Bon Appetit asked notable chefs, including Katie Button, how they deal with the lack of quality coffee options on a road trip.
Chef Katie Button packs for one of her culinary road trips, journeys that require coffee.
For Road Trip Week, Bon Appetit published an article about chefs on road trips:
“Chefs Couldn’t Survive Road Trips Without This Coffee”
When traveling to events, they need coffee to keep up energy. But choices may be limited…
From the article: In the absolute worst case scenario, there is always (*always*, *everywhere*) Starbucks, Katie Button, chef of Asheville’s Nightbell and Cúrate leveled: “It’s not my favorite coffee, but it is decent.” While her husband drives, she’s on Google Maps searching, “Starbucks near me” and scanning the highway for the one closest to an exit so they can jump out, pick up a grande cold brew, and go back on their way. Bonus perk? The Starbucks bananas may the only fresh fruit they’ll see on the road the whole trip.
Other chefs, including Jason Dady of San Antonio’s B&D Ice House, The DUK Truck, and the Shuck Shack, Jonathan Wu, chef of Fung Tu in New York, Chris Shepherd, chef of Underbelly, and Aaron Franklin of Franklin BBQ in Austin, suggest creative additions to roadside coffee, like Heath bars and sweetened condensed milk. Chef Button also likes to pair her coffee with a sweet treat:
Chef Button prefers a glazed donut with creamy iced coffee.
Button never tries to get fancy at gas stations—no lattes or espresso drinks. “Go as simple as possible. Get an iced—it’s more forgiving—and load it up with cream. That’s a must,” she said. Her coffee of choice is an iced coffee with half-and-half but she knows that the pro move is to get a glazed donut on the side for dipping. “It’s the perfect accoutrement, and then you get the sugar in your coffee.” (Her idea of a perfect road trip side is actually Cheetos—the hard, crunchy kind, not the airy puffs.)
Read the full article for more suggestions, and stay buzzed on your next cross-country adventure, chef-style! If you’re heading to Asheville, make reservations at Chef Button’s restaurants here and here.
