A roadside stand

Category: 3 peas: A decent indehiscent

Rating: 3 pea on a 5-pea-pod scale
Verdict: We were headed north and had put few hours between us and brunch. Seeing the boiled peanuts advertised on a 40-foot billboard towering over the interstate highway conjured mixed emotions. We knew they were there, but we knew they were probably not well-boiled.

Actually, these may have been well-boiled. But call it too much of good thing. Their mustiness suggested that they had been lingering for a while.

These boilers — though of our preferred variety, the smaller and sweeter Valencia type — were served from a slow cooker at a lukewarm temperature. Hotter would have been better. Cooler would have been better, too, considering the 95-degree heat. But these were just kind of warm.

We had no problem finishing off the bag. These days, that alone warrants a three-pea rating.

Season: Probably all year round
Hours: Probably all day long
Price: $2.00
Serving: A generously proportioned plastic bag
Notes: The stand is in a gas station parking lot east of I-75; exit 293
Proprietor: n/a
Last taste: July 2008.
Nut type: Probably Valencias.
Soak time: n/a
Boil time: n/a
Taster: Thomas