I know this is a real long shot! But does anyone who regularly makes this trip have a favorite place to stop for breakfast or lunch?

We usually stop at a Perkins Pancake House just off one of the exits, I think near Elkhart. It's convenient and is right around when we're usually starting to get hungry (leaving from Chicago suburbs early in the AM).

We're making the trip this coming Thursday. Would love to try something different. If we just knew where to look!

Thanks!

Drive fast across the Hoosier State and stop at the Sauder Village Barn Restaurant for lunch just across the border in Archbold Ohio. It will require a slight deviation (about 4 or 5 miles) off the I80-90 corridor but worth the stop. Directions are given in the link.

http://www.saudervillage.org/home/default.asp

Thanks RedRock for that link, it is 170 miles from where we live and will make a nice weekend trip!!

Just past Elkhart is Shipshewana. There are a number of darling restaurants there. I'm thinking of one really nice one, but the name escapes me. Maybe someone out there remembers.

There is also a great place for breakfast on Cassopolis street (that's the street you exit the toll road on. turn right at the light and it is on the left a few blocks. I haven't been to Elkhart in a year or so, but great food. If you are ever there overnight, try Nicky D's or Flytraps. It is a great italian town and you can't go wrong at any of the Italian restaurants. How Olive Garden can make it there I'll never know. You will never get better italian food.

Thanks so much, RedRock and k!

Anyone else?

hi,

here are a few sites to check out
http://roadfood.com/ home

http://tinyurl.com/5jmaks roadfood link for Indiana/map on top and links with description scroll down

http://www.hollyeats.com/Midwest.htm

have fun
wintkat

Great links! Thank you, Wintkat!

Agree wintkat, great links!

Hope I haven't missed you, that place that k mentioned is probably Essenhaus, it's Amish family style dining and the food is very good. I'm usually so stuffed that I have to take my piece of pie home with me!

You didn't miss me, Kristi. Thank you!

I'm very sorry to say that after all of your wonderful suggestions, we wound up eating at Perkins Pancake House! We got started about an hour and a half later than we'd wanted. We'd moved DS out of his dorm at UW-Madison two days before and I was up quite late doing laundry! Which would irritate me much more if I didn't know he'd worked his you know what off doing papers and studying for finals!

Anyway, we just couldn't justify the time it would take to get any farther off the interstate as we had reservations that night for the other side of Buffalo. But Perkins wound up being better than I'd remembered. My husband said his pancakes were the best he'd had in a long time!

And we had an interesting experience while there. An elderly woman, while on her way out, just decided to stop and chat with us for a while. I got a little nervous when she started talking about prayer meeting and asked us whether we were Christian! But, fortunately, she moved on to another subject soon after!

Thanks again to all of you for your help. We'll definitely keep the suggestions in mind for the next time we're out that way.

I 2nd the Essenhaus - be prepared for a 15 minute deviation(each way) from the highway.

http://www.essenhaus.com

CAPH---isn't that trip the worst?? We have to take it only as far as Rte 65 south and I dislike it so much that we have started to take Rte 30 thru all the towns and lights just to avoid the misery of that stretch of "40 miles of bad road."

Well, let's just say it's not my favorite part of the trip out east, Socialworker!

Great info! I've never tried a Perkins. I often do the I-70 drive between my sister in Dayton and my friend in Indianapolis. If anyone knows any great stops along the way, please let me know. Thanks.

btw, Caph, loved your "interesting" experience. I deal with that all the time as my sister is vastly different from me in terms of religion.