Around DC, there’s an outfit called Great American Restaurants. They have a number of different restaurant types, from hoity-toity to very large brewpubs. There’s a lot of overlap in the menus, and the prices don’t vary much. The food is absolutely great. My only complaint is that, at least in the beer warehouses, the waitstaff doesn’t seem to be treated too well by management. Well, so it goes. Whenever I’m in DC, I try to make it to one of their restaurants.
High-end restaurant = Spread Eagle Tavern in Hanoverton, OH. Built in the late 1800’s this restaurant was fully restored and reopened about 15 years ago. Love the Smoked Tomato Soup. Their site
Low-end restaurant = Ferarro’s in Canton, OH. This greasy spoon is open 24 hours and has a wide and varied menu and a veritable full-service bakery on site.
And how could I forget best out of state restaurant = Jean Bonnet Tavern. Located on the Lincoln Highway in Bedford, PA. This old tavern was built in the 1700’s. The atmosphere is great and the food is awesome, too. Their site
I love the Palace of Asia in Lawrenceville, New Jersey for its décor, menu, and handsome waiters. I can never remember the names of what I’ve eaten. A restaurant I’ve only been to once (years ago) that I loved was the Bilbo Baggins Restuarant in Alexandria, Virginia.
San Francisco Bay Area favorites:
Pasand - southern Indian food in Santa Clara
Amerin Thai (the one in Westgate West in west SJ) - when you ask for Thai hot, they make it HOT.
Amber India, especially the buffet at the Mountain View location
Shebele - Ethiopian food in downtown Campbell - their kitfo is the best!
Pena Pachamama - Great Bolivian food in the City
Boboquivari’s - Excellent steaks and chops in the City
Smoke Tiki Lounge - BBQ in downtown San Ho
I could go on, but I’m hungry now and need to go raid the fridge.
Mexican - hard to say. SoCal is littered with little places that would be world-class elsewhere, but are just run-of-the-mill for around here. I’m going to give the nod to La Costa in Riverside for seafood, Las Fuentes in Yucaipa for Best Close To Home, and Cuca’s for Best Fast Food.
BBQ - Oh, let’s start a war and name Lexington #1 as the Best On The Planet.
Ignoring chains:
Joe’s Pizza Place and Restaurant, Schenectady, NY. Not much for atmosphere, but the best Italian food around.
Luigino’s, Washington DC. Superb Northern Italian.
Ella’s Wood Fired Pizza, Washington, DC. Nice Italian specialties; their small plates are incredible.
Kiku of Tokyo, San Fransisco, CA. The best single meal I ever had.
Turf Tavern, Scotia, NY. Standard American, but just great dishes.
I just took my wife to The Ferry House in Princeton for our anniversary. Very nice place and excellent food.
When I’m in San Francisco for a conference or something I go to Johnny Foley’s Irish Pub. John’s Grill is not far behind.
Rooter’s BBQ in Maple Valley. Use to be a dumpy little place till it burned down. It has been rebuilt and is rather nice now but the food is still excellent.
Any of the upscale seafood restaurants in the Seattle area can’t be beat. I don’t care much for oysters but I love the breaded variety at Dukes. And the cedar plank salmon from Salty’s.
Can’t wait till I get a chance to eat at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse again.
I want to try more of the Tom Douglas’ restaurants. I have only eaten at one (Dahlia Lounge) and it was fantastic. Reasonable prices in a gourmet setting. Mr. Douglas handed Bobby Flay his ass on a platter when he appeared on Iron Chef America.
Dom’s, in the North End of Boston. It’s a little family Italian joint. Dom is the owner and chef and he’s just plain crazy about food. He’ll come and talk you through the menu and whatever they cooked up that day that he thinks is awesome, and if none of that appeals, he’ll work with you to come up with something you like.
Can’t eat there too often. The food is very rich. It’s very old fashioned cooking. But damn, is it amazing.
Dung Beetle, I didn’t know you were back in Gainesville. (I thought for some reason you lived there in college, and moved away.) I regret only going to Bahn Thai once, during all my years in town. Damn unadventurous friends! Now I love Thai food, too. Dragonfly was one of the better sushi places in Gainesville, and my buddy Nathan used to work there (back around 2001-02). I miss Satchel’s Pizza, Farah’s on the Avenue, Harry’s downtown, Szechuan Panda (aka “Sketchy Panda”), Court of Heroes (used to be near the Butler Plaza movie theater, but now long gone), Gyro Plus, and this Mexican place way out on Newberry near Napolitano’s, that had ridiculous all-you-can-eat specials (also long gone). Sonny’s BBQ also helped me survive college and law school, but I’m glad I live near one now as well.
Favorite chains: Sweet Tomatoes, Chili’s.
Favorite local places:
Thai Lotus and The King and I (one in Largo, other in downtown St Pete) for Thai.
The Egg Platter for all-night greasy spoon diner food.
Carmelita’s for American Mexican food.
Good Fortune for Chinese buffet – the best American-style Chinese buffet I have ever been to.
Little Italy for hole-in-the-wall by-the-slice pizza and calzones.
La Teresita for Cuban.
The Columbia for upscale Cuban.
A Taste of Saigon for Vietnamese.
Café San Juan for Puerto Rican (conveniently next door to Thai Lotus).
Edo for teppanyaki.
We are blessed with a lot of ethnic places, and over the last couple of years, I have come to appreciate this more and more.
Sylvia’s in Harlem. The best soul food ever. The fish and grits…mmmmmmmm. And the service is excellent. The atmosphere is great. The whole experience is heavenly.
Szent Jupát Étterem in Budapest (near Moszkva Ter). I like the rantott pulykamell (galuskaval). Marcello’s down on Bartok Bela Ut serves good sit-down pizza.
I’m pretty happy about Wild Fusion (Asian), Ibby’s Falafel, Bubby’s Burrito, and Rachel here in JC.
Hyde Park, Chicago: Harold’s Chicken Shack Fish and Pizza (they don’t serve pizza) on 53rd/Kimbark, Original Pancake House on 51st/Lake Park, Ribs and Bibs on 53rd/Dorchester, Noodles Etc on 57th or 53rd
The pub in Avebury, Wiltshire, UK. West Cornwall Pasty Co, around England
After 4 years Piscataway/New Brunswick, NJ … The Edison Diner.
George’s on Calumet in Chesterton, IN for the best Italian Beef in Chicagoland
Also: Picken Chicken on George street in New Brunswick, NJ, and Pollo Campero , 103-16 Roosevelt Ave. in Queens. It may be the fucking McDonalds of Guatemala, but that’s some good fried chicken.
Those that use local ingredients, cook local dishes, won’t cook something if it’s off-season and don’t overcook things unless you specifically ask for it “dead and buried, with my apologies to the cook.”
If any of you ever happen to drop by Tudela, give El Remigio a try. Most people don’t look at it because it’s a low-stars hotel, but I like it a lot better than the fancy hotels. They actually feed you. Some of the best restaurants in Southern Navarra are in smaller villages, though.
If you’re in Pamplona, Zurich is not just famous but good. There’s a little one on Plaza San Francisco which is cheap (many retired folks go there daily) and tasty. The self-service in Estafeta is a favourite with my family. Tres Reyes Hotel and Cafetería Rumbos (there’s several of these) make trés yummy food. I’ve never been in a restaurant in Pamplona that didn’t have kid-friendly dishes, unlike in other places.
Ojedas ,Uncle Julios , and Monicas.
Actually, I’m the only person here who didn’t go to college. 
The Rajdan Indian restaurant close to me must be the finest nosh house since the creation of crow shit.
A chicken Rogan Josh is to die for. Big fuck off pieces of chicken, a delightful curry sauce and pilau rice done as it should be. Not to mention the fluffiest nan bread and the pops are none to bad either.
jeez, I made myself hungry
That reminds me, the Tick Tock Diner on Rt 3 in Clifton is a great diner. Especially on the way home from a long day in NYC. It is worth the slight detour.
If you get the chance, try them, they are better than the Edison Diner which is very good. BTW: The Americana Diner in Shrewsbury is right there with the Edison Diner for quality.
Jim
La Francais in Wheeling, IL used to be my favorite, but it’s gone now. The best damn French food evah.
Mr. K isn’t much of a restaurant guy. I don’t experiment as much as I’d like to. We went to the Five O’Clock Restaurant in Fox River Grove, IL, for Valentine’s day. I was underwhelmed. It was ok, but it came highly recommended and didn’t quite meet the mark.
I also love WildFire, which is a higher-end chain restaurant. The best steak I’ve ever had. Great service, great ambiance, but also pretty pricey. I think it came to around $75/head. Worth every penny.