[Ayreonaut]

Akida (local hole in the wall) for sushi.

Hound's Tooth Cafe (local rural roadside) for barbeque.

Richmond has mostly chains.

Maggiano's for Italian.
Rio Grande Cafe for Mexican(ish)
PF Chang for Chinese(ish)
Texas Roadhouse for an inexpensive T-bone.
Red Robin for burgers.

 

[VicAjax]

so many restaurants, such little time...

Sushi
Blue Ribbon Sushi in SOHO (their aged soy sauce and homemade wasabi are just the tip of the iceberg
honorable mention: Sushi of Gari in my neighborhood (yorkville). it's a local legend.

Italian
Esca - Mario Batali's place in Hell's Kitchen. essentially it's italian sushi.

BBQ
other than a little roadside trailer near Mt. Yonah, GA, i'd vote for Fat Matt's Rib Shack in Atlanta. carolina BBQ is the only BBQ.

Korean BBQ
ok, well carolina isn't the only BBQ... i love the atmosphere (and the ostrich and the venison) at Woo Lae Oak, but for the real deal you gotta go to Koreatown. 36 is pretty yummy.

Hot Dog
i rarely touch the tubesteak anymore, but when i do, it's gotta be Papaya King (gray's is good, too, but i'm a neighborhood guy).

Ox Marrow
mmmm... can't touch the marrow at Blue Ribbon Bakery... especially at 2am.

Falafel
Mamoun's on the LES... best between-bar snack EVER.

Vegetarian
there's a great little place in Atlanta called Soul Vegetarian which cooks up some mighty tasty vegan soul food (oxymoron, i know). for NYC, my vote goes to Zen Palate.

 

[VicAjax]

oh yeah...

Fish Taco
a little shack on the east side of Cozumel Island right next to a local watering hole makes the best damn fish tacos i've ever had in my life. they have no electricity, so it's only open during the day. and you can't really pick what kind of fish because it depends on what they caught that morning.

i will admit that the tacos gave me a pretty healthy case of fireass, but i would go back there in a second.

 

[raisin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax Hot Dog i rarely touch the tubesteak anymore, but when i do, it's gotta be Papaya King (gray's is good, too, but i'm a neighborhood guy).

Only because you haven't been to the Five Points Inn!

 

[familyman]

taco time!

well for a REAL restaurant ric's grill, 20-30$ a plate but well worth it and large portions(unlike most exspensive places). nice dark lighting, great for a date or for couples

 

[iSleipnir]

I love Benihanas! That and there is a family owned chinese food place called Canyon Pearl that has the best chinese food I've ever had (better than PF Changs depending on what you order)

 

[PinkFloyd]

MacDonalds - Dundee

 

[granodemostasa]

IN Azusa CA: La Tolteca
in Berkeley CA: Gypsy's

 

[Stephonovich]

All in Asheville, NC...

Quick-I-Need-Food: Havana Express, Asheville Mall. Extremely weird location (actually not in the food court) for such a great little place. Cuban owners, authentic dishes, great music, imported glass bottled Coke... good stuff. $5-7 for most.

Take Out: Bella Pizza, Patton Avenue. Wow. Little tiny hole in the wall that opened up last fall. You miss it if you aren't looking for it (at least they have a sign now), and even then, you'll probably miss it. $7 for a large cheese pizza, toppings (anything and everything) are 75 cents each, I think. Maybe 50. Takes about 20 minutes for the pizza, but well worth it. They use bottled spring water for their dough, and every ingredient is fresh. I'd never had fresh pineapple on a pizza. Brilliant. And their sausage... giant stick straight from the butcher's; not packaged and frozen.

Nice Place: Many places. Two that come to mind are Wasabi in downtown, and India Garden on South Tunnel. In both cases, extremely authentic cuisine (Japanese and Indian), insanely helpful and knowledgable staff, and decent prices. For a decent Sushi or Sashimi plate at Wasabi, about $15-$20 per person. Add in tea, miso, and a tip, probably about $30. India Garden can be had for about $15-20 a head, including tip. Must get the chai if you go there. MUST. Blows anything packaged out of the water.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephonovich imported glass bottled Coke

That's a cool touch; I like that place already.

 

[jumpinjohn1234]

Kirks Burgers in Saratoga CA. Nice good classic steak burgers. mmmm gosh I might go pick one up now.

Oh and COSTCO cant go wrong with all the free samples in the store and the foodcourt, $1.50 hot dog with a drink. Along with a $1 pretezel and ice cream. Its cheap and its edible!

 

[catscratch]

In Jersey: Morton's Steakhouse in Ceasar's, AC. Wow, is that steakouse ever good! Peter Luger quality. Also Peter Luger pricing, so it's not a "once a day" type thing. Far away from me, too.

In Jersey, within reasonable driving distance: Jo-Sho in New Brunswick. Small family-owned sushi place. No panache, just good sushi for not too outrageously expensive prices.

In Jersey, next door: East Hana in our local asian food store. The salmon that goes in your sushi is swimming in the tank 20 minutes before you eat it... can you say fresh? I can. Freshest. Fish. Ever! And dirt cheap (for sushi).

 

[fureshi]

Mtn View, CA La Bamba - Although it's a hole in the wall, they have the craziest burritos i've ever had. Their tacos are also to die for.

Santa Clara, CA Parcel 104 - Great California cuisine. Their tasting menu isn't too expensive and everything is so fresh.

San Jose, CA Tay Ho - Another hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant but they have amazing rice/pork dumplings.

Da Lat - Awesome Vietnamese noodles that's not Pho. Their dry seafood noodle is the best.

San Mateo, CA Santa Ramen - the best ramen I've ever had in the States. It really hits the spot when you have a craving for ramen but unfortunately still doesn't compare to Jyangara.

Taipei Din Tai Fung - I know a lot of people don't like it and think that there are better places out there for the same stuff but I love their Shao Lung Bao, Vegetable dumplings and Shrimp fried rice. Oh drool...

Fei Chien Wu - The best unagi donburi I've ever had, even better than in Japan. I'm sure that there are better in Japan but I've yet to experience it.

Red Oil Dumplings - One of the alleys behind Chung Hsiao E Road has the best red oil dumpling.

Tokyo Jyangara - My most favorite ramen joint in Tokyo. I'll usually roam around Akihabara and when I get hungry, I pop in for a bowl of Zenbuiri. So tasty...

there are others but that's all i can think of for now.

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch Jo-Sho in New Brunswick. Small family-owned sushi place. No panache, just good sushi for not too outrageously expensive prices. In Jersey, next door: East Hana in our local asian food store. The salmon that goes in your sushi is swimming in the tank 20 minutes before you eat it

I don't know if that's a good idea, considering the water quality in NJ! Anyway J-Sho sounds good; also check out Wasabi House in East Brunswick on 18. Stay away from Shogun on 18 - that place will kill you

 

[Edwood]

Torrance, CA - Fusion Sushi and Pho Hana

Manhattan Beach, CA - Banyan (Indonesian)

Seal Beach, CA - The Crab Pot

For starters off the top of my head.

-Ed