Dixie Travel Plaza - McLean

This place is trash. There are multiple guys who work there and are registered sex offenders with ankle monitors on. I have seen them out at the buffet with tank tops on and their ankle monitors showing. That should not be happening at a family restaurant. I have seen bugs and mold on the buffet.

I have not eaten here in a number of years but I ordered a soda and it tasted horrible. I asked the waitress about the taste and she said oh we have well water and it tastes bad, after another drink of the soda I could not drink it anymore and ordered milk. The food was good but I had sausage gravy which I'm sure included water when they made it and I could taste the well water in that also. You would think that place of this size could have a better water filtration system so that it would not affect the quality of their product or at least warn people ahead of time that they don't care to produce a quality product.

America's first truck stop. Orginally built in 1928. This place was remodeled a few years ago. New place looks great. Buffet is always excellent with a good variety of items. Plenty of parking for trucks. Lot isnt paved so you can always make a spot anytime of the night.

The first time I ate here was in 1998 my Dad and I were headed to St Louis to the NASCAR race. We had an excellent breakfast which included fried corn meal mush. For those unfamiliar, one can make corn meal mush or grits and pour it into a loaf pan and once it sets up you can slice it, fry it in butter, and serve with with maple syrup. (Tastes much like French toast . My Dad used to make it in the winter sometimes when I was a kid. This is the only place in the world I have found that on the menu. I made yearly trips down to St Louis to the races for the next 10 years or so, sometimes with my Dad and sometimes with another friend, and we always stopped at the Dixie Trucker's Home and ordered the fried corn meal mush for desert with breakfast. (My buddy Dave's Dad used to make it when he was a kid too. I stopped there last summer and the fried corn meal mush was not on the menu but they do often offer it on the breakfast buffet, and the friendly waitress girl was able to set me up. The Dixie Truckers home was one of the original truck stops in America, and opened on Rt. 66 in 1928. Around 2003 or so the original family sold out, and the place fell on hard times and became pretty run down, but it was remodeled a few years ago by a new owner. In my estimation it isn't as good as it once was, but it's improved a little recently.

I should start this by saying that I rarely have to give out 1 star reviews, but seriously, this place is terrible. Why is it a cliche' that truck stop food is so bad? And buffets? Unfortunately, this establishment is plagued by both of these terrible cliche's. I don't want to waste too much time ranting about how bad my experience was because no one is likely to read this anyway. I mean if you've made it to McLean and are too hungry to drive to extra 15 minutes to Bloomington, then by all means, stop in and see for yourself, but don't say i didn't warn you. Terrible service. No refills on our suspiciously overly-fluoride tasting water. Terribly understocked buffet, and honestly all of the food was just really bad.. and at times inedible in a sense. I assure you, this is NOT a local watering hole, or any trucker's favorite greasy spoon. Oh, and it was like $11.00 per person. I mean, we knew this before agreeing to have the buffet, but still, it was insulting. Maybe ordering off the menu is a better choice? I won't be back to find out.