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Adventurous travelers from every part of the globe have traveled the back roads of central Utah just to enjoy a deep-fried scone at Mom's Café in Salina.
This 83-year-old restaurant can thank Jane and Michael Stern, authors of Two for the Road: Our Love Affair with American Food for its international fame.
More than a decade ago, America's first couple of road food made a trip to Utah, stopping at Mom's, the Tree Room at Sundance, Hires Big H and Lamb's Café in downtown Salt Lake City.
They wrote about their experiences in books and on their Web site, www.roadfood.com, introducing the rest of the world to Utah's culinary gems. And,
"There's not a night that goes by that this place isn't surrounded by vehicles with non-resident license plates," said Fred Pannunzio, the retired game warden who became owner of Mom's Café about a year ago. "That's what I like about this place -- visiting with the people that have traveled a long way."
The Sterns will return to Utah on Saturday to talk about their three decades of American dining as part of the Salt Lake City Library's Dewey Lecture Series.
With apologies to Guy Fieri of Food Network fame, the Sterns were the original finders of America's diners, drive-ins and dives. Besides their books and Web site, they also write Gourmet magazine's monthly column "Two for the Road."
Andrew Shaw, a spokesman for the library, said the Sterns will give a lighthearted touch to the author series, which is usually dominated by business leaders and politicians. "They have an entertaining approach to food and places and the eclectic people that serve it," he said.
On this Utah trip, the Sterns hope to find some new Utah gems along the Wasatch Front. They also are planning a return visit
"At the time, we thought it was weird," Michael Stern said during a recent telephone interview. They were enlightened after readers explained that the ketchup, mayonnaise and spice mixture is a dip for french fries.
Road food, as the Sterns explain it, is a great regional meal found on a quiet highway, a small town or a neighborhood. It's informal and relatively inexpensive. And a person doesn't need a reservation or fancy clothes to feel comfortable.
"We are looking for food that expresses the people and place," said Stern, who said finding good road food requires people to slow down and take a detour off the superhighways. They need to look around and see where all the cars are parked, ask locals where to eat and, if all else fails, "roll down the car windows and inhale."
"You can usually smell ham sizzling, biscuits or pie coming out of the oven, or good barbecue from half a mile away," he said.
It was a tip from a reader that led the Sterns to Mom's Café in the 1990s. Back then, the couple had seen versions of the deep-fried bread in other parts of the country, namely beignets in New Orleans and sopapillas in the Southwest. But the Utah version stuck with them. The couple even put it on their list of "500 things to eat before it's too late."
"In Utah, they have taken it to the extreme," he said. "They do the most with it and make it into something kind of interesting."
That's good news for Pannunzio, at Mom's. He has kept the same menu, recipes and staff of the original owner Carolyn Jensen, who left in August 2008. She died of a heart attack earlier this year.
"I'd be an idiot to change anything," he said.
The Sterns would probably agree.
American's first couple of road food, Jane and Michael Stern, will talk about their three decades of American dining Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 E. 400 South. The discussion, part of the library's ongoing Dewey Lecture series begins at 7p.m. in the auditorium.
Free tickets are still available at all City Library locations.
The Sterns are the authors of Two for the Road: Our Love Affair with American Food; Gourmet magazine's monthly column "Two for the Road"; and the popular travel Web site, www.roadfood.com.
