# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/101 "2015-05-07T08:43:53Z")
That link says that certain places in Europe were selling horse meat as beef. It wasn’t just some Ikea cafeterias. It was various places there. It’s never been reported in the U.S. It’s unlikely to ever happen in the U.S. because no one in the U.S. slaughters horses for meat. ---
**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, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/102 "2015-05-07T17:10:12Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > That link says that certain places in Europe were selling horse meat as beef. It wasn’t just some Ikea cafeterias. It was various places there. It’s never been reported in the U.S. It’s unlikely to ever happen in the U.S. because no one in the U.S. slaughters horses for meat. Bah! Maybe the US Ikeas got their meat from international horsemeat smugglers! ---
**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, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/103 "2015-05-07T18:48:11Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Bah! Maybe the US Ikeas got their meat from international horsemeat smugglers! [Wait a minute…](http://imgur.com/ynyX4P5) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/104 "2015-05-08T01:14:35Z")
> [@3trew](#): > > …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. A lot of places where they make food in enormous quantities, you will find delicious soup. I ate tons of soup in college. Wife having surgery, need food, only option is the hospital cafeteria? Get the soup. When the authorities finally catch up with me, I will probably live for the following 20 years on federal penitentiary soup. This is why, when I make soup, my wife always says WHY DID YOU MAKE SO MUCH FUCKING SOUP? Because, if you make one lousy quart, it’s not as good. This is also why I now have homemade French onion, chicken and dumpling, and pureed mushroom soup all in the fridge at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/105 "2015-05-08T01:22:56Z")
Portland, Maine, is a destination city for foodies now. I’m not surprised you’re finding excellent restaurants there. I’ve always eaten well in Maine. See John Thorne’s brilliant book _Serious Pig_ for fine essays on blueberry pie, fried clams, chowder, baked beans, home fries, etc. And stop in at Duffy’s restaurant if you’re driving U.S. One between Bucksport and Ellsworth. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/106 "2015-05-08T17:15:04Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > The restaurant in the [Lee Vining, CA Mobil gas station](http://www.whoanelliedeli.com/) is well-known for it’s very good food. > > It’s become famous now but Dixie’s BBQ in Redmond, WA started out in one half of a car garage. During a contract I had at Microsoft, everybody insisted that I try Dixie’s, so I went in there one day. Now, I’m from Texas, so I expected that there would be someone that would slice my meat and plate it for me. Instead, it was dipped out of a vat that had been stewing the meat in the sauce. In Texas, they wouldn’t call that barbecue, they would call it soup. The one outstanding feature of the place was that the owner would go from table to table, offering people free samples of “The Man” sauce. I talked him into only giving me a tiny dab, maybe 2mm in diameter. I thouroughly mixed that into the reast of the gravy, er, sauce before I tasted it. Eight hours later and about eight gallons of water, I was still moaning over the disturbance in my digestive tract. I like hot, but I like to recover from it in a reasonable amount of time. ---
**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 8, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205/107 "2015-05-08T21:00:56Z")
> [@OffByOne](#): > > The one outstanding feature of the place was that the owner would go from table to table, offering people free samples of “The Man” sauce. I talked him into only giving me a tiny dab, maybe 2mm in diameter. I thouroughly mixed that into the reast of the gravy, er, sauce before I tasted it. Eight hours later and about eight gallons of water, I was still moaning over the disturbance in my digestive tract. My understanding is that meeting The Man was a rite of passage for many Microsofties. I had been warned so I stayed away from his sauce but I have fond memories of watching The Man pass it out. Dixies was quite an experience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-places-youve-found-a-good-restaurant/719205.md?page=5)