Food & Drink in Marion

While some barbecue chefs take sides on the age-old debate about the best cuts and sauces, the grill masters at Jefferson Street BBQ are happy to just serve all of them. They smoke cuts of pulled pork, beef brisket, and slabs of baby back ribs, pairing them with housemade sides such as potato salad, green beans with bacon, and jalapeño corn bread. Their barbecue defines almost every dish, gracing sandwiches, nachos, baked potatoes, even salads. The pulled pork nacho platter, for example, features smoked bacon, nacho cheese, jalapeños, avocados, and your choice of barbecue sauce.

On Sunday mornings, chefs put away the menus and instead stock their buffet table with brunch favorites such as gravy-drizzled biscuits, fried Yukon potatoes, smoked bacon, and waffles. At the omelet station, they cook eggs to order so guests can customize dishes without sending scans of their taste buds to the kitchen before meals.

Even World War II couldn't stop Mark Honeywell. It just slowed him down a little. After establishing himself in the business world by founding a Fortune 500 company, Honeywell committed to the creation of the Honeywell Memorial Community Center, dedicated to his late wife Olive and his parents. Construction began a year later, but the material and labor demands of the war did take a toll, stretching the process out over a decade. When the center was finally completed in 1952, it was obvious that community was at its heart: a roller rink and gymnasium gave residents a chance to bust out their skates and sneakers, and the lounge afforded grown-ups a place to play cards or talk about decoration schemes for their new nuclear-fallout shelters. More recent years have seen the addition of a 1,500 seat theater, a restaurant, and an art gallery.

Nick's Kitchen is Huntington's diner-eats outpost, offering breakfast and lunch menus full of time-tested meals. According to Lunch Encounter, Nick's Kitchen founder Nick Freienstein is the Thomas Edison of pork-tenderloin sandwiches, inventing them in the early twentieth century when most Americans were still eating chunks of gold. Freienstein's tenderloin sandwich ($5.25) lives on at Nick's Kitchen, along with the Quayle Burger ($8.50), a half pound of ground chuck topped with lettuce, onion, and tomato that was created specifically for the vice president and comes with enough fries to share with hungry secret service members. Breakfast, served from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., can take the shape of the breakfast bowl with one egg, fried potatoes, veggies, and sausage gravy ($5.25), or the hearty Incredible Breakfast, which unites bone-in ham, cheesy potatoes, two eggs any style, and toast ($6.50).

Since 1969, thin-crust pies have emerged from Z-Place Pizza’s oven crowned with custom combos of 15 ingredients, including banana peppers and chicken. Over time, Z-Place’s culinary team has even created its own specialties, including a variation of the Hawaiian pizza that swaps its custom-crafted pizza sauce for barbecue.

Along with favorites such as chicken-parm grinders, Z-Place’s cooks supplement their pies with some less common pizzeria dishes. Rather than grill or deep-fry, they opt to broast wings, fish, and pork chops. They even craft nine riffs on the baked potato, including versions with pizza and bacon-cheeseburger fixings. Feasts unfold inside Z-Place's booth-lined dining room, whose back wall is filled with arcade classics for pre- and post-meal gaming.

So established is Circle K Midwest that even brand-new vehicles recognize what its red-and-white logo stands for—fuel, snacks, and everything else a car might need to keep powering down the road with its driver. Circle K's story starts back in 1951, when Fred Hervey bought three Kay's Food Stores in El Paso, Texas. Under his guidance, these three little shops grew into the more than 3,000 convenience stores that crouch on our nation's street corners today.

After rolling up to a Circle K, drivers can pump their faithful roadsters full of high-octane fuel and send them skipping through a car wash to experience the cleansing touch of Blue Coral Beyond Green and Rain-X products. Then it's time to step inside the air-conditioned shop for a peek at the provisions. Rows of sodas hibernate behind glass doors, and snacks, candy, and their ATM guardians stand boldly out in the open. Some Circle Ks also offer the Take Away Fresh Café, which presents an appetizing lineup of healthy road fare including sandwiches, fruit cups, and fresh-cut vegetables. Drivers can gear up for a long drive with premium coffees or enjoy a cold Polar Pop, whose specially formulated cup keeps drinks colder thanks to the family of tiny snowmen trapped in its foam walls.

Papa Murphy’s serves up a tasty menu of handmade "take ‘n’ bake" pizzas created using dough, cheeses, meats, and veggies that are freshly prepared every day (prices listed below are average; actual prices vary by location). After customers choose their pie, Papa Murphy's personable pizza fashioners will build the pizza in-store and then package it for customers to bake at home in the oven. Customers can select one of Papa Murphy's signature pizzas or customize their pie to a more specific taste, culling from the four sauces, three crusts, and more than 20 toppings available. Watch as Papa Murphy’s pizza professionals corral the ingredients of a signature pizza such as the cowboy ($14.99 for the 16” family size), complete with pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, and black olives. Or request a Chicago-style stuffed pizza ($16.99 for the family size), packed with onions, mozzarella, four kinds of meat, and one of the most efficient public-transit systems in America. Thin-crust fans can opt for an herb chicken Mediterranean deLITE ($11.99 for a large), smothered with feta cheese, olive oil, and spinach. And veggievores can avail themselves of Papa Murphy’s gourmet vegetarian option ($15.99 for the family size), which comes saturated with a creamy garlic sauce. Side your pizza with an order of cheesy bread ($3.99) or a two-liter soda ($2.09).

Starting a diner at the age of 14 and a pizzeria at 17 seemed natural to Athanasios Chris Karamesines, who hails from a long line of restaurateurs. Since opening the pizzeria in 1969, Chris has built his business on fresh ingredients, hand-tossed dough, and signature pizzas baked in wood- or gas-fired ovens.