Track Food

[Kristof]

Best : Grand Marnier crepes at LM, especially with the big bottle on the counter !  Pretty dangerous when the champagne bar stood right across the road ... crepe > champagne > crepe > champagne > crepe > champagne ...    

Worst : Italian sausage at Daytona ... Never had one, but the smell of it is awful. Sat at the grandstand a few years ago, above a food stall where they sold those sausages ... never felt so bad afterwards.  Went to New Smyrna Speedway a few days later, they had the same stinking crap over there.  I can still smell that   just by thinking about it.  Second worst : allmost every food stall at Spa, half cooked fries, tasteless burgers or sausages ... yuk !  Thank god for the brasserie they opened in the new pitbuilding.

[Andy Zarse]

I second Brad.  Tartliflete at LM is a Sunday lunchtime must after 4 days solid of red meat.

A stand out track food memory for me would be fish and chips at Santa Pod back in the early '90's after a hard day beering and have my ears decimated.

But the 2012 big track food memory for me was just about anything I ate whilst at Bonneville Speed Week.  With the sights of the salt and sounds of the cars and bike, just about anything was manna from heaven.
.... and if it wasn't seasoned to your taste, there was always plenty of salt about!

With regard to that old rascal Felix, I have an old contact email somewhere.  I may see if I can stir him from his slumber.

Remember the nasty corn dogs on a stick at Sebring 05? Gakk! Not a patch on felix's battered sausage.

Ps had my eyes peeled for you on the Bonneville prog last night!

[Muzorewa]

Best at Le Mans were these rather delightful ice-creams they were flogging near the back of the pit garages 


Followed a close second by the tartiflette (sorry Fran )....


....to which they were adding these delights in 2008 


Worst by a long way - Haggis, neeps & tatties from McSporran's at Knockhill.  I do like haggis but only if it's freshly caught that morning 

[Fran]

Eww - a giant cauldron of sick!!!

I have got to admire the dedication of the Muz family photographing all their trackside food experiences tho!

F

[Muzorewa]

In the Knockhill one, that's a young Muzette in the orange plastic bag 

[Fran]

I knew that!!!  Never forget a Muz.

[Jules G]

Oulton Parks Breakfast is not bad but crepes at LM and an expresso is much better

[Boorish Grobian]

Agree with you Chop, I think Road America has the best food of the US venues, by a considerable margin.  Kristof, you mention the Italian and Polish sausage stands at Daytona?  There's one of those just outside the northwest gate at IMS at every race meeting.  Several years ago my brother bought a sausage after the Indy 500, and ate it on the way back to the car, he ended up puking the entire two hour drive back to Cincy.

[Perdu]

The Mallory Breakfast takes a lot of beating

That effinblinding American Grill crap from behind the LM tribunes, you'd think I would have enough sense to realise 'Saturday Night - heaving with people hungry and thirsty'

NO ONE buying anything from them

I did 

I found the bin scant seconds later



I never yet found the resolve to attempt Tartiflette

Maybe this year if the folk on high let me get over there again...

[Kristof]

 Kristof, you mention the Italian and Polish sausage stands at Daytona?  There's one of those just outside the northwest gate at IMS at every race meeting.  Several years ago my brother bought a sausage after the Indy 500, and ate it on the way back to the car, he ended up puking the entire two hour drive back to Cincy.

Yep that's it.   Kudos for those who attempt eating that !

[Lazy B'stard]

Generally speaking, trackside food tends to be pretty pish. I liked a Gran Marnier Crepe until they stopped doing the chocolate option a few years back. We started doing them 'right' on the campsite with melted Terry chocolate orange!

Worst and best were both on a rally sometime in the late 1990s- probably the RAC.

The best was a burger in Dalby woodyard. Spotless van, home made local farm shop beef burger with proper cheddar and sweet onions, a lovely fresh bun with a slight crust. Beside the van was a good sized table covered in bowls of salad- fresh crunchy leaves, cucumber so fresh you could smell it 10 yds away, salted tomato and every relish and topping you could imagine including a really smokey mayo. They were the finest 3 burgers I have ever tasted.

A few days later we had the misfortune to try a burger in Sweet Lamb, mid Wales. The van and guy serving were so filthy, the bread stale and the grease was running down your wrists. The bin was overflowing with un eaten burgers. Vile. Two of our group got really bad shits the next day and we had to head home early.

 It's much better to cook for yourselves at Le Mans. The supermarkets are much better than those in the UK and much cheaper too. You can drum up a fine feast in no time if you take some basic cooking gear with you.

[LuxExpat]

LM food's pretty dire, not only trackside but in the city and surrounding towns and villages too. The local establishments do very little to uphold their snooty views on the wonderful variety of French produce.

Best trackside food I've seen: Hockenheim for the F1 this year.
They build a food court behind the tribunes in the shade of the trees and serve all manner of food from Asian street food and stirfried dishes made from fresh produce to wonderful Bratwursts and Sauerkraut.

[enzo]

For a good restaurant in the city of Le Mans near the train station we tried this one this year after the drivers parade and for quite an unassuming exterior the food was top notch, not quite the usual LM slumming it but very very nice indeed.

http://www.restaurantlesaintlo.com/

LM food's pretty dire, not only trackside but in the city and surrounding towns and villages too. The local establishments do very little to uphold their snooty views on the wonderful variety of French produce.

Best trackside food I've seen: Hockenheim for the F1 this year.
They build a food court behind the tribunes in the shade of the trees and serve all manner of food from Asian street food and stirfried dishes made from fresh produce to wonderful Bratwursts and Sauerkraut.

[landman]

Must have walked straight past that one last year during our vain search for a taxi to get us back to Arnage after the driver's parade.

Could be an alternative to La Boucherie that we've frequented over the last 2 years.

[Martini...LB]

I never yet found the resolve to attempt Tartiflette

Maybe this year if the folk on high let me get over there again...

Lovely stuff, take back to camp and reheat with a bit of white wine (or water) to make a bit more fluid, then add to pasta like spaghetti.

Makes quite a nice meal.

>Martini...LB