The joy of roadfood: a Weekend Edition video feast

In this first season of Yahoo! News Weekend Edition, I traveled the entire country in search of great stories and amazing people, and was lucky enough to find both. I learned survival skills in Catawba, Virginia, explored the lost treasures of Gary, Indiana and met up with real life superheroes in Northern California.

But one thing I've noticed in my six month journey is that no matter what state you're in, the food off the highway all kind of looks the same. Believe me, I'm not knocking the convenience, but the food you eat on the road isn't always what you remember about the journey.

Unless, of course, you're eating Roadfood.

Authors Jane and Michael Stern coined the term to describe "great regional meals along highways, in small towns and in city neighborhoods; non-franchised, sleeves-up food made by cooks, bakers, pitmasters, and sandwich-makers who are America's culinary folk artists."

They've been traveling the U.S. for the past thirty years, and have written more than forty books about their never-ending search for authentic American cuisine. And I thought I had a good gig!

For the past three years, they've hosted a celebration of authentic American cuisine in New Orleans, a city that Michael Stern describes as a 'food mecca.' This year I was lucky enough to travel to the Crescent City, do some serious eating, and learn about the kind of food you can discover if you just travel a little further down the road.

We had so much fun filming this video, we decided to split the story into two parts. You can watch Part One above: in which we explore the New Orleans Roadfood festival and ogle the world's largest oyster po'boy. Longer than a football field, this mega sandwich was auctioned off piece by piece to support Louisiana's seafood industry, still recovering after last year's BP Oil Spill.

In Part Two, which airs next Friday April 29th (a day on which nothing else whatsoever is happening) we'll take you deep into the Cajun countryside for a brunch to remember at Cafe Des Amis in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!