Community Chat

[Moonchilde]

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@september wrote:

Interesting topic.  I love to eat out and divide my dining between family run places, some touristy spots, and even fast food or chains at times. 

Sad to say,  but many of my favorite family owned restaurants are now gone. The Japanese restaurant closed when the new Safeway opened up next door, and had a sushi bar.  My favorite pub closed when the older parents wanted to retire and their daughter who worked there, decided to go to nursing school. 

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@september, I hate how restaurants disappear, especially a favorite. 

I'm not sure how much of a drive this is for you, but new and upcoming:

http://ediblemontereybay.com/blog/oak-at-laguna-seca-debuts-with-luau/

[Ms tyrion2]

I am fortunate to live in an area with nearly unlimited choices of good, non-chain restaurants.

My favorites are some excellent sushi places, an outstanding family owned Italian place, and going on an adventure to try somewhere new.

[software]

Birmingham, Alabama, is a foodie paradise.

So many great restaurants, rock star chefs, food trucks and every cuisine on the planet.

Many Greek immigrants settled here and I love their Mediterranean dishes.   Fresh & healthy,

top chefs

[Moonchilde]

@WenGirl42, I have my choice of wineries and tasting rooms with bites and light fare, but I am not always crazy about what's on the rotating menus. I'm not a huge "new cuisine" fan. Sometimes unique touches are too unique for me ;-(

There is a chain BBQ place I go to that's edible, but not fantab. My favorite Thai place just closed. There aren't a lot of ethnic places between me and San Jose or SF, and I miss them. I have found a good Indian place ❤️. I don't like sushi (sorry) but just today discovered that a local sushi place has tempura, teriyaki, etc as well and I plan to go there for that. I almost went today.

[Moonchilde]

@Annabellethecat66 I often order nachos for a meal. It's more than enough for one and I love the mix of flavors.

[viva923]

My favorite spot is here in my town. It is really a hole in the wall bar-eating spot.  The food is made when you order it. Nothing is frozen and reheated. The food we get is always moist,tender and very tasty.. the staff is 1 person and she isn't sure how much longer she is going to stay. She works her behind off saturday night when we go out to eat.

[Moonchilde]

@viva923, anywhere I go, I always appreciate good staff. They can make or break your dining experience.

[Bri36]

I'm in Chicago and we have anything and everything available to us within a half hour.    

I'm so glad that our neighborhood has some really good places now - Mexican, Italian, breakfast, pizza, wine bar, and a tapas place.   

We can even track food trucks.   

I'd be miserable if we didn't have good places to eat.  

[DiAnne]

I love all Asian food.  Good Japanese restaurant very close to me.  Great sushi.  I love Vietnamese food.  Thai is probably my least favorite but there are many local Thai restaurants.  Chinese except for Dim Sum is a pass for me.  

I stay away from the big chain restaurants.  We have a small local chain Mexican restaurant that is very good but is nothing like the Mexican food I grew up on So Cal.  I would rather skip eating mediocre food out four times and go to a really high quality restaurant once.  

Small french bistro in my town serves rabbit and duck - love both.  I am not a big fan of Italian food.   

[SXMGirl]

While we have a number of chain restaurants in my area, I grew up with diners and they are still my favorite places to eat.  It is hard to find them in many places, but we have several that are very good.  My preference is a family-owned diner just a few miles from home and I eat there several times a month.   They have really good soups and open-faced sandwiches.  Not too far from there is a really good Mexican restaurant.  We have a large Hispanic population and the Mexican food in our area is good.  For Chinese, I have to drive about 15 miles for really good Chinese food.  

I also grew up with family-owned hoagie shops and pizza shops, so if I want a sandwich, I go to one place that is right around the corner.  They have really good cheese steaks and meatball sandwiches.  

No matter where I travel, I try to look for a family-owned diner.