My Culinary Odyssey: Prestonsburg, Part 2

    It is a special Saturday edition of my blogcast as I continue my trip thought Prestonsburg.  This time around, I will be starting at the south/east end of town and start working my way north and west. Click here to see the introduction where I explain the organization of the post.

• Hoebert's Pizzeria, previous and current location, TO, ⭐️:  While I may have had a pizza from here, and maybe one side dish, the majority of my orders have been large steak Stromboli sandwiches, and I must say, they are only just okay.  I'm sorry.  I know how popular they are, but I usually just find them about average.  Part of it is due to the meat.  It is just not my favorite cut.  Once, when they may have changed suppliers for a time, even my mom thought the meat wasn't as good as it usually is.  Another thing that could be affecting my judgement is how they have messed up my orders in the past.  They either forget the mushrooms, or they add pickles and/or peppers when I ask for them to be left off. My mom still asks to eat there a few times a year (including later on this month, probably), but at least I usually don't have to stop when it's dark anymore. Navigating that parking lot with all the customers and the gas pumps is not easy. I have created my own clone recipe for this though, but I haven't made it in a few years. I start by frying a different cut of steak, along with some onions and mushrooms to get them brown. While this is going on, I toast the rolls. (I find this easier than toasting the entire sandwich all at once, but it does impact the flavor.) I assemble the sandwich by first spreading mayonnaise on the top roll and adding tomato and garlic lettuce. (According to the advice given to my mom, it should be made by soaking lettuce leaves in water Italian dressing with extra garlic powder in it.  There might be better ways to impart the flavor though.) Next, I put the grilled onions and mushrooms on the bottom roll, with the steak slices on top.  I then cover the steak with heated spaghetti/pizza sauce (to make up for not baking the entire sandwich), and I cover it with mozzarella cheese, with just a sprinkle of parmesan. I put the two roll halves together, and then eat. I've also made hamburgers the same way, with buns and patties as substitutions. I have even done a restaurant hack version, but that is for a later post.
• Giovanni's, DI:   During the late 90s, when I was unemployed and didn't really get out of the house much, I would drive my mother to work about once a month and spend the day just hanging out in town, usually at the library in the mornings and shopping in the afternoon.  We would eat lunch together at various places.  One was Giovanni's when it moved to a spot near where the GM car dealership was.  We split a pizza that day with my choice of beef, onion, and mushroom toppings. I was surprised when the pizza was brought out cut into squares, tavern style I guess.  Never had it this way before.  Personally, I like the crust side, something that is not found with squares. [I've had Giovanni's since then, at another location, and no squares.] That was the only time we ate there. Giovanni's would later move north, but that's for another entry.
• Unknown lunch counter downtown, DI:  Once, when I was very young, I had to wait with my mom to pick up something, possibly shoes from a cobbler shop.  They were located on the bottom floor of a building, possibly below street level.  There was a lunch counter there where we waited.  I think I had some pop.  Only time there.  Don't ask me where the building was or if it is still there.  Can't be sure, but I doubt there is still a lunch counter. [While there are other restaurants downtown, most notably Billy Ray's, I don't remember ever going into any of them, or even trying any of their food if it was brought home. I could be wrong though, but it isn't too likely.]
• Dairy Queen, original location, DI/TO:  I know I stopped in here a few times to eat when I was very young, more so for the treats than meals, but I might be wrong.  I remember stopping at the Piggly Wiggly across the street more than at DQ, but that's beside the point.  The main reason is that I asked for an ice cream cake for my birthday one year. My mom picked it up, but she had to pay a deposit on the freezer bag to bring it home so it wouldn't melt.  I barely ate at it.  Picky eater at the time, really bad. Maybe it was the yellow cake more so than the strawberry ice cream.  Who knows. Anyway, DQ would move to a larger location years later, with more parking.  Other restaurants would come in, including Giovanni's for a time, before moving even further north on Lake Drive.  Currently, it is a Japanese restaurant. 
• Kentucky Fried Chicken/KFC, former/current location, DI/TO:  I'm pretty sure I ate here at the original location a few times as a kid, but those times weren't too memorable. However, they tore down the original building and remodeled it, slightly higher up out of the flood plain.  I hadn't eaten there in some time when my mom brought in a sample of their potato wedges.  I was out of college at the time. Even cold and old, I found them intriguing. I would later try them fresh on a trip to P-burg, along with one of their 'Zinger' chicken sandwiches.  I was hooked with both.  Normally, I would eat grilled or roasted chicken sandwiches, but this combination with two/three fried chicken strips just satisfied me.  The wedges were also a surprise, as I normally hated fries with skin on them. KFC became a regular stop to eat at after that for many years. The last time I ate at this KFC was in 2017. We were starting a tradition of going out of town on the Saturday of Hillbilly Days in Pikeville, when the store was closed. The first rainy year, we ate here.  The 'Zinger' had long be supplanted by the plain chicken breast-and-pickle sandwich now found everywhere, but they still had the wedges.  For a time. Haven't eaten here since, but more one other KFC locations in a later post.
• Super America, later Speedway, TO:  The Super America was right next door to where my mom worked, so she would frequently stop in there for the occasional food item.  Once, in the mid-80s, she picked up a new doughnut shape, an unfilled long john. I found it an interesting diversion from the usual rings. I wanted to try them again, but that is the topic for another post. I would still stop in for a fountain drink on occasion, but usually not for ready-made food items.  Just packaged fare.  This continued when it became Speedway.  However, I haven't stopped in here for a few years, as I haven't a real need lately.
• [Hardee's, TO, ⭐️: For some reason or another, I have never eaten here.  I have mostly just stopped here for my mom to pick up coffee.  And a cinnamon roll with extra icing, when she wants to treat herself. She thinks they both taste a little better here than at the one in Pikeville. I can't stand either.] 

    I'll stop here for today.  Join me for my regular post on Wednesday as I complete my tour of Prestonsburg.