The Restaurant Thread: Post Your Faves For Us

[mia1181]

Fav Chains
Cheesecake Factory - although they def. give you way too much food. I feel bad ordering a salad because you can't really take the leftovers home and when I am full it usually looks like I haven't even started eating.

Melting Pot- Who doesn't love fondue? Although you definitely leave smelling like the place.

Supper Club- Dinner in bed? Nothin wrong with that!

Fav Pizza
Bocce Club Pizza- Buffalo, NY (Sauce is yummy, I always order extra!)

Zachary's Pizza- Berkeley, CA Awesome Chicago-Style Pizza. Deep dish filled with huge chunks of tomatoes and tons of cheese... yummy!

Fav Atmosphere
Foreign Cinema- San Francisco, CA Eat outdoors in a courtyard that's made out of the backs of 3 buildings with brick walls that are painted white. Black and white foreign films are projected onto the biggest wall while you eat.

Bix- San Francisco, CA Cool atmosphere, I like that it's almost hidden down a small alley.

MangaRosa- San Francisco, CA Go on Thursday night and every hour Brazilian Dancers come out and dance. It's fun to surprise people by taking them there and not telling them what happens!

k that's all for now... I'm sure I'll be thinking of more all day!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Glad I just ate, otherwise this would make me hungry! Yum!

Here''s my absolute faves, not going to categorize them: The Melting Pot, Carrabba''s, Olive Garden, P.F. Chang''s, Cheesecake Factory, Bonefish, Outback, Cracker Barrel, Cheesecake Bistro (only for the cheesecake), T.G.I.Friday''s, Panera Bread, and local Mexican places, yum! Wow I eat out too much!

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 10/17/2008 5:06:51 PM
Author: beebrisk

Wow! Do you ever eat at home???

Thanks for the list!

I do... I always eat at home M-Th. j/k. The list is a compilation of years. I like to try different foods and restaurants, so that''s why there''s a big list.

 

[pennquaker09]

I love, love, love The Fountain at the Four Seasons in Philly. I wanna move back there so much . . .

I may be the only one, but I have never been to a Cheesecake Factory. I really hate P.F. Chang. I've had better Chinese in malls.

Hmm, I love Olive Garden.

I also loved Buddakan and Barclay in Philly. In New York, I like Per Se and La Grenouille. I actually at lunch at the latter yesterday.

 

[pennquaker09]

Not to bring down the mood, but even though i love Cracker Barrel food, I hate going to them when I''m in Alabama.

 

[ksinger]

Date: 10/15/2008 9:34:47 AM
Author: OUpeargirl
Favorite Chain- Charleston''s. It''s not a huge chain, but there are a few in the OKC metro area as well as Omaha and Fort Worth.

Favorite Restaurant- Bravos in Edmond, Oklahoma or Tunero in Fort Worth.

Best expensive place- Nonna''s in Oklahoma City

Most memorable- Tavern on the Green

I''ll add to that, since I''m in OKC

Best BEST BEST upscale - The Coach House - pricey and worth every single penny.

Best place to buy artisan bread, and have pastries and coffee - Prairie Thunder Baking Company

 

[HollyS]

Elmorton: I forgot you've been around my hometown (Normal) and the DH's (Champaign)!

It's been awhile since I've eaten there (2005 was my last trip) but Avanti's Roast Beef on their homemade bread with their spaghetti sauce is yummy! We also ate a lot of Steak 'n Shake growing up; they finally have some in Texas. Best place for burgers, shakes, and Chili-Mac!

Our favorites:

Breakfast: Blue Bonnet Cafe, Temple, TX (biscuits from scratch and homefries!)

Sandwiches/Lunch: Katz's Deli (Austin or NYC)
Brownings Cafe, Salado, TX
Jason's Delis (nationwide; just because of the huge variety of sandwiches)


Favorite chain: Mimi's (west coast and the southwest/comfort food all the way)
Olive Garden (it's cliche, but who doesn't like the soup/salad/breadsticks?)
Steak 'n Shake


Local Tex-Mex: Las Casas, Temple, TX
Taqueria Mexican Grille (several locations in our vicinity)
Mi Casa Su Casa, Harker Heights, TX


Fancy: Rose Hill Manor, Stonewall, TX (unbelievable gourmet food in a country inn)
Inn on the Creek (more wonderful country inn food)
Cheeve's Bros. Steak House, Temple, TX (very Ruth Chris in nature)

Local dinner: Mikeska's Grille, Temple (steaks, burgers, fish, salad bar; very casual w/ great food)
Luigi's, Belton, TX for homeade Italian

Favorites more than 20 miles away:
Pasta Bella, Fredericksburg, TX (the real deal for Italian food)
Monument Cafe, Georgetown (everything is homeade and delish in a 30's Deco diner)
Russo's, Marble Falls, TX (for the view of the lake, sunset; where I was proposed to!)

And favorite for family dinners out, holidays, special occasions (like our rehearsal dinner):
Stagecoach Inn, Salado, TX (the ultimate in comfort food with Southern flair)

And I can't believe I almost forgot the BBQ! This is TX after all!
Cooper's in Llano is the best. OMG. I want to go there now!
Cowboy BBQ in Salado is a second best.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Holly omg Steak n Shake!! I so wish I had one of those.

That reminds me..add Sonic to my list, it kind of counts!

 

[HollyS]

Date: 10/18/2008 9:09:21 AM
Author: ksinger

Date: 10/15/2008 9:34:47 AM
Author: OUpeargirl
Favorite Chain- Charleston's. It's not a huge chain, but there are a few in the OKC metro area as well as Omaha and Fort Worth.

Favorite Restaurant- Bravos in Edmond, Oklahoma or Tunero in Fort Worth.

Best expensive place- Nonna's in Oklahoma City

Most memorable- Tavern on the Green

I'll add to that, since I'm in OKC

Best BEST BEST upscale - The Coach House - pricey and worth every single penny.

Best place to buy artisan bread, and have pastries and coffee - Prairie Thunder Baking Company

I've been to The Coach House! It is wonderful!

Does OKC still have that ginormous cafeteria with the gazillion choices? I think it was in the downtown area. . .

 

[HollyS]

Date: 10/18/2008 2:10:23 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS
Holly omg Steak n Shake!! I so wish I had one of those.

That reminds me..add Sonic to my list, it kind of counts!

I know! Normal is where it all began in 1934; my family ate their food every week of my life until we moved to TX! My sister and I do not understand people who have a ''so-what?'' attitude about S ''n S. We waited a really long time for the chain to expand down here in TX (28-29 years!). Of course, everytime we went back home, our first stop was Springfield, MO for our first taste of S ''n S; and our last stop on our way back to TX!

Sonic is good: extra long cheese coney and a lime slush is a tasty lunch!

 

[iheartscience]

Mmm...I''m hungry now! Here goes:

I really dislike major chain restaurants and pretty much never go to them. The exception would have to be for when I''m craving junky food. I love Five Guys Burgers and Fries and I also love In & Out Burger!

Here a few of my favorite non-chains (that I can remember the names of!):

NYC:
Aqua Grill in Soho-best raw oysters I''ve ever had!
Dim Sum Go Go-dim sum, obviously! It''s at Bowery and Canal
Kongee Village-get the fried whole fish (I think it''s flounder)-it''s insanely good!
Pret a Manger-actually a chain owned by McDonald''s with super tasty sandwiches to go. I think they''re only in NYC in the U.S.

LA:
Loteria Grill-in The Farmer''s Market at the Grove-best real Mexican food of my life.
Newsroom Cafe-on Robertson-tasty, healthy breakfast, although I haven''t been since they got a bad grade from the health inspector. I''ll probably still go next time I''m in LA, though!

DC:
Jaleo-tapas that are pretty authentic and 100% delicious!

Richmond:
Patina Grill-delicious international food!

 

[beebrisk]

Date: 10/18/2008 5:18:08 PM
Author: thing2of2
Mmm...I''m hungry now! Here goes:


I really dislike major chain restaurants and pretty much never go to them. The exception would have to be for when I''m craving junky food. I love Five Guys Burgers and Fries and I also love In & Out Burger!


Here a few of my favorite non-chains (that I can remember the names of!):


NYC:

Aqua Grill in Soho-best raw oysters I''ve ever had!

Dim Sum Go Go-dim sum, obviously! It''s at Bowery and Canal

Kongee Village-get the fried whole fish (I think it''s flounder)-it''s insanely good!

Pret a Manger-actually a chain owned by McDonald''s with super tasty sandwiches to go. I think they''re only in NYC in the U.S.


LA:

Loteria Grill-in The Farmer''s Market at the Grove-best real Mexican food of my life.

Newsroom Cafe-on Robertson-tasty, healthy breakfast, although I haven''t been since they got a bad grade from the health inspector. I''ll probably still go next time I''m in LA, though!


DC:

Jaleo-tapas that are pretty authentic and 100% delicious!


Richmond:

Patina Grill-delicious international food!

Ohhhh Five Guys! Wow, they are so-so-so good. And they recently opened one in NYC, so I don''t have to wait until I get to Virginia to go. OMG, and such great, FRESH fries too. Ugh, I''m hungry again!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Omg how did I forget Five Guys, too..has anyone had their hotdogs? Yum!

Time for dinner now..

 

[ksinger]

Date: 10/18/2008 2:13:09 PM
Author: HollyS

Date: 10/18/2008 9:09:21 AM
Author: ksinger

Date: 10/15/2008 9:34:47 AM
Author: OUpeargirl
Favorite Chain- Charleston''s. It''s not a huge chain, but there are a few in the OKC metro area as well as Omaha and Fort Worth.

Favorite Restaurant- Bravos in Edmond, Oklahoma or Tunero in Fort Worth.

Best expensive place- Nonna''s in Oklahoma City

Most memorable- Tavern on the Green

I''ll add to that, since I''m in OKC

Best BEST BEST upscale - The Coach House - pricey and worth every single penny.

Best place to buy artisan bread, and have pastries and coffee - Prairie Thunder Baking Company

I''ve been to The Coach House! It is wonderful!

Does OKC still have that ginormous cafeteria with the gazillion choices? I think it was in the downtown area. . .

I think that was the Queen Anne, and I''m pretty sure it''s been gone for awhile. I don''t think I ever ate there, but my mom worked downtown for ages, and spoke of it.

Yeah, Coach House. Mmmm! But what''s even more fun is going to Chef Kurt Fleischfresser''s (say THAT three times fast!) cooking classes. I''ve been going for years, and he''s about as non-CHEF-like as anyone could be. Down-to-earth, non-pretentious and funny. He''s got a wicked sense of humor and loves to be hassled and will hassle back. We always get seats up front so we can heckle. It''s great fun. The most fun one we did was one on party foods for the holidays. I got a great cranberry port wine jam recipe that I now make every year. Served over goat cheese on crisped toast points. Just yummy. Hmmm....I missed September''s class. I think I''ll go tomorrow and see what''s cookin'' for October....

 

[Blenheim]

Date: 10/15/2008 9:33:47 AM
Author: elledizzy5
I''ll play!

Favorite Breakfast: The West Egg - Chicago, IL. The Broken Egg - Ann Arbor, MI, Orange - Chicago, IL (As you can tell, I''m a breakfast person!)

Favorite Sushi: Yamato Ann Arbor, MI

Favorite Nice Dinner: Gratzi - Ann Arbor, MI

Favorite Local Dinner: Zingerman''s Roadhouse - Ann Arbor, MI

Favorite Deli: Stage Deli - West Bloomfield, MI

Favorite Dessert: La Dolce Vita - Ann Arbor, MI , The Melting Pot - Novi, MI (Lots of Locations!)

Favorite Chain - The Melting Pot - Novi, MI

Favorite Local Bar - Ashleys - Ann Arbor, MI

That''s all for now, as you can tell, there''s lots of great places to eat in Ann Arbor!

Hey, I didn''t realize that you lived here too! My favorite local sushi place is Sushi Zen in Brighton. It''s a little more of a hike, but totally worth it. I adore Zingerman''s Roadhouse, as well as Shalimar (for Indian food).

I think 2941 in Falls Church, VA is my all-time favorite. After all, it''s where I got married, and what could beat that?

 

[HollyS]

Karen: That sounds like fun; I'm jealous! Austin has that sort of thing, i.e. cooking classes with renowned restaurant chefs; but those of us in the smaller towns and burbs miss out.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Some of my favs are:
Annies Cafe-best casual, local hang out spot in Denver. I actually had my rehearsal dinner there. If you need a casual place to eat in Denver it is the est and the green chili is amazing

For Fancy, Flagstaff house in Boulder is the best restaurant in Colorado. The price reflects that, but I go about every other year and it is always worth it

For Italian in Denver, I like Cochina Colore in Denver. About the cost of upscale Italian chains which I also like, but the food is so much better. The peach bread pudding in caramel sauce is to die for.

Tea. The Dushanbe tea house in Boulder is the most amazing place to drink tea and is far better than famous places to get English tea, IMO. Besides having countless flavors both imported and specially made for them by celestial seasonings, the atmosphere is the best. Boulder is a sister city to Dushanbe in Tajikistan and what they did was get a bunch of Tajikistani artists to come to Boulder and build an authentic tea house. The proceeds go to building a state of the art internet cafe and tea house in Dushanbe!


I have been all over the world, so my favorite Mexican is in Mexico, Chinese is in China, French in France, etc.

 

[loriken214]

Here are some of my favorites in the Houston/Katy area:

Taste of Texas and Pappas Grill for Steaks
Barry''s, Lasagna House III, Maggianos, Hasta la Pasta and New York Pizzeria for Italian
Fuzzy''s for pizza
Pappasito''s, Los Cucos, La Hacienda (on Memorial Drive) and El Jarrito for TexMex/Fajitas
James Coney Island, Whataburger and Fuddruckers for fresh Hamburgers
Cheesecake Factory for Chicken Picatta and Cheesecake
PF Chang''s for Chang''s Spicy Shrimp - it isn''t on the menu...you have to ask for it
Pappadeaux''s for Fried Shrimp, Landry''s for Seafood Pasta, Monument Inn for Fresh Seafood - they have an excellent all you can eat selection on their menu
J Alexander''s, Houston''s and Barnaby''s for Salads
Willie''s Grill and Icehouse for Crawfish
Texas Tradition for BBQ
Salt Grass Steakhouse and Mason Jar for Chicken Fried Steak
IHOP for Breakfast
Wild Wing Cafe for Wings
Empress Restaurant and Golden Stix for Chinese
Shipley''s for Donuts


Lori

 

[wishful]

Best food I''ve ever put in my mouth: Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian Hotel Los Angeles

Favorite casual dinner or lunch: Sammy''s Woodfired Pizza (balsamic chicken salad with tomato basil soup I could eat it every day)

Favorite dinner places - Cafe Chloe (9th & G San Diego), Firefly Grill and Winebar(el camino real, Encinitas CA), Savory (el Camino Real, Encinitas CA)

Favorite upscale dinner spot - Mr. A''s (san diego) Quarter Kitchen (Ivy Hotel, San Diego)

Favorite breakfast - Cafe Chloe or Cafe 222 (san diego)

 

[Deia]

Date: 10/15/2008 11:58:28 AM
Author: princesss
Mimi''s: NYC, somewhere on the Upper East Side. Not sure where. We were walking to the park from his cousin''s apartment at 86 & Lex and I was almost fainting from hunger. My ziti wasn''t anything special, but we''re still dreaming of the chicken primavera.

Papaya King: NYC. Best. Hotdog. Ever. (Any travel channel junkies will know it as Anthony Bourdain''s favourite hotdog spot.)

Mantra: Pattaya, Thailand. Interesting fusion with 9 different kitchens. Probably expensive. (We weren''t paying.) Nicer than any restaurant in Pattaya should be. Some of the best food I''ve ever had.

Best single dish: S-11 chicken rice in Singapore. In the hawker center across from the Singapore American School there is the best chicken rice I''ve ever had. Maybe because it was ''our'' spot in HS, I don''t know, but the food is delicious. Mmmmm.

Best sangria: H2O in Bilbao, Spain (On the right about a block and a half past the Deusto metro stop). Great little neighbourhood place, right downstairs from where my boyfriend lived. Great (though grumpy looking) owner. The more they know you, the more liquor you get.


Salsa''s: Charlotte, NC. GREAT cheese dip. Margaritas the size of your head (and that''s just the medium). GREAT CHEESE DIP.

Another SAS Alumni!

Favorite single dish has to be the Olive Rice dish from Don Noodles in Singapore at the Tanglin Mall... i still dream of it... may even go back to Singapore just to eat it!!! ...Seriously

Bubby''s in NYC has the greatest walnut and banana pancakes... I still love silver dollar pancakes from IHOP ..

Pick a Bagel on 23rd & 3rd ave in NYC has the most amazing raisin and walnut cream cheese spread... i cant wait to have a bagel when I go back to NYC!

PJ Clarks for a great burger in NYC! (awesome fries)

Roka restaurant in London for great japanese food (pricey though)

Red & Green (or maybe its Green & Red I never get it right!) best authentic Mexican food Ive had in London so far

Spoon in Paris - asian fusion food at its best!

Zen Graden in Paris - mmm chinese food!

Im hungry now

 

[cbs102]

continental-philly
the black pearl- newport rhode island (the BEST clam chowder)
the saddle brook diner-Bergen county NJ..i LOVE diners
white mana-really awesome hamburgers -north jersey (hurt my belly but yum!)
Bagel Boys -ramsey nj -god, i miss NJ bagels so much! honey all grain with vege cream cheese
kinchely''s pizza-mahwah nj. its not even right.. so thin you can eat an entire pie yourself
Sprind Street Deli- ramsey nj
Rock bass- harrisburg pa

 

[loriken214]

One more,

This Is It for Soul Food

Lori

 

[loriken214]

House of Pies for Dessert

Lori

 

[Deia]

hmm I forgot to add the awesome baked Macaroni and Cheese from Jones'' in Philly... so good!!!!

Agreed with Continental they have great food AND great drinks!!!