Judge
Vardigan
Summer
2002
Michigan | Illinois | Wisconsin | Minnesota | South
Dakota
Montana | Idaho | Washington | Oregon
Idaho
 I
wasn't in Idaho very long, nor was I in very much of it. Kind of passed
through the top tip of it. But I did spend a night there, in the Coeur
d'Alene Motel 6, watching my Boston Red Sox get routed by the Seattle
Mariners in a game I recognize now as the beginning of their traditional
late summer swoon. I like Motel 6 because of that guy in the radio commercials
and because they allow pets at all locations. I like the idea of someone
leaving the light on for me, although the light in Room 227 was decidedly
not on when I walked in. At the hour I arrived there was nothing really
open in Coeur d'Alene, at least nothing I had the energy to find. So it
was there that I made my only fast food visit of the trip.
Leaving my Red Sox
flailing on the teevee, I walked across the parking lot, ice bucket in
hand, to Arby's. American's Roast Beef Yes Sir. They were just about to
close, meaning I narrowly avoided a dinner of vending machine donuts.
And ice. The thing that's not so great about Motel 6 is that most of them
have only one ice machine and it's down in the lobby, not in a special
little room on your hall where you can seek out its distant whir, kind
of like you search out a hotel pool by following the chlorine smell.
It was just me and
some kid in line at closing time. He was ordering food for his mother
and their well-groomed poodle who waited outside, staring in, framed by
neon and a "5 Roast Beefs for $5.95" sign. (Remember it used
to be $5, straight up. "Fast Food: The Golden Era." Over now.)
I ordered before him but my order took way longer. I watched them walk
back to the Motel 6 with the poodle jumping at the Arby's bag and the
mother scolding.
When my order came
up they asked if I wanted to carry it away in my ice bucket. I guess they
were having a little fun with the last customer of the night. It was a
pretty good joke. We all laughed for a while and I walked back across
the lot to the ice machine to watch the beautiful cubes tumble down and
then to my room where Boston had fallen three more runs behind. This gave
Arby's a bad taste. Their chicken fingers, which I'd not tried previously,
are pretty bad. Especially the ranch dressing. Has that chemical taste.
I switched to dipping in Horsey Sauce, but not even that could save them.
I love Horsey Sauce. The Arby's Super Roast Beef, which has tomato and
lettuce, unlike the standard Roast Beef, was quite good. Arby's is in
the upper tier of fast food, in my opinion. Jamocha shakes are always
a winner, and they have the delicious potato cakes, unique among fast
food venues. (The potato cakes did not taste different in Idaho than in
other states less known for their potatoes.) If fast food's your only
option, Arby's is a smart pick.
Michigan | Illinois | Wisconsin | Minnesota | South
Dakota
Montana | Idaho | Washington | Oregon
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