We’ve been thinking of ways to better explain the difference between a recommendation and a review, and we’ve decided that the best way to do that is by example. In short a review is when you do the work to find a great restaurant by

reading lots of stuff whereas a recommendation is when we do that work for you. Still we needed a grandiose way to demonstrate that point and we think we have it.

This past weekend we needed to test out some of the feasibility of this adventure that will demonstrate the power of recommendations, and so after a day at work and a computer science graduate course, on Friday I set off from Kent Ohio to Houlton Main (the eastern border with Canada). This was a 35 hour / 2000 mile weekend trip that was a test of driving endurance and a good way to further refine preparations for something much bigger. Based on this test I am very confident that most of my initial plans are reasonable.

So what are we doing?

On May 22nd, I will set off across America in search of great food. I will visit every state (including Alaska and Hawaii) over the course of just under 40 days. With several exceptions for famous restaurants, I will only use Foodio54’s recommendation engine to find a place to eat. I will use the recommendation system at least once per state and then rate and review whatever I encounter.

I’m still finalizing the route, so we’ll have more details later, but I’ll be updating the website and twittering as much as possible along the way.

The trip over the weekend was just a test and was not meant to be a strict example of the “big trip” and included more continuous driving than is planned (at least for the New England area). Really I was worried that multiple double digit hour driving days would be too exhausting, but it turns out that it was actually kind of fun.

Here’s how the test trip went down:

Friday at 5pm, I departed from Kent towards Danbury, CT. After a few hours of driving I decided to give the recommendation system its first try around Mercer, PA. Up came a recommendation that I would like the Iron Bridge Inn, so after a quick jog off of I-80 I found my way there. At first I was surprised that the place, which was kind of off the beaten path, was totally packed, later I’d find out why. Given the opportunity to wait 30 minutes or eat at the bar, I opted for the bar to get back on the road faster. The bartended was very friendly and recommended (see how I don’t even need to waste time reading the menu when I get a recommendation) the prime rib, so I got a 12oz of that with rice of the side. This prime rib was absolutely fantastic! It was very juicy and they cooked my medium rare request to perfection. So overall, great food, great staff, and great atmosphere (including the actual iron bridge next to the restaurant where it got its name). No need to read reviews, Foodio54’s recommendation system sent me straight to this out of the way gem.

Now that I was totally stuffed I headed back onto I-80 to Danbury, arriving at about 3:00am (eating did eat up more time than I expected). I’m not a big breakfast person, so for this trip I opted to skip breakfast and got back on the road a little before 10am. I decided to stop for lunch in Haverhill, MA, and the recommendation system picked Mediterranean Pizza & Subs. I ordered the “Italian Bomb” and then made the mistake of deciding that I could eat this on the road. After I got the sandwich unwrapped, it was obvious that this was a disaster waiting to happen, so I pulled over to eat. I’m not usually a fan of things with chopped tomatoes, but this was excellent. It was a sub with all sorts of meats and cheese, mixed with mushrooms and hot peppers with tomatoes on top, and was absolutely wonderful (even the tomatoes).

The next task was, for no particular reason to get to Houlton, Maine. Originally the plan was to drive to Denver, however with the bad snowstorms forecasted I switched to Maine, and the only way to get the approximate distance was to drive all the way to the eastern Canadian border. Once I got there I basically just turned around back through the wilderness in search of some seafood. The recommendations for Houlton for me were all 3 stars, which told me to move on. I was able to make it down to Bangor, Maine, and I stopped at the Weathervane Restaurant. I decided (foolishly) on the Haddock. It was pretty good, but everyone has given me grief for not ordering lobster in Maine (I’ll fix this o the big trip). The fish was actually very good, it was extremely fresh and so soft that a fork could easily break it apart with absolutely no effort.

I was then back on the road and headed for Berlin, NH. I went to college in very rural Ohio, however, this route was absolutely let’s just say very out there. My GPS system took me through all sorts of back roads and eventually led me to my final destination in New Hampshire by about 1am. The next morning I was on the road by about 9am headed back to Ohio.

For lunch I was trying to get a recommendation for somewhere in Vermont, however I was close enough to the New Hampshire border that Foodio54 insisted that I eat in Everything But Anchovies. First of all, the name is misleading they do in fact offer anchovies. That being said I ordered a small pepperoni and mushroom pizza with a gigantic chocolate chip cookie and they were both great.

I was then back on the road in New York on I-90 racking up $12.25 in tolls on one stretch of the highway (I thought I was misreading the ticket until it came time to pay up). I decided to see what was available around the Buffalo area and Foodio54 recommended Jovi’s Italian Grille. This seemed like a very classy place and was a welcomed relief from the road. I ordered the lasagna and it was absolutely wonderful, the meat and the cheese were cooked to perfection.

From here it was a few hours back to my place in Streetsboro, OH, where I arrived around 11pm. The GPS malfunctioned in Maine when I went through a police turn around on the freeway and so the mileage was way too high, but overall the trip was about 35 hours of driving over about 2,000 miles.

What I did learn:

• We need to make some improvements to Foodio54’s mobile features
• More planning needs to go into selecting hotels, I think I way overpaid in Danbury
• This is going to be a lot of fun

We’re quickly wrapping up the planning, but if you have any ideas for the trip please let us know.

Tags: road trip