Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

Ok, enough of the crappy food threads...let's talk about the food that you love...that being said, no one is allowed to say Pollyeyes because we all know that Pollyeyes is the shiznit and always will be. But what about other restaurants either in your hometown, BG or the rare chain that is good...discuss.

I am a huge fan of Call of the Canyon and their amazing sandwiches, especially the Trail Blazer...whoever thought to put a layer of cream cheese on a turkey sandwich with pumpernickel bread is a friggin' genius.

Around these parts, (Elyria/Cleveland) if you want an awesome burger, you gotta check out Smitty's. It's a bar/grille in Elyria with the title of Best Burger in Elyria. I actually cooked there over the summer and all of their beef is fresh delivered every morning and never frozen...alright, now that I'm drooling, I gotta go get a burger.

This is a better topic, for sure.

Myle's -- I'm a Myle's fiend. I will likely die at least 10 years earlier than I would have had I never eaten here. I enjoy everything about this place. I like the dingy atmosphere. I like how they always have something new on tap. I love the garlic cheese bread. I love the massive toppings and the way the cheese is browned on the top. This is the best pizza place I've ever been to and it's not even close.

Spot's -- Love Mr. Spots. I've never been to Philly but these are by far the best cheesesteaks I've ever had.

South Side Six -- This is a new one to the BG restaurant scene, but the Gyros here are great. It's the same old rotisserie meat as most gyro places, but they give you a ton of it and they're only $2 on Thursdays. They've also got those seasoned french fries (similar to Rally's) that are probably the best fries in BG.

Wong Court -- This is a small mom & pop chinese place on Central Ave. out by Toledo Hospital. They make everything fresh and it's all cheap with huge portions. When I'm hungry for Chinese this is pretty my the only place I ever go.

Star Diner -- This is a newer chain around Toledo. It's your classic Legs'n'Eggs diner. All the food is large portions and made to order. Great breakfasts with fresh squeezed OJ. Their salads are large and fresh, and their sandwiches are top notch as well. They also make fresh hand dipped onion rings & fresh potato chips as well. The waitresses don't look too bad either.

City BBQ -- This is an overall mediocre BBQ joint, but they have one great item: Chicken salad. They make chicken salad from leftover smoked chicken. This gives it a great smokey/spicy flavor with the typical celery, mayo, etc. They also sell it for like $4 a quart, which is an amazing bargain.

Tony Packo's -- Great dogs & love the chili-mac.

Detroiter Bar -- This is a dive type Bar & Grill by Greektown in downtown Detroit. Awesome burgers.

Ashley's -- Small bar in Downtown Ann Arbor. Something like 70 beers on tap. Food is alright, but it's the best draft beer selection I've ever had.

Winking Lizard -- Chain in Cleveland/Columbus. Food is pretty good for bar fare. More importantly they've got > 100 bottles to choose from and usually 20 or so good draft beers. Pretty much always hit this place up when I'm at Jacobs/Gund as it's right around the corner.

Great Lakes Brewery -- Very good food and great beer. They only serve GLBC brews, but that's fine by me. They do a good job of helping you match the beers to the dishes as well. I go out of my way to hit this place up if I'm in Cleveland.

Slyman's Deli -- Small deli on St. Clair in Cleveland. They're only open weekdays and then only for breakfast/lunch. The best corned beef I've ever eaten bar none. Always has a long line, but it's well worth the wait. If I'm in Cleveland on a weekday I'll be going to Slyman's.

These are the places I will hit up on a semi-consistent basis. Obviously I hit up the BG/Toledo places more than the Detroit/Cleveland places, but all are good food at decent prices. I've eaten some other great meals out, but these are the places that I've repeated my business often enough to get a feel for their overall quality.

Don Tequillas which is a small "chain" of Tex-Mex food. I go to the one in Mentor and I have yet to have a bad meal there. I've there close to 100 times and they've only been open four years. The three of us get out of there for well under $30 every time (including tip.)

John Palmers is a culinary mecca of sorts for me. It's a finer dining experience price-wise. I may go back there to sit at the Chef's Counter come May.

LOLA - although I've only been there once several years ago I can still taste my scallops topped corn soup. It was an amazing experience. I must go back.

La Trattoria in Little Italy. You know it's going to be good when you're having an experience with JUST the bread and pesto prior to dinner. MAN was that a great experience.

*edit*
hammb, I just read your post. Packos and Spots are just awesome! Original with cheese and a chili sundae! The meal that you keep on tasting.

If you like Slyman's, you've got to like Panini's...Every time I head down to the Jake for a Tribe game, I stop there first for a huge sandwich. Winking Lizard is good and their beer is excellent...prices are a little high though in my opinion, at least on their wings. I can't believe I didn't think of Spot's or Myles...I think we're missing one good, cheap, 24 hour, whatever you want place in BG...I'm talking, of course, about the Corner Grill...Seriously, I love that place when I'm looking to clog an artery or two...I think I might have to move to Bowling Green and live there forever...yum.

VDub26Falcon wrote:I think we're missing one good, cheap, 24 hour, whatever you want place in BG...I'm talking, of course, about the Corner Grill...Seriously, I love that place when I'm looking to clog an artery or two...I think I might have to move to Bowling Green and live there forever...yum.

As soon as I saw the word "dive" in hammb's post, I was going to post Corner Grill. The grilled cheese there is delicious. Plain old grilled cheese the way it was meant to be.

Best restaurant I have ever eaten at by far! And I can't wait until this summer when I visit my step-son in Virginia Beach so I can go there again. I have not been there since 1991.

https://lynnhavenfishhouse.net/

Some of the places from my hometown of Troy, Ohio that are pretty good places to stop by are K's Hamburger Shop, La Piazza, and Winan's Coffee Shop. Also, even though it isn't local to Troy, I do have to say that the BK Root Beer Stand always hits the spot.

Bangkok Kitchen on Dussel Drive in Maumee. If you like Thai food, this is your place. Completely family owned and operated, homemade thai food, with very generous portions at extremely reasonable prices.


Easy Street Cafe is the best restaraunt in BG. Go there and sit at the bar, meet Paul (the worlds greatest bar tender) and order a French Onion Steak Sandwhich (or the crack sandwhich as the staff calls it, on account of its addictive qualities). You can also check out the hall of foam, drink every beer on their list and you can get yourself into the hall.


If you would like an authentic feeling of an olde english tavern, check out Trotters. The brown jug steak dinner is crazy. And the three sisters who own the place are pretty good looking to boot.


Reverend Chicos, great beer selection. Until recently I didn't care much for the food, but I tried the Chico burger last week and it was fantastic.

Rightupinthere wrote:Don Tequillas which is a small "chain" of Tex-Mex food. I go to the one in Mentor and I have yet to have a bad meal there. I've there close to 100 times and they've only been open four years. The three of us get out of there for well under $30 every time (including tip.)

La Trattoria in Little Italy. You know it's going to be good when you're having an experience with JUST the bread and pesto prior to dinner. MAN was that a great experience.

Agreed on both counts.

Don Tequillas is a favorite of mine and I usually get there for lunch once a week when working in Mentor.

I cannot drag my wife out of La Trattoria without at least two jars of their tomato sauce.

Trotters: Best steak in town.

Brick Pit (Mobile): I can honestly say that I miss that place and that was THE BEST BBQ I've ever eaten. My friends and I have legitimately considered going down to Mobile for a weekend just to get some Brick Pit and have a crazy weekend.

Night Flight Pizza (defunct): This was some of the best pizza in town before it closed. Good ingredients, good spices, and an interesting concept. Too bad those delivery drivers were douche bags.

Biaggi's: If you got the money, this is a great Italian restaurant at Levis Commons.

BGDrew wrote:Trotters: Best steak in town.

Brick Pit (Mobile): I can honestly say that I miss that place and that was THE BEST BBQ I've ever eaten. My friends and I have legitimately considered going down to Mobile for a weekend just to get some Brick Pit and have a crazy weekend.

Night Flight Pizza (defunct): This was some of the best pizza in town before it closed. Good ingredients, good spices, and an interesting concept. Too bad those delivery drivers were douche bags.

Biaggi's: If you got the money, this is a great Italian restaurant at Levis Commons.

cough *phuck you* cough


Since that place closed I have had a few occasions where I have caught myself really jonesing for a chuck yeager pizza. A little peice of me died when I went into work that Sunday afternoon.

The sauce, just some standard italian herbs and seasoning, but the key was the honey that was added to it.

My favorite part about the pizza was how crispy we got the dough, and then the parmesan/italian seasoning shake that we used once the pie was done. I may have to give Bill (the owner) a call here in the next couple days.

Agreed on Biagis, I think we have talked about the stuffed mushrooms there on this board before. The prok chops al forna and the Rigatone Nolla Donna are to die for.

in Medina, Ohio....

Dan's Dogs - A little hot dog joint just off the square with a really cool '50s style atmosphere. If you can dream it up, they put it on a dog, and they all taste incredible. Even the regular dogs are great. I remember going there as a kid and getting all excited over the root beer in the frosted mug and pizza toppings on my hot dog. And the basket of fries they give you is too much for one sitting.

Dagwood's Sandwich Shop - Either get the Dagwood or the Hard Hat. Both are incredible sandwiches and piled high with fillings. There's also a Dagwood's in Parma, but I've never been there.

The Munch Box - It's a little fast food joint in downtown Medina that serves all the regular stuff like burgers, fries and milkshakes, but also serves some other stuff you would never expect to see on a fast food menu. Grilled cheese, sloppy joes, french toast at breakfast... all cooked up right when you order, so sometimes the wait is a bit longer, but it's worth it.

Those are the three I can think of off the top of my head, and I agree with all the Cleveland and Bowling Green suggestions on here so far.

I've never found an authentic Mexican restaurant anywhere near as good as El Zarape. Cheap and delicious food, nice atmosphere, and good service. I've searched for a mexican place that would be close to El Zarape, and nothing has come close yet.

Charlie's steakhouse in Orlando (I think they may have some other locations nationwide). Best steak I ever had.

Biaggi's - I love that place. The atmosphere is very good, and the food is phenomenal while being no more expensive than Olive-Garden-type places. My fav dish there is the chicken marsala, but the stuffed mushrooms as mentioned are great as well.

So far as chains go, I have to interject this: Denny's. If only for Moons Over My Hammy. Best invention. Ever.

If you are ever in Tucson, and you enjoy authentic Mexican food, check out El Minuto Cafe, just south of the Tucson Convention Center. Some of the best Mexican food that I have ever had in my life. El Zarape pales in comparison. B!G time.

There is a restaurant in my hometown called the Green Island which is owned by a true Irishman, who is a good freind of the family, and which makes the absolute BEST shepherd's pie I have ever had - and I've sampled many. Plus, on every 17th day of every month, their special is a corned beef dinner that is beyond phenomenal. I would go so far as to say that it is unbelievable!

In Tucson, the 4th street area has some fine Mexican restaurants. I really enjoyed the carne seca at Mi Nidito.

In Phoenix the TeePee is a great "dive" Mexican. There's also a great family owned place in Tempe called Casa Reynoso. Original homemade food. We went in and let the waitress order for us. My mouth is watering thinking of it.