Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Feasting on Asphalt: The Lost Road

When Alton Brown says that you will never see anything worth stopping for on the Interstate he may be close to the mark, but then again there may be things you don't want to get caught up in on the back roads.  I ran across this article on Yahoo news this morning about a town having to institute a 24 hour curfew; apparently they are plagued by drug deals and random violence from assault rife toting criminals.  The town is Helena-West Helena in Arkansas.  I sat for a minute trying to figure out why that sounded so familiar.

Finally it hit me; wasn't that where the drive-through donut shop was in Feasting on Asphalt?  Or was it Ray's Dairy Maid?  I'm pretty sure that was one of those.  Whether I remember the correct place or not, it is an interesting additional perspective on Alton Brown's Mississippi journey.  It serves as a reminder that while it can be a great experience to hop off the freeway and explore some new territory, you might not find exactly what you are looking for.  Living near Detroit I know this all too well.  You had better know what exit you need to take to your destination in that city or you might end up on some street where the locals are hostile to you.

Here's a link to the Yahoo article

2 comments:

katie said...

ray's dairy maid was the stop in helena (or west helena). i drove by it a couple days ago.

Anonymous said...

don't judge our area by just one incident.. nice area.. Rays's Dairy Maid is located in Barton, Arkansas... we have seen many visitors in the last 2 years.. thanks to Alton Brown... Most return to visit again.. we might be small be we serve good food with lots of friendly talk.