We asked the staff at The Group Travel Leader the question: “What is your best food memory from your childhood?” Find out what foodie memories these seasoned travelers recalled below!
I grew up on Ferrell’s Hamburgers in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Taciturn women in green aprons smash ground beef patties onto a sizzling grill, then load them with pickles and onions. Once I could drive, it was the late night meal of choice with friends. My grandmother loved their hamburgers. Now our sons do. That’s four generations and counting.
— Mac Lacy, publisher
My favorite place my father took us growing up was the Lyon’s Soda Fountain in downtown Lyons, Colorado. We’d stop there on the way up to or back from Estes Park in the summer and we’d all get the best chocolate malt I’ve ever had. It’s still there, so stop by for a visit: www.lyonssodafountain.com
— Donia Simmons, creative director
Every year, I would salivate with anticipation over the thick, juicy pork chop sandwiches that awaited at the annual Kentucky State Fair. My family always went to the same local pork producer’s booth to splurge on these mammoth sandwiches, smoked for hours to perfection.
— Eliza Myers, online editor
I’m a daughter of a banker so we didn’t spend a lot of money on going out to eat. I do remember always going to the Indiana State Fair and getting grilled corn on the cob. Simple and delicious… but more importantly, it was cheap! Today, I would pay any price to sit with my dad again and enjoy a piece of corn on the cob together.
— Stacey Bowman, national sales manager
My mom grew up in Paducah, Kentucky, and her family had a favorite barbecue joint there that we would also visit when we were in town. Starnes Bar-B-Q is a simple cinder-block building painted an incandescent shade of green. Inside, the seating is simple — mostly just barstools along a long, rectangular counter — but the hickory-smoked pulled pork is unlike anything else I have ever tasted. It comes on toasted white bread, with or without sauce, wrapped in wax paper. I still go, and order two sandwiches, whenever I’m in Paducah.
— Brian Jewell, executive editor
