Dinner off the turnpike

Likely many Lake Placid postings to come, but we'll start with dinner on Thursday night en route to Drew's in Buffalo from Shea and Ellen's in Hartford. Tiffani had been referring to the Road Food book borrowed from mom and dad, and our timing -- hunger -- and geography -- a restaurant anywhere nearby -- hadn't worked out until this point. All of us are big fans of hot dogs, but one cannot expect white linen service at a hot dog joint, and Heid's didn't surprise: picnic tables, overflowing trash, and self service. The ordering is simple enough, reminding me of the old days of eating with Aunt Ginny at the MSU Union: grab a tray, queue up and order, slide down the line to retrieve everything, dress it out. The problem with Heid's came from the (small) dining room lying where one enters the restaurant, and before where the ordering takes place. Thus, The Belknap Turner 6, whose kids were stuck in van seats for the previous 300 miles, and all of their trays were forced to negotiate back through a narrow corridor stocked with hungry hot dog fans to get to the seating.

The beans were ordinary, and likely had been on the warmer too long. The hot dogs for the adults, called Texas Hots, were snappy and more spiced than standard franks, and Tiff got hers with a good, dry coney sauce; the kids got normal dogs. The onion rings were reputed to be beer battered and hand made, and they didn't disappoint. The mustard was homemade, darker than a typical yellow mustard, and fun. Delightfully, Saranac beer was also on tap, which came in handy.

We're also enjoying experimenting with the camera's timer, and the gymnastics involved in the 10 second sprint around obstacles.