isaacsapphire

I've spent the last couple weeks driving insanely long periods of time over an insanely large portion of the US (Ok, just the bit north of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Mississippi). Having tried it, I can attest that chain hotels are mind-numbingly soulless and boring (although they have lots of fluffy pillows). Chain food is pretty much the same: soul-killing and lacking in any sense of place.

I was on too short a trip to do anything about accommodations part way through, but at the tail end I was bypassing the McDonalds near my start point for the day in favor of doing sudden U-turns at 11 AM so I could buy food from an in-home bakery with an "open" flag faded almost white and a hand-written sign advertising donuts. I paid $1.50 for one of the best pastries I've had in my entire life and had a delightful conversation about local history with the lady who owned the place.

I've done this before in unfamiliar cities; just find a likely looking cafe or whatever and try it. Extra points for lots of locals eating there. I've come up with a few duds, but most have been pretty good and some have been excellent.

Save the chains for days when you really can't handle the unexpected, but remember you won't get anything unexpectedly good that way either.