While driving on the I-95, the big sign for Maryland House kept wiggling its index finger at me doing one of those “Come-on in, come-on in…” gestures. OK, it was past lunch time, and I was hungry.
I had packed a small cooler of healthier choices for the road; yogurt, fruit, trail mix…; but I could not resist having a biscuit from the famous French road trip rest stop food purveyor, Roy Rogers (pronunciation: Roy Ro-Jay). Hey, it is not one of the better biscuits around. Its small hockey puck dimensions pack enough fat and cholesterol to block a few blood vessels to your heart; but it’s tasty and I wanted one.
I have a soft spot for the Roy Ro-Jay food. When I was in college, it provided some of a more tastier and healthier (just let me bathe in this fantasy, ok?) options among the sea of non-inspiring fast food restaurants that lined the road between my apartment and the classroom. I remember walking into Roy’s and ordering a roast beef sandwich from the cashier in funny looking faux-western outfit. I then piled on the lettuce, tomato and pickles from the fixins-bar, or some good tasting fried chicken, followed by a sundae (Softserve on a biscuit. The sweetness of the ice cream with the saltiness and texture of the biscuit was heavenly). Roy was also one of the pioneers that had a salad bar as an option at that time; and I loved the availability of BBQ sauce, horseradish sauce, and ketchup that I used as dipping sauces for my fries.
Although I have wised up in my eating habits, I still carry a sense of sadness when Marriott decided to close all the Roy’s in the area and neglect them to just roadside service plazas. Yes, I do sneak a biscuit, a piece of fried chicken, or a roast beef sandwich with lettuce, tomato and pickles piled high from time to time when the occasion arises.
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