Purity Ice Cream is based in Ithaca. But annoyingly, I live just outside of their sales zone.
I’ll be damned, there’s 5 in Phoenix and 1 in Tucson. I would never have thought to check if you hadn’t mentioned that.
And not a one of them is convenient to me. 
SONIC!!! There’s not one in a reasonable distance from me (at least an hour in any direction) yet our local tv stations are forever showing Sonic commercials day and night. I’m 4 months pregnant and what I wouldn’t do for a cherry lime rickey…
I’m assuming this thread is limited to chains. In that case, In-N-Out is the one I miss the most. My waistline is thankful it’s not located here, but it truly is the perfect fast food burger.
Anderson’s (Buffalo-area) for their frozen custard and beef-on-weck. I’m a fan of Charlie the Butcher’s, but it’s not a chain, so I’d settle for an Anderson’s.
Kopp’s (of the Milwaukee area) for their frozen custard (and I like their hamburgers, too.)
When we head to the States, fella bilong missus flodnak insists on at least one supper at Long John Silver’s, and the young flodnaks insist on as many meals at Sonic as they can possibly swing.
Me, I miss KFC, but not so much now that I found the Top Secret Recipes version of their coleslaw.
I also have one question for our resident Swedes: why won’t you share Max with us? What have we done to offend you so? It’s that ice cream thing again, isn’t it.
Graeter’s is indeed the best ice cream on the planet, and not just for the black raspberry chip. Their coconut ice cream is killer. Shit, all their flavors are awesome.
RE: your neutrality declaration about Skyline and now your nonchalance about Graeter’s ice cream? I’m striking you out of my will! You are dead to me!
This is one Cincinnati food that I don’t really get. Sure, its pretty good, but I don’t particularly care for their sweet style of BBQ sauce they use on their ribs. It has legions of fans though. I would have preferred the Tony Roma’s too! I know, sacrilege!
Try some Jeni’s brown butter almond brittle, then get back to me. 
For the record, this thread is NOT limited to chains.
If you ever move to the South, do yourself a favor and keep missing Bob Evans. Every one I’ve been to down here sucks beyond belief.
Count me in as a big, big fan of Graeter’s black raspberry chip. As for their coconut, I never tried it, but if you can get your hands on Ciao Bella Coconut Sorbet (or any other of their delicious gelatos and sorbets), you will not be disappointed.
I liked MI enough, but then I tend to prefer the sweet, smoky sauce to the vinegary stuff most often served around here. I guess I’m sacrilegious, too! But TR was like a comforting reminder of home at a time I needed to rekindle those connections to quell the growing homesickness within. Strangely, TR doesn’t do that anymore and I yearn for Skyline Chili and First Watch! Funny, how it goes.
So, basically, what are your go-to restaurants outside your city? In that case, these are the restaurants I try to always hit up when I’m in the area:
Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix, AZ) - pizza
Charlie the Butcher (Buffalo, NY) - beef-on-weck
Zingerman’s Deli (Ann Arbor, MI) - sandwiches
Morris Grocery (Eads, TN) - pulled pork sandwich
Toby’s (Coupeville, WA) - Penn Cove mussels
Oooh. Good call. here. I’ve only been the one time, but one of my coworkers here in LA used to be an employee there and made sure I stopped there when in town. I will happily make that trek anytime I’m near Michigan.
Oh, it’s good. Very good.
Unless you are referring to an Ottawa in the U.S. …
I normally don’t nitpick spelling errors, but it took me a while to understand this. Do you mean Shiner Bock Beer? And are you saying it’s not a beer?
Anyway, I haven’t lived in St. Louis since I left to go to college [sub]mumble[/sub] years ago, but I certainly miss:
- Ted Drewes frozen custard - nothing like it anywhere else
- Rigazzi’s - cheap italian food deep in the heart of mobster land
- CJ Muggs - local place in my home town
- The Fatted Calf - see above
- St. Louis Bread Co. - local equivalent of TOGOs
- Naugles - not even sure if they’re around any more
- White Castle - count me in on the list of people that say the frozen kind is no substitue.
Yes, I’ve been stuck here for about 10 years now. My husband grew up here so chances would be better (depending on your age, school, and skateboard use) that you know him.
I’d KILL for a decent ice cream place around here. OH, but I’ll add that the Country Mercantile on Hwy 395 heading north from Pasco, has amazing wraps.
I’ve never had frozen custard.
I’ve had ice cream, ice milk, frozen yogurt, but never frozen custard, despite the fact that my great aunt worked in a frozen custard stand in Lewiston, New York for years…
So, what’s frozen custard taste like?
Whenever I go back to Saskatoon, I make a point to eat at Taco Time. Mmm…crisp meat burrito and Mexifries…
I was amazed that you mentioned Bens Deli. I didn’t even realize there was more than one. My family and I used to eat at the restaurant in Baldwin LI in the early 70s when it WAS the only one. Since then we have moved out of NY. When we visit, we always make a stop for lunch. When I googled it I was shocked to see how many locations there are currently.
Similar to frozen yogurt, but with a slight tang. Incredibly tasty. I went to visit a friend in St. Louis 10 years ago, and he insisted I have Ted Drewes. And even though I was in a really foul mood at the time, it was incredibly tasty.
You can get it other places, though. I was recently at Progressive Field in Cleveland for a baseball game, and one of their stands had frozen custard. Still good stuff!