Peter Stromquist

Category: Traveling

  • Gramma’s Kitchen Review – Walcott Iowa

    Gramma’s Kitchen Review If you’ve ever driven across Iowa on Interstate 80 (Mainstreet USA), you’ve either stopped at this exit or at least noticed the signage for “The World’s Largest Truck Stop.”  Yep, it’s at this exit.  But that’s not where I stopped this trip, I stopped across the road at Gramma’s Kitchen because two […]

  • The Point Hotel Review – Minoqua, WI

    The Point Hotel Review – Minocqua, WI The Point Hotel Review. Took a drive in Wisconsin this week, ended up in Minocqua, a town so far North, one is in spitting distance of the UP of Michigan. This large complex sits waterside in this island town, which is known for sport angling, particularly for Walleye […]

  • Kirkland Family Restaurant Review – Kirkland, IL

    Kirkland Family Restaurant Review – Kirkland, IL In the “before times,” people were just nicer. Regardless of race, religion, political bent, people in general were just more well behaved. Friendlier, cordial, helpful. At least that’s what I think. Last Saturday I ran into a little bit of the “before times” when I stopped in a […]

  • Petes Hamburger Stand Review

    My Petes Hamburger Stand Review.  For over 100 years, 112 to be exact as of this year, Pete’s Hamburger Stand has been opening Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, summers only, to sell their unique hamburgers to a hungry public. Why unique?  Because they are BOILED. But in the interest of accurately, I think “simmered” (in water) […]

  • Golden Dome Cafe Review – Fairfield, Iowa

      Back in the “before times” I was making one of my annual treks through Iowa, and the route took me thru Fairfield, population 10,000 and home to Maharishi International University (MIU),  is a private university in Fairfield, Iowa. It was founded in 1973 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and features a “consciousness-based education” system that includes the practice of […]

  • Smokin Coop BBQ Review

    Smokin Coop BBQ Review Smokin Coop BBQ Review Belvidere Illinois. Out in the West Texas town of El Paso, I……wait. Never mind. On a country road between Chicago and Rockford, IL, there’s a guy doing BBQ every summer, Mon-Sat, lunch, and dinner. Completely “al fresco” there are picnic tables and chairs scattered under the trees […]

  • Taylor Maid-Rite Review Marshalltown

    Taylor Maid-Rite Review Marshalltown “Maid-Rite” restaurants started as a single outlet in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1926. For those unfamiliar with the term, the “Maid-Rite” is a loose meat sandwich, cooked on a steam table with onions, mustard, and “secret seasonings,” piled on a steamed bun with mustard and pickles. Locations come and go, but as […]

  • Smittys Pork Tenderloin Review – Leonore, IL

    Smittys Pork Tenderloin Review The pork tenderloin, also known as BPT (b is for breaded) is a popular sandwich in the Upper Midwest, particularly in Iowa and Indiana. And occasionally in Illinois.  It’s similar to Wienerschnitzel. A pork cutlet is cut and then smashed to make it larger and thinner, dipped in breading, sometimes cornmeal, […]

  • National WWII Museum Review New Orleans

    National WWII Museum Review New Orleans Bring tissues.  Lots of them.  If you have any heart at all, you will cry at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.  Odd, I lived in New Orleans, and never visited.  It opened in June of 2000 at the “National D-Day Museum” conceived by two local scholars, Stephen […]

  • Please-U Restaurant Review New Orleans

    Please-U Restaurant Review New Orleans Please-U Restaurant Review. “Since 1946.” Doesn’t that tell you all you need to know about the Please-U Restaurant, on St. Charles Avenue close into downtown?  Open from 6A – 6PM, this old-timey diner serves all the American favorites as well as traditional New Orleans sandwiches and hot plate meals. I […]