Rock, Paper, Dinermite
A Cross-Country Guide to Eating on
a Broke-Rock-Band Budget
story and photos by Scott Zrust
Editor’s Note: Omaha has developed a reputation as a ‘music
town’ around the nation, so we figured a good way to visit some of
the food our community encounters was to talk to one of the finer
bands in Omaha as they hit the road. Scott Zrust, drummer for
‘Rock, Paper, Dynamite’ shows us some of the food their band ate
on the road. Besides being a kick-ass drummer, Scott has a Culinary
Arts degree from Johnson & Wales and has been cooking for 14
years professionally.
“No matter how much money you
have in your pocket, there is always
a way to find cheap and satisfying
food in almost every city.”
A
tour of cheap eats, as seen through the eyes of Omaha band
‘Rock, Paper, Dynamite’, reveals that life on the road for
touring bands may not always be as glamorous as you may think.
However, aside from our late night, fast food pit stops and gas
station grub, we did find a few tasty gems.
You might think that when the entire town shows up to see you
play, that your food budget would be limitless but, I can tell you
20
with some authority that is not the case in the highly populated
metropolis of Imogene, IA (population 37). Fortunately for us, our
good friend and fan, ‘Nurse’ Abbey, has such wonderful parents;
biscuits and gravy, bacon, eggs, freshly baked cinnamon rolls and
cookies, and plenty of fluids rehydrated our impoverished bodies
after our show. The lesson? Sometimes you can score some great food
by finding a sweet place to crash.
Our next stop was in Kansas City and, as everyone must know,
when you’re in Kansas City you eat BBQ. BBQ at its absolute finest
can be found in a gas station in a place called Oklahoma Joes. I’ve
never wanted to cry after eating a meal until I sunk my teeth in a
‘Z-Man Sandwich.’ It was a heaping pile of smoked beef brisket,
smoked provolone and topped with two onion rings on a toasted
Kaiser bun. I can’t think of a better way to describe how amazing
this sandwich is other than abso-damn-lutely delicious, and the fries
are no joke either. When in Kansas City, eat here.
Coming south to Tulsa brought us to a specialty sandwich shop
called Dilly Deli. We all agreed that there wasn’t anything special
happening here. Joe had the ‘Cynn 2.0’ which was roast beef,
provolone, an onion ring and horseradish aioli. The beef was dry,
the cheese was crusty, and the bread cut my mouth ‘real-properlike’. Moving on.
Zombie Burger in Des Moines, IA was recommended to us by
several people and I can now understand why. Other than having
really cool zombie décor and an extensive zombie-themed burger
menu, there is also a fantastic beer selection that is very reasonably
priced, especially considering that there is a good amount of
Belgian beer on it. I ordered fried cheese curds and the Trailer Trash
Zombie Burger simply because it sounded like the ‘fattest’ thing
on the menu. It was house ground beef, American cheese, fried
pickle, chicken-fried bacon, cheese curds and ranch and it was as
good as it sounds. It did the trick and I was disappointed I couldn’t
force myself to gulp down one of their 18 milkshakes that are on
the menu. If you find yourself in Des Moines, Zombie Burger has
RPD’s seal of approval.
We’ve been to Topeka a few times and this time around we gave
the Celtic Fox a try, mostly because we were playing a show there
that night. The majority of us ordered the Rueben
Sandwich with fries. For as
busy as the place was, our
food was delivered quickly.
This was one of the better
Ruebens I’ve tried and I’ve had
a few. I’m pretty sure the fries
weren’t house-cut, but they
were seasoned well and cooked
to crispy perfection. If you
are in Topeka, it’s worth a try.
When in Omaha, our favorite
place for a Rueben is Crescent
Moon.