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NON-AMX Thread: Where to eat?
Spire_Jeff
Posts: 1,917
Inspired be JJames (and Dave's response), I decided that this topic needed to be separated. Occasionally, I have to go out of town to work on a project or attend training or a tradeshow, so I figured we could have a list of places to visit when in town. List your favorite local places to eat, visit or avoid. Also feel free to list places you have been elsewhere that they might take for granted 
Detroit Area:
Food-
Grape Leaves in Troy, MI - Middle Eastern Cuisine - $8-12 lunch, $15-20ish dinner. (They offer Hummus with their lunches instead of rice or fries, but occasionally ... most of the time ... forget to mention this ) http://www.grapeleavesrestaurant.com
Slow's Bar BQ in Detroit, MI - Guess - $15-25 dinner. Can get packed, so might have to wait a while....especially if there is a home game. http://slowsbarbq.com
Lazy Bones Smokehouse in Roseville, MI - $8-15 lunch and dinner. http://www.lazybonessmokehouse.net/
Big Rock Chop House in Troy, MI - $25-50 dinner. http://www.bigrockchophouse.com
San Diego Area:
Kaito Sushi in Encinitas, CA - $30-50 Omakase dinner at the bar (only way to do it!). This place is tucked in a strip mall and is almost impossible to find unless you know it (No sign on the awning, only in the window). They only serve in-season items and nothing is ever frozen. They get their main deliveries on Tuesday and Saturday and supplemental deliveries daily according to a regular (who brought his own special soy sauce). They have a twitter feed that details the days unique offerings at times. This was hands down the BEST sushi bar I have ever been to! But, don't go here sit at a table and order a California roll and then tell me the place sucked
To put the price in perspective, my previous trip to the area I ate at a "higher end" sushi bar and paid $60 for the meal (I was expecting about $35ish). Based on that experience, I was ready to look at a bill for $80-120 for the meal I had at Kaito Sushi .... and I would have gladly paid it! http://sushikaito.com
Jeff
P.S.
The Sushi bar meal is a treat I give myself near the end of a job (if there is good sushi in the area) and it generally balances my food budget for the trip given the skipped meals and meals comprised of left-overs And no, I don't bill the client for the meal either.
Detroit Area:
Food-
Grape Leaves in Troy, MI - Middle Eastern Cuisine - $8-12 lunch, $15-20ish dinner. (They offer Hummus with their lunches instead of rice or fries, but occasionally ... most of the time ... forget to mention this
) http://www.grapeleavesrestaurant.comSlow's Bar BQ in Detroit, MI - Guess
- $15-25 dinner. Can get packed, so might have to wait a while....especially if there is a home game. http://slowsbarbq.comLazy Bones Smokehouse in Roseville, MI - $8-15 lunch and dinner. http://www.lazybonessmokehouse.net/
Big Rock Chop House in Troy, MI - $25-50 dinner. http://www.bigrockchophouse.com
San Diego Area:
Kaito Sushi in Encinitas, CA - $30-50 Omakase dinner at the bar (only way to do it!). This place is tucked in a strip mall and is almost impossible to find unless you know it (No sign on the awning, only in the window). They only serve in-season items and nothing is ever frozen. They get their main deliveries on Tuesday and Saturday and supplemental deliveries daily according to a regular (who brought his own special soy sauce). They have a twitter feed that details the days unique offerings at times. This was hands down the BEST sushi bar I have ever been to! But, don't go here sit at a table and order a California roll and then tell me the place sucked
To put the price in perspective, my previous trip to the area I ate at a "higher end" sushi bar and paid $60 for the meal (I was expecting about $35ish). Based on that experience, I was ready to look at a bill for $80-120 for the meal I had at Kaito Sushi .... and I would have gladly paid it! http://sushikaito.comJeff
P.S.
The Sushi bar meal is a treat I give myself near the end of a job (if there is good sushi in the area) and it generally balances my food budget for the trip given the skipped meals and meals comprised of left-overs
And no, I don't bill the client for the meal either. 0
Comments
Kansas City, Missouri (my old hometown)
Gates BBQ $10-$15 a plate.
Arthur Bryant's BBQ $8-$15 a plate.
Omaha, Nebraska
Drovers Steak House
$20-$40 a plate. Best steak EVAH!
El Alamo
very authentic Mexican
$7-$15 a plate. Nice vibe in South 'O'
Lincoln, Nebraska
The Oven - Southern India quisine. $15-$30 a plate.
Lazlo's - (american, but done very well.) $10-$20 a plate
Yia's Yia's (pronounced Yah Yahs) eclectic italian pizza. put your pre-concieved notions aside and enjoy pizza anew...
Charleston, SC (This place has great food!)
Sea Food
Gilligan's (local chain but good food.) $10-$20 a plate.
Fleet Landing - Downtwon Charleston. Bistro-ish local sea food.$10-$25 a plate
Hanks - good raw bar. $30-$50 a plate
Other
Triangle Grill - Bison burgers are great. $7-$15
Queen Anne's Revenge - variety Americana and others.
The Oak - very high end steak house and gourmet. Unreal! $50-$150 a plate. Need to impress or be impressed? this is the place for you.
I'll put in more later of other cities I've been to.
Pi Pizzeria - If you're in STL and do not want STL-style pizza (super thin crust, sweet pizza sauce . . . yuck!) and want some Chicago-Style instead, I *HIGHLY* recommend this one. $12-$20 per pizza. Prices on website.(Kirkwood, MO)
Brick House Tavern and Tap - Okay, first off, NOT a family style restaurant. Think of it as an "upscale-Hooters" to be honest. The scenery is great, and the beer if VERY cold - the food is great too (and cheap!)! If you don't drink much, you could escape spending less than $15 for dinner. (I know these are around the country - but I gotta mention it for the food.
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
Not sure why anyone would be stompin' in my backyard - but if you come to visit me....HAHA!
Michael's Steak Chalet
Quite expensive restaurant, but best the prime rib I've ever had. They cook it for 16 hours, so it's super tender . . . melts in your mouth. $40+ (Osage Beach, MO)
Kay's Restaurant
For breakfast - voted best in the Lake area I think at least 10 years? Something like that. They have an all-you-can-eat special for $7.99 - but it's not a buffet. You re-order your food, so it's fresh everytime. (Their french toast is to die for!) (Osage Beach, MO)
Kansas City
Oklahoma Joe's BBQ
Great BBQ - always packed for lunch, get ready to wait a little bit.
Charlie Hoopers
Kind of a hole-in-the-wall, but aren't those some of the best? Great lunch specials too! They're hot dogs are great (okay, the way they dress them!)
Detroit Area
Jeff has this one covered, but I thought I'd throw in some of my favorite places to eat whenever I visit my hometown area.
Rio Wraps
If you're not in the mood for a burger or fast food, but want something that can be healthy, stop at a Rio Wraps.
Tomato Brothers
If you're out on the west side of Detroit (okay, closer to Lansing that Detroit!) and want some darn good pizza - try this place. We make a stop every time we're up there. (Howell, MI)
B Bline Bar & Grill
Sorry for all the pizza places, but here's another good one! Again, far-far west of Detroit. (Howell, MI)
I'll add more as I think of them.
* Capriotti's (sub shop, ~$7 for 9", ~$8.50 for 12", ~$13 for 20") - multiple locations in town; the closest near the strip is west of the strip on Sahara Ave in the same area as the Golden Steer. When I was making good money I would eat this about four times per week. Best subs, period.
Not sure if it's still there, it was four years ago. As I remember, Asian-Indian fusion.
keg and barrel
True is right - Cap's is awesome!
Stripburger on Las Vegas Blvd across the street from Wynn and Encore. Burgers are all under $10, it's outside with a great view of the strip traffic. Sweet Potato and regular fries. In summer they have fans and misters going, and in the winter they have heaters going. Very fun time!
So far, the only food I remember well from my last trip was The Stage Deli. I loved the sauce they have there. (I was not so impressed with Carnegie Deli).
My last trip, I found great tunes and plenty of beer at The Living Room. The Bitter End wasn't bad either.
Jeff