided to split an order. They were pretty plain in and of themselves, but the gravy added a decent flavor. Kelly got the sausage sampler with spaetzle and hot German potato salad. If we ever go back to Hofbrauhaus (and we'd like to), this is what I plan to order. Which isn't to say my meal wasn't really good! I opted for the wiener schnitzel a la holstein, which is a pork schnitzel with a fried egg on top. Mine didn't come with gravy, but I did ask for some on the side. As with the mayo at Wert's the day before, it turned out to be unnecessary (but pretty good, nonetheless). This was some of the best spaetzle I've had. Kelly said the same thing about the German potato salad, but I didn't share her opinion. I like mine a little sweeter, and Hofbrauhaus' was very tart. Of course we got dessert! Between us we split a slice of peanut butter pie (bottom), German apple cheesecake (center and a special that day) and pumpkin cheesecake (top). We all agreed that the pumpkin was superior. Up next: Restaurants of the Disneyland Resort (which isn't exactly Roadfood, but I think it will fit well in this thread).

This must be why my wife says I'm so hard to buy for.... I've been sitting here trying to think of "interests" to post, and I don't really have anything I think would be particularly helpful. For what it's worth, I collect non-sports trading cards and cardboard candy boxes from the 1930s and '40s, and Disneyland items from the '50s and '60s (up through the 2000s if they're actual parts of rides or park-used costumes). I also enjoy traveling, cheesy roadside attractions, coal-fired pizza and non-chain restaurants (especially those specializing in hot dogs or barbecue). That said, I'll be happy with whatever comes my way!

^I can think of at least 50 people I'd like to hit!

Yes!!! I've been picking up little things all year long in preparation for the TPR exchange! I'm 100 percent in! Edited to thank Brandy for her work in putting this together again!

^Thanks, Dave; Good to know! I remember one time while I was at college in Towson, my roommate, his girlfriend and I were supposed to go there, then they got into a big fight about something or other, so we ended up cancelling. I never got the chance to go again, and never really thought about it, to be honest, until now. I'll have to add it to the list.

Good choice, Larry! When I went to Ted's a few years ago, I just got a basic steamed cheeseburger (I think it might have had ketchup on it... not sure), but bacon looks like the way to go. If I ever go back, I'd like to try one that way. Continuing on my Cincinnati adventure, my next stop was just down the street from Jungle Jim's, en route to Coney Island. Enjoy! I have two friends with ties to Cincinnati—one grew up there, the other has parents-in-law there. One extols the virtues of Skyline Chili, while the other maintains that Gold Star has the best chain chili in the city. After Jungle Jim’s, it was time to find out. Though they’re made from exactly the same ingredients (spaghetti, chili and cheese), I preferred Skyline… but Gold Star wasn’t bad, either. After a visit to Coney Island park, where apparently either Elvis or the Beatles were playing at the adjacent amphitheater, given the throngs of people swarming there and making exiting the parking lot extremely difficult, I made my way to this place. Once I found parking on the street, I had to walk a ways back to the restaurant. Terry’s Turf Club is the name, and if you live in or near Cincinnati, you’ve heard of it. I think the bottom sign came from a carousel. No idea about the top one. Inside, the place was jam-packed! Once again, traveling alone had its benefits. There was a 45- to 60-minute wait for a table; the doorman sat me at the bar at what turned out to be the last seat in the place. There are no “real” lights here; all interior illumination comes from the restaurant’s vast collection of neon signs. And apparently this is Cincinnati’s hipster hangout for 20-somethings because I was, by far, the oldest person in there (besides the doorman). This was my view for dinner. I have no idea what “burger hi-test” is, but I appreciated the irony of the Ex-Lax sign. Above — and the only way to see this is to sit at the bar and look directly up; I almost missed it myself — was what appeared to be the intricately painted paneling and cut-out trim from a pre-school or kindergarten classroom, depicting nursery rhyme characters. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries and garlic-peanut sauce for dipping. It was phenomenal! And large, too. I literally couldn’t fit my mouth completely around it. I had to kind of take a bite down from the top, then up from the bottom. The guy next to me asked for a knife to cut his in half. The bartender gave him a knife, called him a girl, then took the knife away after the burger was cut. I was fortunate enough to have a Skyline Chili right next to my hotel. I was full from Terry’s, but I didn’t want to leave Cincinnati without trying a Coney dog. For those who aren’t familiar, Coney dogs are miniature hot dogs covered with traditional Cincinnati chili (minus the spaghetti). There really is a hot dog under there! The next day, I started the long drive home. I timed my travels to reach Wheeling, WV, just in time for lunch so I could check out the eateries at the historic Centre Market. Let’s step inside, shall we? My main reason for stopping at the Centre Market was Michael’s Beef House. Pictures I’ve seen of the roast beef sandwiches from here looked really good, and it came highly rated. Had the roast beef on this sandwich been hot and fresh instead of cold and dried out, it might have lived up to those expectations. Sadly, it did not. I hoped I would have better luck at Coleman’s Fish Market. The deluxe fish sandwich — Coleman’s specialty — was pretty good. Ironically, the leftover horseradish sauce from Michael’s tasted better on this than it did on the roast beef (the tartar sauce that came with the fish was OK, as well, but nothing special). I chose Oliver’s for dessert because I had read they sold butterscotch pie, a specialty of my grandmother’s late sister-in-law. It turned out to be more of a butterscotch meringue — and I’m not crazy about meringue, but I gave it a try anyway. The meringue turned out to be the best part; the butterscotch kind of tasted like Styrofoam pudding. I also bought a couple interesting-looking cookies from the little bakery booth across from Oliver’s. Unfortunately, they looked a lot better than they tasted. The only taste the blackberry thumbprint had was the jelly; the cookie had no flavor whatsoever. The “ranger cookie” on the right was kind of a coconut oatmeal cookie, and it had a faint coconut flavor, but not much else. My final food stop of the day was Chubby’s Barbeque in Emmittsburg, MD. I had been wanting to try this place for awhile, and it was one of the reason I chose this particular area to spend the final night of my vacation. That’s me! Why, yes, yes, I do! But today, I’m interested in something special…. Chubby’s is one of the very few restaurants in this part of the country that offers smoked pork belly! I’ve had this at barbecue competitions, and it can be really, really good. Chubby’s was a little dry and tough, but still OK. The beans were just OK, as well, but the fried potatoes and onions were something else! The other dishes I saw coming out of the kitchen looked and smelled good, as well; I’d like to get back here and try some of them eventually. Chubby’s has a full complement of house-made sauces. These made the pork belly go down even easier. But the best part of the visit was Old Dominion root beer on tap! I used to enjoy bottled Old Dominion in college, but haven’t been able to find it anywhere near where I live. I’d say the draft version is right up there with Frostop as far as my favorite root beer of all time. Refills weren’t free, and I still had two of them. The next day, I had planned to have lunch at Andy Nelson’s Southern Pit Barbecue in Cockeysville, MD. However, I made better time than I had anticipated and had nearly an hour to kill before the restaurant opened, so I decided to kill some time at the Pennsylvania Dutch Market a few doors down. It turned out to be a very fortunate detour. Besides some great Amish foods I bought for myself and as gifts for various family members, I stumbled upon a doughnut stand near right by the main entrance (sorry; I can’t remember the vendor’s name). These weren’t just any doughnuts; they’re right up there with Krispy Kreme! Crispy on the outside, soft as pudding inside, they were all amazing. This is the traditional glazed, which I ate immediately upon taking the photo. The Oreo cream was my after-lunch dessert. Again, simply amazing! I had the cherry fritter as a late-night snack after getting home that night. It was good, but the cherries were a little tart for my taste. Next time, I’d like to try apple (or maybe blueberry, though I suspect that might be slightly tart, as well). Finally, Andy Nelson’s had opened. Its namesake was a football player for the Baltimore Colts in the 1950s. I was elated when I saw they had burnt ends on the menu! For the uninitiated, burnt ends are the fatty ends of a piece of beef brisket, left over after the brisket is sliced. They are cut into cubes of about one inch each and at one time were considered scraps. However, people are slowly waking up to how good they really are; they’re my personal favorite type of barbecue meat. Most restaurants don’t serve them, not only because of their reputation, but because they’re in short supply; you get only two orders of them from each full-sized brisket. Unfortunately, because of that, many restaurants that offer them tend to “fudge” the true boundaries of what a burnt end really is and start cutting into the brisket itself to stretch the quantity, which was the case here. The “not-really-burnt-ends” are at the top and were just OK. The pulled pork at the bottom, however, was really good, and I would order it again. The restaurant’s ribs, for which they are known (and which I planned to order before the burnt ends intervened), also looked and smelled good, and I would like to go back and try them. Next up: a return to the great Roadfood state of Pennsylvania!

^Nice! Did you go to Ted's or the Lunchbox (or someplace else)? I've been to Ted's, and it was good--the cheese makes it, 100 percent. I'd like to try the Lunchbox; apparently they offer not only traditional steamed cheeseburgers, but a steamed cheeseburger omelet, with a full burger (including the bun) diced and mixed up in the egg, and then the whole thing enrobed in even more steamed cheese!