# Favorite restaurants you can't get at home **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910 "2010-08-02T17:54:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/61 "2010-08-03T18:12:35Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > There’s a small chain out in WA State (mostly in Eastern WA, I believe) called [Zip’s Drive-In](http://www.zipsdrivein.com/). They used to have a lot of locations but their numbers have dwindled over the years. Each restaurant is independently owned and operated, it seems, because it can be really hit or miss quality-wise and some of the stores carry slightly different menu items. > > There is a location though in Richland, WA, on Lee Blvd, that is so stupid good that I have to go there anytime I’m back home visiting my family. There are certainly much better burger places around where I live now (Chicago) but there is also something unique and delicious about Zip’s. That’s our favourite Zip’s as well. They use real onions in their onion rings, some of the others don’t. If I moved from here I think I’d miss \*\*Bruchi’s \*\*worst of all. We’re not huge fast-food fans but my fave unlocal restaurants include **Dick’s Drive-In** in Seattle andf **Burgerville**. When in Canada, I manage to hit an **A&W**. (I don’t like the ones down here. Completely different.) We’re actually getting some surprisingly good sushi places on this side of the state so I was able to strike that craving from my list. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/62 "2010-08-03T19:05:36Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > There’s the old mantra, “Everywhere but Buffalo”, where retail and restaurant chains won’t open in the Buffalo area until they’ve pretty much opened everyplace else in the country. Buffalo didn’t even have a Chipotle until a few months ago. Around here there have always been some arguments as to why that is. Some claim it’s the economy, but cities a lot worse off than Buffalo get chains, and anyway one would think that fast-food chains would thrive in bad economies. Others say that Buffalo is too far away from corporate headquarters and it doesn’t fit the demographics corporates like, especially when it comes to fast food. But my theory is that Buffalonians just don’t like national chains. When several Pizza Huts closed down here a while back, the response was basically “good riddance.” The Pizza Hut in our town was usually deserted, while a locally-owned pizza shop just across the street was packed full every night. There’s no surprise that it shut down, and I can’t blame any franchisee looking to expand to the Buffalo area to steer clear after seeing that. Last but not least, Buffalo actually does have most of the chains that its neighboring cities have. I mean, of the four places you mentioned, one is a three-restaurant “chain” that’s only just started to move outside of upstate NY. Stir Crazy has one location (Cleveland) within 250 miles. BD’s doesn’t have any locations in New York State or PA. And I’ve honestly never heard of Claddagh’s or Fado’s. It’s hardly a shock that Buffalo wouldn’t have any of those four. Then I keep hearing things like “Buffalo doesn’t have a Sonic, it’s a disgrace.” Yeah, neither does Erie, Rochester, Syracuse, or Albany…your point? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/63 "2010-08-03T19:17:09Z")
Years ago in Cincinnati, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when the BBQ place (Montgomery Inn) on the corner across from our apartment burnt down to the ground and they built a Tony Roma’s in its place. I grew up on that place in SoCal. Then, I was thrilled when Mimi’s Cafe came to town as well. Now that I’ve moved south, I would kill for a First Watch. That and a decent Mexican restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/64 "2010-08-03T19:50:11Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I just got back from a nearly three-week long business trip. Most of my time was spent in the DC area, with a final weekend around Cincinnati. I tend to be a junk-food junkie, and those parts of the country don’t disappoint at all. While LA has some great places for me to get my fill, going back east and to the midwest always gives me something to look forward to. > > From my experiences on this trip and those past, I can tell you that I’m a huge fan of: > > - **Five Guys burgers** (although I recently discovered through another thread that they’ve surfaced in LA, too) Also in the Bay Area, somewhere, because they had a big booth at a street fair I was at this weekend. However, they seemed a bit reticent about giving their location, and they never advertise. My list is rather long: White Castle, already mentioned. Dunkin’ Doughnuts. We have a Krispy Kreme, but I prefer Dunkin’ by a lot. Stage Deli, Carnegie Deli, or any place who doesn’t think that cheese is the natural go-with on pastrami & rye. Papa Del’s pizza from Champaign Illinois, or any good Chicago stuffed pizza place. and number one: Richard’s - a little restaurant in Abbeville Louisana which mostly serves boiled crawfish. They even invented a tray to eat them on. We ate there all the time when we lived in Lafayette. When we brought our kids on a Louisiana tour, they decided that they just wanted to go back for a second night, and the crawfish was so good that it broke our oldest of her vegetarian habit forever. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/65 "2010-08-03T20:33:49Z")
> [@Gulo\_gulo](#): > > > [@Bob Ducca](#): > > > > There’s a small chain out in WA State (mostly in Eastern WA, I believe) called [Zip’s Drive-In](http://www.zipsdrivein.com/). They used to have a lot of locations but their numbers have dwindled over the years. Each restaurant is independently owned and operated, it seems, because it can be really hit or miss quality-wise and some of the stores carry slightly different menu items. > > > > There is a location though in Richland, WA, on Lee Blvd, that is so stupid good that I have to go there anytime I’m back home visiting my family. There are certainly much better burger places around where I live now (Chicago) but there is also something unique and delicious about Zip’s. > > That’s our favourite Zip’s as well. They use real onions in their onion rings, some of the others don’t. If I moved from here I think I’d miss \*\*Bruchi’s \*\*worst of all. > > We’re not huge fast-food fans but my fave unlocal restaurants include **Dick’s Drive-In** in Seattle andf **Burgerville**. When in Canada, I manage to hit an **A&W**. (I don’t like the ones down here. Completely different.) > > We’re actually getting some surprisingly good sushi places on this side of the state so I was able to strike that craving from my list. Do you live in the Tri-Cities? I grew up there but moved to Chicago six years ago. Maybe we know each other. 🙂 Oh, and Bruchi’s is great. I’ve had some really good cheesesteaks here in Chicago (a place called Philly’s Best does authentic Philly food) and I have to say, Bruchi’s does it right. They really do. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/66 "2010-08-03T20:59:19Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > But my theory is that Buffalonians just don’t like national chains. When several Pizza Huts closed down here a while back, the response was basically “good riddance.” The Pizza Hut in our town was usually deserted, while a locally-owned pizza shop just across the street was packed full every night. There’s no surprise that it shut down, and I can’t blame any franchisee looking to expand to the Buffalo area to steer clear after seeing that. Ever seen the crowds at the Olive Garden on Maple Road, despite the region’s large Italian-American crowd? Applebee’s in Buffalo and the 'burbs also packs them in, despite roughly equivalent food at the Greek diners found on every other corner. I know why Mexican restaurants are practically nonexistent in the region, though: there’s no Mexicans. Buffalo has a large Puerto Rican population, but the region’s Mexican population, both in numbers and percentage-wise, is the smallest for the nation’s major metropolitan areas. The 2000 Census counted fewer than 1,000 residents of Mexican descent in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area. Ive heard several reasons why many national retail chains stay clear of the Buffalo area, but that’s for another thread. Two reasons that may affect restaurant siting, though: there’s no large, contiguous block of upper middle-class population in the region (Amherst, contrary to popular belief, isn’t really that well-off; it just has the bulk of the Northtowns’ high-end subdivisions, but there’s also a lot of “Amherstucky” between Niagara Falls Boulevard and Millersport Highway), and suburban employment centers are scattered low-rise office parks rather than concentrated, dense edge cities, which affects possible lunch traffic. I wonder if the region’s large population of seniors also has something to do with the lack of chains. EDIT: Yeah, I’d also like to see a First Watch or Le Peep in Buffalo. The Greeks now have the breakfast market pretty much locked up. ---
**Author:** ![Acantha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@Acantha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acantha)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/67 "2010-08-03T21:51:38Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Godfather’s is still around. There’s one just down the road from me here in Springfield, IL. > > FWIW, their pizza isn’t nearly as good as I remember it from back in the day. Really? Friends tell me they’re all gone in KS. Not worth the road trip, though? ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/68 "2010-08-03T22:51:28Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Graeter’s ice cream in Cincy is the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Nothing else is close. > > The area I live in now has every chain restaurant I could want and lots of great local places, but I haven’t found a match for Graeter’s here yet. Apparently, you’ve never tried [Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams](http://jenisicecreams.com/index.html), out of Columbus. I live in the greater-Cincy area, and while Graeter’s is certainly good, it fails to reach the heights (both in flavor and, unfortunately, price) of Jeni’s. And you do know that, for an arm and a leg (presumably), you can get Graeter’s ice cream [shipped to your door](http://www.graeters.com/ship.aspx), right? ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/69 "2010-08-03T22:55:50Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > I like Arby’s. There are none in Ottawa. People who are Arby’s adjacent tell me I’m dumb for caring. Worst fast food place ever? ::Considers:: Yeah, definitely: Worst. Fast food. Evah! ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/70 "2010-08-03T22:59:41Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I miss Dunkin’ Donuts. > > They tried to open here a few years back, but they never really caught on. I always get a big box of them whenever I’m in the States. This makes me :(. I used to go to the Dunkin’ Donuts in Kikar Tzion all the time. First time I ever saw one, too. It doesn’t exist in California. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/71 "2010-08-03T23:07:00Z")
Whenever most of my friends who grew up in in this area move away, they have an almost maniacally intense hankering for [Cassano’s pizza](http://www.cassanos.com/). Not me, though. It’s pretty tasty (though nothing nearly as heavenly as a good New York-style pizza), but it’s waaaaay overpriced for what you get, and the service at both of the local locations is notoriously shitty. As far as I’m concerned, I dearly, dearly miss two long-departed fast food chains: [G.D. Ritzy’s](http://www.ritzys.com/) (now simply called Ritzy’s), and [Zantigo’s](http://www.zantigo.com/). The fact that neither is still available anywhere near where I live is _criminal_. And when I’m not down in the Orlando area, I miss not being able to eat at the wonderful [Boma - Flavors of Africa](http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/boma-flavors-of-africa/) (e.g., by far the best buffet I’ve ever eaten at). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/72 "2010-08-04T07:41:51Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > I miss Dunkin’ Donuts. > > > > They tried to open here a few years back, but they never really caught on. I always get a big box of them whenever I’m in the States. > > This makes me :(. I used to go to the Dunkin’ Donuts in Kikar Tzion all the time. First time I ever saw one, too. It doesn’t exist in California. It’s weird: Israelis generally love sweets and pastries, and have no problem adopting American foods - yet donuts never made much of a dent here. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/73 "2010-08-04T13:49:02Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > > [@lavenderviolet](#): > > > > Graeter’s ice cream in Cincy is the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Nothing else is close. > > > > The area I live in now has every chain restaurant I could want and lots of great local places, but I haven’t found a match for Graeter’s here yet. > > Apparently, you’ve never tried [Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams](http://jenisicecreams.com/index.html), out of Columbus. I live in the greater-Cincy area, and while Graeter’s is certainly good, it fails to reach the heights (both in flavor and, unfortunately, price) of Jeni’s. > > And you do know that, for an arm and a leg (presumably), you can get Graeter’s ice cream [shipped to your door](http://www.graeters.com/ship.aspx), right? Fear not! [Graeter’s is going national](http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100721/BIZ01/307210135/1001/BIZ/New-facility-helps-Graeter-s-go-national)! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/74 "2010-08-04T15:38:03Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > > [@lavenderviolet](#): > > > > Graeter’s ice cream in Cincy is the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Nothing else is close. > > Damn. I was right across the street from one, and my girlfriend said “Oooh, Graeter’s!” But I wasn’t in the mood for ice cream at the time. Now I may never know! _sob_ Remember your first Skyline? Graeter’s is right next door to that. Stop yer panicking! I’m going to miss Bob Evans, and if I ever move someplace with no Wendy’s I’ll probably cry. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyMarine2092](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@JerseyMarine2092](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyMarine2092)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/75 "2010-08-04T15:49:19Z")
I’ve been in DC for 4 years now. I’ve finally found good NY style pizza, and as a bonus it’s only a half a block from my apartment. So that craving can be fixed easily. But man do I miss [Jersey Mikes](http://www.jerseymikes.com/). The franchise started in Point Pleasant, which is one town over from home. They were everywhere, so it was real easy to find an authentic deli style sub. Now the nearest one is in Richmond, VA IIRC. I also miss a real Deli. That kinda goes hand and hand with above. No one down here really does Italian, but that made up for with the variety of great ethnic food down here. It makes the stuff back home seem bland by comparison. The diners down here suck. They need to be owned by some Greeks! **Steak-n-Egg** in Friendship Heights is the closest thing down here, but it’s way too far away for me. Oh and **White Castle**. I love me a real slider. It cracks me up to no end how the widespread the slider trend is now considering the original source. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/76 "2010-08-04T16:08:59Z")
> [@rayman5321](#): > > I wouldn’t go to Chick-Fil-A or Cracker Barrel. They both discriminate against Gays and Lesbians. I don’t want to derail the thread, but based on what I’ve researched at least with regard to Cracker Barrel because of your comment, it looks like they’ve atoned for a very stupid mistake they made 19 years ago, and I don’t have any problem eating there now. ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/77 "2010-08-04T16:09:20Z")
I wish they had a **Culver’s** here in NY. I sure do miss Butterburgers! ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/78 "2010-08-04T17:57:14Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I would like to have a White Castle around… An average person can eat 4 or 5 of them in one sitting. The burgers are simple but flavorful and heavy on the onion flavor. Not only can an average person eat 4 or 5 of them in one siding, the base-line combo (#1) around Long Island is 4 burgers, a drink and regular fries. And, I like them even more since I learned you can order them without onions - without the foul onion taste, the burgers are actually good. Now, many chains have come to Long Island only to beat a retreat, but the one I miss most is [Mr Hero](http://www.mrhero.com/) - for whatever reason their buttered cheese steaks and waffle fries were excellent tasting. Alas, they seem to have retreated to Ohio and environs since the late 1990s. Probably for the best, since nowadays all fast food menus around here need to have calorie counts posted next to each food item, and a buttered cheese steak…(well, I looked it up on their website, and it’s 670cal - I suppose not all that bad as these things go) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/79 "2010-08-04T18:37:40Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > > [@Asimovian](#): > > > > - **Five Guys burgers** (although I recently discovered through another thread that they’ve surfaced in LA, too) > > Also in the Bay Area, somewhere, because they had a big booth at a street fair I was at this weekend. However, they seemed a bit reticent about giving their location, and they never advertise. Yes, that is really strange. Five Guys is obviously putting a lot of effort in expanding. But they’re not advertising. Word of mouth is fine but you’d think they’d buy a few ads to let people know they’ve arrived. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910/80 "2010-08-04T18:40:11Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I would kill to have a Popeye’s near me. You and my dad. EVERY TIME he comes to see me that’s where we go. He’s gone so far as to threaten to eat apart from the family if we go anywhere else. And that’s not an idle threat–he would do it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-restaurants-you-cant-get-at-home/548910.md?page=5)