Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Another Spinoff: Restaurants You Want

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Another Spinoff: Restaurants You Want

    Either local ones that have closed down or chains that aren't in your area, inspired by the discontinued food thread.

    My town has a pretty good local restaurant scene. There's a pretty strong downtown community that (heavily) caters to the college/hipster/hippie professional set, with a few very nice, very pricy restaurants mixed in. Unfortunately, nearly all of these local gems are a bit expensive...and sometimes you just want a hamburger, y'know? And not an all-organic specialty burger topped with microgreens and served with fries topped with truffle oil.

    At the very top of this list would be Olive Garden. I know, I know. But there aren't *any* good Italian or faux-Italian restaurants in this town. Sometimes we just want some chicken parm but I don't want to make it, y'know? (Actually, someone is trying to open one here, but the city commissioners are fighting it because they're douchenozzles.)

    Some more places I'd love in my town:

    Red Lobster
    Colton's and/or O'Charley's - for the rolls
    Old Chicago (we had one that closed because of the landlord )
    Dixie Cafe or Cracker Barrel (for the Southern food fix)
    A decent Mexican restaurant
    Korma Sutra (a small chain of Indian restaurants in KC)

    There are other places that I've never been to, but would like to try, like Joe's Crab Shack, Texas Roadhouse, In-and-Out Burger, and so on and so forth.

    So, what do you wish you had in your region?
    "Even arms dealers need groceries." ~ Ziva David, NCIS

    Tony: "Everyone's counting on you, just do what you do best."
    Abby: "Dance?" ~ NCIS

  • #2
    Weber Grill Restaurant - Hubs and I went to the one in Indianapolis in 2007. We were at Gen*Con at the time.

    Claddagh Irish Pub - another restaurant we tried during Gen*Con 2007.

    The Bavarian Chef - we had our wedding rehearsal dinner here. I love it. The one in Fredericksburg just opened recently. It's a little closer to our house than the one in Madison. 1 hour as compared to 2 hours.

    Now I want IrishAmericanGerman food.

    Comment


    • #3
      First one which comes to mind is a restaurant which served hamburgers, but they offered the option of using a veggie patty for any burger on the menu. (unfortunately, I can't recall the name of the said place, only that it had "Ruby" in it, and was located in one of the malls)

      Comment


      • #4
        Kelly, that was probably Ruby Tuesday's, which I would also love to have here!
        "Even arms dealers need groceries." ~ Ziva David, NCIS

        Tony: "Everyone's counting on you, just do what you do best."
        Abby: "Dance?" ~ NCIS

        Comment


        • #5
          Living in one of the ten largest cities in the U.S., we have a good assortment of restaurants here, both chains and local places. There are still things from Wisconsin that I miss, though. Cheese curds, for one (the deep fried appetizer that you can get in practically any restaurant in WI.) The only place we've seen them here is Culver's, and fast food cheese curds just don't always cut it. I also wish I could find haddock somewhere. Fish in general -- besides catfish -- is not in abundance down here.

          There also used to be a chain called Bennigan's that was really good. I think the chain itself went bankrupt or something, but there are still a few independent restaurants open here and there, but none around us. They were an Irish pub themed place, their food was good and they had some interesting drinks. I only got a chance to eat at the one in town once or twice before it closed down.

          Ooh, another thing I wish we had was a Taco Johns. A small-ish tex-mex fast food chain. I used to eat at the one in my hometown in Wisconsin quite a bit -- they were right across the street from a Taco Bell, but Bell ain't got nothin' on Johns. With all the Mexican/tex-mex restaurants down here, you'd think I wouldn't be complaining about a lack of one lousy fast food dive, but I can't help it!

          Lastly, there's a local ice cream chain up in Wisconsin called Briq's that I really like. Their ice cream is super cold and not overly creamy like Dairy Queen's, for example. It's hard to describe, but it's very good. I can't complain about this one too much since there is a Marble Slab and a Baskin & Robbins really close to us, though.
          Last edited by MaggieTheCat; 06-20-2011, 08:23 PM.

          Comment


          • #6
            Before they went out of business, we used to have this ice cream parlor called Soda Jack's. It was a cute little place that I really miss.

            Also, there's several restaurants in Denver that I wish they had here. Mimi's Cafe, Cheesecake Factory, Rainforest Cafe, Park Burger, Benedict's.....
            "Things that fail to kill me make me level up." ~ NateWantsToBattle, Training Hard (Counting Stars parody)

            Comment


            • #7
              Maggie, I wish there were some good catfish around here! There are some places that serve catfish, but no dedicated catfish restaurants like you see in the South. Also...Baskin & Robbins.....*drool*

              We have three Taco John's here....well, it *is* a college town. It is pretty good; I like their nachos.
              "Even arms dealers need groceries." ~ Ziva David, NCIS

              Tony: "Everyone's counting on you, just do what you do best."
              Abby: "Dance?" ~ NCIS

              Comment


              • #8
                The two I want the most but won't ever come here...

                A&W. They exist up north, but not down south, and it just sucks. I've been dying for a Mama Burger for a month.

                And Coco Pazzo's. They are the best Italian I've ever had. They make this pasta dish called radiatore (currently officially they're using pene noodles but you can request otherwise. I like radiatore because there's more surface area) strascinatti (sp?) that I absolutely love. Its a creamy red sauce thats just delicious. This restaurant is north. As in... Canada. I don't think it exists in the US at all.

                Coco Pazzo Dinner Menu Page 1

                Coco Pazzo Dinner Menu Page 2

                And I'd love to have an Orange Julius too. None of the other smoothie places I've been to can remotely compare. I have found out how to prepare smoothies at home that are almost as good, but they don't taste quite the same and I miss the original.
                Last edited by Moirae; 06-20-2011, 08:48 PM.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'm fairly simple:

                  1) Mexican street food. Like, real, honest to gods, Mexican. I live in NYC. We have a large Mexican population, many of whom work in the restaurant industry. Yet we lack a steady supply of tacos and tortas, instead we have a deluge of Halal food, which, while good, there is not much variety in the trucks. Hell, I would settle for this stuff in a restaurant. There was one near where I moved to, but they closed down in a couple months (I suspect they ran out on their rent, probably not making it due to never getting a liquor license). I have discovered a couple Mexican trucks on one train stop (Roosevelt Ave on the E/F for any one interested), but it is not enough to feed my craving of pork in tortillas.

                  2) BD's Mongolian Grill. I mentioned it in another thread, and I miss it from living in OH. Buffet style, pick up a bowl, fill it with stuff you want stir fried, top with some GREAT sauces, and hand it over. It was fun, the staff were always friendly, and the food was all very good quality.

                  3) Steak and Shake. It's fun, I like shakes, leave me alone. Heck, specifically, replace the goram Johnny Rockets near me with one of these and I would be happy.

                  4) Oh, and some DQs. Sod a DD/BR on every corner and replace some with DQs.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I want my Fazoli's back.

                    A Five Guys would be great too.

                    There were rumors that Golden Corral might build in my city, but they evidently aren't going to. More's the pity. We're getting a Pizza Ranch instead, which evidently is some kind of pizza buffet place. I can't wait for it to finally open.

                    Personally, I find our A&W overrated. The food is perfectly fine, but the portions are small.
                    Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

                    "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      You know, I would happily trade an Olive Garden for a Fazoli's. Steak'n'Shake is okay, but I prefer Culver's. Five Guys is amaaaazzzziiiinngggggg.

                      There's a Dairy Queen right around the block from my apartment. It's actually kind of a problem. *shame*
                      "Even arms dealers need groceries." ~ Ziva David, NCIS

                      Tony: "Everyone's counting on you, just do what you do best."
                      Abby: "Dance?" ~ NCIS

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I appear to be the only guy that thinks 5 guys is a generic fast food burger going at about double the price it should be because you CAN get 50 condiments n it if you wanted.

                        Their fries are all sorts of excellent though, however I can get better for less, so even that isn't enough to get me in there...

                        And yes, I fully accept that steak and shake is rather meh. I mainly went there b/c their shakes made me happy, and they sell a patty melt.


                        Oh, and the last thing I would like is more IHOPS. Specifically one I can get to easily (I don't drive, and they are almost all further out in the direction of LI)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Quoth thansal View Post
                          I appear to be the only guy that thinks 5 guys is a generic fast food burger going at about double the price it should be because you CAN get 50 condiments n it if you wanted.

                          Their fries are all sorts of excellent though, however I can get better for less, so even that isn't enough to get me in there...

                          And yes, I fully accept that steak and shake is rather meh. I mainly went there b/c their shakes made me happy, and they sell a patty melt.


                          Oh, and the last thing I would like is more IHOPS. Specifically one I can get to easily (I don't drive, and they are almost all further out in the direction of LI)
                          hehehe... come to NOLA. They're like roaches.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and (I know this would never happen in Canada, but I can dream) White Castle and Sonic
                            The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Not in the area at all:
                              Jack Astor's-awesome food and a great atmosphere
                              Mighty Taco-Because I can only take so much Taco Bell
                              I'd love a Fazoli's near my office as well.

                              In the area but not very close (certainly not close enough for work lunch):
                              Brown Bag Burger-I'd never set foot into Five Guys again, and I like Five Guys.
                              Moe's Southwest Grill-Better than Chipotle or Qdoba
                              Cici's Pizza-The Pizza Hut lunch buffets around here are pathetic, and the service is worse.

                              Yeah, these all pretty much have to do with work lunches. When it comes to dinner, I'm willing to drive a fairly decent distance for what I want....
                              "If your day is filled with firefighting, you need to start taking the matches away from the toddlers…” - HM

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X