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[kaizoku]

Manchester

Australasia: Fantastic service, cool underground location, amazing food and solid cocktail list.

Pollen Bakery: Located in one of the railway arches near piccadilly, people drive from all over and queue for ages for their Danishes. Raspberry and Pistachio is a favourite.

Sams Chop House: Proper, olde world gastro pub, 140 years old to be precise. Chefs signature corn beef hash is indulgent.

There are plenty of alternatives, Manchester House is pursuing a Michelin Star iirc but it's not my thing. Loads of cool places in The Northern Qtr but no where jumped out at me.

Dude you need to check out Rudy's! Best pizza I've ever had and I've been to a bunch of places in New York.

Also:

Almost Famous - great burger place that specialises in dirty burgers, but their flavours are always well balanced and thought out vs other dirty burger places.

 

[GamerJM]

OP, this topic inspired me to go to HOM Korean Kitchen for dinner tonight. It was good, but I don't really feel a strong desire to go back. The food certainly tasted unique but the chicken had a bit of a bad aftertaste to me for some reason.

I'm kind of a scrub when it comes to places to eat (chain loyalty lol, I have weird tastes) but I guess I can come up with three (San Jose, CA) places I like

1) Mongolian BBQ: This place is simply heavenly. So much value for the money since it's a buffet and the food is always delicious and filling from start to finish. The owners of the place are also really nice and clearly care about their customers in a way I don't know if I've experienced elsewhere.

2) Gloria's Burritos: Great mom and pop Mexican food with some of the best tacos I've ever had. I choose this place over fuckin' Chipotle every day of the week.

3) Kenji Sushi: Unlike the first two choices I've only been here once, after a job interview when I had time to kill a month or two ago. But the sushi here was pretty damn delicious, and I had a lot of it.

 

[mernst23]

Someone do Chicago, visiting in a month.

Great thread idea OP

Pequods
Kumas corner chicago
Portillos

 

[red13th]

Hiroshima, Japan.

Lopez Okonomiyaki
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is already God-tier food, miles ahead of its Osaka-style counterpart. Lopez is a guy from Guatemala who studied under the okonomiyaki master Hasho, then made his own restaurant. He puts Central and South American toppings into the traditional Japanese food with amazing results.

Oh my God I need to go back to Hiroshima. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is probably my favourite food in the whole world. This looks amazing.

 

[Master Of Illusion]

Bergen / Hudson County, NJ

- The Firehouse (Paramus. Great-ass Cheesestakes)

- Leo's (Hoboken. Great-ass Italian food + Sinatra immersion)

- El Artesano (Union City. The best Cuban food)


Cross into NYC though and I can't help you. Every block has some great-ass food.

 

[adg1034]

Minneapolis:
Revival - Best fried chicken around but their double cheeseburger is the sleeper hit
Kado no Mise - Best sushi in town and one of the only Kaiseki restaurants in the country AFAIK
Burrough/Parlour - Amazing burger & chicken sandwich.

also I saw someone recommended Giordano's; don't go there... Out of all the restaurants in the Twin Cities, Giordano's? Really? Pizza Lola is the best pizza joint around. Even Burch steakhouse is much more of a contender when it comes to pizza.

+1 to all of this. Honestly, you can't throw a rock in the Twin Cities without hitting, like, three fantastic bars/restaurants. The food scene is that good.

 

[McLovin]

NYC

Juliana's Pizza in Brooklyn
Tacos Morelas in Manhattan
Bon Chon Chicken in Manhattan

BonChon is good but it tastes like ass when compared to the Bonchon in Philly. I was so hyped when I found out they had a couple in NYC since its closer to where I live, but it wasnt nearly as good.

 

[Media]

My home town only has one sit down place to eat (a truck stop) and a gas station.

The truck stop has gone down hill since Dale sold it, so go to Allsups and get a deep fried burrito and jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon.

 

[megalowho]

NYC is big so I'll just stick to local spots in Hell's Kitchen:

Gotham West Market (Yelp) - Ten vendor upscale food market with indoor and outdoor seating. Tapas, Ramen, Sushi, Burgers, Charcuterie, Ice Cream - a good variety of options, each worth grabbing a tasty bite or two from.

Pio Pio (Yelp) - Peruvian restaurant and rotisserie chicken joint. Get a Matador Combo with a tableful of sides.

Totto Ramen (Yelp) - Noted ramen spot. Cramped, attentive, high quality and delicious.

 

[cheebdragonite]

Gwinnett County, Georgia

1. Quickly - Taiwanese Chicken Nuggets and Bubble Tea

2. Saigon Cafe - Pho

3. Kremo - Ice Cream

* Pictures stolen from Yelp.

 

[Raging Spaniard]

OP, this topic inspired me to go to HOM Korean Kitchen for dinner tonight. It was good, but I don't really feel a strong desire to go back. The food certainly tasted unique but the chicken had a bit of a bad aftertaste to me for some reason.

I'm kind of a scrub when it comes to places to eat (chain loyalty lol, I have weird tastes) but I guess I can come up with three (San Jose, CA) places I like

1) Mongolian BBQ: This place is simply heavenly. So much value for the money since it's a buffet and the food is always delicious and filling from start to finish. The owners of the place are also really nice and clearly care about their customers in a way I don't know if I've experienced elsewhere.

2) Gloria's Burritos: Great mom and pop Mexican food with some of the best tacos I've ever had. I choose this place over fuckin' Chipotle every day of the week.

3) Kenji Sushi: Unlike the first two choices I've only been here once, after a job interview when I had time to kill a month or two ago. But the sushi here was pretty damn delicious, and I had a lot of it.

Man, thats a shame! Ive never had their chicken so I cant really argue with you there, but I would really recommend their firecracker pork or korean beef. Thanks for the recs, I'll definitely check them out next time Im in town

I just got back from Fort Worth and felt it was worth updating the thread with what I found. As a whole I found the downtown area to be a bit disappointing for lunch spots, but once we went a mile outside or so, it got really good! The 3 highlights:

Woodshed Smokehouse (Yelp)

This place was DOPE! Really nice looking spot, super friendly service, great atmosphere and really damn good BBQ with a lot of options (meats, soups, salads, all great) They specialize on using 4 or 5 different types of wood and are very forward about which meat uses what so you can expand your palette.

Velvet Taco (Yelp)

From the OP you can tell Im a bit of taco snob, but here I had a pretty open mind, and good thing I did. I wouldnt even qualify this as tex-mex really, more of a "bunch of people decided to do their own thing and it most closely resembles a taco so lets go with that) They got beef brisket tacos, tiki masala tacos, fish n chips tacos, etc etc, all with a tortilla that complements the taco itself. Good size portions, great drink selection, can get as spicy as you want. Would probably say it was the best food I had here, definitely the biggest surprise.

Gus Fried Chicken (Yelp)

Didnt realize this was a bit of a chain until after I got there, but the fried chicken there is no joke. Not as spicy as I would have wanted (I was searching for that hot chicken) but pretty damn good and satisfying. Its "simple" food but if its executed really well, I have no problems.

For those unfamiliar with Fort Worth, its about an hour drive from Dallas and it seems like theyre putting a good deal of development $$$ in there so the place looks pretty modern in some areas and very empty in others. They definitely need more people.

Also, the storm drains are fucking huge. Destroyed my ankle on one of them, no joke:

 

[NLCP Gaming]

Harolds

Beggers pizza

Portillos

 

[Shake Appeal]

Graze

As stated on their menu: "ground short ribs, sirloin, bacon, cabernet jus-caramelized onions, Hook's Swiss Emmental compound butter, SarVecchio brioche, with fries & aioli"
So good.

I need this in my mouth.

 

[Raging Spaniard]

Harolds

Beggers pizza

Portillos

...

 

[todahawk]

i need someone to tell me where to eat in cincinnati and i live here.

See up above your post.

I can't vouch for any of those but I'm a fan of:

• Bakersfield (OTR)
• Pho Lang Thang (near Findlay Market)
• Quan Hapa (love their Japanese pancakes)

 

[Ban Puncher]

KFC

McDonalds

Another KFC

 

[Yuki the heart butt Corgi]

Burger 21
Ted's Montana Grill
Niko Niko

Whatever you do... DON'T go to The Varsity.

ATL GA

 

[karmaforgotme]

Burger 21
Ted's Montana Grill
Niko Niko

Whatever you do... DON'T go to The Varsity.

ATL GA

From some reason I always eat at the Vortex every time I got to ATL.

 

[Zeenbor]

Seattle Top 3 Fast Food

Un Bien

Hot Cakes

Ezell's

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

DC:

Plume - amazing French restaurant
Kapnos - great Greek tapas
Boqaeira - Spanish Tapas (and the best bottomless brunch in the city)

 

[Raging Spaniard]

Seattle Top 3 Fast Food

Un Bien

Hot Cakes

Ezell's

Damn, never heard of these! I always go to Beechers and Rachels Ginger Beer, haha

 

[HotHamBoy]

Indianapolis

Jack n the Box
Long John Silvers
White Castle

SoGood.gif

 

[Ceres]

Burger 21
Ted's Montana Grill
Niko Niko

Whatever you do... DON'T go to The Varsity.

ATL GA

Vortex is my go to atl institution each trip. I've been to both locationa but usually stick to midtown since that's where I stay. Varsity I feel like is a quick lunch stop visit you do once

 

[Stormhammer]

Southern MD (St. Mary's Co., Calvert Co.)

Chaptico Market: Get the stuffed ham because I don't know anywhere else in the US (maybe some Amish area in PA) that has it.

Quade's Store

The Ruddy Duck

Bonus: The Lighthouse

 

[Yuki the heart butt Corgi]

From some reason I always eat at the Vortex every time I got to ATL.

I've never been, what's the specialty?

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Hot Cakes

I like Hot Cakes in theory, but it bugs the hell out of me that it's a dessert anyone can make at home with about 50 cents worth of ingredients, plus all their chocolate intentionally tastes like smoke. Awful.

 

[RebornYeti]

Salt Lake City, Utah

1. Ruth's Diner - Has basically what you'd expect from a typical diner, but the food is amazing and location is unique (it is a ways up Emigration Canyon which is one of the smaller canyons near the valley)

2. The Blue Plate Diner - The best place to grab some breakfast.

3. Red Iguana - Really good Mexican food, but generally has a long wait during peak hours. There's the Red Iguana 2 just down the street but it's still way busy.

Honorable mentions:

- The Pie Pizzeria (underground location near the University)
- Squatters Pub Brewery
- Red Rock

 

[shiftplusone]

Dallas, TX
Torchy's (the atmosphere is worse than the ones in Austin but still... they don't play)
Bistro B
Hard 8

There's a Tortilleria La Sabrocita in Dallas. That place is the shit (at least, the one in Denton is)

Torchy's is like a better Fuzzys but still basically the chipotle of tacos.

Hard 8 is some of the most average bbq i've ever had. It's not bad but theres so much better. Slabs in Mesquite is the shit. Sweet Georgia brown in south dallas has a line out the building all times and its worth it

 

[JLG-]

Not saying these are the best we have to offer but it's places i personally love.

Los Angeles/SoCal:

1. Howlin' Ray's



2. Badmaash



3. The Nest

 

[BobNewbert31]

Tampa


My favorites, not necessarily top restaurants.

Rooster & the Till - Hipsters have taken over the Seminole Heights section of Tampa and opened a lot of "foodie" type restaurants. They pretty much all have great food and beer. A number of breweries have opened there as well.

Datz - a personal favorite for years. Served exclusively sandwiches when they first opened. Picked up some decent chefs and have really expanded their menu. The picture below is the Cheesy Todd. Barry's Stuffed Meat Loaf is also delicious. They opened up a dessert shop next door called Dough and have amazing doughnuts. They also opened a New Orleans style restaurant down the road called Roux. All really good.

Mad Dogs & Englishmen - Recent favorite. We moved pretty close to this place and can walk there. They have an outdoor patio so we can bring our dog. A pretty laid back place with really good food. My wife says their burger is the best she's had in Tampa. I love the Bangers n Mash, as pictured below. Decent beer selection with a mix of local breweries and English and Irish beers. Their Beer-battered brownie is probably my favorite dessert in Tampa.

 

[willow ve]

Metro Detroit area (specifically near Royal Oak)......

This should be a good mix for some local flavors and sights. If you wanted to venture into Detroit proper, I'd swap out Red Coat for Slow's Bar BQ. Yes, it's super popular and maybe played out, but it helped put Detroit cuisine on the map and it's worth the visit. Best mac and cheese around too.

If you want a Detroit experience I would say Green Dot Stables. Dirt cheap, amazing sliders, and cheap beer too.

Indianapolis

Jack n the Box
Long John Silvers
White Castle

SoGood.gif

Don't do Indy like that. Been awhile since I lived there but.

Pizzaology or Bazbeaux for pizza
Patachou Cafe for brunch
St Elmos for steak (or Harry & Izzy's for their $5 filet sliders)

 

[DopeToast]

Dayton, OH

The Pine Club - Supper club style steak house that has been open since the 1940s. It was listed on a Travel Channel program as one the best five steakhouses in the country, as well as one of the finest eating establishments by the New York Times Magazine. They only take cash (or you can set up an account with them), they don't take reservations, it's crowded and often loud, and the steaks are awesome.

Marion's Pizza - If Dayton has a pizza style, it's this. Thin crust, tiny square cut pieces covered in toppings, my favorite being the crumbly sausage.

Skyline Chili - Kind of cheating because this is a Cincinnati creation, but they are all over Dayton, which is only about an hour north of Cincinnati, but it's something you can't get anywhere other than the tri-state area around Cincinnati, so it's definitely worth checking out.

 

[FrontalMonk]

Northern Virginia. Probably the only thing that I really like about the area is that it's a cultural melting pot.

-Old town Manassas has a great Greek place called Katerina's.
-Also in Manassas is a good Mexican restaurant called Don Lencho.
-Fairfax has Dogfish Head Alehouse which has some excellent food and awesome beers that rotate seasonally.
-I've been to a few Honey Pig restaurants between MD and VA, but they have been excellent Korean BBQ places.
-If you like Brazilian steakhouses like Fogo de Chao (there's one in Baltimore and DC), there's a similar place in Fairfax called Texas de Brazil that is great.

I also want to mention my favorite seafood restaurant. It's a place called Papadeaux, and there's only a few around the country. I've been to one in Phoenix, AZ, and one just outside of Atlanta, GA, and both were phenomenal.

Used to live in NOVA, I can definitely agree on Dogfish Head and Honey Pig.

- I feel like there's always *some* greek family restaurant near where ever you happen to be, when I was living in Alexandria there was a spot called Atlantis that had the best sandwiches. Valentino's off Duke Street has some great NY style pizza.

- There's a lot of different food trucks in DC, but the best halal truck I ever went to was in Arlington across from Ballston Commons mall.

- Out in the Herndon/Reston area there are a lot of chains, but for cheap, good breakfast, it's basically impossible to go wrong with the breakfast burritos from Anita's.

- For shitty chinese takeout, China King was an institution for me growing up. They've got 5 different locations, but my go to was always the one at clocktower in Herndon.

EDIT: I don't know how I forgot about this. Eden Center in the Falls Church area is little Vietnam. Best pho and banh mi's in the area, and that's saying a lot.

I live in Richmond now, and there are a lot of great local spots down here, but I've lived here for less than a year so I haven't really plumbed the depths yet, but my suggestions here are:

Good burger joints:
Boulevard Burgers & Brews
Secret Sandwich Society
Carytown Burgers & Fries

Other good spots:
Kuba Kuba - Cuban food. Get you a sandwich, son.
Sticky Rice - Come with friends, get a bucket of tots, eat sushi. It's good times. There's one of these in DC, too, but I think this one was the OG.
Mekong - There are more vietnamese places here than I was expecting, but this is the one to go to. Huge beer selection, great food. Also a good place to come with friends.

 

[CherryWoodFuton]

Not saying these are the best we have to offer but it's places i personally love.

Los Angeles/SoCal:

3. The Nest

This person knows what's up

SF (and Redwood City)

1.Han Il Kwan: Best Korean BBQ in the city

2.Beretta: Awesome pizza place that plays old school hip hop on weekends and it's open late too!

3. El Grullense #1 (Redwood City) Get the meaty fries with carne asada. You're welcome.

 

[Schlep]

Fort Worth, Texas

Rodeo Goat - The OG location

Panaderia La Fe - Bring cash. Order deshebrada (brisket) con queso burritos.

Bearded Lady - Order the pork wings (pictured below). Bonus points for going to Martin House Brewing Company from 2p-5p on a Saturday for 3 beers ($10) and finishing up at Bearded Lady.

 

[erlim]

Portland

HA/VL - great Vietnamese soup
Le Pigeon - best restaurant in Portland
OX - Meat paradise

I feel like you roll into portland and every single food place is top tier.

 

[LogicStep]

WTB VA Beach or close to it recommendations.

 

[karmaforgotme]

In small city Knoxville, TN:

+ Stock & Barrel - most older locals will say Linton's (Peyton Manning's favorite place) for the best burgers, but this new place has surpassed it.

+ Knox Mason

+ Oliabea

I've never been, what's the specialty?

Burgers and beers. Good burgers, but I had better. I just like the atomshphere of the place and Little 5 Points.

 

[FrontalMonk]

WTB VA Beach or close to it recommendations.

People that are local to VAB can chime in but I know Whitner's BBQ is a must.

 

[HawksWinStanley]

Kind of off topic but how has poutine not caught on in the US? It seems like the perfect food for the fatties here. Is it the name?

 

[Tymerend]

Kansas City:

Q39- Best barbecue in a city of incredible barbecue. Yes, you can waste an hour of your life waiting in line at a gas station for Joe's, but not only have you wasted an hour of your life, you only got the second best.

La Bodega- Great Spanish tapas place, cool vibe.

Westport Flea Market- Righteously good burgers in one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city.

 

[Hippopuncher12]

Dayton, OH

The Pine Club - Supper club style steak house that has been open since the 1940s. It was listed on a Travel Channel program as one the best five steakhouses in the country, as well as one of the finest eating establishments by the New York Times Magazine. They only take cash (or you can set up an account with them), they don't take reservations, it's crowded and often loud, and the steaks are awesome.

Marion's Pizza - If Dayton has a pizza style, it's this. Thin crust, tiny square cut pieces covered in toppings, my favorite being the crumbly sausage.

Skyline Chili - Kind of cheating because this is a Cincinnati creation, but they are all over Dayton, which is only about an hour north of Cincinnati, but it's something you can't get anywhere other than the tri-state area around Cincinnati, so it's definitely worth checking out.

Marion's is the shit. It's the one thing I miss from Dayton when I moved to Cincinnati, thankfully they built one in West Chester so it's not too far anymore.

 

[Blatz]

Charleston, SC.

Halls Chophouse
Poe's Tavern
Husk

 

[i3allistic]

Oakland

1) Bakesale Betty
2)Zachary Pizza
3)Mexican or Latin American food - Can't pick one, plenty of great food around Oakland

 

[Subv3rsi0n]

Charleston, SC.

Halls Chophouse
Poe's Tavern
Husk

How is SNOB? I'm visiting in the near future and Husk is already booked up.

 

[demosthenes]

Buffalo, NY

1) Duff's or Anchor Bar or Elmo's for chicken wings. Different people list these 3 as their favorites.

2) La Davina for tacos.

3) Merge for general meals. Primarily a vegetarian restaurant but they'll include meat in most of their dishes of you want and they do it well. Cocktails are amazing.

 

[demosthenes]

Buffalo, NY

Bar Bill, East Aurora

I guess when you hear Buffalo, NY, you think of the Buffalo Wing. These are probably the best wings you'll find in the area. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. I particularly like how they fan out the wings here, instead of piling them up. This makes it so the wings stay crispy because they're not steaming one another.

http://i.imgur.com/MpDIcPm.jpg[/mg]

They also have what I consider the other best Buffalo signature dish, Beef on 'Weck. It's basically slow roasted beef sliced thin on a kimmelweck roll (a roll with salt and caraway seeds). Pairs nicely with horseradish.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/7sCsR0r.jpg[/mg]


[I]Grovers, East Amherst[/I]

Once an old hunting lodge for President Grover Cleveland, and my favorite burger joint in town. They serve up an 8oz. mammoth of a burger to your liking. This place is so popular, it even made it on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/6i7GCTa.jpg[/ig]


[I]Dinosaur BBQ - Downtown Buffalo[/I]

Yeah, they're a chain restaurant, but you know what? They originated 2 hours away in Syracuse, NY and I think this is the best BBQ you can get in Buffalo (besides at my house). Excellent everything. If you're ever in a city that has one, you should try it out.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/vmut3wh.jpg[/mg][/QUOTE]

Almost added grovers. Dino bbq is indeed excellent. Haven't been to bar bill yet but I've been meaning to go.

 

[NealMcCauley]

In small city Knoxville, TN:

+ Stock & Barrel - most older locals will say Linton's (Peyton Manning's favorite place) for the best burgers, but this new place has surpassed it.

There's a place in Bearden called Stock Burgers that's almost a complete copy of S&B. It's jarring. I've heard rumors most of the local burger spots source their stuff from the same farms.

Sergeant Pepperoni's
Ye Olde Steakhouse
Blackhorse Pub/Brewery

 

[Cess007]

Mexicali, BC. Mexico:

- Any Chinese food place (Yes, seriously. Don't ask, it's a long story lol)
- Las Brasas (Tacos)
- La Selecta (a Mexican food place, it has some of the best dishes, and also it's a classic place)

 

[Neoweee]

Pequods
Kumas corner chicago
Portillos

My Chicago list:
- Kuma's Corner - Burgers
- Little Goat - Upscale/trashy diner fusion
- Cafecito - Cuban presses

Fuck deep dish.