What's your favorite restaurant?

[RRRaskolnikov]

I live in Paris so I have roughly 150 favorite restaurants

If you like pizzas I advise Sapori D'Italia in Suresnes...
Totally different but awesome (even better if you like wine) is Mystery Cuisine in Paris first district. Though iirc it has only 6 flatware so it's just for romantic evenings.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I don't think I have a favorite, atm. There used to be a Thai place downtown that I'm pretty sure put opium in its red curry and pad thai. It was kind of a hole in the wall, up on a second floor above a travel agent and one of those little shops that sells tchotchkes to tourists, with no sign and tables that wobbled (and that you had to bus yourself, there was no waitstaff). You either knew it was there or you didn't, and you didn't go there for the ambience, you went there for the heroin. I mean, the curry. They also had a salad - yes, a salad - that was one of the hottest things I've ever eaten. I think they put napalm in that one.

There was an Indian place in New York that was garishly decorated with about 15,000 little lights completely covering the ceiling, the type of lights you might put on a Christmas tree, but not Christmas decorations, per se. The food is typical Indian-American, nothing to write home about, but the place is a kind of nutty fun. I didn't even know if it was still there until it appeared in an episode of Daredevil on Netflix. I forget exactly where it is. The East Village, I think.

 

[Socrates99]

I like Red Robin but every time I go they are skimpy with the fries which is kind of their thing. They also closed the one nearest me.

Yeah, you specifically have to pump the server for fries or they skimp. A decade ago they used to be the polar opposite and would serve way more than you could hope to eat. Wish there was a happy medium

That local thing expands beyond the stuff near home too. I still remember this lamb dish I had in Newark from an Indian place that was damn near the best thing I've ever eaten. Wish I remember the name but it doesn't matter. It was a rinky dink place with a parking lot connected to the Red Roof my company had put me up in. That was almost a decade ago. Then even further back there was a Chinese take out in Wheeler WV that had the most amazing food I've ever had from a Chinese takeout.

You really need to just hunt down the local gems imo.

 

[civvver]

Ha lot's of michiganders here. Funny. Yes buddy's pizza is the best! And so is hopcat! Though it's ridiculous how they renamed the fries. They used to be called crack fries and people (not really people some pc swj apparently cus fox news interviewed a bunch of people and they all said it was fine) thought that was offensive so they renamed them to cosmic fries.

Five guys fries suck. They're all mushy and limp. The best place for fries is Penn Station. They are super crispy, fresh cut fries with the skin on. Amazing.

Food is one of those things where I never have a favorite cus I like all types of food and it just depends on my mood. But some great fast food/fast casual chains are Penn Station, Pei Wei, QDoba (kicks chipotle's butt), Taco Bell, Jet's pizza, Cottage inn pizza. We also have tons of Coney Island's around here which are great diner type food but with some greek stuff thrown in. I like Arby's too for fast food. We don't have chic fil a or popeyes around here sadly.

For chain sit down places I love On the Border, PF Changs, Carabbas (way better than olive garden), Cheesecake Factory, Red Robin.

Some of the better not chains or small chains, we have a place called Steve and Rocky's that has fantastic food with a rotating menu. It's like fine dining american style- fish, chops, pastas. One time they had frog legs. Bonefish is quite good too, I think it might be a chain. There's a place called Palate that's fantastic, a lot of foodie type stuff like chicken and waffle sandwiches, cheese and meat boards. My favorite bbq place is Pappy's in St Louis. It's just amazing melt in your mouth bbq. There are some decent bbq places here like Smoke Street and Kensington Grill, but no where near the level of Pappys.

I'm near a large Indian population and middle eastern population so I'm spoiled with those foods as well, just a lot of great local Indian and Lebanese/Mediterranean food joints.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Five guys fries suck. They're all mushy and limp.

That's what I love about them. That and they take an extra scoop of fries and dump it in the take-out bag after they put the rest of the items in.

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There's a restaurant across the river from St Louis called LottaWattaCreek and their thing is that they serve mega portions. We're talking 5 pound plates of spaghetti and just ridiculous portion sizes for everything. Naturally, this mean the food is awful, bottom-tier disgusting stuff. However they did have this pork medallion dish with caramelized apples in a brandy sauce. That was the single best dish of anything I've ever eaten. It was such a random thing they had on their menu and it was just perfect and delicious.

I got a bunch of friends and family hooked on it and we'd go up there regularly and all order the same thing, then they stopped making it out of the blue and we all quit the place. I've tried to recreate or find the recipe a few times but always come up short.

I also cannot figure out what kind of cheese they use in quesadillas in Mexican restaurants in the Midwest. In IL/MO and even NC, they all used this really thick, greasy and gooey cheese but out here the fake Mexican places only use like shredded cheddar.

 

[caketastydelish]

Hooters

 

[amadeus]

Hooters

They closed the Hooters here months ago and I didn’t even know it! I would go once in a blue moon to get some reasonable American food that a lot of restaurants here don’t have.

Friday’s, Outback, and Hard Rock Cafe I won’t touch with a ten-foot wallet, which is coincidentally what you need to eat there.

There’s one Greek restaurant I’m going to need to try. It’s been ages since I’ve had a gyro, and those Turkish kebabs just aren’t the same.

 

[luiz]

They closed the Hooters here months ago and I didn’t even know it! I would go once in a blue moon to get some reasonable American food that a lot of restaurants here don’t have.

Friday’s, Outback, and Hard Rock Cafe I won’t touch with a ten-foot wallet, which is coincidentally what you need to eat there.

There’s one Greek restaurant I’m going to need to try. It’s been ages since I’ve had a gyro, and those Turkish kebabs just aren’t the same.

For some reason, the only places where you can get a decent kebab are Germany and Turkey itself (though they're quite different in Turkey, not the donner kebab people are used to in Europe). Kebabs here in France are nasty as hell.

 

[amadeus]

For some reason, the only places where you can get a decent kebab are Germany and Turkey itself (though they're quite different in Turkey, not the donner kebab people are used to in Europe). Kebabs here in France are nasty as hell.

I don’t know if the ones they sell here are like that in Turkey or mainland Europe, just that every kebab stand (and owner) look like they dread the day they get a visit from the local health inspector.

 

[Lohrenswald]

A chinese restaurant run by relatives of a friend

 

[Camikaze]

I like trying different places, so I don't tend to go to the same restaurant twice. I guess a favourite Bennelong, which is overpriced for the food ($150 for 3 courses), but not for the location - it occupies one of the Sydney Opera House's shells. If you are in Sydney, you definitely should try to eat there.

It's hard to think of how to identify a favourite restaurant, because it's probably more to do with memories than food. I can think of a handful of restaurants I've been to around the world that did not have the best food ever, but I would consider "favourite" because of the memories with which I associate them: a sushi place in Kanazawa which I can't find on a map, a slightly upscale pub-like place in Budapest, and a Russian restaurant near the parliament in Chisinau.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Outback,

They got rid of the victoria steak which was filet mignon with an awesome blue cheese crust on top.

They still have blooming onions and wallabedarns I guess but I can make the latter at home and don't care for the former.

 

[civvver]

I love blooming onions, and generally the steaks at outback are good, for a chain joint like that. But very randomly my kids wanted to go there for a lunch over christmas break, I think cus they love the brown bread that comes before you eat. I didn't want a whole steak so I got the cheeseburger and holy crap I was surprised. It was amazing. They actually cooked it pink in the middle and I had juice dripping down my hands when I bit in. Just really well cooked and flavorful.

And also, you like limp fries. That is so weird. You prefer them to crispy fries? I just... don't even know what to say. Fried foods should be crispy.

KFC is pretty good too imo, but their new wings are inferior to the old hot wings and it's not that close. Oh well I'll just stick to tenders and wedges.

 

[amadeus]

They got rid of the victoria steak which was filet mignon with an awesome blue cheese crust on top.

They still have blooming onions and wallabedarns I guess but I can make the latter at home and don't care for the former.

I got confused because I was thinking of another restaurant called Victoria Station which used to be around, but that’s no relation to Outback.

The Outback here has the blooming onion but it’s like $13. That’s a lot for some onion rings! I can get 2 garlic cloves prepared the same way for $3.50 at the bar near my house, and that tastes a lot better when you’re chugging down the beers.

 

[PhroX]

I can't think of any major chain that I would get excited to eat at. That's not to say I actively dislike them; places like Pizza Express, Prezzo, Wagamamas etc. are fine, and I won't object at all to going there if people I was with wanted to or it was just convenient, but none of that kind of place would be my choice if someone asked where I wanted to go for dinner. Stuff on the Pizza Hut level is fine when you're ordering delivery, but if I'm making the effort to go out for food, I sure as hell don't want to waste my time there.

In terms of my favourite, I can't pick just one. There's a couple of good restaurants in Reigate near where I live:
The New Gurkha Kitchen (Nepalese)
Regional Thai taste (guess...).
I go up to London reasonably often, so there's some places I frequent there (nothing particularly expensive, I'm not that well off...):
A small chain of Turkish restaurants in London called Tas, particularly Tas Pide near the Globe theater,
Pizza Rustica in Richmond (best pizza I can remember having, including a trip to Italy)
An old fashioned little Italian place called Caprini just by Waterloo station.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

And also, you like limp fries. That is so weird. You prefer them to crispy fries? I just... don't even know what to say. Fried foods should be crispy.

Yup. I like crispy ones too but I prefer them limp and soggy and oh-so-deliciously starchy.

I haven't cared for KFC since I found Popeyes. Their gravy is the best and I love their fried shrimp.

I can get 2 garlic cloves prepared the same way

I have to try this!

 

[cardgame]

I also cannot figure out what kind of cheese they use in quesadillas in Mexican restaurants in the Midwest. In IL/MO and even NC, they all used this really thick, greasy and gooey cheese but out here the fake Mexican places only use like shredded cheddar.

Mi amigo, I have the answer. It's called queso.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Mi amigo, I have the answer. It's called queso.

You'd think but if it is, then the queso I get here doesn't taste the same. (There's a cheese type actually called Queso Quesadilla you can buy in the supermarkets here, not sure if you were making a spanish joke)

 

[cardgame]

I was, darn it.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

You'd think but if it is, then the queso I get here doesn't taste the same. (There's a cheese type actually called Queso Quesadilla you can buy in the supermarkets here, not sure if you were making a spanish joke)

You need to explore your local Vallarta supermarket.