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The Best of Backroads 2021
BACKROADS • JANUARY 2022
h, boy. It is, again, time to take a look back at this last trip around the sun and highlight some of the better Proper Nouns we found over the season of 2021. And, there were some very, very excellent places featured over the last 12 months in these pages. But before we have Seymour fire up the ‘Wayback Machine’ we’d like to thank all the advertisers that have been with us here and there and especially those who have stuck with us during a season of rebirth that occasionally looked like the same old same old. Without you, there would be no us. But, even more importantly, we’d like to THANK OUR READERS! This year you have shown support again and again and made Backroads not only a beloved riding publication but perhaps a way of life for some of you. For sure we have had our moments, but with the coming of the ‘Dark Times of Winter,’ we can pretty much look back on another superb season and know - while some of the world chooses to remain in MMXX – many of us have had that long faded in our mirrors and have taken a bead on the fine road ahead. As we turn the page let’s take a glance back, shall we? Let’s ride through the Best of Backroads 2021 together. Like we always do.
The Great All-American Diner Run 2021 How great was it to actually be able to sit down at a table with friends? Something that always was as normal as can be – ‘til it wasn’t. This year we tried to make up for the previous lap around Sol and had at least a dozen superb meals, but the ‘Best of’ brings us the Top Three – here they be!
SECOND RUNNER UP • THE BIG CHEESE
404 MAIN ST, ROSENDALE, NY 12472 • 845-658-7175 • THEBIGCHEESEROSENDALE.COM We came across The Big Cheese purely by chance while searching for a bite after exploring the Widow Jane Concrete Mine in Rosendale. The town has several eateries, but after choosing TBC – we knew we got it right. The Big Cheese offers superb Mediterranean fare with breakfast, lunch, and early dinner and, as you would think, some serious cheese offerings on tap. They also have a tiny thriftique… re-selling books, clothing, and chachkas of all sorts. As we said back in October The Big Cheese had one of the best aromas of any place we’d been in a while and taking a table in the outside court added to the Rosendale flair of the place. You can’t go wrong with The Big Cheese!
FIRST RUNNER UP • WANAMAKERS GENERAL STORE
8888 KINGS HWY, KEMPTON, PA 19529 • 610-756-6609 • WWW.WANAMAKERSGENERALSTORE.COM
This General Store has been doing business for nearly 150 years. In a time where the Americazation of the land’s eateries, with chain restaurants, food courts, and malls having besotted the American roadscape, a place like Wanamakers is a true breath of fresh air – from a far better time. Before you order your lunch, you will probably have your attention stolen by all the very cool things to be found on Wanamakers’ shelves. The place is now owned by Kyra Hendricks and she has kept the flavor and feel of the old place. We have never been disappointed with anything we have chosen here and taking a seat at one of the wooden picnic tables has always seemed like a treat to us – especially when with good friends and riding buddies. Take a spin out to Kempton, PA and you will see why Wanamakers easily became part of the Best of Backroads.
1ST PLACE GREAT ALL-AMERICAN DINER RUN 2021 SWINGING BRIDGE RESTAURANT
16071 PAINT BANK RD, PAINT BANK, VA 24131 540-897-5099 • WWW.THESWINGINGBRIDGE.COM To be #1 on this list is no small feat. Each month the GAADR has to offer more than a simple restaurant – it also needs a recipe of main ingredients… Great location, serious exhilirating pavement (or un), and a good dash of fun added into the mix. The Swinging Bridge in Paint Bank, Virginia has all of that and more. Found along Route 31, one of sweetest motorcycle roads in a state full of superb riding, the Swinging Bridge also can be found not too far from our big stop on last year’s Spring Break at the Mountain Lake Lodge – but you need to ride over the mountain – not paved. Not paved in the least. But, some like this sort of thing. However you get there you will not be disappointed. The restaurant is located in the Paint Bank General Store (hmmm, seems like a pattern?), so a bit of shopping while waiting for breakfast, lunch, or dinner might be in order. Something else to look into, well actually, up too – is the swinging bridge. Yes, there is a real swinging bridge across the restaurant. Dining can be had inside, or on the screened-in porch overlooking Tingler’s Mill. We have never been riding through this part of Old Dominion without stopping – even if it is just for coffee. Stop in and you will understand why The Swinging Bridge Restaurant was the irrefutable choice for #1 in this year’s Best of Backroads!
