Trek Dirty to Me: 58 days until we out, and I want to know favorite dishes, spots and challenges along the AT!

It is no secret that I am a lover of food. I’m not a huge fan of the label ‘foodie’ because I don’t think it adequately describes me. I would say that I am a zealous (sometimes overly so) advocate and fanboy of all things food and beverage related.

Exhibit A:

I quit a 20-year career in politics and government to spend three years (in my late 30s and with most students half my age) attending culinary and wine school in Paris, and working for next to nothing (or nothing) as a stagiaire in restaurants, bakeries, and shops around that city. Because it was fucking awesome.

I am a classically-trained baker of bread in France.

I am a classically-trained pourer of shots in South Africa.

I am a classically-trained pourer of wine at the Ritz in Paris.

Exhibit B:

I have traveled around the world (110ish countries and counting at the time of this writing), and well over half of those countries were visited in part in the pursuit of particular signature dishes to be tasted and catalogued for future consideration.

Oktoberfest in Munich.

The best pizza in Paris.

A very important chicken sandwich in New York City.

One of eight different gelatos I tested one day in Florence.

Lamb skewer in Beijing.

Exhibit C:

I have been known to get sucked into more than my fair share of food challenges. From an early age. I once was the lightest person to eat the Big Texan Steak Ranch’s 72-oz Steak Meal in under an hour at the age of 14 and the staggering weight of 155lbs. I was interviewed on local radio. Recorded on a competitive eating website. Only to see that record shattered by a famous Japanese professional competitive eater.

Fourteen year old me dismantling the 72-oz Big Texan. The first and only time I ever ate a steak well done. It made the steak easier to eat.

This birthday food challenge did not go well.

Exhibit D:

I started a website in order to marry my passion with my work. You are currently staring at this website.

As anybody who knows me well will tell you, I am not a food snob. I am just as enthusiastic about digging into street food on Khao San Road in Bangkok as I am dining in Michelin starred restaurants in Copenhagen. I absolutely love hole-in-the-walls, dive bars and surprising gas station cuisine. I would happily move from one of those joints to a farm-to-table chef-driven restaurant or a famous home cooked meal.

Now all that being said, my Trek Dirty to Me project is part of Books Bourbon & Bacon, and a major component of it is to find the food spots that span this wide spectrum. I am looking for hiker favorites, gourmet hidden treasures, signature dishes and cocktails, and eating and drinking challenges that are part of the Appalachian Trail lore.

I have started a list, but I would love to know any must-visit spots for my six-month thru-hike that exist between Atlanta, Georgia and the top of Maine (within a short trek of the AT of course. Feel free to comment here or on any of our social media platforms or by shooting me an email by clicking here!

-AJ

I have a large head. This pretzel was larger. And didn’t stand a chance.

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