A truck stop with class....its a TA??!

A classy truck stop?? A TA?? A double contradiction in terms! Its located at exit 112 off I-80 in Morris, IL

Yes, you read it here folks. The crow I'm eating over my TA remarks were quite tasty....actually they were grilled chicken smothered in grilled mushrooms and onions with melted provolone cheese.....yummy.

But to give myself credit, this could not have been a TA for very long, our little handy-dandy pocket truck stop guide for 2007 still lists this as Rominese Truck Plaza. Thank goodness the old fashioned charm and the restaurant are still intact.

The first thing I noticed when we walked in was a big display case completely decorated for Mardi Gras (I've always LOVED Mardi Gras!!!!)

As you walk in the door by the fuel island and look to your left, you will see a Quiznos and the travel store. Straight ahead is the restaurant R-Place, which showcased there many freshly made bakery selections right there in all their glory! The entire restaurant, floor to ceiling, was decorated for Mardi Gras!!!

But alas, those pleasures must wait for now. Joe swipes his TA card so we can get in line for showers. Wait time: 30 minutes....sigh. However the attendant comes right over to us and pleasantly says the wait will be about 15, if we want to go to the drivers lounge, he will come and get us when its ready True to his word, we head for our shower, where the attendant already had extra towels all set for us.

Now, I am easily amused by strange things, but this took the cake. (there I go using food references again, I wonder why that is) The attendant had folded the towels in such a way that floored me........Queen Martha eat your heart out. He folded the washcloth on a diagonal so it made a triangle. Then he took the towel and folded it in half lengthwise and took the washcloth and lined the long side of the triangle up with the edge of the towel. Next he rolled the whole shebang up into a cylinder. Then he tucked one of the ends of the towel back into the middle of itself so it formed a nice little perfect little bundle....and wha-laa, there you have it!!

It's this wonderful totally unexpected experiences like these that keep you sane out here.
(ummm, OK, maybe I haven't had enough of these experiences then.....LOL)

The showers were spotless, and I got a big kick out of the 1950 style star shaped separate hot and cold water faucets......too retro.

And reto really describes the whole place, from the stamped tin ceiling in the c-store, to the advertising posters from the 1930's and 1940's. One of the best parts is the hallway leading to the restaurant. On both sides are glass cases with just a totally amazing collection of antique toys and items like lunch boxes, what a blast back to the past. There is also a big glass case filled with a marionette band, which will play for you if you feed it a quarter!.

Now on to the restaurant......it seems they are having a special Mardi Gras celebration that night, complete with an additional menu with all cajun favorites. The napkins are all Mardi Gras colors, and like I mentioned earlier, it seems every inch is swathed in purple, yellow and green decorations of some kind. The hostess gave us a couple sets of Mardi Gras beads! The food was fantastic and the service was great. Under all the Mardi Gras finery, you could see the usual Victorian style brass and cabbage rose decor......just beautiful in its own right. There is also another very large glass case in the dining room filled with antique toys.

We were both too full to get desert, but we each got a slice of cake to go for later.

This is one TA I definately would like to come back to!!