FlyingJ food quality

Ned,
So therefore if one had issues with the restaurant. Than one would probably contact the restaurant instead of FJ. And I think your right, the menu is the same from place to place. We usually order from the menu whatever restaurant we're in also.

Barb said:

Ned,
So therefore if one had issues with the restaurant. Than one would probably contact the restaurant instead of FJ. And I think your right, the menu is the same from place to place. We usually order from the menu whatever restaurant we're in also.

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Barb:

Yep, just stop in the next FJ and ask for some Pepto. ;D ;D

We recently boondocked at a Petro. The buffet was better than Flying J, but I would expect there is a huge amount of variation from unit to unit. The place was very busy and the cooks kept bringing out fresh food. They had seperate RV fuel pumps and parking slots for us also that were somewhat away from the truckers. They even had a dump station and drinking water fillup station. I think Petro and Flying J both want our dollars.

We have probably tried them all and they vary from one place to the next.  We recently had lunch at FJ in Bozeman, Mt. and they did not have buffet so we ordered from menu.  I had a Cajun shrimp pasta something and Marsha had a Reuben sandwich.  I really enjoyed mine and Marsha didn't even finish hers..there you go.  Oh//I like Cracker Barrel too..just can't take the smells incense or whatever that seeps through from their gift shop..tim

Back in our workcamping days, we had occasion to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas as far away from home as we had ever been.  The Flying J south of Birmingham was horrible on Thanksgiving, but the Flying J north of Birmingham had an absolutely amazing Christmas feast.  You pays your money, you takes your chances. 

Margi

We often do buffets and have learned...

If the place looks empty, then skip the buffet. No telling how long the food has been out, and if the food is usually good, there will be people eating there.

Even in busy restaurants, we preview the buffet prior to being seated.

The best buffet we ever ate at was a Huff's in FL. Just plain WOW. Most food was low/no salt and that's HUGE to me. No, maybe it was the Bird-In-Hand in Lancaster PA. Amish food is hard to compete with, but Huff's had seafood...

I'll take a bologna sandwich over any FJ we've tried.

Stopped by the local FJ (Spiceland,IN) last week to get some propane. I asked the attendant how the "merger" with Petro was going to affect everything. He told me that the restaurant was going to probably be replaced with an IHop and a Subway. We won't have Country Cooker to kick around anymore I guess. I just hope the replacements are better.
                                                              Indiana Journey

I don't know.. For the clientell of a Flying J (Mostly Truckers) The Country Cooker offers good basic "Meat and Potatoes" type fare at fairly decent prices.

I-Hop is actually a bit more "Exotic"  though generally better food.

With both of them however, as well as ______ (Fill in the chain name with most any chain) you will find some that are fantastic.. And some that... well.. make up for it

The joke of the day elsewhere was this:

Went into a restaurant and they had a sign:

Price, Quality, Service
Pick any two

1joester2 said:

I'll take a bologna sandwich over any FJ we've tried.

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Mmmmm . . . fried rag bologna with grilled onions and mustard on a bun.  Heavenly! 

porscheracer said:

Mmmmm . . . fried rag bologna with grilled onions and mustard on a bun.  Heavenly! 

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And a pint of medium ale of course!

And a fried egg to top it all off and of course the ale is mandatory!!

We have went to the breakfast and it was not that bad if you spend  10 or 15 dollars for food, you get 3 cents off in fule and 5 cents if you spend more for a month. If you are staying overnight it is verry nice. Also after getting 75 gallons of gas they would not let me pay fo my Java cup refiled. I know it is not much but where else do you get all these discounts . We plan our trips to stop at there fule stops.

We have eaten at the Flying J by New Caney, the mashed potatoes and gravy was good, didn't care for much of anything else.  It was just ok.

This trip we stopped for breakfast at Dairy Queen and got their breakfast tacos with sausage and egg topped with salsa a couple of mornings, cereal a couple of mornings in house.  Now those were good.  I also got some Lean Cuisines, had a couple of those.  One morning, those sausages in a roll at a bakery.

We took already prepared oriental I had made for one night, packaged red beans with sausage I put in, not again, will make the red beans from scratch and freeze them. One evening Blackbeards at Corpus, the seafood was good, seafood places are already starting to have issues from the oil spill. Rethinking cooking, I forgot to take my long lighter deal for the oven so couldn't light the pilot light.  Forgot a skillet, finally bought one and I have so many here.  Way down south there wasn't around a Walmart and wasn't searching for one after getting off a limited access highway once, pain in the tail, I know better.

As an ex over-the-road truck driver, I can say with some assurance that the main attraction -- food wise -- to any truck stop type place is the simple fact that it has enough room to fuel, park, and turn around a big rig.  Shop elsewhere for food, other than breakfast, and breakfast is hard to screw up no matter where you get it.

I still recall <ahem> fondly, suffering from food poisoning for 3 days, laying in my sleeper and puking out the window, after eating at one particular truck stop in the Blue Ridge Park area. 

Some of the Flying J Truck Stops have closed their restaurants for economic reasons. The company has been going through a reorganization. Their resaurants, in most locations, have never been great.
I guess each of us has our own perceptions of what a restaurant should be. My wife and I, ranchers all of our life, agree that good American food it what we like. Our fiirst choice when traveling is the Cracker Barrel when we eat out. We sometimes stop at Denny's also. We never stop at many of the "fancy" restaurants that many others like, simply because we don't like the Italian, French, Oriental, etc cooking. A good healthy American meal of Beef with potatoes and vegetables for supper, Eggs with Sausage and grits, pancakes, fried apples, etc for breakfast, all with plenty of Cowboy Coffee suits us just fine.

Never eaten in their restaurants but oh do DW and I love the big cookies you can buy in their stores ! 

The big deal with a lot of chain restaurants (like Cracker Barrel and Denny's, plus truck stops, for instance) is that they buy their food in a can or box and just heat it up.  I greatly prefer real home-cooked food, but that is REALLY tough to find on the road. 

As to genre of food, I like all sorts of different dishes.  Recently we've been trying out some Middle Eastern fare, and it is some REAL good food.  Tabbouleh (bulgar wheat, green onions, parsley, garlic, lemon, seasonings), smoked and fire-grilled skewers, meat of your choice, w/veggies, and a few of their other dishes are worth finding.  We're making a big bowl full of Tabbouleh right now for supper.  If you are ever in the Louisville area, check out Shiraz Mediterranean Grill.  Worth however long it takes to get there!  http://www.shirazmg.com/menu.htm

We're also really fond of BD's Mongolian Grill.  There, you take a good-sized bowl, fill it with whatever turns you on (steak and potatoes if that's what you like!), anything from shrimp to fish to steak to vegetarian choices, top it with vegetables, add a sauce and seasonings (everything from bar-b-que sauce to hot and spicy oriental) and they grill it right in front of you.  REALLY good meal, and a fun place to try.  The flavor and type of food is whatever you decide to stick in your bowl.  http://www.gomongo.com/

We stopped at Lambert's Cafe -- "Home of the Throwed Rolls" on our way back from Missouri.  What a fun place.  Good food, and PLENTY.  Whatever you order from the menu will be enough to feed you for another meal at least, then they walk around with extra side orders that they just scoop onto your plate (no extra charge).  Want a dinner roll?  Hold up your hand and get ready.  They'll toss one from across the room.  ;D  I'd stop there again in a heartbeat.  http://www.throwedrolls.com/shopcontent.asp?type=Tour

I've sort of fallen out of love with Cracker Barrel.  We tend to search out Mom and Pop places instead.  They're still around, but take some searching.  The new apps on smart phones help in that regard.  Other places, like Mc.D's are off entirely unless that is the only choice.  I'm having a hard time finding actual food in some of those sort of places...  Mc.D's advertises that all of its beef is 100% pure.  Of course it is, but that isn't the only ingredient in a patty...  :  Arbys -- ever (ever) cook roast beef that didn't have a lick of gristle in it once in a while?  Leads me to believe that there is no real meat involved in their roast beef sandwiches. 

Anyway, the best meals are when we pull up to a camp site and get the fire started.  Hard to beat that!  ;D