Motorway tomatoes.

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stevewestern

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Is it just me? What have I done to deserve this? Let me explain.

I drive up from Cornwall to London and back quite a lot, and often find myself needing to eat, and a fried breakfast can lure me in especially very early in the morning.
So, how come every time I have one I get the top bit of the tomato - you know, the hard green bit than no one on earth likes or eats?
What happens to the other part - do the staff eat them whilst chuckling at us poor punters?
Is there a black market for the best bits?
Anyone know?
 
omens said:
Eat at motorway service stations. I've never found the food appealing or satisfying.
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+1 I tried it once, and that was enough. Although...there is this Farm Shop motorway services near Cheltenham (well on the way) and I often took a little detour and cut across the old A40 via Oxford to go past that one. It is fantastic!
 
Take your own tomato sandwiches and then get a cupa in the service station, save a penny or two.
 
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I always take a packed lunch/dinner and a flask nowadays after so much disappointment with motorway services' food.

It's not just the quality but the ridiculous prices for what you get.
 
Motorway services make McDonalds and Burger King look like Michelin star restaurants!!!..........ok not quite but you get the point :D

I avoid motorway services except for the essentials e.g fuel.
 
stupar said:
Motorway services make McDonalds and Burger King look like Michelin star restaurants!!!..........ok not quite but you get the point :D

I avoid motorway services except for the essentials e.g fuel.
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I wouldn't pay their massively inflated prices for that either. :-)
 
There is a services near me (M61) and their petrol is 20ppl above average prices. I even feel bad if I have to use my fuel card there. Some one once wrote that there is a petrol station pretty much within 1 mile of every motorway junction in the UK.
 
I recall going on a business trip to Aberdeen once.
I was dying for a coffee and just happened to say to my colleague "i could really go a costa"
He turned and said to me there is one just on the outskirts that we can go to.

The smile on my face soon disappeared when he pulled into a s*** hole of a service station/garage that had a Costa board outside.

Not the costa i had in mind :D
 
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viv1969 said:
I wouldn't let the need get that severe.
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Not always do able though.

When we go up to Aviemore every year for our family holiday we fill the Tank in Edinburgh.
That tank gets us up there plus most of our driving in and around the area.
We always need to fuel up for the return journey though and there is only one garage in Aviemore. Their prices are extortionate but its that or nothing.

Mind you up north all fuel stops are well above the average PPL.
 
stevewestern said:
Eleven replies and not one that answers the mystery of what happens to the rest of the tomato..
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They get sliced up for the Burger King Whopper :)

Seriously though, I used to like it when Little Chef was still about. Was a great excuse to take A roads and have a break. Didn't mind their breakfast at all.
 
dejongj said:
They get sliced up for the Burger King Whopper :)

Seriously though, I used to like it when Little Chef was still about. Was a great excuse to take A roads and have a break. Didn't mind their breakfast at all.
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Still plenty of them. :-)
 
I've only used Motorway Services for 2 reasons, main one is a loo break, that was years ago on the way to Silverstone, before Silverstone had updated their own toilet facilities. The other reason was to syop and phone my insurance company to insure the car I'd bought about 20 minutes earlier and had forgotten to get the insurance transferred from the car I'd just part exchanged. I certainly wouldn't entertain buying food or petrol.
 
dejongj said:
They get sliced up for the Burger King Whopper :)

Seriously though, I used to like it when Little Chef was still about. Was a great excuse to take A roads and have a break. Didn't mind their breakfast at all.
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I used to get confused as there was Road Chef and Little Chef and I knew one was nice and the other was nasty but it took me a while to always remember that Little Chef was the "nice" one.
 
stevewestern said:
Is it just me? What have I done to deserve this? Let me explain.

I drive up from Cornwall to London and back quite a lot, and often find myself needing to eat, and a fried breakfast can lure me in especially very early in the morning.
So, how come every time I have one I get the top bit of the tomato - you know, the hard green bit than no one on earth likes or eats?
What happens to the other part - do the staff eat them whilst chuckling at us poor punters?
Is there a black market for the best bits?
Anyone know?
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It's a well known fact that the green/hard/pith part of tomatoes is good for clearing you out, a bit like oats/barley/pulses. (it makes you poo)
They give you these at one service station knowing that you will be having turtles heads within a 1/2 hour or so and will have to stop at another
service station soon. Having had a clearout, you will be feeling hungry again, and so they get your custom once again!
So it continues.
Of course this is just a personal observation and could be total ballcocks!
 
^^^
This made me lol!


stevewestern said:
Eleven replies and not one that answers the mystery of what happens to the rest of the tomato..
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They send them to Greece - never had any tomato core over there.

neil_g said:
depends how far you're driving i suppose.

and how far do you deviate before it negates any saving.
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If there's a saving of 20p/litre, that's around 90p/gallon so with a 5 gallon fill, £4.50 or so. Nearly a gallon, so usually worth the cost of the detour (without factoring the cost of one's time.)
 
Nod said:
If there's a saving of 20p/litre, that's around 90p/gallon so with a 5 gallon fill, £4.50 or so. Nearly a gallon, so usually worth the cost of the detour (without factoring the cost of one's time.)
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20p a litre? ive never actually seen service stations that are that much more than normal to be honest. usually only 5-7p in it.
 
neil_g said:
20p a litre? ive never actually seen service stations that are that much more than normal to be honest. usually only 5-7p in it.
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The high octane stuff is normally in that order of attitude like Shell Nitro+, but I agree the normal fuels normally not that bad as a rule.
 
All this talk of motorway service stations, makes me think of our trips abroad years ago, when the best bits were often stopping off in motorway services in Burgundy, or the route to the sun in Provence. You used to get good examples of regional cooking, with excellent bread, cheese, charcuterie and patisserie, plus well priced good wine (things were more relaxed then).
The only use of motorway services in the UK are the loos, and even then they can be pretty bad.
 
Motorway services are like Noma compared to the food served in them 20 years ago....
 
andy700 said:
All this talk of motorway service stations, makes me think of our trips abroad years ago, when the best bits were often stopping off in motorway services in Burgundy, or the route to the sun in Provence. You used to get good examples of regional cooking, with excellent bread, cheese, charcuterie and patisserie, plus well priced good wine (things were more relaxed then).
The only use of motorway services in the UK are the loos, and even then they can be pretty bad.
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I agree, used to love driving through the night stopping in the morning for a wonderful fresh breakfast in Switserland or France. In Italy I've had some of the most delicious pizza at the motorway services.

I guess it is a case of we reap what we sow. I've found that on holiday in Cyprus, very British as well, everything served with chips, and MacDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Costa, Nero, Starbucks everywhere. If we stop buying this crap they'll have to change.

There are now a few farmshop services in the UK, I hope they keep doing well as I love the produce and fresh nice food in those.
 
Bloke walks up to the counter at motorway services and askes for cold greasy bacon, snotty egg, undercooked tomato, and yesterdays hard beans.
The girl behind the counter says 'we cant serve food like that here'
The bloke says 'That's funny, you did last week'!
 
dejongj said:
If we stop buying this crap they'll have to change.
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TBH, I *think* they largely changed to please the in coming holiday makers, (Brits) that didn't expect to eat Calamari, fresh salad, and various goat & fish dishes.
 
dejongj said:
The high octane stuff is normally in that order of attitude like Shell Nitro+, but I agree the normal fuels normally not that bad as a rule.
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The cost of petrol doesn't really bother me, but which petrol does, I've only ever used Shell Nitro+ in my car and only other fuel I would consider is BP Ultimate (unless of course I could get hold of some race fuel ;) ). I have no way of knowing what brand fuel the service station will be selling so I always fill up before the start of a long motorway journey and it has always lasted the return trip too.
 
Back on topic :D

TomatoFord-626x382.jpg
 
After having been a tomato farmer for the best part of 20 years, I cannot bring myself to even look at a tomato, never mind eat them. Even reading this thread is making me feel queasy. :puke:
 
You deserve the green shabby bit, because simply put, you like many I see have not put any effort in to scan an area and locate a good cafe where you will find a full on English with a pot of fresh brewed tea, served by a woman of many talents with a grill / griddle plus frying pan!

Prepare to succeed or be prepared to fail.......

Its not personal is business when it comes to a full English!:naughty:

(y)

Rid yourself of motorway swill
 
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dejongj said:
I agree, used to love driving through the night stopping in the morning for a wonderful fresh breakfast in Switserland or France. In Italy I've had some of the most delicious pizza at the motorway services.

I guess it is a case of we reap what we sow. I've found that on holiday in Cyprus, very British as well, everything served with chips, and MacDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Costa, Nero, Starbucks everywhere. If we stop buying this crap they'll have to change.

There are now a few farmshop services in the UK, I hope they keep doing well as I love the produce and fresh nice food in those.
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Well, we do, but they are not advertised, and it is a matter of knowing where they are, often just a mile off the motorway.
Down here in Kent, we have an amazing place which does have a cafe (selling local produce) as well as a superb farm shop, with an excellent wine shop next to it - Macknade in Faversham just of the M2. It isn't a services (has no fuel pumps etc), but is easily accessed from the motorway. We often use it to stock up on brilliant fruit, veg and other local meats and cheeses, plus deliitems if we are down that way.
 
nilagin said:
The cost of petrol doesn't really bother me, but which petrol does, I've only ever used Shell Nitro+ in my car and only other fuel I would consider is BP Ultimate (unless of course I could get hold of some race fuel ;) ). I have no way of knowing what brand fuel the service station will be selling so I always fill up before the start of a long motorway journey and it has always lasted the return trip too.
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What on earth do you drive?
 
andy700 said:
What on earth do you drive?
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Ford ST, and to be fair my Golf R is also on a recommended minimum RON98 and will be the Mercedes GLC I've got on order. Strictly speaking you could do with less, warranty is not voided when you use RON95 but I notice the performance difference.
 
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