A foodie's guide to eating well on a road trip

Lara Buchar · CBC Life

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 12:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

When I travel, my itinerary isn't afloat of landmarks and tourer attractions — it's focused connected restaurants, cafés and bakeries. For me, tasting caller things is by acold the champion portion of the journey, and immoderate of my favourite memories are of the delicious things I've eaten on the way. (The biggest situation is moving up an appetite betwixt meals, but that's wherever those monuments travel successful handy.)

Road trips are cleanable for foodies: you screen a batch of ground; you tin marque your ain docket (and compression successful last-minute reservations); and due to the fact that you're successful the driver's seat, you tin propulsion implicit for immoderate and each roadside delights (hello, farm-fresh effect stands!). 

To propulsion each of that off, however, you person to bash the legwork. And passim my travels, I've honed my method for trying each the champion nutrient I can. So to assistance you pinpoint the tastiest stops connected your roadworthy trips this summer, I'm sharing however I bash it.

Research, past cross-reference

Once I cognize wherever I'm travelling to, I instrumentality a three-pronged attack to researching food. I promise, it's not arsenic aggravated arsenic it sounds, and you tin bash it successful arsenic small arsenic fractional an hour.

First, I'll bash a preliminary hunt online for reputable articles and edifice lists for the country (try CBC, Frommer's, Maclean's, Condé Nast Traveler and Eater). This is simply a bully starting-off constituent and volition assistance springiness you a wide thought of the spot you're visiting and what it's celebrated for.

Then I'll hunt TikTok and Instagram, utilizing prompts similar "best Halifax restaurants," "best nutrient successful Halifax" and "Halifax food." You could constrictive it down if there's thing circumstantial you're looking for — "best lobster successful P.E.I." oregon "best Jewish deli successful Montreal," for example. 

Lastly, I'll bash a idiosyncratic call-out asking for recommendations. This tin beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic a substance to a person oregon a station connected societal media. Nothing beats an endorsement from idiosyncratic you trust.

Once I've gathered my intel, I look for the communal threads betwixt them — the saccharine spot wherever aggregate radical and sources with nary connections to each different are mentioning the aforesaid edifice oregon paper item. This is wherever the nutrient magic happens! And you whitethorn beryllium amazed astatine however often this occurs erstwhile you commencement looking. (This was however I discovered the astir glorious deep-fried chickenhearted wings astatine Phnom Penh portion travelling done Vancouver, and I inactive imagination of them often.) 

Find the close equilibrium for ratings

This isn't an nonstop science, but by analyzing immoderate elemental numbers from a restaurant's Google reviews, you tin get a amended thought of what you're getting into. Yelp and Tripadvisor tin beryllium large resources too, but I similar Google for the sheer measurement of entries.

Generally, I'll skip anyplace that has fewer than 4.1 stars. That's not to accidental the nutrient won't beryllium bully if it has a little rating, but I similar to hedge my bets erstwhile travelling, and this is the easiest mode to debar disappointment.

Next, I see however galore ratings the edifice has:

• 10,000 oregon much ratings = tourer trap. Sometimes these places person tasty nutrient oregon a bully vibe, but proceed with caution. 

• 5,000-10,000 ratings = tourer staple. Chances are the edifice is highly fashionable and well-established, but it mightiness not beryllium the astir unique. If you're looking for thing tried-and-true, which volition astir apt satisfy, you'll find it here.

• 1,000-5000 ratings = section favourite. Here, you're much apt to find little touristy options with thoughtfully curated nutrient oregon experiences. This is simply a bully benchmark to purpose for.

• 1,000 oregon less ratings = hidden gem potential. New and up-and-coming spots volition person a constricted fig of ratings, truthful really work the reviews to get a amended consciousness of the place. I've discovered immoderate of my favourite spots this way.

Note: I use this strategy to ample cities and tourer hubs, but if the spot you're travelling done is tiny oregon lesser known, standard down accordingly.

Embrace the unexpected

No substance however overmuch probe you bash for your roadworthy trip, you can't program for the blessed accidents on the way. So marque definite to permission abstraction for them. 

If you're unexpectedly cruising done a charming town, propulsion implicit connected its main thoroughfare for a pit stop. You tin agelong your legs and you mightiness conscionable find a hidden gem portion you stroll.

If you're travelling done a agrarian area, look retired for homemade signs advertizing caller effect oregon baked goods. These are the kinds of treats that whitethorn not beryllium pinned connected representation apps, and that makes them each the much special. 

One of my fondest memories of driving done Ontario's Prince Edward County is of spotting a motion for food tarts extracurricular a roadside shed and discovering the astir mouth-watering food tarts, packaged successful beauteous pinkish boxes. It felt similar a dream! Since then, Waupoos Tarts has garnered acclaim online, but I inactive get a thrill knowing I discovered them connected my own. 

Take the unit disconnected and ne'er devour hangry

I'm blameworthy of insisting that each azygous happening I devour portion travelling needs to beryllium the best, but I've learned the hard mode that you person to chopped your losses earlier the hangry sets in. 

Packing airy snacks tin instrumentality the borderline disconnected erstwhile you miss a crook oregon recognize you're further from your destination than you thought. There's nary consciousness successful sucking the joyousness retired of your abrogation conscionable truthful you tin devour that 1 cleanable happening later. (Plus being successful a atrocious temper makes everything sensation worse.)

Shelf-stable nutrient similar granola bars and way premix are a large backup and casual to pack, but my determination is to banal up connected roadworthy travel snacks I wouldn't usually buy. I find beef jerky and nostalgic candy from my puerility makes it much amusive and little similar a consolation prize.

Even better, portion you're connected the road, prime up goodies that you can't get astatine home, similar a container of chips successful a specialty flavour oregon section effect that's successful season. If you don't extremity up eating them, they tin beryllium a amusive souvenir oregon dainty for later. 

I'll ne'er hide driving done the Rockies for the archetypal clip and digging into the maple salmon jerky I picked up from an Indigenous store. (I cognize it tasted amended connected those snowy winding roads than it ever would person connected my sofa astatine home!) 

And retrieve if you bash devour a disappointing meal, don't sweat it. There's ever the adjacent roadside stop, municipality oregon travel to observe thing mind-blowingly delicious, and the premix of experiences is portion of the amusive of an escapade similar this.