It's easy to eat like crap when you are on the road. Time and money constraints make .99 cent menus and 2 for $1.99 gas station hot dogs alluring, if not gastronomically disastrous, choices. Look inside almost any road comic's vehicle and, depending on the length of the tour, you are likely to find crunched up fast food containers, empty chip bags, Slim Jim / candy wrappers and other flotsam and jetsam of junk food detritus. Even the most powerful truck stop vacuum can't remove every errant french fry. Sort of a rolling obesity and diabetes display.
Sometimes, though, you are lucky enough to travel with a veteran road dog who has figured out a system to not only cut costs, but to avoid the fat and salt traps that line the Interstates. Early in my career, I spent a good deal of time as the opening act for Caroline Picard, aka "The Cajun Queen."
We spent hours...days... in a car together, usually shouting over each other about some political nonsense (she being a fairly right leaning Republican and I the more Left than Center Progressive), talking about the gig, or, most likely, discussing what and where we were going to eat. We rolled across country in her little pick up truck. In the back was always an ice chest, a small grill and her cooking kit. The cooking kit was genius. It contained almost everything you'd need to whip up a meal on the fly. Included was a hot plate, knives, utensils, an assortment of spices, sauces and dishes. Since we both have South Louisiana roots, you can be certain there was a good amount of spice. She even made sure it had a corkscrew and a wine glass or two. On off nights, we'd usually hit a grocery store and stock up for a few days. Then that evening, we'd crack a few beers, light the grill and whip up a good meal. Leftovers went in Zip lock bags and into the cooler for later. We left many a Days Inn and America's Best Value smelling like a combination Cajun/Mexican/BBQ restaurant.
It was from traveling with her that I began to emulate the rolling kitchen concept. I made my own cooking kit and still travel with it. Always keep a stocked ice chest in the back seat or trunk. Cut fruit and veggies replace chips and candy bars. Not only is this approach healthier, but actually way cheaper in the long run.
Sometimes, though, you have to splurge. To stave off monotony. I remember one run in particular, traveling through Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. It started off as a quick stop at a road side BBQ place near Huntsville AL and quickly became the theme of the tour. The Great BBQ run of 2008. One of my last tours as an opener and probably one of the most fun I've had. If there was a jolly pig decked out in chef's wear on a roof or side of a building, we probably ate there. I'm surprised we didn't exhale wood smoke from the stage, considering the amount of pulled pork, ribs and brisket we consumed. From sandwiches served through the screen door of an RV to one of the best Memphis joints I've ever been to, we tried it. To this day, we will still call each other from the road to share cool spots to stop for 'que. And we still try and find time to meet up for a few frosty beverages and some grilling, of both the food and verbal variety! Keep an eye out here for a link to an upcoming Stand Up and Eat Show webcast where I sit down with Caroline and we discuss this and more! For now, though, check out a clip of the Queen in action...Oh..and fair warning...if you are at work or near children, you might want to use headphones. There's some NSFW language and she doesn't give a damn what you think about that!
And that's just the passenger side...
Sometimes, though, you are lucky enough to travel with a veteran road dog who has figured out a system to not only cut costs, but to avoid the fat and salt traps that line the Interstates. Early in my career, I spent a good deal of time as the opening act for Caroline Picard, aka "The Cajun Queen."
She's either happy with the set or choking me for voting for Obama.
We spent hours...days... in a car together, usually shouting over each other about some political nonsense (she being a fairly right leaning Republican and I the more Left than Center Progressive), talking about the gig, or, most likely, discussing what and where we were going to eat. We rolled across country in her little pick up truck. In the back was always an ice chest, a small grill and her cooking kit. The cooking kit was genius. It contained almost everything you'd need to whip up a meal on the fly. Included was a hot plate, knives, utensils, an assortment of spices, sauces and dishes. Since we both have South Louisiana roots, you can be certain there was a good amount of spice. She even made sure it had a corkscrew and a wine glass or two. On off nights, we'd usually hit a grocery store and stock up for a few days. Then that evening, we'd crack a few beers, light the grill and whip up a good meal. Leftovers went in Zip lock bags and into the cooler for later. We left many a Days Inn and America's Best Value smelling like a combination Cajun/Mexican/BBQ restaurant.
It was from traveling with her that I began to emulate the rolling kitchen concept. I made my own cooking kit and still travel with it. Always keep a stocked ice chest in the back seat or trunk. Cut fruit and veggies replace chips and candy bars. Not only is this approach healthier, but actually way cheaper in the long run.
Sometimes, though, you have to splurge. To stave off monotony. I remember one run in particular, traveling through Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. It started off as a quick stop at a road side BBQ place near Huntsville AL and quickly became the theme of the tour. The Great BBQ run of 2008. One of my last tours as an opener and probably one of the most fun I've had. If there was a jolly pig decked out in chef's wear on a roof or side of a building, we probably ate there. I'm surprised we didn't exhale wood smoke from the stage, considering the amount of pulled pork, ribs and brisket we consumed. From sandwiches served through the screen door of an RV to one of the best Memphis joints I've ever been to, we tried it. To this day, we will still call each other from the road to share cool spots to stop for 'que. And we still try and find time to meet up for a few frosty beverages and some grilling, of both the food and verbal variety! Keep an eye out here for a link to an upcoming Stand Up and Eat Show webcast where I sit down with Caroline and we discuss this and more! For now, though, check out a clip of the Queen in action...Oh..and fair warning...if you are at work or near children, you might want to use headphones. There's some NSFW language and she doesn't give a damn what you think about that!
And click here for some pics from that tour:
Now..it wouldn't be a SU&E post without at least one recipe, now would it. In keeping with the theme, I'm going to share with you a recipe for my Chipotle-Coffee BBQ Sauce.
A Bowl of Yum.
Looks intimidating, but it's not...
Chipotle-Coffee BBQ Sauce
Wet stuff and veggies:
1 small onion, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup ketchup
1 cup strong brewed coffee*
3 chipotle in adobo, minced with 1 tbsp of the sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp (approx) fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
Spice Blend:
1 tsp kosher salt (more if you prefer...I like mine a bit less salty)
2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp good quality chili powder**
dash each of allspice and nutmeg - careful with these!
Make the spice blend and set aside. Sautee the onions in a 50/50 blend of oil and fat. I like to use bacon fat and canola oil. Lard works well too. Cook onions until they start to get soft, then add the garlic and chipotles. Sweat for a couple minutes (the stuff in the pan...not you silly!), then stir in the spice blend to heat through. After a minute or so, add the rest of the liquid ingredients until they begin to simmer, then add the brown sugar and stir to incorporate. Cook on a low heat, stirring regularly so as not to scorch the sugars. Cook for about 20 minutes like that, then let cool and place in a container of your choosing. Should keep well in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks. This is great on beef, pork and flavorful sausages. Hell...it's good on almost anything.
*A killer variation is to use 1/2 coffee and 1/2 stout beer. Or just the stout. Or just drink the beer while making this.
** If you can't find a good quality store bought blend, I hit the Latin market or aisle and grab a couple packs of ground chilies (usually Molido, Ancho, New Mexico, etc..) and make a mixture of 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander and 3 tsp mixed ground chiles.
Now! Go Eat, Drink and be Funny!
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