I am stationed in Honduras and have a week of leave coming up. Normal people would use it to visit family and friends; I am using it to eat my way across Central Texas. Flying into Houston. Like to concentrate on BBQ and road food, and have built an itinerary around the hiking I will be doing, too. What think ye, fellow foodies, about this itinerary? I have some questions in there, too....If any local foodies want to meet up the week of May 19 at any of these places, that'd be great too!

Arrive in Houston
Dinner in Houston at Lankford Grocery, 88 Dennis Street, Houston
Good breakfast between Houston and Lockhart?? Stop for Kolache in La Grange/ Round Top for pies?
Lunch in Lockhart at Kreuz and Smittys (prime rib)
Dinner in Elgin at Southside for sausage
Best breakfast in Austin ??
Lunch at Hoovers in Austin
Dinner at Uchiko, 4200 North Lamar Austin, Texas 78756
Breakfast between Austin and Enchanted Rock State Natural Area (2 hour drive) ???
Lunch in Hill Country Cupboard, Johnson City
Dinner in Driftwood at the Salt Lick
Anything good for breakfast in Dripping Springs????
Anything good for lunch in Johnson City, Texas, or near???
Dinner in San Antonio at Chris Madrid’s
San Antonio in AM/ Taco House for breakfast
Lunch at City Market in Luling, Texas
Dinner at Houston at Goode Co Texas BBQ

Thanks to all of you barbageniuses. The trip was an absolute success for everyone (including my cardiologist, who will probably be able to retire on my medical needs after this weekend). I stuck largely to Naco's suggestions and Jesco's itinerary, starting out early at B's in Greenville, arriving there from DC around 11 to find an already packed out house (much like my favorite BBQ joint in the universe, Craig's in De Valls Bluff, Arkansas, which usually is jammed by 10:45). The chicken there was the best I've ever had- crispy and flavorful outside and a sponge of juice on the interior. We had a second lunch at Skylight, which was also amazing- big chunks of skin and gelatinous goodness in the pork, and that cornbread was something ethereal. Almost tasted like hardened corn pudding. We then went to Grady's, which was good but not on the par of the first two places (it may be that my friend and I were literally about to explode). I did find room for banana pudding there, which was freezing and refreshing (you are in rough shape if pudding is refreshing). We took a few hours off and then went to Wilber's for dinner, were we arrived on the later side, as it was winding down, which meant we got a lot of attention from the folks working there, who were wonderful, as was the Q and the fried chicken livers. My friend was enamored with the chicken, although it was a little too cream of mushroom soupy for me. I stuck with the tangy cue. The next day, on the way back up north, we stopped at Blackbeard's. It looked a little too Key West for me to take seriously, so I scoffed a bit and suspended disbelief to place a big order of cue, mustard greens salad and blueberry cobbler with banana ice cream. I am glad I did, because the blissful memory of it was enough to get me through all the traffic I faced coming home.

I am about to be deployed overseas and this was in many ways a goodbye meal for the American food I so dearly love. Thanks so much, my friends, for guiding me along the way.

Hello, Chowies! I am taking a roadtrip with a buddy, driving down Saturday morning to NC from DC, to spend about 36 hours eating Q. Thought about starting with lunch at Parker's in Wilson, NC, but was a little let down on my last visit there. Will be spending the night in Raleigh, but have all day Saturday and most of Sunday to eat Q. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance, Wise Ones.

I typically avoid buffets, especially when I am in a geographic region where there is not a lot of competition among restaurants. On a recent trip to Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania (70 miles or so east of Pittsburg), we were searching in the rolling hills for a lunch spot and came across the visually unassuming Oakhurst Tea Room, a place serving an American "smorgasboard" since 1933 in Somerset County, PA. I was intrigued. The lunch was ridiculously inexpensive - $8, with a great spread that did not spare expensive. The bread was freshly baked, and served with homemade maple butter and apple butter. The chicken noodle soup had home-made, thick cut egg noodles, and the salad had a few interesting items like pickled eggs, and a variety of unique salads. The hot food featured this delicious roasted chicken (I ordered, extra, a waffle, to replicate the dish that Granny Baker founded the restaurant on in 1933. There was also stuffing, incredible baked beans, roasted ham and cabbage with pork. The desserts were all homemade, including something local called Gob Cake and a bunch of cookies and other pastries. The quality of the food rivals any buffet I've had, and the price was spectacular. Can't vouch for the dinner or the seafood buffet, but the manager- with whom I spoke- had enough pride in the place that I bet those will be good, too. A definitely pleasant surprise!

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Oakhurst Tea Room
2409 Glades Pike, Somerset, PA 15501

Just returned from a wonderful week in Truro, on the Outer Cape. I brought with me a Mitchener novel and a desire to push the bounds of gastronomic consumption to the limit.

Dinners:
Most of the gluttony took place in private, as we nightly ordered gigantic lobsters from Mac's Seafood, which they steamed for us. Large ones (four pounds and up) were $6.99 per pound. Steaming (and really poor customer service) was complementary. Lobsters were amazing. They close, along with everything else it seems, at six, and have branches in Wellfleet, Truro and North Eastham.

Lunch:
We tried a few different places, which all had redeeming things. The clam chowder at the Lobster Pot in Provincetown stood out and still haunts my dreams (although the lobster roll there was depressing). The best fried clams were at Arnold's, in Eastham, which looked like a Golden Corral and discouraged me at first. The fried clams were greaseless and exploded like little pockets of briny sweetness. I also had the best lobster roll of my life at Arnold's, and if you can splurge, the "ginormous" one will restore your faith in humanity (a picture of half of it is attached). The fried scallops looked spectacular, but I was running out of arteries. We also had spectacular ice cream at Nausset Ice Cream in Eastham.

Breakfast:
We hit the jackpot the first day and didn't deviate. PB Boulangerie Bistro is a French bakery in Wellfleet that can stand up to the best in Paris. The chocolate almond croissant, white chocolate souffle, whole grain bread and apricot danish were spectacular each on separate mornings, I promise).

PS- We took a day trip into Boston, and went to a North End institution called Daily Catch, recommended by a savvy friend. The squid ink pasta putanesca was spectacular and I vowed never to eat again (until I crossed the street and wolfed down some cannoli at Mike's Pastries).

Thanks, Milt. You folks are proving all those cliches about Southern hospitality happen to be 100% accurate.

God, I love Chowhound. Buckner's sounds absolutely perfect, and if we drive through at dinner time, perfect. Dreamland and Swallow are very intriguing- where is the Q superior?
As far as breakfast, 30-45 minutes for something good and Dillard House-esque would be great. (I should say that this breakfast detour will cost me extended and crazy family time, so there's an added benefit :) )

My wife, father and I will be road-tripping from Miami to Duluth (any recs along the way appreciated, too) and will be there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Would love a recommendation for a Friday night BBQ joint and a Saturday AM breakfast Southern breakfast. A little driving is ok (I wanted to go to the Dillard House, but was voted down because it's too far), since the Atlanta area is huge.

Please, please, please give me your wise counsel.