Rave: Not So Fine Dining

[CardsofSTL]

I travel around a lot for work...it is a pain. But one of the things I like is finding quiet local places to have a meal. I have had some good; some not so good; some horrible and some great food at these places. The picture above is an actual place in Vienna, West Virginia. mmm tacos.


So I was driving through Marietta, Ohio and was presented with four places that were fairly close together and I knew nothing about any of them; so I just walked into the one that had an open parking space in front of it. I had one of the greatest steak sandwiches ever there....I would give you the name of the place but I am holding out for big time endorsement money.

I find the best meals are often at these small nowhere places; I have eaten in some of the so called great restaurants and gone away feeling less satisfied with a meal than I have in these mom and pop dives that are scattered all around the country. Next time you people take a road trip; skip the McDonalds and find a Ma's!

[lukethedrifter]

Agree BUT so many of the small operations have gone the route of frozen premade everything’s from Sam’s. Would love it if i could know who makes their own stuff.

My theory of why Vietnamese food is typically so much better than Chinese is based on this. More recent immigrants have not created the restaurant supply chain to provide frozen egg rolls.

[33anda3rd]

I travel around a lot for work...it is a pain. But one of the things I like is finding quiet local places to have a meal. I have had some good; some not so good; some horrible and some great food at these places.

If you're traveling to Chicago, these are the places I tell people to go eat when they're in town, all of which fit your criteria and all of which are the types of places I go out to eat....

Sandwiches / Lunch Spots:

[SHOW]

ITALIAN SUB-STYLE SANDWICH
Mr. G. — Grazianos, 901 W. Randolph
Italian, Hot — Bari, 1120 W. Grand
The Dante — Tempesta, 1372 W. Grand
Vinnie’s Special — Vinnie’s, 1204 W. Grand
Italian Deluxe w/ Provolone and Hot Giard — Rosie’s Sidekick, 2610 N California

STEAK/BEEF SANDWICHES
Cheesesteak — Boeufhaus, 1012 N. Western
Boeuf on Weck — Boeufhaus, 1012 N. Western
Cheesesteak — Monti’s, 4757 N. Talman
Corned Beef Reuben — Steingold’s, 1840 W. Irving Park
Italian Beef — Johnnie’s, 7500 W. North Ave.
Prime Beef French Dip — Bavette’s, 218 W Kinzie
Prime Rib Sandwich — Eataly, 43 E. Ohio
Gym Shoe — Sun Submarine, 5542 W. North Ave.
Sweet Steak — Taurus Flavors, 8534 S. Stony Island
Sweet Steak — Home of the Hoagy, 1316 W. 111th

CHICKEN PARM
PQM, 825 W. Fulton Market
Nonnas, 925 W. Randolph

FRIED CHICKEN
The Roost Carolina Kitchen, 457 N Milwaukee (both regular and Nashville hot)
Budlong, 4619 N Western Ave. (Nashville hot only)
Roister, 951 W. Fulton Market

CENTRAL/LATIN AMERICAN
Pambazo — El Habanero, 3300 W Fullerton
Cemita Atomica — Cemitas Puebla, 817 W. Fulton Market
Jibarito — El Nuevo Borinquen, 1720 N. California
Jibarito — Papa’s Cache Sabroso, 2517 W. Division
Cuban — Cafecito, 26 E. Congress

GYRO
PQM, 825 W. Fulton Market
Hella’s, 1133 W. Bryn Mawr

HAM AND/OR FRUIT AND CHEESE
Prosciutto/Fig/Taleggio — Cafe Marie Jeanne, 1001 N. California
CB&J — Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark
The Parisian — La Boulangerie, 3129 W. Logan Blvd

BANH MI
Nhu Lan, 4810 N. Sheridan Ba Le, 5014 N. Broadway
Ca Phe Da, 1800 S. Carpenter

PORCHETTA
Tempesta, 1372 W. Grand
PQM, 825 W. Fulton Market

SHAWARMA
Falafel & Grill, 1317 N. Milwaukee Salam, 4636 N Kedzie
Shawarma Garden, 1951 W Division

MISC
The Ben — Baker Miller, 4610 N. Western
The Sun Also Rises — Bourgeois Pig, 738 W. Fullerton
BLT — Same Day Cafe, 2651 N. Kedzie
Sauteed Calf Brains — Cafe Marie Jeanne, 1001 N. California

GLUTTONOUS CURIOSITIES THAT ARE NOT RECOMMENDED BUT HAVE BEEN COVERED BY MAJOR MEDIA
3 Little Pigs — Silver Palm, 768 N. Milwaukee
Breaded Steak Sandwich — Ricobene’s, 252 W. 26th

Storefront Ethnic*:

[SHOW]

THAI

Rainbow Thai

Jin Thai

JJ Thai Street Food
Thai Pastry

CHINESE

Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling House

Lao Sze Chuan

Sun Wah BBQ
Szechuan JMC
Cheng Du Impressions
A Place by Damao

FILIPINO

Uncle Mike’s (breakfast)

Isla Pilipina

VIETNAMESE

Hai Sous

Pho Xe Tang aka Tank Noodle
Nhu Lan
Ba Le

KOREAN
Cho Sun Ok
Dumpling stand at Joong Boo Korean Supermarket
San Soo Gab San

MEXICAN

Don Pedro Carnitas

Carnitas Uruapan

Sol de Mexico

Cemitas Puebla

Birreria Zaragoza

Gorditas La Tia Susy
Alegria’s Seafood
La Condesa
El Barco Mariscos
Mariscos La Costa 2
Mazamitla
Guanajato grocery
Las Traspasadas
L’Patron
La Oaxaquena
Torta Milanesa
Taqueria El Moran
El Herradura

COLOMBIAN
ArePa George

MIDDLE EASTERN
Sultan’s Market
Juliana
Old Jerusalem
Taste Of Lebanon
Semiramis
Falafel & Grill

INDIAN
Mysore Woodlands
Uru-Swait
Indian Clay Pot

POLISH
Podhlanka
Kasias
Staropolska

SERBIAN
Cafe Belgrade

ETHIOPIAN
Ethiopian Diamond
Demera

*Storefront Ethnic Qualifiers:
1. Not from the US, Canada or any Western European country that influences so much American food already.
2. Not done by a white dude who has ben to Cambodia 3X, but by a Cambodian whose cooking is best described as "this is how my grandma made it."
3. Must be able to get in and out with an entree for under $20
4. Must be excellent quality food.

[CardsofSTL]

Great suggestions... I'm actually compiling a list of the places I've stopped in over the years but it's taking need a while... Largely because I've been traveling the last week plus.

[tlombard]

I just heard about this place today and I am unbelievably excited to give them a try. Crab legs. Shrimp. Sausage. Potatoes. All in a container with lots of butter (different flavors as well). That sounds perfect to me. This is the FB page for the one on Delmar which opened just a couple of days ago. There is another location opening on Watson near Laclede Station Road soon as well. The FB page for the one on Watson says they are not affiliated with the one on Delmar in any way other than being in the same chain. It seems that there have been issues with the owners of each one where they were originally partners in a location in Kansas City and then one of them opened up their own location without the other partners and according to some comments, the second location wasn't run right and the food was bad so they are trying to distance themselves from the one on Delmar. Whatever. I still can't wait to give them (both) a shot.

https://www.facebook.com/Krab-Kingz-Sea ... 264507668/

[cardsfantx]

looks like this place that has a few locations in texas...

https://crab-station.com

delicious. the location in ft worth just opened (only a few miles from my house), and already been twice.

[lukethedrifter]

Compare it to Krab Kingz please.

[tlombard]

I was randomly wandering around after work yesterday and ended up on Watson when I remembered that I was only a block away from Red Lobster. I hadn't been to a Red Lobster in a really long time so I stopped in. Apparently endless shrimp is going on. Sweet deal I though. And then I only had one refill because I filled up on the Cheddar Bay Biscuits and a side of asparagus in addition to the baked potato and salad that came with the endless shrimp deal. I think I did went about that meal all wrong. I don't regret the biscuits but if that's what I'm going to fill up on then I should have just gotten the cheapest entree they have and done that.

[Fat_Bulldog]

I was randomly wandering around after work yesterday and ended up on Watson when I remembered that I was only a block away from Red Lobster. I hadn't been to a Red Lobster in a really long time so I stopped in. Apparently endless shrimp is going on. Sweet deal I though. And then I only had one refill because I filled up on the Cheddar Bay Biscuits and a side of asparagus in addition to the baked potato and salad that came with the endless shrimp deal. I think I did went about that meal all wrong. I don't regret the biscuits but if that's what I'm going to fill up on then I should have just gotten the cheapest entree they have and done that.

We might be best friends!

[33anda3rd]

I think every time I go to Red Lobster I tell myself not to fill up on biscuits then I fill up on biscuits.