If you are like me, you have a road trip panned this summer. I wanted to highlight a few of our restaurant guidebooks that may help you plan your gastronomy curiosities across the United States. Plotting out vacations highlighting great dining options has become more popular in recent years with television shows such as Diner, Drive-ins, and Drives, the Best of __, and Unique Eats. Here are four guides in our collection:

• Roadfood by Jane and Michael Sterns is the bible for vacations and roadtrips to find some of the tastiest treats in town. This is how I found Woodyard Bar-B-Que in Kansas City, KS for excellent baby back ribs!

• Where to Eat in America, Edited by William Rice and Burton Wolf focuses on large cities, and offers a description of the ambiance of the locations and pricing.

• Searching for the Holy Grill: The Most Divine Burgers in Minnesota, Wisconsin & Iowa: If you are looking for excellent Juicy Lucys and other greasy burger joints this book has the classics, such as Mickey’s Diner, Snuffy’s Malt Shop, Matt’s Bar, and the Lion’s Tap. Since it was published in 2003 you won’t find local favorites such as the Blue Door Pub, but it is still a good read, and fun burger trivia: How many burgers were served in restaurants in 2001?

• Cafe Hopping in the Southwest by Sunny Conley lists local favorites at eat place. I personally love Mrs. Kirscher’s notations in the margins, such as “gazpacho” which I can guess was “oh yummy” at Mariscos in Las Cruces, NM. Using this guide I found the best berry pie I have ever eaten at Rock Springs Cafe.