Trucking Across America as a Food Guy


Episode 017- If your only knowledge of what big rig truckers do is informed by Smokey and the Bandit and Convoy, you’ll find that the stereotype of hard living, hell raisers is largely inaccurate.

In Tom Kyrk’s blog, Road Tested Living, he shares his life living as a trucker.  Those adventures include being part of the trucker’s food culture, and, yes, there is a trucker’s food culture. This includes not only eating at diners and truck stops.  It also means cooking in the close quarters of the back of one’s rig.  In this episode you’ll learn how that happens. You’ll also get Tom’s recommendations of excellent places around the country to grab some grub.  He also talks about a cookbook for truckers that he coauthored called The Rolling Kitchen Cookbook. Since they are working on the website, if that link doesn’t work, try this link to get recipes.

If you’d like to reach out directly to Tom Kyrk, you can email him at roadtestedliving@gmail.com or go to his Facebook page.

Some of the locations that Tom mentioned:

Uncle Pete’s (Lebanon, Tennessee)

Clinton Station Diner (Clinton, New Jersey)

Iowa 80 Truckstop. (Walcott, Iowa)

TA, Harrisburg (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) 

Dixie’s (McLean, Illinois)

Mo Griddlers (Bronx, New York) (Closed)

Frattelli’s Pizza (Bronx, New York)

Peto’s (Louisiana)

Tiger Truck Stop (Louisiana)

Jubitz (Portland, Oregon)

Red’s Tavern (Massachusetts) 

Resources for truckers:  Truckers Haven and Cooking on the Truck

The Guys and Food newsletter gives you delicious recipes, helpful kitchen hacks, and other things that any food guy will find useful. Some of the things in the newsletter will be exclusive, which means it won’t make it on the podcast or blog. Sign up for the newsletter, you’ll be glad that you did! (Don’t worry, your contact information will never be sold or made available to any other person or organization.)

Remember to subscribe to the Guys and Food podcast in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Tunein Radio.  In social media you can find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Please feel free to reach out with your questions or comments.  You can do that by clicking on the Contact button, email me at gabe@ guysandfood.com, or call the listener line at 716-427-GUYS (4897).