Hot off the press:
Drive I-95, 3rd Annual Edition
Some tidbits:

Everyone has to eat, and road trips can become delicious if you know the secret local spots for good food. While logging the miles between Boston and Florida and back multiple times to research their book, “Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info Maps History and Trivia,” Stan Posner and Sandra Phillips-Posner preferred not to eat at the generic eateries but rather sought out more interesting choices. Some of their discoveries shared in “Drive I-95″ (http://www.drivei95.com) follow.

  • Since coffee is a must have on the road, the Posners not only chart every Starbucks at exits, but they introduce you to Wawa, which has been around over 100 years ago. It has very attractive coffee prices; bring in your own mug and they will refill it for only $.69 for a 10 oz size. The coffee is brewed every 20 minutes and comes in original, dark roast, decaf, and cappuccino as well as flavors like Irish cream, hazelnut and fat-free French vanilla or apple cinnamon. Wawa’s gas prices are great too.
  • Food and fun can go together if you stop at the Strike Zone bowling alley in Brunswick, GA and sample their lip-smacking barbequed chicken; or check out the re-vamped JC Penneys in Florence, SC, now Redbone Alley, an indoor two-story Charleston street scene complete with balcony seating, an ice cream truck with FREE samples, an arcade and a play space for toddlers. Enjoy the cheesy grits mixed with strips of ham, mushrooms, spicy shrimp and chicken, or try the cajun fried quail.
  • At Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson in New Castle, DE, you can browse through the showroom and climb aboard the Harleys, and then stop for a bite of food at their grill. Down in Richmond, VA, you can wax nostalgic at the River City Diner with its 50′s decor, including a juke box, Howdy Doody on the wall, a TV airing the Dick Van Dyke Show, and stools and a counter for your malts. They’re known for breakfasts which are served all day (seafood omelet with crab, shrimp, tomatoes, scallions and two cheeses or banana pecan pancakes), and the signature Rochester Garbage plate (hot dogs, chili, cheese, baked beans, home fries, cole slaw and potato salad). They offer a “cruise-in and carry-out” service, where you can call in your order from the road and they will bring it out to your car. You can check out the menu online ahead of time and order from an exit away.
  • Gadsby’s Tavern was on the main stagecoach route between Boston and Williamsburg. Open since 1785, the tavern was the center of political, business and social life in Alexandria, VA. George (his favorite duck is on the menu) and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and his son John Quincy, James Madison, James Monroe and the Marquis de Lafayette all dined here.
  • The mind-numbing monotony of driving on a highway all day comes to a wonderful halt as you pass through the 103-year-old grand-columned portico of Abingdon Manor in Latte, SC, into a world of gracious dining and elegant surroundings, rated by AAA as 4-diamonds for both. Upon arrival you are offered a complimentary sherry in front of a warming fire. Breakfast and dinner are served on silver, crystal and china surrounded by fresh flowers and soothing jazz. In the style of a private dinner party, there is one set meal each day.
  • People have been making a pit stop for 90-years at Furlong’s Cottage Candies in Walpole, MA, for the famous stemmed cherries dipped into fondant and then milk or dark chocolate. They offer 18 different cream centers (including pineapple, ice cream drop, pistachio, marshmallow, and coconut) or chocolate-covered apricots, orange peel, brazil nuts, ginger and prunes. People who love hard and chewy candy will enjoy molasses sponge, peanut butter bolsters and caramash. Sugar-free treats are also available here, and most everything can be shipped home.
  • Wooster Street in New Haven, CT, is famous for Frank Pepe’s clam pizza and for other Italian joints on the street,
    but a lesser-known and more comprehensive Italian food selection can be found in the Federal Hill area of Providence, RI. Discover family-style Italian food the way momma would have made it. For an inexpensive meal head to Angelo’s Civita Farnese, where the third generation is still cooking up escarole & beans, baked pork chops, and veal & peppers sandwiches. Perfect for a road trip stop are Venda Ravioli’s prepared dishes-to-go: rolled eggplant, stuffed portobello mushrooms, frittata, arancine and lobster ravioli. For dessert at Scialo Bros. Bakery (open since 1917), the daughters Carol and Lois are baking the sfogliatelle, anise slices, cassata cake, tiramisu and torrones.
  • Beyond the scrumptious food, “Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia” is a new style map-guide offering 102 simple exit-by-exit 30-mile North or South maps which help anyone on the road enjoy a stress-free drive. In addition to detailed exit information (gas stations, motels, pet accommodations, radar traps, radio stations, ATM machines, golf courses, auto mechanics and shopping), there are 90 pages of stories about offbeat museums, parks, walking towns and places for kids to play so you know where to stop and have fun along the way. Passengers can read the book aloud for entertainment as you drive so everyone can learn about history that happened on the road. Find out about the Alexander Hamilton/Aaron Burr duel in NJ, the four errors in the Declaration of Independence, and how explorer Giovanni de Verrazano got gobbled up by cannibals.
  • So for the 42,500,000 people who drive to Florida every year and have to eat somewhere – not to mention all the others who drive some section of I-95 daily or regularly-bypass the plastic food franchises on your travels and try a taste of each locale. The U.S. is really not one homogeneous food melting pot. From Florida to Boston the shopping/food strips may all look the same, with fast food signs glaring down at you, but the Posners found that it is still possible to ferret out unique and yummy food in each area.
  • Did you know?
    Both hamburgers and pizza were invented in New Haven, CT? There is American caviar, and you can buy it at Walter’s Caviar in Darien, GA ? At Sonic drive-ins, you can still get your meals delivered to your car by roller-skating servers ? RIers drink coffee flavored “cabinets”; try one at Modern Diner in Providence ? In VA, you can stock up on greatly discounted Russell Stover chocolates at their outlet store ? At the Culinary Archives & Museum in RI, you can find rare cookbooks, cruise ship menus, the evolution of the stove, and the history of the eating habits of our Presidents. You will also delight in Morris Nathanson’s neon/stainless diner decor ? In 1897, in Camden County, NJ, “condensed” soup was cooked and then canned, eventually becoming the famous Campbell’s Soup Learn all this and more in “Drive I-95.”

Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia is published by Travelsmart, Roxboro, Quebec; available through Partners, Baker & Taylor.
It is available at bookstores nationwide, at online bookstores, by calling 888-GUIDE95 (888-484-3395) or at www.drivei95.com.