Great Places to Eat – IOTW Report

Great Places to Eat

We all have great places we know that serve the best *whatever* you’ve ever had. There have been several posts that got off track with commenters telling us where they found the best BBQ, pizza, steaks, bread, etc. ever. One of the last OT sessions we had, PHenry suggested that we have an actual post about our favorite joints.

So, I’ll get us started.

The best Wet Burrito EVER is in Level Park, MI. (a little suburb of Battle Creek). I have been going there since they opened in 1978. When I moved to Minnesota, I could only get back whenever I went home to visit. Guess where I went the first chance I got after moving back home?! Yup.

Here is the address and website:

The Pizza Parlor
3301 W Michigan Ave
Battle Creek, MI 49037

So, what are your recommendations?

 

66 Comments on Great Places to Eat

  1. Taco Mesa in Costa Mesa, CA (and other locations). The owner worked for El Torrito for 22 years and then opened his first location across to the DMV. Everything is fresh and mad to order. The best blackened calamari tacos to be had. I have been up in Oregon for a while and still dream of them. And now he has lobster tacos. Lobster!

    http://www.tacomesa.com/

  2. The Route 36 Bar and Grill has one of the best steaks you can find.
    Not aged just prime.

    Jack’s in Dickinson ND makes 40 gallons of Borscht every day and the usually run out. Plus the fried chicken is great.

  3. The BEST steak + the experience….’Ole’s’ in Paxton Nebraska. Just off I-80 in between Ogalala and North Platte NE…..Buckhorn Exchange (Denvers oldest liquor license and Buffalo Bill used to drink there) 10th and Osage Denver Co….The Ringside in Portland Oregon, get approved for a 2nd mortgage cuz you’ll need it…

  4. I stopped at a roadside eatery once and had the most incredible steak I ever had. Reasonable price too. Don’t remember where, but it was just off the main road. Can’t miss it. Ask for Mabel May.

  5. The best TexMex isn’t in Texas or Mexico, it’s at the airport in Ponca City, OK. Enrique’s was once written up in the Wallstreet Journal as a place pilots fly to just to eat.

  6. @ChristianPDX – I was going to mention Taco Mesa but you beat me to it.

    There’s a place near South Coast Plaza called Maestro’s that has great steaks, but it’s a bit pricey.

  7. I probably won’t go there again until we get National Reciprocity, but the best burger to be had is at a roadside joint on route 34 in Monroe, CT.

    The Zoar Burger… I have no idea why it is so good but it has been a legend there for many years.

    If anyone has the stomach to deal with the progressive wasteland CT has become, the trip is a good one with lots of scenery. Just don’t go in the late fall as hornets are everywhere.

  8. There are too many to choose from to just pick one, but here it goes. The Double Musky Inn, in Girdwood, Alaska. Cajun food in Alaska, and it’s good. Not only that but it was my first date with mrs6pak, so it’s has good memories. I bet Lisl knows the place, being an Alaskan and all.

  9. The desserts are always more important than the meal for me. One restaurant in particular we would usually only go to for cake and coffee…Gregg’s Restaurant in RI. We always went to the location on Post Road in Warwick, RI, but there are several locations around the state. Haven’t been in a couple of years since I’ve moved away, but I still dream about their Lemon Burst Cake. The Raspberry Coconut Cake is another favorite of mine. The pieces are so huge that you could never finish it in one sitting, so you get to have it twice!

    They have a separate pastry window for takeouts, and it is always packed.

  10. For the best fairly cheap hamburger and French fries in Spokane I would highly recommend Dick’s hamburgers just off I 90 at 3rd and Division St. The whammies, double meat and double cheese are good, the French fries are cut daily from real potatoes and they have the best fish and chips in town. It’s not as cheap as it used to be but is still a bargain, I’ve been eating there since the late 60’s when I was in HS. And it’s cash only. Also Ferguson’s (we call it Fergies) Café up on the North side of town where I live has very good breakfasts, my oldest daughter always takes me there when she’s in Spokane visiting. They do give you a lot of food for the money, although she tells me I probably shouldn’t eat that big a breakfast anymore but it’s worth it every once in a while.

  11. I’m blessed to live in a city with numerous great places to eat.
    Too many quality restuarants to mention. Naturally, a $100 a plate meal will be orgasmic no matter where you are. For good old value on the dollar, atmosphere, lobster or steak at Ziggy’s is it for me. It’s not pretentious and the food is always consistently primo.

  12. We like the ‘hole-in-the-walls’ and seek them out. Our 1st post was for the hands down best but …. Perry’s in Poultney: the Perry Burger and frys are outstanding because they grow their own spuds. Kevin’s in North Bennington is another. If you don’t live there you’d drive right by and never have a clue ….

  13. @ Claudia, if you get up to the northwest corner of the lower peninsula head up to North Port and check out the Tribune. Seats only about 16 and the breakfast is unreal. They do a Sunday sitdown dinner family style and last time there it was a 12 course Italian dinner with two mains. Pork loin rolled in a pork belly with chicken livers and fennel in cream. Every meal is a gourmet experience. Bring your own drinks.
    If you get up this way I and my family will have to join us. Same invite to BFH or the rest of the gang here. Northern Michigan below the bridge.

  14. Anita’s in Nokomis FL has one of the best hamburgers I’ve ever had. Fresh ground beef, the right amount of fat (not too much and definitely not too little), hand formed and not overworked, then grilled to perfection with just a little crisp snap to the surface. Very flavorful smoked bacon and sharp cheddar with onion, lettuce, and mayo are my fixins of choice but they’ll put it together pretty much any way you want it. And all this on a lightly toasted bun of just the right texture and with a chewiness of its own.

    Anita’s Restaurant
    441 S Tamiami Trail
    Nokomis, FL 34275

    A plus is that although they are open only for breakfast and lunch they have good local craft beer on tap, and the selection varies.

    Oh, yeah, retro roadie nostalgia Americana decor plus first-rate service.

  15. Best pizza on the face of the earth, hands-down, Pagliacci Pizza. Several locations in Seattle and Eastside. Just had their seasonal offerings last week: Pear/gorgonzola/proscuitto, and butternut squash w/fried whole sage leaves.

    I have my own list of ingredients they keep on file. It’s my “regular” — sun dried tomatoes, blue cheese, proscuitto, caramelized onions and some other stuff.

    Best hand-tossed, thin crust pizza in the world. And if you ask what the “frequent pier” discount is, you’ll get deals on salads, gelatto, etc.

    http://www.pagliacci.com MMMMM MMMM Good!

  16. Best Filet Mignon; Austin Land and Cattle in Austin, Texas
    Best Eggplant Parmigiana; Savelli’s in Manitou Springs, Colorado
    Best Bar-B-Que; The Smokehouse in Kansas City, Missouri
    Best Chateaubriand: The Perfect Landing at the Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colorado

    DAMN I’m hungry!

  17. Best two places on earth to eat are either Joe6paks house or mine when our smokers are running. Doubt me? Ask me neighbors. And I know Joe6pak is a master smoker. We are sharing recipes like a couple old ladies. LOL. Sorry Joe.

  18. Deep in the San Fernando Valley, near the Busch Gardens brewery is a Tommy’s on Roscoe Blvd. Gary and I stole several Frankenstein heads off the Universal Studios billboards next door.
    Tommy’s had Chili burgers. You get a double Chili burger, and the staff (all limited English speakers) would ask: “Everyting?” Meaning lettuce, tomato and pickle and onion. To which you replied: “Everything”.
    Your friend behind the counter was visibly happy with your wise choice of everyting.
    Best damn chili burger in the known Universe

  19. Sturge…try the Caspian Café for excellent Greek & Middle Eastern cuisine. Awesome atmosphere, they even have a belly dancer on Saturday nights. 4375 Sinton Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80907, (719) 528-1155, on the southeast corner of Garden of the Gods (Austin Bluffs)and I-25.

  20. Haven’t been there in a long time, but it used to be…
    The Riverhouse in Palm Beach Gardens was so good, that Palm Beachers loved it. Arrive early. No reservations allowed. Or Go when the snowbirds aren’t in town. You might see some celebs in there, but don’t let that stop you.

  21. Creole & Cajun: Mr B’s Bistro in the French Quarter
    BBQ: Sweet Daddy’s BBQ on hwy 21 in Covington La
    Hamburger: Old Rail Tavern in Mandeville La
    Also, Creole Tomateux in Mandeville La
    Seafood: King Neptune in Port Salerno Fla

  22. Some people like tomato based BBQ sauce, while some like vinegar based BBQ sauce. The best, however, is the perfect mix of the two that you get at Cowling’s BBQ at 7019 General Mahone Hwy, Rt 460 in Waverly, VA 23890. This little nondescript restaurant has been a favorite of ours since we lived in VA back in the 90’s. Every chance I get to stop by (anytime I’m within 50 miles of Waverly), we stop by for either lunch or dinner. I always pick up a gallon of their sauce to take home as well!

  23. Joe & BB
    For fish…

    Living by Lake Michigan it was sixty to eighty pound batches of fish in the double door old refrigerator made into a smoke house. Optional below was not optional as that was my final recipe. Get e-mail from BFH and we can discuss finer points…

    I rub the dry brine liberally on all surfaces inside and out of the fish which has been chunked into four to six inch sections chopping down into the back of the Salmon and then following the rib with the curve to prevent small bone pieces. Twelve to twenty four hours in the fridge in deep pans because you’ll see the brine starts to leech out liquid as soon as you put the brine on. Then rinse before putting into the smoker without completely taking ALL the brine off. You could do cat fish and I found it as good as the Salmon. (Forty to fifty pound Flat Heads from in front of my house) Brown Trout was to die for…

    DRY BRINE (Double Recipe)
    5# or 7 Cups canning & pickling salt
    2# Brown Sugar
    4 Tbl. Sp. Salt Petre (Potassium Nitrate)

    Remaining is optional and/ or develope to ones own taste

    4 Tbl. Sp. Black Pepper
    4 Tbl. Sp. Onion Salt
    4 Tbl. Sp. Celery Salt
    4 Tbl. Sp. Ground Cloves
    4 Tbl. Sp. All Spice
    4 Tbl. Sp. Ground Lemon or Orange Peel
    4 Tbl. Sp. Ground Dill Weed
    4 Tbl. Sp. Ground Ginger
    4 Bay Leaves

    What to do with small Northerns… (bones dissolve)
    PICKLING RECIPE (5 Days / 5 Days or 1 1/2 Days / 10 -15 Days) (Fish cut in 1″ Squares)
    5/8 Cup Canning & Pickling Salt
    1 Qt. Water
    1 Qt. White Vinegar
    After First Session (5 Days or 1 1/2 Days), drain and make 2nd solution (below) & add fish

    2 Cups Sugar
    1 Qt. White Vinegar
    1 Qt. White Port Wine
    1/3 Cup Pickling Spice
    2 Med. Bermuda Onions
    After 2nd Session (5 Days or 10 – 15 Days) Enjoy!

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