# Strangest places you've found a good restaurant **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205 "2015-05-04T04:02:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/81 "2015-05-06T01:58:34Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > Wacky decor and \*great \*for deep-fried clams, whitefish, etc., is **Susan’s Fish & Chips** in Portland, ME. I love that place! I live in Portland too, and if someone from out of town comes to visit, I always take them to Susan’s Fish and Chips. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/82 "2015-05-06T03:30:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > But the best steakhouse in either city, by a mile, is in an industrial-looking little strip mall on an industrial street way removed from the boutique stores. Oh, do tell. When not here, I find myself quite often at industrial-looking little strip malls along Royal Windsor. I love The Keg (usually go to the one in Mississauga near Streetsville). ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/83 "2015-05-06T07:55:00Z")
For a couple of summers I worked in an industrial compound owned by our local electrical utility. I would sometimes wander around it on my lunch, just seeing what was there and which doors I could get through without someone questioning my presence. One day I found an unmarked cafeteria which had the best soups I have ever tasted. It was like a world class chef had just decided to appropriate the room to sell ambrosia to whatever workers might pass through. To this day I am still not sure it wasn’t an art project. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/84 "2015-05-06T08:13:23Z")
Hands down best fajitas I have ever had came from a sort of “bar” unadvertized inside a tiny butcher shop and grocery way at the back of a run down strip mall off Bissonet in Houston. I think it was originally a coffee or smoothie bar, only had around ten seats and the chef didn’t speak a word of english and your order was freshly made while you watched and dirt cheap. They were loaded with fresh lime juice and cilantro, god I have craved these things over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/85 "2015-05-06T14:31:34Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The absolute, hands-down best clam chowder I’ve ever had - and understand I’ve tried it in a dozen states including most of New England, England, some of the most vaunted seafood restaurants on earth (both hoity-toity and ‘real’) and everywhere else I’ve been assured of the best - … > > …was Harrah’s casino-floor restaurant in Reno. No sh\*t. Harrah’s Tahoe has (had?) a fantastic little seafood nook as well. Outstanding cioppino, stews and pan roasts. John’s Oyster Bar in the Nugget (Sparks) is fantastic as well. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/86 "2015-05-06T14:56:33Z")
The very best pulled pork/barbecue sandwich I’ve ever had was about five or six years ago at this rather non-descript middle-of-nowhere [grocery store/shack](https://goo.gl/maps/TCkmJ) in Eads, Tennessee, called Morris Grocery. I did my research to find it (I didn’t just stumble upon it by accident), but otherwise, there would have been little to zero chance that I would have come across it. [Another link with reviews](http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/50/1613633/restaurant/Memphis/Cordova/Morris-Grocery-Eads). If you’re in the Memphis area, it’s a must-stop if you’re on a barbecue trek. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/87 "2015-05-06T15:04:14Z")
Oddly, Wendy’s (yes the fast food Wendy’s) had a special on pulled pork sandwiches last summer. They where excelent, and I wish they kept them on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/88 "2015-05-06T16:08:12Z")
Down the street from me is a little strip mall - a liquor store, a barber shop and Papa’s Cafe. The decor is kitschy, sometimes dusty, all pretty cheap looking. But the food is divine. Everything is handmade - from the burgers to the pies. I love going there, if there are any open seats. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/89 "2015-05-06T16:22:56Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Oddly, Wendy’s (yes the fast food Wendy’s) had a special on pulled pork sandwiches last summer. They where excelent, and I wish they kept them on the menu. Some of them had really good fried chicken, too. That was about 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/90 "2015-05-06T16:32:53Z")
Poppies, a restaurant in a dying strip mall in Denver. The interior is a lot of red velvet and dark woods. Ya expect the rat pack to walk in the door any minute. Use to go there for breakfast. Not necessarily for the food, but the the make 'em yourself Bloody Mary piano bar. Fun times. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/91 "2015-05-06T16:43:24Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Some of them had really good fried chicken, too. That was about 20 years ago. Hardee’s, of all places, had really good fried chicken in the early 1990s. I was still in college, and my roommate and I got it several times. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/92 "2015-05-06T17:28:27Z")
A Phoenix swap meet years ago. Someone set up a BBQ trailer, and OMG. We’d go down there just for that. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/93 "2015-05-06T20:27:37Z")
I have to put in a word for Papa Joe’s Casa de Pasta in Mishawaka, IN. The are located in what once was the office area of the factory where they have made fresh pasta for local restaurants for several generations. After years of being told “you should open a restaurant!”, they finally did in 1973. The first version of the restaurant had 6 tables set up in what had clearly been office space in the very recent past. The waiting area was what had once been the reception area. Much has changed in the intervening years, but because of the factory, they are still open only on Friday and Saturday. The office space has been remodeled and is now on kitschy Italian overload, but the food is just spectacular. Even in the dead of winter, I’ve never had anything but full-flavored tomatoes in the salad, none of the orange cannon balls you buy in stores. And their breads are as wonderful as their sauces and pastas. I’m wanting to make a trip back to Indiana just thinking about it! ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/94 "2015-05-06T22:36:31Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > The restaurant in the [Lee Vining, CA Mobil gas station](http://www.whoanelliedeli.com/) is well-known for it’s very good food. Yup. Been there, ate that. Stellar food. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/95 "2015-05-07T00:36:00Z")
I’m reminded of Sadie’s, a Mexican-food restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It started out as a small diner inside a bowling alley and became so popular that people would line up inside the bowling alley outside the diner’s doors waiting to eat. They’d come for the food but were not interested in bowling. There were often more diners than bowlers. Eventually they opened their own place next door to the bowling alley, and I understand they have several locations now. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/96 "2015-05-07T01:18:40Z")
If you visit Oahu, right near the airport in the nearby industrial buildings there’s a great place called [Mitch’s Sushi](https://www.zagat.com/r/mitchs-sushi-restaurant-honolulu). It’s in the side of a warehouse building. [Google Map](https://www.google.com/maps/place/523+Ohohia+St,+Honolulu,+HI+96819/@21.333962,-157.907845,3a,75y,276.08h,83.18t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sOiW100P0pe6LMMH_Nt9tqQ!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x7c006faa5f251d2f:0x3b8c907c027911ce!6m1!1e1) Spin the street view around to get a feel for the neighborhood. Amazing sushi. Not hugely expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/97 "2015-05-07T02:13:30Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > I love that place! I live in Portland too, and if someone from out of town comes to visit, I always take them to Susan’s Fish and Chips. I was surprised at how many good restaurants there are in Portland. I’ve been to Duck Fat multiple times. And they have some of the better craft breweries around. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/98 "2015-05-07T03:03:56Z")
Oostend,Belgium some hole in the wall pizza place. Couldn’t find it a second time,but the pizza was great. They had a small bar with stools and there was a cat sitting on one. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/99 "2015-05-07T03:47:05Z")
Chinese food in Marshfield, Wisconsin, a couple of decades ago, before Asian cuisine filtered north of Madison. I believe it was Bamboo Garden. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/100 "2015-05-07T03:49:00Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > I was surprised that there’s a large cafeteria inside the Ikea furniture store. > And even more surprised that it offers a good, satisfying lunch (swedish meat balls, of course, but also salmon and lots of side dishes.) [Um … about those meatballs at Ikea …](http://gawker.com/5986677/ikea-stops-serving-meatballs-after-some-found-to-contain-horse-meat) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205.md?page=6)