Your Favorite Restaurants...

[Gail Simone]

In two categories.

First, CURRENT LOCAL...the place that's nearby that you love, and why you love it, and the dish you order there most often, and...


ALL-TIME FAVORITE...could be anywhere, could be open or closed. Why did you love this place so much?

[Naldo]

Local: Mirabella Cafe, Pollo al Limone.

All Time: There are actually more than one all time favorite, but the one I make the most effort to get to would be:

Lawry's The Prime Rib, Beverly Hills. Diamond Jim Brady cut, medium rare with creamed corn, Asparagus with Hollandaise, and a slice of Banana Cream Pie (with toasted shaved coconut crust) for dessert.

When I lived in L.A. that was the monthly guys night out spot. Whenever I'm in L.A. I make it a point to go.

[Weetomuncher]

Local: Buchanan Tea Room in Glasgow - This is a restaurant / cafe joined to a hotel and I had a wonderful steak with wild mushroom sauce served with chips (fries) and a side salad and a lovely chocolate milkshake. I also use the restaurant in John Lewis' department store a lot as their meatball pasta, ham and brie baguettes and chilli beef crepes are wonderful.

All Time: There is a wonderful cafe / restaurant in Inveraray which serves incredible Italian food. They serve the best Penne Arrabiatta I've ever tasted. Jade Garden in Greenock gets an honourable mention as their Beef & Black Bean Sauce is wonderful.

[LtMarvel]

Dominico's Italian has crab stuffed shells sprinkled with ham and peas covered with a creamy white sauce.

My aunt and uncle took my wife and I camping on the Oregon coast. The camp owner cooked crab he caught earlier that day, which he sold to us (shells go into the campfire!). My wife still says that this is her all-time favorite meal.

[Flying Saucers Over Oz]

Please note: I have no taste whatsoever, and less money, so most 'restaurants' I go to are fast food places.

The main place I go to is currently called Stacey's, and I go there mainly because it's a buffet, and very cheap.

Favoritest place ever was a greasy spoon called Dagwood's, which I loved less for the food than the decor and the atmosphere. It was like The House On The Rock had a garage sale. An entire WALL of homemade clown paintings. 50's formica and metal tables; not faux 50's, I think they just hadn't gotten new tables in a long while. Mismatched wooden chairs. A wooden carousel horse sitting in a corner for reasons I never understood.

They had a waitress who was a style trendsetter. One time I came in, she was wearing a sort of leather-vinyl minidress over white tights with black polka-dots, and black sneakers. Keep in mind, this was a rail-thin lady in her mid-to-late sixties. Then a week or so later, I came in again and she was wearing the exact same outfit. And I was thinking to myself, "It can't be a uniform..."

Then there was the time I came in and she asked, "So, y'want the buff-it?" . The 'buff-it?' finally, I got it: the BUFFET. I can only assume she was led astray by the Margarita-Ville guy.

Haven't had a chance to get out that way lately, and last I checked, they'd cut their hours WAY down, an early warning sign they'll probably be closing. Too bad, the place was in business for the better part of a century, but that's the way it goes, I guess...

[cedardryad]

For local I don't know, I always order out. My favorite take out restaurant is Shen Zhou, its a Chinese/Japanese place. I really only order the Japanese cuisine though.

As for all time favorite: Bugaboo Creek. Great portions and the desserts are monstrous and yummy. Service is slow, but its mainly because they actually cook the food and take their time to make it right.

[Gary_B]

CURRENT LOCAL... Red Fish, Blue Fish is a relatively new take out place on the docks of the inner harbour here in Victoria, British Columbia. They make fish and chips to die for and oh so much more. All of their seafood is from the Ocean Wise Foundation list of sustainable products and they make some unusual things like Fish Poutine (french fries smothered in a spicy, tomatoey fish goop), tempura pickles (strange but crunchy and wonderful) and tacones. Tacones are made by putting ingredients on half of a large tortilla and rolling it into a cone shape. The scallop tacone recently replaced fish poutine as my favourite thing on their menu.

ALL-TIME FAVOURITE... Zambri's is an Italian restaurant here in Victoria owned the brother and sister team of Peter and Jo Zambri. It is often voted best Italian restaurant in British Columbia which is quite a feat because most of the critics live in Vancouver. Peter, the chef, has been the head chef of a five star destination restaurant and studied in Italy for a number of years before opening his own restaurant. He embraces concepts like SLO cooking (seasonal, local, organic) and his menu changes almost daily to reflect what is freshest from local farms and the sea. It is at this restaurant that I first learned how magical wine and food are together and my wife and I have learned a lot from the sommelier who works there. Right now my favourite food memory from Zambri's is a bowl of Risotto with chanterelle mushrooms and prosciutto combined with glass of La Segreta white wine produced by Planeta.

[Gilda Dent]

Current local: The Outback Steakhouse. We usually get shrimp as an appetizer and I have the bbq chicken and ribs platter, of which I can generally eat about half.

All time: Denny's. I usually order either the grand slam breakfast or the chicken fried steak. There was a Denny's within walking distance of my first apartment, and going there was my once a week treat to get away from my typical diet of ramen noodles, bulk rice, and cereal. A grand slam breakfast and a doggy bag meant two meals for four dollars, including a pretty generous tip.

[THEDOC]

Local: Marengo Cafe'-family owned where they still serve meatloaf and liver/onions (not together of course).

All time: Lobster Tail in the Ventura Marina in Port Hueneme, California. Food was great and you'd see folks like the Carradine family and Burl Ives eating there.

[Alex L]

Really depends on the type of cuisine.

Current local fave would either be Prime Spot (steak place) for dinner or Crepevine (crepes) for a rather sizable brunch.

All-time would also be one of those two.

[bert]

Current Local -- still Chez Zee (American Bistro).

http://chezzee.com/

it's where we go for all Anniversaries and Special Occasions (even tho it is a bit more of a drive now that we moved so far out of town).

The food is upscale, tho not overpriced, the atmosphere can go from formal (star patio) to extremely casual (Piano-player in the side dining room).

and the deserts are to die for.

What I order most, is the Salmon Focaccia:

CRISP SMOKED SALMON FOCACCIA

Thin crust focaccia pizza dough with Italian seasonings, smoked salmon, minced garlic, smokey olive oil, red onions, and capers. Topped with Provolone cheese.
9.95

or the Apple Wood Smoked Pork Chops:

APPLE- WOOD SMOKED PORKCHOPS WITH BLACK COFFEE BBQ SAUCE
Two Apple Wood Smoked Pork chops topped with black coffee BBQ sauce. Served with Jalapeño cornbread stuffing and sweet potato pudding 21.95

but the best thing on the menu is the Creme Brulee French Toast:

http://chezzee.com/creme_brulee.php

http://chezzee.com/images/food/desserts/CBLFT/CBLFT-dessert4-500.jpg


All Time Favorite:

hmmmm. . so many to choose from, I don't know that I can. I have such varried taste, but a couple that have left Austin that I really liked were: The Magic Time Machine (tho not the greatest food, themed Dining at it's best),

http://magictimemachine.com/

and

Bahama Breeze (the best damn Paella, and Pina Colada's anywhere)
http://www.bahamabreeze.com/default.asp

. . . I wish they were both still around Austin/Cedar Park.

[Romero]

Ha, my first (and so far only) visit to a Magic Time Machine was in Dallas about 5 or 6 years ago with my wife and her family. I had never heard of the place before that.

Current local fave: still has to be Enchilidas Y Mas. Good sloppy, affordable Tex-Mex.


All time favorite: Whataburger. Sure it's a fast food burger joint, but it's the only one I have consistently eaten pretty much my entire life. I never get tired of it.

[bert]

Ha, my first (and so far only) visit to a Magic Time Machine was in Dallas about 5 or 6 years ago with my wife and her family. I had never heard of the place before that.



if you liked it, there is still one on the Riverwalk, I believe.

Since we're Cedar Park now, San Antonio is closer to a 2hour drive (used to be an hour/10min).

2 hours is just too far to drive for dinner :)

[Aspield]

I will preface this by saying I'm a bit of a food whore. If I have to pay for it, I want it good.

Local --
Turkuaz (about 2 blocks away). Amazing Turkish food. I love the yogurt kabobs, which come layered with Turkish bread and spiced tomato sauce. Also, the cold appetizers are a delight (the Tarama - a whipped caviar -- is just amazing & so is the hummus) with the accompanying bread basket.

Madras Mahal (about 3 blocks from the job). Stunning Hindi vegetarian food. Highly recommend the lunch special, which comes with a bowl of rice, some flat bread, and about 12 little bowls of goodness - from spicy to cool, creamy to soupy. Perfect for an absolutely fabu lunch experience (especially if the morning was full of bad meetings).

All Time --
La Gazelle - Cameroon place in Paris - great service, good wines. I recommend Yassa Poulet, a spiced chicken (which I understand is really a Senegalese dish), the Poisson Capitain (basically a full-fresh fish cooked with the freshest ingredients found that day), and the N'Dole (a bitterleaf soup -- much better than it sounds).

Nha Trang - Chinatown NYC - good service, cheap and tasty eats. Sure they have pho (a fairly common Vietnamese soup, full of every part of the cow, but it could conceivably be made with chicken and fish balls), but I swear by the Bo Luc Lac, a salad topped with grilled steak. Perfectly tender and seasoned.

Sanamluang Cafe - Hollywood LA - ridiculously inexpensive and extraordinarily good. Thai food done real well, real fast, and real cheap. I recommend the chicken satay (skewers with peanut sauce), and a noodle soup, which you can put equal parts spice, sugar, and vinegar on top of. Or you can try the duck on rice - which is great.

Kongju - Korean restaurant in the Pathumwan Princess Hotel, Bangkok. Sure, it's expensive compared to street fare in Thailand, but Kongju has the best Korean food I've ever had. The staff are super nice, and help choose your dishes (which really makes a difference in enjoying Korean food, I find). The goo jeol pan is a great appetizer -- you fill the tiny pancakes with whatever your heart desires. Then it gets serious - with an amazing array of BBQ choices that you cook at your table (dol sot bi bim bop).

City Lights of China - an old DC favorite. Yes, the original chef has since moved on (but I haven't found that restaurant yet). I love the dumplings (fried with meat, of course - but the steamed are good too), the garlic stir fried spinach, the lightly fried (have no idea how they do it) general tso's chicken, and the crispy shredded beef.

Artiste Supermarche - a Nashville surprise. The entire menu is made up that morning from whatever the chef finds at the farmer's market. Oh my god it's good. Brunch and lunch are both great there - and you have a range of American to French food done well at a not-terribly-expensive price.

Rosebud on Rush - Chicago Italian. Every single thing I've tried on the menu is crazy fresh and good. Homemade pasta, fresh veggies, and tasty sauces makes any meal extraordinary. The Tiramisu is the best I've ever had in the US. Please save room for it. Do not bother with an appetizer because it will fill you up beyond the capacity to get to the Tiramisu. OH MY GOD MY MOUTH IS WATERING ALREADY.

[bert]

I will preface this by saying I'm a bit of a food whore. If I have to pay for it, I want it good.

Local --
Turkuaz (about 2 blocks away). Amazing Turkish food. I love the yogurt kabobs, which come layered with Turkish bread and spiced tomato sauce. Also, the cold appetizers are a delight (the Tarama - a whipped caviar -- is just amazing & so is the hummus) with the accompanying bread basket.

Madras Mahal (about 3 blocks from the job). Stunning Hindi vegetarian food. Highly recommend the lunch special, which comes with a bowl of rice, some flat bread, and about 12 little bowls of goodness - from spicy to cool, creamy to soupy. Perfect for an absolutely fabu lunch experience (especially if the morning was full of bad meetings).

All Time --
La Gazelle - Cameroon place in Paris - great service, good wines. I recommend Yassa Poulet, a spiced chicken (which I understand is really a Senegalese dish), the Poisson Capitain (basically a full-fresh fish cooked with the freshest ingredients found that day), and the N'Dole (a bitterleaf soup -- much better than it sounds).

Nha Trang - Chinatown NYC - good service, cheap and tasty eats. Sure they have pho (a fairly common Vietnamese soup, full of every part of the cow, but it could conceivably be made with chicken and fish balls), but I swear by the Bo Luc Lac, a salad topped with grilled steak. Perfectly tender and seasoned.

Sanamluang Cafe - Hollywood LA - ridiculously inexpensive and extraordinarily good. Thai food done real well, real fast, and real cheap. I recommend the chicken satay (skewers with peanut sauce), and a noodle soup, which you can put equal parts spice, sugar, and vinegar on top of. Or you can try the duck on rice - which is great.

Kongju - Korean restaurant in the Pathumwan Princess Hotel, Bangkok. Sure, it's expensive compared to street fare in Thailand, but Kongju has the best Korean food I've ever had. The staff are super nice, and help choose your dishes (which really makes a difference in enjoying Korean food, I find). The goo jeol pan is a great appetizer -- you fill the tiny pancakes with whatever your heart desires. Then it gets serious - with an amazing array of BBQ choices that you cook at your table (dol sot bi bim bop).

City Lights of China - an old DC favorite. Yes, the original chef has since moved on (but I haven't found that restaurant yet). I love the dumplings (fried with meat, of course - but the steamed are good too), the garlic stir fried spinach, the lightly fried (have no idea how they do it) general tso's chicken, and the crispy shredded beef.

Artiste Supermarche - a Nashville surprise. The entire menu is made up that morning from whatever the chef finds at the farmer's market. Oh my god it's good. Brunch and lunch are both great there - and you have a range of American to French food done well at a not-terribly-expensive price.

Rosebud on Rush - Chicago Italian. Every single thing I've tried on the menu is crazy fresh and good. Homemade pasta, fresh veggies, and tasty sauces makes any meal extraordinary. The Tiramisu is the best I've ever had in the US. Please save room for it. Do not bother with an appetizer because it will fill you up beyond the capacity to get to the Tiramisu. OH MY GOD MY MOUTH IS WATERING ALREADY.

wow. . . we are so much alike in regards to food it's scary.

I love every-single thing you have posted above, and like you, I don't mind paying if it's good.

Best French meal I've ever had was the 5 course w/ Wine Pairings at the fancy French Restaurant in Epcot for my birthday last year.

I didn't care for some of the cheese on the cheese plate, but even the stuff I usually don't care for (foie gras) was absolutely fantastic.

my mouth is watering too!

[Tobias March]

Jo Burger. (http://joburger.ie/)

The first of the new wave of burger joints in Dublin. Great food, great variety, dj in a boothe playing cool tunes, menus are sewn into old comic book annuals - even the chairs are printed with comics (I found myself sitting on Final Crisis Submit!)

[stealthwise]

Current local: The Outback Steakhouse. We usually get shrimp as an appetizer and I have the bbq chicken and ribs platter, of which I can generally eat about half.

All time: Denny's. I usually order either the grand slam breakfast or the chicken fried steak. There was a Denny's within walking distance of my first apartment, and going there was my once a week treat to get away from my typical diet of ramen noodles, bulk rice, and cereal. A grand slam breakfast and a doggy bag meant two meals for four dollars, including a pretty generous tip.

Uh... no offense to your taste, but Denny's must be a HELL of a lot better in the States than in Canada if it's anywhere near a top restaurant list.

[Aspield]

wow. . . we are so much alike in regards to food it's scary.

I love every-single thing you have posted above, and like you, I don't mind paying if it's good.

Best French meal I've ever had was the 5 course w/ Wine Pairings at the fancy French Restaurant in Epcot for my birthday last year.

I didn't care for some of the cheese on the cheese plate, but even the stuff I usually don't care for (foie gras) was absolutely fantastic.

my mouth is watering too!

Wow that sounds good.
Cheers!

We have got to grab food the next time we're in the same city!

[Cam63]

I'm not fussy.

Anyplace that doesn't kill you is OK.

[sk716]

This was really hard.

Local Cuisine
The Brau Haus - German/Octoberfest fare. Huge selection of imported beers. I get the Brat, Kraut, and German Potato Salad and beers. Pretty much everything on the menu is good though, the Bratwurst and Knackwurst are hand made, good stuffs. I really go for the beers though. It's the kind of place you don't feel bad about staying for three hours drinking beer with your friends.

All Time
Cajun's Wharf (Little Rock) - And I've eaten at Cajun's Wharf in San Francisco, I just like the one in Little Rock better (they're not affiliated). I'm really picky about seafood, I've had enough good (San Fransisco, Baltimore) that anything less than awesome is intolerable. I tend to work a stuffed lobster tail into my order, the rest kind of varies. It's kind of expensive so we save it for special occasions.

And the Middle Eastern booth at the Little Rock River Market. I get Gyros. I love me a Gyro! I could eat a Gyro everyday. I did when I worked about a block away. I never tire of tzatziki.

[Corrina]

Local:

Five Guys Burgers & Fries.

Granted, you have to like burgers and fries but... AWESOME. The regular size burger is almost too big. And THEY FILL THE ENTIRE BAG WITH FRIES. AWESOME FRIES.

Ahem.

Plus, free peanuts.

Best Ever:
A place called "Stretch's" In West Orange, NJ. We used to live two blocks away. Authentic and unique Italian stuff. The signature dish was something with chicken, vinegar & garlic and so much pasta. I've never eaten anything like it.

They also did Chicken Murphy, (cubed potatoes, roasted peppers & onions, other veggies, in a big mound...) a great penne with vodka sauce, not to mention the appetizers....runner up would be another Italian place just over the border into Orange.

Dammit, I miss good New Jersey food.

[Cam63]

And the Middle Eastern booth at the Little Rock River Market. I get Gyros. I love me a Gyro! I could eat a Gyro everyday. I did when I worked about a block away. I never tire of tzatziki.

Hmm... They look interesting.

[bert]

hehe. . just to let y'all know, I had a response typed up for Shel, but it was so dirty I re-thought it and just didn't post it.

but I was thinking about "favorite places to eat". . . . .:)

[sk716]

hehe. . just to let y'all know, I had a response typed up for Shel, but it was so dirty I re-thought it and just didn't post it.

but I was thinking about "favorite places to eat". . . . .:)

Dirty, dirty Bert.

[KevinTBrown]

My favorite local place is a place called Irish Times (http://www.irishtimespubchicago.com/). They've got the best burgers in the world and their onion rings.are outstanding. Plus if you're a fish & chips fan, you'll love it here. Oh, and this is definitely the place for Cam with it having dozens of different beers to try.

All time favorite is Cracker Barrel. I grew up on country cooking, so it's like home for me.

[Cam63]

Dirty, dirty Bert.

http://roastmyweenie.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/dirty-mind.gif

[section 8]

Oh no! I'm not falling for this.

I tell you where I like to eat then you come in, we talk for a while and then you excuse yourself, and go to the restroom then BAM Double tap me in the head, and I'm dead face down in my chicken parmigiana...

Nice try, I saw "the Godfather"

[Gilda Dent]

Uh... no offense to your taste, but Denny's must be a HELL of a lot better in the States than in Canada if it's anywhere near a top restaurant list.

Either that or we have different tastes and different associations. For about two years, Denny's was the only restaurant where I could afford to eat, so eating there became a big treat to me.

Also, the question was one of favorite restaurant, which is a question of taste, not quality. Had it been a question of quality, I probably wouldn't have posted, as I generally don't like nice restaurants.

[greatmetropolitan]

Locally, I'd say Ichiban on Queen street in Glasgow. Great little Japanese place, not too expensive, good for a night out. I usually have the chilli chicken ramen, with some tuna sushi, some hot saki and maybe a bottle of Tiger or something. Oh, and the awesome beef rolls filled with mushroom and garlic. Mmmmm.

Favourite place ever? Went on holiday to New York for a few days last year. There's this great irish place just off of Times Square that does the gaelic steak. Steak for the win!

[Major Comma]

Claim Jumpers!
Best and most fattening sandwiches in the known universe!

[friginator]

There was a tiny iranian chicken restaurant that was my favorite, but since it closed my favorite is probably a place called Coney Islander. The best hot dogs in the entire world. Period. I don't even like hot dogs especially, but these taste amazing. I've never seen one outside of my city, so I guess they're just in Tulsa, Oklahoma.