Just a few days ago, I watched my daughter at her prekindergarten graduation and end-of-year recognition ceremony. Like most school celebrations involving littles, it was equal parts adorable and surprisingly emotional. Tiny caps tilted sideways, songs sung slightly off-key and proud families snapping photos filled the room.
That same day, I went on to celebrate our recent LLCC graduates that participated in the commencement ceremony — all 450 of them. Somewhere between the handprints, hugs, oversized smiles and retirement celebrations, I found myself thinking about life’s seasons and the roads we travel knowingly, as well as the ones we discover along the way. This time of year has a way of inspiring reflection, and whether it is preschool, high school, college or retirement, milestones naturally make us reflect on where we have been and where we are headed next.
For those in transition, this season feels a lot like the historic Route 66 itself: exciting, uncertain and filled with roads still unknown. Sometimes paths are laid out, and other times the road is less clear. Perhaps that is why the familiar lyric from Brad Paisley’s song, “Find Yourself” keeps spinning in my head. That, and maybe because it plays quite often on my children’s Toniebox via the Lightning McQueen soundtrack. The song speaks to embracing the journey as much as the destination. “Sometimes when you lose your way … that’s when you find yourself,” feels so fitting this time of year.
The Mother Road was never simply about reaching a destination quickly. It was about the unexpected stops, roadside diners, conversations and discoveries travelers encountered along the journey.
Few stretches of pavement in American history have shaped our national food identity quite like the Historic highway from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. Stretching from Chicago to California, Route 66 serves as a moving dining room and cultural exchange where travelers discovered regional cuisine one roadside stop at a time. Families piled into station wagons, truck drivers logged endless miles and migrant workers crossed the country carrying recipes and traditions with them.
Along the way, diners, taverns, cafés, lunch counters, bakeries, chili parlors, drive-ins and barbecue stands fed generations of Americans. The result was something uniquely American: a highway where food became storytelling.
That spirit is exactly what the upcoming 2026 LLCC History Cooks series hopes to celebrate. This year’s theme, “Route 66 and Food Along the Way,” traces the regional cuisine of American roadside dining through iconic dishes tied to communities across the Mother Road beginning, fittingly, in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago’s Italian beef sandwich represents the influence of immigrant communities that helped define urban American food culture in the early 20th century. Built from thinly sliced roast beef soaked in seasoned jus and piled onto sturdy rolls, the sandwich was practical, flavorful and affordable. It fed workers, families and travelers alike.
Further south in Springfield, diners created what may be one of the most unapologetically indulgent roadside meals in the Midwest: the Horseshoe. Traditionally made with Texas toast, hamburger patties, fries and cheese sauce, the dish became fuel for college students, late-night diners and Route 66 travelers passing through central Illinois. Springfield also played a major role in roadside dining culture through the rise of chili parlors and drive-ins.
A famous example remains Cozy Dog Drive In, where the corn dog became a portable meal ideal for the emerging car culture of postwar America. Suddenly, Americans were not simply dining at destinations. They were eating while traveling. Neon signs glowed against the evening sky while diners promised travelers “home cooking,” fresh pie and hot coffee 24 hours a day.
As travelers continued westward, Route 66 cuisine shifted alongside the landscape. In St. Louis, Italian-American neighborhoods like The Hill helped create regional specialties including toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake. Toasted ravioli — breaded and fried rather than boiled — reflected the practical tavern culture of the Midwest, where food needed to be hearty, portable and ideal alongside beer and conversation.
In Missouri and Oklahoma, diners leaned heavily into comfort food traditions. Chicken fried steak, onion burgers and fried catfish reflected a blend of Southern cooking, cattle-country practicality and Depression-era ingenuity. Oklahoma’s famous onion burger, for example, originated as a way to stretch expensive beef by smashing onions directly into the meat during cooking.
By the time travelers reached Texas, barbecue smoke and cattle culture dominated the roadside experience. Brisket, smoked low and slow, became symbolic of both patience and hospitality — values deeply rooted in Texas food traditions. Then, crossing into New Mexico, the flavor profile changed almost instantly. Green chile, blue corn and enchiladas reflected centuries of Indigenous, Spanish and Mexican culinary influence. Food became more earthy, chile-forward and deeply tied to the agricultural traditions of the Southwest.
Finally, in the deserts of California, roadside dining evolved yet again. Travelers who endured crossing the Mojave encountered small diners and roadside stands selling date shakes, citrus drinks, burgers, and diner classics designed to refresh weary travelers escaping the desert heat. The date shake, in particular, became a symbol of Southern California roadside culture — a creamy blend of dates, milk and ice cream tied to the agricultural development of the Coachella Valley.
What makes Route 66 food culture so fascinating is that no single dish defines it. Instead, Route 66 tells the story of how Americans learned to eat regionally while traveling nationally. It is the story of families adapting old recipes to new ingredients. It is the story of roadside entrepreneurs trying to stand out in an increasingly competitive highway culture. It is the story of taverns, truck stops, soda fountains and diners becoming gathering places for people from every walk of life. And perhaps most importantly, it is the story of hospitality. Good roadside restaurants did more than feed people. They offered rest, familiarity, conversation and comfort. In many ways, they helped define what American hospitality looked and felt like during the 20th century.
That is why the History Cooks 2026 series feels particularly timely as we celebrate the Mother Road’s 100th birthday. At a moment when so much dining has become rushed or transactional, Route 66 reminds us that meals can still tell stories. Food still carries memory. Recipes still connect us to places and people, and while Route 66 may no longer function as America’s primary highway, its culinary legacy remains alive every time we gather around food rooted in place, tradition and hospitality.
And that may be the most enduring lesson of the Mother Road: sometimes the best part of the journey is still the meal along the way. Join LLCC on Fridays at noon from June 5 through Aug. 7 at Lincoln’s Home in Downtown Springfield to sample the iconic road’s cuisine.
Kicked up Route 66 date shake
(serves 4)
Ingredients
- 6 oz. (170 grams) pitted dried dates, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
- 4 oz. cold whole milk
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups vanilla ice cream
- 4 oz. Licor 43
- 3 oz. bourbon
Directions
- Place dates in heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water (about 1 cup), and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain dates, and let cool completely, at least 15 minutes.
- Combine milk, salt and dates in blender. Process until thick paste forms and no chunks of dates remain, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of blender as needed. Add bourbon and Licor 43, and blend again. Finally add ice cream, and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Serve in chilled 6-oz. martini glasses.
About
Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.
Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.