Good places to eat...recommend something!

[Midas]

I was thinking about this today after I had an AWESOME Italian Beef sandwich from Luke's of Chicago, a place that was recommended to me by a co-worker. If one were to visit where you live, what local restaurants would you recommend to someone unfamiliar with the area? Post them here!

Here are some of my faves from the Phoenix Metro area in addition to Luke's:

Nello's - Good pizza. I recommend The Murphy if you like that on your pizza. All their pizza rocks.

Chino Bandido - OK, it may not be the best food (it's still pretty good) but there's a freakin' statue of a panda wearing a sombrero! Where else are you gonna see that?

Valle Luna - Great Sonoran-style Mexican food. Their fundidos are awesome.

El Paso Bar-B-Que - Good BBQ and they have this awesome side of creamed corn - I heard they put cake batter innit...it's really good!


Some other great places to eat that I've experienced in my travels or from residing there:

(San Diego CA) The Mission - Great place for breakfast. I would highly recommend the Roast Beef Hash and Eggs...comes with Rosemary potatoes and Rosemary bread. Delish!

(San Diego CA) South Beach Bar & Grille - Good grilled mahi tacos. Service is less than desirable. Seating is first-come first-served and it can get crowded. You have to get into vulture mode to get a table when it's busy. Also, you have to order your drinks from the bar; your server will not bring you drinks. But the food and the fact that the ocean is right their outweighs the bad.

(Raleigh-Durham NC Area and now 12 other states) Mellow Mushroom Pizza-Some great pizza.

[Midas]

I thought of another place if god forbid yer ever in the Dallas-Fort Worth area:

Spring Creek Barbeque - Great BBQ sauce and meats and fresh buttery rolls. MMMM...

[punkypower]

Well, McDonald's has those delicious bionic hamburgers....

[Jessica]

Ah, you've touched on a subject that everyone will love. ;D

So in Chicago (and other places in Illinois):

For great Chicago style stuffed pizza, I recommend Cholie's, a little hole in the wall restaurant located on 53rd Street. They don't have a website, but their pizza is so goooooooood.

Good Thai food can be found at Thai 55th, which is located on (DUH) 55th Street. Their Satae Chicken is delicious. And they have my smoothies with the tapioca pearls in them. My addiction to them is so bad that they know it's me when I order.

Rajun Cajun, an Indian/Soul food hybrid. I have not eaten here yet, but when I went in to look at their food, I really wanted some. Unfortunately, Jason changed his mind and wanted to leave.

When we were coming back from California this past summer, we ran across a little Mexican restaurant in Peru, Illinois. It was called "Mi Margarita", and yes, they did have Margaritas. I had a banana margarita and some seafood. It was excellent.

Indiana:

Canton House. Good food, good prices, and they always threw in some extra dish just because they liked us.

This is a chain restaurant, but not as well known as the Waffle House. The Original Pancake House has delicious omelettes and pancakes, although I recommend the item known as the "Dutch Baby".

Gasthof Amish Village has some great Amish food, if you're feeling adventurous. Unfortunately, it's way the hell down in Southern Indiana.

And then you have the assorted Waffle Houses scattered through the area. Ah, a heart attack in a waffle. I love their sweet iced tea.

Arizona has been covered. Chino Bandido rules.

California (this is going to be fun):

Phil's Fish Market is a staple of the Central Coast. We've known Phil himself for years and years. His place is pretty famous. I recommend the Mediterranean Pasta and the clam chowder.

For good Japanese food, Ichi Riki in Seaside is the best. They use the freshest ingredients for their sushi, and they make the best Oyako Donburi around.

Okay, I'll stop for now and let someone else write some.

[Diofan]

If you ever Find yourself in Seattle...and you want a "Unique" albeit VERY Expensive Meal, you COULD go to the Space Needle Restaurant. The restaurant serves lunches (brunches at the weekend) and dinners seven days a week. Reservations recommended. Valet parking on site. Expensive, and with a minimum food charge of $30 per guest, if all your companion wants is a salad, you might want to strategically allocate what you're both ordering variously to each of you so as to avoid paying the $30 each minimum.

OR for slightly better Fare (IMO) and you could hit up Lowell's Restaurant & Bar at Pike Place market. (incidentally, the "Dining" Scene of Tom Hanks in "Sleepless In Seattle" was filmed at Lowell's)

Ivar's Salmon House is open daily for lunch and dinner. On Sundays they serve an excellent buffet style brunch! Prices are moderate, and there is plentiful parking immediately opposite.

Maybe you're alone in your hotel room and don't feel like eating in the hotel's over-priced and disappointing dining room. Why not order out for a Pagliacci Pizza. Definitely Seattle's best pizza, and with fifteen different delivery kitchens (you can also phone in an order then go pick it up yourself - something I always do so as to get the pizza at its freshest), the chances are there's one not too far from wherever you are.

Spirit of Washington Dinner Train: We have become so accustomed to airline food that it comes as a great surprise to find food prepared in a similar situation - for consumption on a local tourist train - can be served decently and even well.

The SoWDT provides dinners six nights a week (no Monday service) and lunches on the weekend, and takes its guests on a 3 1/4 hour roundtrip ride from a depot in Renton to its terminus at a winery next to the Herbfarm and back. Renton is about 12 miles from downtown Seattle, on Seattle's Eastside.

You have 45 minutes for a wine tasting at the winery before returning to the depot.

There are two main seating choices on the train - either in a parlor car or a dome observation car. The train of vintage carriages is hauled by a diesel locomotive. Diners are asked to specify their entree choice when reserving (typically a meat, fish, and at least one other choice are offered). Lunch/brunch meals are $54 or $69 in the dome seating area, and dinners are $64 or $79 (plus tax and tip).

The food is okay but not marvelous, and the experience is the main reason for choosing this dining option. The Spirit of Washington Dinner Train also has occasional 'Murder Mystery' theme dinners.

Update : SoWDT track rights expired in Earlier this year, and the train now departs from Tacoma.

Also in Tacoma, you got MY favorite Mexican Restaurant "Hidalgo" in a Tacoma Suburb called "Spanaway". AWESOME Mexican food there. Chooch and I eat there often.

Then just about everywhere in the Seattle Area is "Red Robin" With their Gourmet Burgers and "Endless Fries".

That's About All I can Think of right now!

[Midas]

Diofan writes for The Travel Insider. Good on ya!

[punkypower]

Dusty's Cellar in Okemos, MI - good food, excellent service. Very intimate and romantic. Go there if somebody else is paying.

For pizza, I like Buddy's and Dolly's.

Cady's Grill in Ypsi is good. They have a really good chicken salad with Michigan cherries and other stuff in it. Their butternut squash soup is also delicious.

Culver's is good for "fast food." Much tastier than McCrappy's, although I doubt Culver's burgers are bionic, which is kind of a bummer.

Xochimilco's in Detroit, because they're open late and they give you tons of food for cheap. I always get the fajitas. Don't talk to the beggers outside.

The State Room at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. We have Sunday brunch there and once a year they have Lobster Night, which my mom and brother say is awesome. They didn't take me with them, so I wouldn't personally know. :-P

If you for some ungodly reason, find yourself in Dayton, Ohio...try to escape as quickly as possible...but before you do...visit:

The Chop House http://www.thechophouse.com/, apparently they have other locations in Knoxville, TN, Chattanooga, TN, Murfreesboro, TN, Kingsport, TN, Sevierville, TN, Kodak, TN, and Lexington, KY as well Dayton (according to their website). Great steaks and their crab cakes and chicken garden pasta are to die for. It's a little expensive (I mean, if you are on a McDonald's budget, you can only go here for special occasions. ) But gosh it's a real treat. Service is always excellent.

ummm...let's see...
We've enjoyed the Japanese Steakhouse named Sake here. There are two different areas in the restaurant, a regular dining room and a Hibachi style (cook on your table) area. That is fun, but once you've seen the show, it's pretty much the same thing, different cook. This restaurant is REALLY expensive. But it's good. Yes, they have sake, no I didn't like it. They also have a pretty good sushi bar, but the only thing I'm brave enough to try is the California roll, I love the pickled ginger and wasabi on the side. I think I love the look on my hubby's face when I eat the wasabi better even then the food itself.

We've been to the Second Street Cafe once. It was really good, although the website could use a little work, but as long as they are making their awesome sandwiches...who cares if they have web presence? The service is really friendly and it's decorated really pretty. But it's only open for breakfast and open until 4 p.m., so it's mainly light sandwiches. Their vegetarian sandwich is yummy. I haven't tried their baked goods or coffee yet, but plan to, if I ever get my butt in gear to get there again.

We've liked Spaghetti Warehouse, but find it a little expensive, as well as Olive Garden. Instead we usually go to Fazoli's. They are dirt cheap and awesome. But if you want interesting Italian choices, go to the first two. Fazoli's is really kinda no frill.

In the mood for Mexican? Sorry, nothing good here. Although I understand El Meson is very good, it's more Caribbean/South American food rather then Mexican though. Never been there though, so I guess we'll have to wait to I get there for the review. Everybody on our local newspaper website adores that place though. We like Chipotle, they are reasonably priced, but it's sort of an assembly line feel to it. Oh well...the price is right. Also we like Cozymel's Coastal Mexican restaurant, but they moved from the Dayton area to Columbus (about a hour's drive), not worth driving THAT far.

We really like Mediterranian food (well at least I do.) lol So we go to Gyro Palace which is kind of fast food gyros, but it's not half bad really. They must be doing well, they got 2 huge-ass flat screen televisions with satellite reception, showing music videos from Egypt...so that in itself, is kinda interesting. We used to go to Taste of the Mediterranean, which has really good food, but it's slightly expensive, and unfortunately hubby won't go back there anymore due his...um...personal political paranoia.

If you are in Cincinnati, Ohio...three places I really liked were:

Sitwell's Coffeehouse

and
Two Indian restaurants that I love. They are next door to each other.

Ambar India Restaurant
and Amol India

And if for some reason you find yourself in Mason, Ohio (halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton), make your way to Chan's Asian Wok which according to this website Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the United States

They are pretty good, although I'm sure most Chinese restaurants don't take the time to add themselves to that website in reality.

[DepecheCat]

Originally Posted by Midas

I thought of another place if god forbid yer ever in the Dallas-Fort Worth area:

Spring Creek Barbeque - Great BBQ sauce and meats and fresh buttery rolls. MMMM...

*ahem* I live in Richardson. :P

If one were to ever venture to this area, I highly recommend Genghis Grill. I had my first taste of Mongolian BBQ when I was in Ann Arbor and never forgot it. Fortunately, I came across GG shortly after I moved up here from San Antonio. I've made it a point to go there once a week.

Another local recommendation would be Sammy's BBQ (although the best BBQ I've EVER HAD is called Sonny's and those can be found in states like Alabama and Florida).

As for nation-wide stuff, I also highly recommend Chipotle for that "Mexifresh" taste. The chips are out of this world.

Originally Posted by DepecheCat

*ahem* I live in Richardson. :P

*ahem* No one but me knows/remembers that since you didn't show up here and post for like, oh, a YEAR or more.

[Midas]

Originally Posted by DepecheCat

*ahem* I live in Richardson. :P

If one were to ever venture to this area, I highly recommend Genghis Grill. I had my first taste of Mongolian BBQ when I was in Ann Arbor and never forgot it. Fortunately, I came across GG shortly after I moved up here from San Antonio. I've made it a point to go there once a week.

Another local recommendation would be Sammy's BBQ (although the best BBQ I've EVER HAD is called Sonny's and those can be found in states like Alabama and Florida).

As for nation-wide stuff, I also highly recommend Chipotle for that "Mexifresh" taste. The chips are out of this world.

I'll have to try GG and Sammy's if I ever decide to go visit my folks while they still live there (Plano). Thanks for sharing!

[punkypower]

Oh yeah - In the Detroit area...

Andiamo for Italian and Pizza Papalis for Chicago-style pizza. It's like 2 inches thick (that's what she said).

[Midas]

If you're ever in Charlotte NC (I was thrice this year), give Cajun Queen a try. Good eats!