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What's your favorite non-chain place for food in your city?

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F

FloatOn

Member
I get a chance to travel for work every once in awhile and I always enjoy checking out the best of what they have to offer in terms of food and drink. So I thought I would make this thread selfishly for that reason but also to give everyone a chance to post some food porn.

Hold your florida jokes. I'm in orlando and lately I've been hooked on Jimmy Hula's. It's a pretty casual spot with 4 locations through the city. It has this cool island surf shop vibe and has several specialty tacos and burgers.

If you ever in Orlando check it out and get the Wipeout taco which has steak, shrimp and fries on it.

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C

CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls

Banned
We have a small hole in the wall in my town that sells everything from Philly cheesesteaks to Lo Mein.

And every single thing is amazing, cooked fresh, and super inexpensive. Their cheesesteaks use different ingredients and come in either 8 or 12" subs. Their personal pizzas are cooked fresh and their Lo Mein is ridiculous.

I bought dinner for 6 people last week and paid less than $30 for everyone. Crazy good deal.
 
S

Sch1sm

Member
Ted's Restaurant out in the east end of Toronto (Scarborough, specifically). It's been around since the 50s, and kept that diner look. I go for brunch there every now and then. Their pancakes are the best pancakes I've ever had.

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Funnily enough, that empty booth is the one I always sit in. Ha.

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I wish I had a stray photo of food, but I don't.
 
S

Sol..

I am Wayne Brady.
Out in the burbs of Atlanta (Marietta) there's this place called Gourmet Cafe that has the best wings in the city even still after some hard times and a management change. Don't have pics on hand tho. They are kind of ugly lookin' anyway.
 
A

acheron_xl

Member
There's this place here in Madison called Paul's Pel'Meni. Literally their entire menu is Russian-style dumplings in beef, potato, or both, with any/all of the following: butter, curry, sriracha, cilantro and sour cream (I get beef with the works sans sour cream.)

So good.

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F

FloatOn

Member
acheron_xl said:
There's this place here in Madison called Paul's Pel'Meni. Literally their entire menu is Russian-style dumplings in beef, potato, or both, with any/all of the following: butter, curry, sriracha, cilantro and sour cream (I get beef with the works sans sour cream.)

So good.
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damn, that looks delicious
 
N

ngower

Member
I don't live in Boston, but not far from it, and I adore this place:

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Veggie Galaxy - Cambridge, MA It's an all-vegan diner. Food is usually fairly cheap (~$10) and always incredibly good. You're not getting ultra high-end food, but you're getting vegan comfort food, and that's enough for me.
 
I

InfiniteBento

Member
In Florida, winter park specifically, I adored Prado. Their menu is incredible.

Currently, I live in Chicago and my favorite food experience has been the Furious Spoon. Its an authentic ramen shop that does ramen justice. Its fucking delicious.

I'm going to Longman and Eagle for my birthday tomorrow though so maybe my opinion will change for my favorite place. I've heard nothing but great things about this place.
 
B

battousai11

Member
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Not my pic, but it's a Buta Ramen from Yume Wo Katare. They only serve one type of ramen (with differing portions of roast pork),

It's really good, but the last time I went, it was much saltier than usual.
 
C

CaptainGyro

Banned
I was going to post pics from a hamburger place in my area, but according to the google it's undergone a name change and is now closed down :(.
Hadn't been there in a year or two but I don't understand what happened. The place was very popular
 
gimmmick

gimmmick

Member
I live in one of the biggest food capitals of the West Coast. (Las Vegas).

Sushi House Goyemon

This place is always packed after we get off work and grab some grub. (usually around 11:30 - Midnight). It's a lot of locals favorite sushi spot in Vegas as well (they do all you can eat).
 
I

inki

Member
For fine dining I enjoy (once in a while) Sassafras - Southern Bistro. My go to menu item is the Filet Mignon & Pimento - 8oz choice beef tenderloin topped with homemade pimento cheese, served with mashed potatoes & asparagus with béarnaise
However instead of MP I get their Mac N Cheese which is a lasagna like a portion (square) that they use a Beer Cheese Bechamel sauce for. *Mouth watering just typing this*. BEST meal I've ever eaten - always perfectly seasoned. I can't tell you how good this thing is.
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This is their beef tips, not filet

For more day to day I enjoy Adams Bistro - While also fine dining they offer a Meat and 2 which is to DIE for. $10 and I usually get 2 meals out of it. The south likes them some big portions.
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For people not in or have been in the south a Meat and 2 or Meat and 3 are basically a type of meal. Restaurants will have choice of proteins (fried chicken, country fried steak, meatloaf, etc) which you pick 1. Then they have a longer list of side dishes and you mix and match what you want. Side dishes are usually like (Collard Greens, butter beans, mac n cheese*, creamed potatoes, broccoli cheese casserole) you know, a vegetable but with so much bacon or pork grease that its no longer healthy..

*in the sound Mac N Cheese IS a vegetable.

You can also get whats called a Vegetable plate which is just 4 sides with no meat/protein.
 
O

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
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Small Pizzeria, but with a wood fired oven. Pizza for the wife and me, usually on fridays.
come to think of it, I never took a pic of the actual pizzas.
 
H

HylianTom

Banned
Parasol's, in the Irish Channel, New Orleans. It's a very small bar that also serves very good po-boys. The shrimp po-boy is my favorite, and if you like it spicy, they have a firecracker shrimp po-boy that's damn good, too.
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(Also a good place to watch football if you're not in a rowdy, yelling mood.)
 
Pitch

Pitch

Member
A1 Foods Kebabs Currys & Pide in Newcastle, Australia. Pretty tasty food and I got a piece of naan bread about the size of my laptop opened up for $2.50. Shit was awesome.
 
C

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
the Mediterranean Cafe in Soho, London : reasonably priced, fantastic food and service, great atmosphere. Whenever I find myself in the area for some reason and it's about lunch or dinner time I always try to get a seat there
 
G

gaiages

Banned
In Tallahassee, there's this burger place called Monk's (or Wells Brothers, depending on the listing you're looking at). They and their sister restaurant, Midtown Caboose, have the most awesome and unique burgers.

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They are sooo good. I'm a big fan of the Lip Smacker, which is bacon, cheese, and peanut butter. I add strawberry jelly, too. It's messy, but awesome.

Some others are the Shepard's Pie burger (yep), and a burger that uses pancakes or waffles as a bun with cheese and fried egg, with maple syrup on the side. And Midtown Caboose has a Smores type burger too (haven't tried it because they use dark chocolate, bleh).

There's also Momo's:

Momos.jpg


They're slogan is "Slices as big as your head!" and they are not lying. HUGE pizzas (like 30" for the medium), with a goodly amount of unique toppings. Obviously they're a bit more expensive than the average pizza place, but it's worth it. If you buy a whole pizza, you'll be eating it for a week.

EDIT: A better picture of how big the slices are:

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K

Klotera

Member
It's hard to name one restaurant, as I'd probably break it up by individual foods. One place is best for wings, another for tacos, Indian, etc.

I'll go with best place in the KC area for wings. The Landing up in Liberty. Their dry rub wings are the best wings I've ever had. I will make the drive from Lee's Summit just to have them. The Brooksider in mid-town used to be a sister restaurant and had the same wings, but they've since changed ownership and don't have them any more. I know people a lot of people will say the Peanut has the best wings in the city, and they are good, but can't beat the Landing's dry rubs.

Edit - Some bonus picks for KC: Anton's for steak, Swagat for Indian, Stone Canyon for pizza.
 
V

Violence Jack

Member
Around here in Sandy Springs/Atlanta, my favorite non-chain is Blue Grotto. It's a small, quiet sushi and tapas place that has amazing food.

For wings, I go to Clay's Sports Bar. Best I've ever had.
 
R

Rabbi_Vole

Banned
We have a pretty cool place with a funny name. They serve mostly American cuisine. I think it's called Applebee's or something like that.
 
P

Patryn

Member
For Boston:

High End: Bistro Du Midi, just across from the Public Garden. Amazing French restaurant.

Otherwise: Mystic Station in Malden. Great bar with an amazing craft beer selection that changes all the time and amazing wings.
 
T

thebeeks

Banned
Bari's Pizza in Flower Mound and The Local Diner in Coppell (well, technically there's also a Local Diner in Irving, but they're both owned by the same dude).
 
C

cajunator

Banned
Lately I've been addicted to a little place in town called Patacon. They serve patacon maracuchos which originated in Maracaibo, Venezuela. I cant get enough of those sandwiches.
 
C

Captain Pants

Killed by a goddamned Dredgeling
For a good high end experience in Boise, I recommend Fork.
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The ale braised shortribs are the best meal I've ever had. So tender.

For something more laid back, Flying Pie can't be beat. They've got a bunch of local beers on tap, a friendly stoner staff and lots of great pizza.
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Habanero season starts next week and I'm pretty excited to get in there and just wreck my digestive tract.
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When that isn't available, I order the Samoan. They use real Canadian bacon, pineapple, gouda, cheddar and mozzarella. So good.
 
E

easterislandhead

Member
crimzonflame said:
I walk by this restaurant all the time. Im gonna try it and better be good.
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Might be my favourite place ever.

If you like mixed drinks, or even if you don't (I usually don't) order an Arnold Palmer it's ice tea,lemonade and whisky and it's goddamn delicious.

They also just added a pulled pork burrito which I had last week and it's awesome.
 
H

hydruxo

Member
Skippers Fish Fry in NC. Their fish sandwiches are massive.

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Also, a hole in the wall BBQ place that I went to all the time in high school: Smokey's BBQ Shack. It used to be called Rub's so most people just call it that. It's just a tiny little shack on the side of the road but it's pretty well known for having amazing food.

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R

RoryT

Neo Member
Mikeys Deli, Belfast Northern Ireland.

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The ''Bronx Fries'' specifically, they are so god damn good.

The east coast sauce they refer to is comparable to Subway southwest sauce but slightly spicier, my goto for a hangover cure, and the fries are literally the closest I have ever tasted to Mc'Donalds fries which in my eyes are perfection.
 
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