Thanks - LOVE the photos … mmmmmmm …
Mmmmmm…
Best Greek Salad: Nothing has ever beaten Gyro Time’s (Vegas) Greek Salad. The secret is the Feta Cheese Dressing- beats the pants of of anyone elses red wine vinagrette. You gotta get it topped with Gyro meat as well.
Best Basque (actually best food…period) Food: The Star in Elko, Nevada. Baked Lamb = OH.MY.GOD!!
Best Ribeye Steak: Also The Star in Elko- thats what I get when they are out of Baked Lamb (bastards!!). Don’t let anyone talk you into Picon Punch though…
Best Pizza: Was Wild Willy’s in Ely, Nevada. It closed 
First place I had BBQ chicken pizza.
Best Thai place- Prommare’s in Vegas- just watch the heat factor- if you don’t give it to them by number you will either have bland food if you ask for mild or killer hot if you are so stupid to say “medium”. Also, bring very small change if you don’t want to be chewed out by the lady at the cash register :smack:
Best Bar Food: Nikki’s in Green Valley/Henderson area has some killer wings- my favorite is the teriyaki. That and good video poker gives me a reason to accompany my SO to his football games.
Best Chinese Food thats Not: PF Chang’s- everything is good- no bad choices but especially dig the Singapore Street Noodles. I don’t really have a favorite actual Chinese food place because I’d rather eat Thai :).
Lou-
I haven’t lived in Florida for 3 years but here were some of my favorites.
(I used to live on the golf course up in Winter Springs).
Pizza- Boardwalk Pizza (NY Style). It’s on Lake Howell road in Winter Park. Best I could find in central Florida since the pickings are slim.
Hamburger- Chee-burger Chee-burger. The used to have one in Casselberry but I see it’s gone now. They still exsist in Miami and the southwest coast.
Subs- Larry’s Giant Subs. Mostly around the Daytona area. Good stuff.
Cajun Chicken Eggrolls- Cafe Tu Tu Tango down by the attractions on I-drive.
They got a lot of good stuff but those are my favorite.
Best Pizza, Ever : Massey’s Pizza, a Columbus, Ohio area local chain. Thin Crust, perfection.
That’s all I’ve got.
Best Pizza: Shoparama Pizza, Schenectady, NY. Second place to Joe’s Pizza Place (“See Your Pizza Being Made with Imported Hands!”)
Best Japanese food: Kiku of Tokyo, San Francisco. Their dinner special is by far the best meal I’ve ever eaten.
Best Diner Food: Beltway Diner, Hazleton, PA
Best Italian: Luigino’s, Washington DC – superb northern Italian.
Best German: Spa Brauhaus, Ballston Lake, NY
Best Sub: I actually like Subway more than anything else.
Best Hamburger: There’s a place in NYC near the stock exchange that claims to have the World’s Best Hamburgers, and they’re right. I don’t recall their name, though.
Best chicken parm: Joe’s Pizza Place, Schenectady.
Best sandwiches: Hy Sofer’s, Schenectady (alas, they’ve been out of business for about 20 years).
Runner up: Stage Door Deli, Schenectady. (They took over for Hy Sofer and have steadily improved over the years).
Best French Fries: Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Don’t recall the name of the place; it’s on the Boardwalk. But the fries were just heavenly.
Best seafood: Lobster in the Rough from Crabby Jerry’s, Greenport, NY. Not only great, but a great bargain.
best lasagna: Mine, which is pretty similar to Lou’s. I like to add spinach and a tiny bit of nutmeg to the ricotta. Claim Jumper and Marie Callendar’s are good too.
best pizza: BJ’s, which is mostly a Southern California chain but they have a new restaurant in San Jose. They use a puffy crust, almost like a fritter. Closer to home, I like Pyzano’s in Castro Valley (you may have heard of this guy) and Porky’s in San Leandro.
best other Italian: Trattoria Acqua, La Jolla (San Diego area).
best burgers: My stuffed burger recipe. If I don’t want to go to the trouble, I go to a local chain called Sam’s Super Burgers, or Red Robin.
best sushi: Matsu Sushi, Dublin (next to the Regal theater).
best Thai: Sri Thai (same area).
best Ethiopian: Blue Nile, Berkeley.
best dim sum: Yank Sing, San Francisco. Damn, I can almost forget about the money flowing away when I eat there. Almost as good, and far cheaper, is the Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver, BC.
best other Chinese: Lots of little restaurants in San Francisco and Oakland, I haven’t settled on a definitive best.
best hoagies: I.B. Hoagie, locations in Berkeley and Oakland.
best donuts: I can’t remember the name, but there’s a little place in Castro Valley next to a dancer’s supply store. Mmmm, irony.
best diner: Mel’s or Lori’s, San Francisco and around the Bay. Mel’s is the real deal, while Lori’s is actually not that old, but they’re both good.
best burrito: There’s a little shop in La Jolla that makes their own tortillas fresh every morning. Man, those burritos were good. Here in San Leandro there’s Taqueria Los Pericos, which is open pretty late and usually at least half full.
best seafood: Pacific Grill, Wailea, Maui island, Hawaii. It doesn’t get much fresher unless you catch it yourself. Around here there’s Market Broiler in Fremont, which is a New England style restaurant.
best Indian: It used to be Pasand in Berkeley, but I stopped going there when the owner was arrested and later sentenced for running an illegal immigration ring, bringing young girls over for cheap labor and sex. After that it was Copper Chimney in Fremont, but then available light found a live bug crawling off her plate. Recently I discovered Sneha in Sunnyvale. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that no sex scandals or infestations are forthcoming.
best Vietnamese: Pho 84, Oakland.
best ribs: Tony Roma’s. What can I say, the Bay Area’s not known for homegrown rib awesomeness, and I haven’t been to the places that are known for such things. We can’t have everything, I guess.
best desserts: Cheesecake Factory, national. Hell, their other food is great too, and they have an enormous menu.
best breakfast buffet: Westin Canal Place hotel, New Orleans. Apparently the hotel was bought by Wyndham a few years ago, so I don’t know if they still have the buffet, but when I was there it was really good. You could get omelettes made to order with lots of local ingredients, like fresh crawfish and andouille sausage.
best sandwiches: Intermezzo, Berkeley. They make their own bread in oversized loaves, so their sandwiches are about double the normal size. I’m told they have good coffee too, but I wouldn’t know because I don’t like coffee.
And now I am very hungry, excuse me.
Thanks to psycat90 for the barbecue recommendation; I’ve been on the lookout for good BBQ ever since I emigrated out here.
My picks:
Best BBQ I’ve ever had: Spring House BBQ in Athens, GA
Best BBQ sandwich in the Bay Area: The Memphis Pig at the Windy City in San Mateo
Best Japanese dish: Katsu curry rice at Manpuku in Berkeley, CA
Best Japanese diner: “On the Bridge” at Japan Center in San Francisco
Best soba: Mifune at Japan Center in San Francisco
Best Mexican dish: Enchilada Vallarta at Casa Manana in San Rafael, CA
Best pizza I’ve ever had: Original Ray’s in New York City
Best pizza in the Bay Area: I’m still looking.
Best Thai: Royal Thai in San Rafael, CA
Best Vietnamese: PPQ in San Francisco, CA
Oh yeah, and
Best burgers: Phyllis’ Giant Burgers in San Rafael, CA
Best chicken fingers: Guthrie’s in Athens, GA
Best chili dogs and onion rings: The Varsity in Atlanta, GA
This one might have to go, too. There was a fairly iffy firing about two years ago that had some people abandoning them. Depends where you stand on the issue.
I hadn’t heard about that. Still, without hearing more about the case it doesn’t seem so bad that I would boycott the place.
Best Mexican- Fiesta Tepa-Sahuayo in Watsonville, hands down. Honestly, this is worth the trip down for anyone in the Bay Area. It’s a very unassuming It features some amazing hard-to-find dishes (like shrimp in rose petal sauce, squash flower quesadillas and corn-fungus enchiladas) at very reasonable prices. The food is excellent, and the prices are extremely reasonable. By all means, if you go there, order drinks, too. A big pitcher of aqua fresca is three bucks, and sangria is six.
Best Burrito- Rosa’s convience store near the Comfort in by the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz.
Best Sub- Sub Center Number 2, in West Portal in San Francisco. We used to drive up from Santa Cruz just to eat there.
Best Indian- Kaveri in Sacramento. They feature South Indian food, which is a welcome break from the naan-tandoori chicken-sag paneer routine. Their lunch buffet is plentiful and features dishes I’ve never seen outside of India. The prices can be a bit much though.
It’s also hard to not reccommend Breads of India in Berkeley (and soon to be in Oakland!). It’s one of the few places where you can get fresh wonderful food off a daily menu for under ten bucks. Their breads are unspeakably good and the desserts are some of the best I’ve had.
Best Breakfast- Cafe do Brasil in Santa Cruz.
Best chocolate covered strawberries- the Donnelly Chocolate booth at the Santa Cruz farmer’s market in summer. Some of the world’s best strawberries are grown in fields just miles out of town. Add some world-class chocolate and you have what is proably the best chocolate covered strawberry it is possible to get.
Best fried chicken is at Watershed in Decatur, GA, just around the corner from my house. It’s better than my mother’s was. Hell, it’s better than my grandmother’s was! Chef Scott Peacock brines the chicken for one day, then soaks it in buttermilk for a second day, before he fries it on the third. If you’re ever in Atlanta, you owe it to yourself to have this chicken. But it’s only available on Tuesday, and when it’s gone, it’s gone - so get there early.
My favorite Watershed fried chicken story: One Tuesday evening, Jane Fonda phoned the restaurant and said she was on the way with some friends - could they save some chicken for her party? Answer - nope! If you want fried chicken get over here with everyone else. When it’s gone, it’s gone!
I wasn’t all that impressed with Massey’s. Try Johnny’s Pizza on 1444 Parsons Avenue for the glorious obscenity that is the amount of their toppings alone. Sadly, it boasts only a mediocre sauce which is why I tended to eat their pizza with a bowl of Alberini’s marinara.
Just avoid Grandma’s Pizza – just a cut above frozen reheated cafeteria food.
Best Apples In My Life: tree-picked Honeycrisp and Golden Delicious from Lynd Fruit Farm.
Best fish-and-chips: Penny-Farthing in Burnaby, BC, although some like that place in White Rock.
Best samosas: The little sweet shop at 72 Ave. and 128 St. in Surrey, BC (just east of Kwantlen).
Best Filipino pork adobo: Sweetie’s in the New Westminster Quay. (Say hi to Flavia from the adobo guy!)
I miss all those places, and haven’t really gotten to the point where I can pick any ‘best of’ down here.
Best Mexican: La Sirenita in Riverdale, Maryland
Best barbecue (locally): Memphis Minnie’s on lower Haight
Best hamburgers: Barney’s (a small local chain)
Best sushi (I’ve ever had): a hole in the wall in Japan. I was very happy with Sushi Tama in Tacoma. Oddly, I rarely eat sushi in San Francisco.
Best Chinese food: China House (who will deliver :))
Best steak: Home , followed by Izzy’s . Izzy’s side dishes are a heart-attack on a plate, but worth it once or twice a year.
Best Irish Breakfast: O’Reilly’s
Best Old-style Italian: Gold Spike
Best Seafood: Pacific Cafe And they give you free wine if you have to wait for a table!
Best German: Schnitzelhaus
Best Dim Sum: Ocean View
Best Donut Holes: Olesons Grocery
Best Pie: Jespersons
Best Burger: The Sassy Loon lounge
Best Buffalo wings: Slopeside Louge
Best Pizza: Mighty Fine Pizza
Best Deli: Gurneys
Define best pizza…because I am always interested in truly awesome pizza. The best I’ve found in LA so far is Brooklyn Pizza in Tarzana. Tiny little dumpy hole in the wall… serves virtually perfect pizza. Thin, crispy crust (middle is chewier cuz its wetter, edges are marvelously charred and crisp), excellent sharp sauce but not too much, lovely cheese… just aces all around.
Larchmont Village Pizza is close.
** BEST BREAD ON EARTH ** : La Brea Bakery. Nancy Silverton is the Goddess of Bread, truly. Google it and her. I thank the good lord I live in this town that I might experience it for myself. She has many varieties, and I don’t love them all equally, of course. But unless you have some kind of weird Wonder Bread fetish, she makes a loaf for you. My favorite is only available at the bakery itself, not retail: White Table. It’s a giant loaf that is half air, most of the rest is this exquisite crust, and the flavor is indescribable…except to say that it is perfection itself expressed in flour and yeast.
She also makes some pretty amazing baked goodies of other sorts, as well. A coffee cake that is simply perfection (Summer Camp) and a pastry cake called Belgian Sugar Pie that is part perfect brioche, part perfect croissant, filled with a gorgeous light not-too sweet egg custard. And then there’s the Normandy Apple tart… the most buttery (she uses rich, flavorful European style butter that has ten times the flavor) and crisp well-browned flaky pastry filled with tender tart apples… to die.
If you ever visit Los Angeles, you simply MUST make it a priority stop.
** Best Corned Beef ** : Just a few blocks from La Brea Bakery is the Farmer’s Market on 3rd. Therein lies the best corned beef you will ever eat, at Magee’s Kitchen. have it as a sandwich or the classic cabbage and potato plate, it matters not. It’s about the meat. Astonishingly tender and flavorful. Flawless.
** Best Tacos Carnitas ** Another tourist trap stop in LA is Olvera Street, a little chunk of old LA, complete with original cobblestones and adobe buildings. On the end nearest the plaza, there is a restaurant called something involving “dia”…it’s the one with people seated outside on the patio. I have been eating carnitas tacos there for 41 years, and they have never failed to transpot me to gastronomic nirvana. the salsa is unique, but simple and fresh, the meat itself is what carnitas is supposed to be: top quality pork shoulder, well seasoned with salt, and then the whole thing deep-fried, leaving the outside crispy and the inside marvelously tender. But what puts the whole deal right over the top are the tortillas, which are handmade all day long… you come in and hear the slap-slap-slap of the ladies tossing the masa back and forth in their hands. The tortillas are thick and flavorful and unlike anything you have ever before tasted.
Best Chicken wings: Peking Tom’s in Boston. The menu lists them as “fancy chicken wings”. They had just the right flavor and very tender meat.
Also, I second Red Hot Lovers - just don’t use a credit card, you’ll be sorry when the statement comes in… “Red Hot Lovers”.