I'm not too fussy for the occasional out-of-town gig, but for extended touring... Nothing much new to add that hasn't already been said, but I'll profer my 2 cents anyway.
For many years I worked with a crew travelling around all week long, home only on weekends; I've done month-long to half-year long bike trips with anywhere from two to six people; dealt with provisions supply for movies & kids camps and had to deal with others' allergies, lactose- and glutin-intolerance issues...
WATER: humans' lubricant for our innards, make sure you're all topped up, it helps process your fuel intake, coolant in the form of sweat etc.
VITAMINS: Daily intake For when you don't or aren't able to eat right.
SNACKS: Everybody in the thread keeps yackin' about snacks, and they're right of course. Have celery sticks, carrots, capsicum, raw broccoli and other crudités as well as a good variety of fruit (good for a sugar hit, too, if/when needed) and carry salty snacks, too, for those hot days when you're pounding down water and must prevent hyponatremia.
MEALS: Low budget tour? Hit the supermarkets instead of the restaurants along the way. Get cookbooks on one-pan meals, bring a camp stove or hob. Take rotational turns on shopping, cooking and cleanup details. Give everyone a break from time-to-time and eat out at a restaurant. I prefer mom & pop diners to chain restaurants, the risk of food poisoning is about the same I figure though at chains you generally know what you're going to get, whereas M&P diners may be hit and miss (the hits are worth the misses and trump banal homegenized chain-restaurant food IMO).
VARIETY: Subway, Wraps and other chain food gets very boring and tired to the tastebuds very quickly. Took me quite a few years to be able to eat wraps of any kind or set foot in a Subway after some over-exposure. Treat yourself to a proper restaurant once in a while.
DODGY: Don't eat/drink it if it might be dodgy. On a trip with six cyclists, we had to sequester an extra three days in the middle of Pakistan while a fellow cyclist puked and shat his guts out after eating a yoghurt-covered fruit & nut bar that had gone bad it inflated the plastic packaging into a little balloon, all but one of us thought it had gone bad (none of the other yoghurt bars had ballooned), the guy didn't listen as he was too hungry from cycling all day = one night of me cleaning him up in a hotel room (emptied/refilled the tub five times) before we could get him to an army hospital the next day and then wait another two days for his full recovery. Lots more stories like that one, experienced personally and otherwise.
Bring
IMODIUM or similar, Pepto-Bismol or similar and whatever other medicines you foresee potential need for (Check the expiry dates periodically). You do have a basic FAK (first aid kit) don't you?
That's my take for extended road trips. I will say for those occasional weddings, corporate functions etc, nothing more annoying than the band getting a cheap little 7-11 style sandwich or a burger while everyone else has a very fine meal.
As for Taco Bell? Taco Time esta muy bueno si, but Taco Bell? HAH HAH HAH ha ha ha ha Hee hee, ho ... heh! Oohhh...
Sorry JoeNerve, I usually agree with you & I like your music and though Taco Bell may work for you... Yeah, emphatically what BillyRay and JayWa said, X a Billion.
The only time I ate at Taco Bell was before a gig (strangely) in Montreal and I spent all my time clinching my butt cheeks because it gave me the runs. We didn't have Taco Bell in my city and I wanted to try it out
I spent pretty much the whole night moaning like a beached whale in the bathroom.
+1 Yup, wanted to try it out on a road trip to Seattle as they hadn't yet infiltrated north of the 49th. Alas, a few years after my ordeal they did invade. Honestly can't fathom how TB is still in business.
Taco Bell?!
You're joking right?
Very few fast food chains are on my "never, no matter what list", but they are.
Although I guess if constipation is your issue they can definitely help you relieve that.
+1 Never been sicker quicker. Totally on the "will eat earthworms, dumpster dive, chew on bark etc before risking" list.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
"
Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill as that he knows not it tolls for him ...
never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee. . ."
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
}:~@=
There's a few brands of almond, rice, and soy yogurt available for the vegan/lactose intolerant peeps too.
