There were a couple of dives in College Park, MD, that I reluctantly tried while I was a student there. Both of them specialized mostly in takeout.
One was called “Food Factory”. With a name like that, the food’s almost got to be crap. But it was a Pakistani place with good kebabs and other dishes.
The other was a place called Danny’s that served Chinese food and also burgers and I think gyros. Now, places that have that kind of a variety of cuisines are almost never any good. But the Chinese food at Danny’s was actually quite good.
I went to Columbus, OH last year when Mr. Neville was giving a talk at Ohio State. We ended up going to the Indian restaurant at a hotel, despite my misgivings. The food was actually quite good.
Arrrrgh! I can’t remember the name of it… ChiDopers, help me out! Forest Park (and I think they have a branch in Oak Park), hot dog place. My friend tells me their food is great, but… Well, at the time I wasn’t a big fan of hot dog places.
The hot dogs were darn good, served with ‘science-fiction-do-not-eat’ green relish, but the piece-de-resistance was the fries. Oh. My. Ghod. The fries. Served in a bag that’s transparent from the grease, the fries are -always- cooked up right when you order them. They’re crispy and salty and (obviously) greasy and just absolutely to die for… And with those levels of grease, you -will- die… Just with a smile on your face!
Shortly after we started dating, my husband took me to his favorite restaurant. In a cinder-block building in the middle of nowhere, painted red white and blue. I was not optimistic.
They served a lot of greasy diner food (which was not particularly great greasy diner food at that), but the back page was Thai. The owner’s wife was Thai, and she was a fantastic cook. Seriously great food.
They closed awhile ago, and my husband is still in deep mourning.
The Garlic Fries they USED to serve at the old Busch Stadium. They still offer something CALLED that but they are not even close! The original fries? You would be walking through the stadium to your seat carrying these things and people would be injuring themselves trying to figure out where that glorioius, garlicky fragrance was coming from. It was unbelievable that these things came from a ballpark. Complete idiocy not to continue serving them.
My best guess would be Parky’s, it would fit your description. If that’s not right it could be Byron’s, but I don’t think it’s Tasty Dog as they’re only in Oak Park.
I’m going to second this. Living in the Midwest has forced me to be an unadventurous eater. I used to go to new places all the time and was always disappointed. Luckily there’s always a Steak n’ Shake 10 minutes from anywhere in Illinois.
Crazy enough, one of the best meals I’ve ever had was a Thai place in a strip mall in Des Moines.
I’ve had a couple of dining experiences that were not only unexpectedly good, but just plain unexpected.
At the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach, California, they have a cafeteria. The first time I ate there, I was shocked to see fish n’ chips on the menu. But I had to admit, having been staring at live tuna and bass for a couple of hours, it sounded like just the thing to order. I wasn’t expecting much, but it turned out to be fresh-tasting halibut fillets in an excellent batter. I was very happy.
At the Santa Barbara Zoo, they have one food stand, near the entrance. When we were coming back toward the entrance after a couple of hours of wandering the paths, I smelled something divine. It turned out, they had a huge outdoor barbecue and were cooking tri-tip for sandwiches. Of course I had to order one and it was, in a word, delicious.
Sometimes, the one word that sums up dining is “you never know.”
Manuel’s in Sky Valley, California, which is in the northern Coachilla desert. The place is located xext to the community’s liquor store. The restaurant was formerly Josephines, but when she shut it down, Manuel the cook took it over. It features Mexican-italian cuisine.
A real hole in the wall on the outside, but very nice looking on the inside.
Best damned Chile Rellenos I’ve ever discovered! And my quest is to find the perfect one.
Manuel’s comes closest by far, so far.
I’m told their other dishes are pretty fair, but I always get the Chile Rellenos when I’m there.
Speaking of desert cuisine, out on the edge of the Black Rock Desert ( Burning Man ) in the town of Gerlach, is Bruno’s Casino, home of the best raviolis in Northern Nevada.
Roseann’s Everyday Gourmet in Indiana, PA. Very nice hot buffet and incredible variety of homebaked cookies and desserts. We liked the cookies so much we got 6 dozen for a Xmas party - in October. (We froze 'em. They were still delicious.)
We were in Indiana to visit the Jimmy Stewart Museum. Mr. Stewart would surely have approved of Roseann’s cooking and baking - it’s old school.
One of the best meals I ever had was when I was on a mission trip to Costa Rica. We were in the church in a refugee camp and the ladies there made the best arroz con pollo ever.
When I was on vacation on Sanibel Island off the west coast of Florida, my family got lunch at a rickety place on a marina called Gramma Dot’s. They didn’t even have windows, only screens to keep the bugs out. But I must say, they make the best fried oysters and fried fish there. Everything is so fresh and delicious. They also make their own potato chips, which are amazingly tasty.
Sadly, I don’t live around there anymore, and my friend who did is deceased, so I rarely have any reason to head out there. Still… A spring or summer excursion just for that heart-attack-in-a-bag may well be worth it. Thanks for helping with the name!
Upon edit: Just thought of another place which, from what I hear, isn’t there anymore.
My family went to Aruba before it became a huge tourist destination. At the time they had a few hotels and some very nice beaches.
Nearby we found a go-cart track that was attached to a pizza place. Who goes to Aruba for pizza? Well, we tried it out. Oh dear was it good! I guess being far enough from ‘establised’ pizza places had made them either experimental or unsure what pizza normally was. This, however, was a slice of heaven. They used gouda instead of mozzerella, and the crust was almost as crisp as a cracker. It didn’t seem like pizza. It seemed like… Something someone had just invented. It was heavenly.
In Ogawamachi, Tokyo, I went to a tonkatsu place near our office on a recommendation. The place was dimly lit, with rough wood, mis-matched office chairs and uneven tables. The menu was hand-written, photocopied and in sticky, dirty plastic covers. I ordered the “special” (since I didn’t really understand the other names…), and it was heaven. No where else has compared, even at three times the price. I’ve been back many times since.
There’s a sorta downscale Tex-Mex restaurant in Toronto called Tortilla Flats. The food is surprisingly good for the price, but apparently the black bean soup is superb. I mean, I’ve had it and enjoyed it, but I’m no connoisseur of black bean soup. A friend of mine, though, an ex-USAF colonel from Texas, who has a Cuban wife, said it was the best he’d ever had. His said his wife wouldn’t allow it in the house, having had too much of it before she left Cuba, but he it was his favourite dish. He raved about it for days.
When I was like, 10 or something (So 12 years ago give or take) my family was in Arizona, and we went to this little amusement park thingy called “Rawhide”, which was like an old-west amusement park. I rode a donkey (instead of a pony ride, it was much cooler that way), they had clowns walking around, they had wild west gun show…you know the place. In Rawhide I had a cheeseburger that was the best I have ever had in my life. No idea the name of the little dive restaurant I ate it in, and I really have no idea where Rawhide is, but I will never forget that cheeseburger.
To mention a specific food that I thought I would hate, but ended up LOVING. Escargot. I had it the first time on a cruise I went on with my family, then I was lucky enough to actually eat them in Paris. To anyone who hasn’t eaten them or doesn’t want to cuz “ew…snails” they are amazing.