When was the last time you were at a truck stop? I mean, a real truck stop.
A while back when I was asking for recommendations for diners the HH and I could visit in Maine, someone recommended we check out Dysart’s Restaurant & Truck Stop just outside of Bangor.
The HH and I LOVE going on breakfast dates, and especially ones that are in old diners because there is almost always a sort of old school feel to them and you feel like you’ve been transported back in time a bit to the way things were when you were growing up.
A truck stop diner! I mean where else can you get a walking cane…
A jacket…
A new set of clothes AND a shower if you need one…
A mirror for your truck…
Scratch tickets…
See an truck from 1928…
And get a hot meal all in one place? Seriously, what’s not to love?
The HH ordered an omelet and hash browns. 🙂 I didn’t know truckers had their own version of “hash browns”. Now I do. 🙂
French toast, bacon and eggs. Mmm Mmm Good!
But it gets even better!
A few miles from Dysart’s Truck Stop is Stephen King’s place.
And around the corner from Stephen’s place, is the massive Paul Bunyan statue.
Maine, what’s not to love. 🙂
Do you have a favorite diner, or have you discovered a new place to eat lately? I’d love to hear about it.
Have a good one,
~Mavis
Dysart’s Restaurant & Truck Stop
530 Coldbrook Rd
Hermon, ME 04401
Lana says
Granny’s Kitchen in Inman, SC. A hole in the wall place with good food and good coffee.
Fruitland Park Diner in Fruitland Park, FL was my parents favorite diner. Dad passed away two years ago and Mom is in a nursing home now but it is still the same. Only five tables so the locals share tables with complete strangers and it is so much fun to meet new people. The coffee is only 25 cents and the menu is an entrée choice and then a dozen sides that you pick three including a fruit salad option and wonderful sourdough toast. The food is really good home cooking. When they saw Mom and Dad pull in someone always went out to get my Dad’s walker out of the car and help him inside and then helped him back to the car after breakfast. Where can you find great people like that?
Gina says
Oh Lana!
I grew up in Fruitland Park, FL and my parents still live there! Awww! Its very special to me. I will check out the diner when I head down for a visit. 25 cents for coffee? I better tell my dad! Might be right up his alley!
Actually looking at the menu above referencing “Ruth” who worked at Dysart’s truckstop /diner reminded me that my own grandmother used to cook at a Phillips 66 truckstop in Fruitland Park when WHOA… I saw your comment about the Fruitland Park Diner!
Small world sometimes, isn’t it?
Thanks for sharing!
Elle says
Last Saturday we tried a new place. It’s been around at least 15y though. It was AWESOME and prices were low for today’s costs of doing business. OMG I could go there every single day it was soooooo good! Sadly, it’s just 3 miles from home so I may gain weight 😉
Erin says
Iowa has the world’s largest truck stop on I-80. It’s got a restaurant with a pretty good breakfast. And a trucking museum. Its actually worth stopping at!
Linda Sand says
When we were living in an RV we ate at lots of truck stops. We also checked out a bunch of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives recommended places. Some good food out there. Hated, though, when one gas station brand changed to Denny’s. Slowest service in the world. Truckers don’t have time for that.
Margery says
Henry’s Diner in Afton NY, our old town and if you go regularly the waitress just brings you your drinks and asks if you want the same as last time for breakfast. It’s where the old guys hang out drinking coffee until the hardware store opens for the day and they serve liver and onions one day a week. The same town also has a great coffee place for the fancy coffee, and a bakery with the best desserts and so much more all on one main street.
Cindy Brick says
We just got back from a long slog — from Michigan to Arizona, then up to Colorado. Truck stops are a normal occurrence if you’re pulling a fifth-wheel. They often have the best prices on diesel, and they also have DEF. (If you don’t keep this topped up on the truck, the system shuts down — or just lets you crawl down the road. Ask me how I know.)
If you like truck stops, you need to try Johnson’s Corner, between Denver and Fort Collins on I-25. They have good food, amazing HUGE cinnamon rolls — and, of all things, huge doughnuts as well. (And the doughnuts aren’t greasy, either.) Plus, it’s haunted — the waitstaff is very matter-of-fact about it. Try my book GHOSTS AND LEGENDS OF COLORADO’S FRONT RANGE, if you want to know more.
Cindy says
Wow, that is a really cool place to go for breakfast. The food looks yummy.
Mary says
I grew up in NB, and my truck driving brother in law always stopped at Dysart’s on his way back home. And the prices on that menu? Wow, about 1/2 what we’d be paying here in BC now. If you are in Bangor, stop at the police station and visit the Duck of Justice. It’s a thing… famous on the Bangor Police Dept face book page.
LindaT says
I like truck stops! My brother used to live in Bangor area, so we’ve seen Stephen Kings “batty” place. His son lives in the house on the right.
I miss Maine.
Terena says
Oh dear, for a minute I thought you meant Dysart, Saskatchewan! That’s a looong way to drive for a breakfast date! Plus it’s enjoying a 3 day snowstorm at the moment, dubbed “the storm of the century”… haven’t we already had several of those here in Saskatchewan this year?! Thanks for including us in your daily adventures, Mavis. Appreciate it.
J says
I love truck stops! Especially older, smaller ones! Two movies: Bus Stop and They Drive by Night, from 1940s-50s, feature them!
They seem to be disappearing fast, turning into cold corporate chains, so treasure them!
Amber says
Growing up, my Dad would take us to a truck stop for breakfast on the weekends that we were with him. They had a menu, classic diner food, but they also had that glorious food on a buffet and I thought it was THE greatest thing. The food was delicious, but I don’t know how I feel about a buffet as an adult haha.
Now, we hit up a few local restaurants that have diner-style food when we want to go for breakfast, and I almost always get a skillet.