Getting to Know You - Continued
So, next question, What is your favorite dive to eat at and why? What food brings you back there over and over again?
Please include web address links, pictures and Location (for us travellers).
Enjoy yourself, if you are one of those that want to preach about how you don't eat dive food because you are healthy or whatever, please, there is a church down the street-go there and preach.
Keep it on topic-only warning. This is for fun. Let's keep it that way.
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When I moved up here, the guy I was replacing got along well and he took me to a place called Taggarts - the home of the HUGE 3/4 pound burger.....I had no idea the burgers were big-My buddy ordered his cheeseburger and small fries. I ordeed the bacon cheesburger and small fries. The waitress told me I didn't need to order any fries......I suddenly felt a little self-concious of my waistline and a bit offended....turns out the reason was, the small fries came on a 'beer serving tray'. Piled. The Bacon Cheeseburger? Like a cow stuffed into a grinder, withe a full pig sliced up on tiop. Perfectly cooked......sadly, the place was torn down a few years ago and is part of an RV Delaership Parking Lot now.
So, next up, Grover's in East Amherst, N.Y. with their fabulous Cheeseburger Soup. Here's teh menu:
Went to your link and checked out all the options. Didn't see Cheeseburger soup on the menu, but was looking for and could not find its recipe.
Try this link-it's through the Food Network/DDD
The recipe is at that link, but it's a video I can't open.
Next time you are in this part of the world, come visit and I will take you there for Lunch!
Thanks, but I doubt I'll ever return, unless it's in a box.
Well, let's hope you make it a different way.....
Dear Friend Spikegary: Jays Diner uber alles.
Just drive past it on the right. Then make a sharp left.
Or vice versa, depending on the side of the street you are on.
The All You Can Hold Down Buffet is a legend that will last a lunch time.
Their Vicarious Vegan Melancholy Meat Lovers Medley appears in medical textbooks.
The always available Puce Plate Special of a mystery meat with surprise sauce and five starches, deep fried in 10W30 is famous for yards around.
Chef Boiling Water Goldstein invented the specialete de la maison Winnebagel (Recreational Vehicle shaped breakfast bread).
The Pasta Prima Facia. Persona Non Grata and Siberian Gulag all contain consonants and vowels.
For those watching their waistlines there is the Mahatma Ghandicapped Shitake Mushroom Produce Melt.
The Mile High Leftover Pie is a throw down challenge no dare devil can resist (once).
"When your dying to eat, eat at Jays Diner".
I am the Very Late Rev. Enoch.
I Abhor this Message.
I had an instructor at tech school that called fast food places "ptomaine palaces".
Kinda sound like Jay's
There is a hotel in Amish country, Lancaster Pennsylvania, called the Willow Valley Inn. Great smorgasbord food, to die over chicken and the Shoo-fly pie that'll wind up kids more than a six pack of cola.
I had Shooe-fly Pie once in Pennsylvania-homemade. Was driving through Pennsylvaia in the 80s, looking fior my wife's penpal's home, alternator went out in the car, at night. Stopped at a rural farm hiouse and the people ended up taking us in-a Methodist Minister and his wife. They fed us shooe-fly pie. I stayed in touch with them for a few decades after that......
I need to learn how to make it. I love that pie
Shoo-fly pie is an addiction of mine.
Tulsa eats.
Nelson's
First time you go, get the chicken fried steak. That's their calling card. Apparently, used to be served once a week, but its popularity grew and it became a daily plate. Also, Nelson's was apparently downtown at one point, and if a person strapped for cash would walk around with the billboard, they'd get a plate of food. Get the daily special on repeat visits. Know what you want before you get to the counter. If you balk at the counter, you may be asked to step to the back of the line on a busy day, ala seinfeld soup nazi.
Jim's Coney Island "Never on a Sunday"
Don't let the name fool you. Get there before 11:30, go with the baked chicken. Had it hundreds of times, but had to look at the name on the menu, Chicken Oreganato. If you get there too late during the lunch break, they may be sold out. I've never had anything else there. Too good to stray from.
These two greatly contributed to the enlargement of my waistline over the past few years.
My favorite burger place is called David's Burgers. All the burgers are made fresh as you walk in and order. The servers walk around periodically with a bowl full of fresh fries. The burgers come with fries, these are just extras that they just "happened" to fry up in the kitchen.
I enjoy Mamacitas (the Kerrville location) and Alamo Cafe here in SA. Nothing compares to a couple of margaritas and a big plate of panchos for lunch, in my opinion.😀
there's a Momacitas in Webster but the more memorable meal was at Chalupas Taquiria, great authentic Mexican food along with the language barrier - memorable because I asked for a double
Patron margarita which itself was good enough but they served the second shot separately and charged us $799.00 for the shot.
Damned decimal points. And a good laugh was had by all ....
Love Mexican food, but what is a pancho?
An individually loaded nacho basically, larger than a regular chip but smaller than a chalupa.
"Joses" was my fav. back in the OLD day. Best Soft Combo Burrito EVER ! Even tried to get the recipe a few times. Sadly, they went out of business when Taco bells took over the area.
Now, it's "Amigos" for me. Great Beef Chimichanga ! So big, even I can't eat the entire thing, with everything else on the plate. The initial chips and dip with a Dos Equis, or Modelo, are to die for too !
You sure did bring back memories with the music.
We would take customers to Cuernavaca and stay in this awesome villa (company owned) and my husband would have the Mara....band come in to play during the cocktail hour or two!
I used to have to go to Dyess AFB in Abilene Texas, as I was a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the 7 Level Command and Control School. Everytimne I went I would eat at least twice at Joe Allen's in Abilene. Best steaks, you order your cut, by thickness.......and all the rest is cafeteria style......grab a longneck or two out of the ice filled throuth
Although there are no "dives" to which I have gone in China, I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, and there the "dive" that was the most popular for me and all my friends was the Chicken Roost, located on King Street East, right downtown. Their Southern Fried Chicken with chunky fries, coleslaw and tea biscuits were mouthwatering, but the pies were so fresh, so "runny", like I've never been able to find since .
In Toronto, before I was married, I moved around a bit, but always seemed to be fairly close to and many times frequented the Fran's Restaurants, that were located at Yonge and Eglinton, then at College and Yonge, and finally at Yonge and St. Clair. Their breakfasts, all-day big breakfasts, corn-beef hash, burgers and fries were a staple for me.
Very nice-I'm flying out of Toronto in June, which means I go up a day early and spend some time there....might have to go look up those places!
I think only one or two of those Fran's restaurants I mentioned still exist, so you can google for their website to see which ones are still around, that may be close to where you're going to be. I believe they've opened some new ones. Toronto has many good restaurants, international ones and fine steaks (Carman's Club on Alexander Street).
Sadly the Chicken Roost in Hamilton closed years ago.
BTW, I'm a big fan of Toronto's China Town. Some of the best Chinese Food I've had anywhere (though I expect yours is better). I've eaten in a place there where the Chinese folks go to eat-figured if I wanted the real thing that going where the natives eat is probably the best way.
It's been almost 12 years since I've been in Toronto (only once for a short visit 10 years ago) and restaurants come and go so I can't recommend a good downtown Chinese restaurant now, but always look for one that is crowded with Chinese people and you can't go wrong. When I see a restaurant that is almost empty during a mealtime, it's a good one to stay away from.
I mentioned it on another story, but since I'm headed to D.C. Saturday for some meetings, I'd bring it up again. The Bar J Texas Chili Parlor was my go to joint for many years while stationed in D.C. They had a location in Woodbridge, now located in Ocquacon. I might have to Uber on down there. Their menu can be found here:
BTW, PJ, if you're here-I will try not to bring rain with me this time........we haven't had much of that here.....though snow, on the other hand......
BTW, The Devil Steak is my favorite - tasty and spicy as heck......
I'm lucky enough to live in a downtown. We have lots of things going on downtown that my family and I are fortunate enough to be able to walk to on the weekends. This weekend we are going to the annual art fest
. We have a couple places here that are unique to our little city. One is Henry's. It's a taste of Louisiana and all the food is prepared fresh by the chef, Henry. Henry is personable and walks around to greet customers and throws beads around their necks. The place is always packed and the hostesses walk around with appetizers for guests who are waiting for a table. . The other place we frequent, would be more considered a dive. Center St. Tavern. Both places are located in very old buildings in our downtown. Center St, or the Tavern, as we call it, isn't really "known" for anything special besides really good food. Their wings are huge and burgers juicy. Everything is prepared fresh. I don't want to say it's typical bar food, because they have other things that aren't typical like oysters Rockefeller, corned beef hash, gouda mac and cheese bites with yum yum sauce. We go there almost every weekend. Acoustic bands play on Friday nights and local bands play on Saturday nights. I love that they carry a nice selection of local beers, IPAs are my favorite 
.
BTW! My little city was voted "All American City" in 2010, we were up against another little city in Missouri
Buffalo is also an 'All America City' (not sure if that's the same thing or not). Not sure why, though there is lots of good food.....there's another place that is not really a dive, but has a very eclectic menu. It's called the Griffon Gastropub
They have some really great specials, like various Mac-N-Cheeses and weird stuff like Wild Ostrich on special at times.
I can't remember where the vote came from, it was pretty popular I guess. The mayor was asking us all to go to a link to vote for our city. I was kinda surprised since even though we are in metro Atlanta in a pretty big county, our city isn't very big. I think of last census it was at 27K and change. Marietta is to the south of us and the biggest city in our county
Where else can you get the world's best "Buffalo Wings"?
Has 'Buffalo' in the name for a reason! BTW, in Niagara Falls, in the Holiday Inn on 3rd, there is an Anchor Bar Satellite location now! (The Anchor Bar was where it all started).
My family and I once stayed (many years ago) in that Holiday Inn, if it's the one on the American side. In the middle of the night the fire alarm went off and we had to go stand outside the hotel in our pajamas - fortunately it was summer.
LOL....someone said there was a fire alarm in one of the hotels on Saturday night (we had 3 main hotels, but people stayed in other places too where they found better deals).
The Kings Chef in Colorado Springs, CO.
Best breakfast in town. My favorite is the Grump, you can get it in a full order, half order or, quarter order, if you're a big eater then the full or, half will fill you up, if you're a dainty eater the quarter is the one you want. Here's what's in it.
A mound of Hash Browns, your choice of meat (ham, sausage, bacon, or, "fakie"), grilled onions, shredded cheese, another mound of Hash Browns, two eggs any style, all stacked up and, smothered in their country gravy and, topped with more shredded cheese.
OMG that sounds delicious!!!! I live in Ga so Waffle Houses are a plenty, pretty much one every couple of miles. It's definitely not anything special(their food) but they have finally started making a similar dish. Definitely not a huge as this sounds either. Hubs says it's good, I haven't ordered it yet but when I steal some of his, it's decent LOL
GaJenn, trust me on this, I weigh over 200lbs. and, I'm a big eater, I can't handle a full Grump, the half fills me to the point were I feel like I need a nap afterwards, for you I'd say a quarter would work.
For a diner it is really great, they were on Diners, Drive-ins and, Dives once and, it is really a place that deserves that kind of advertisement.
If I ever get my cross country trip I've been bugging the hubs for I will check it out! A trip like that is still pretty far out, we have to get these heathens of ours productive members of society first LOL.
I love that show! We have a pizza place here called Pie in the Sky and it was featured on Man vs. Food. Definitely very cool to have places you are able to go that have been featured on some big shows
You'll like this then.
All of this is a short drive or, even walk from the restaurant.
A 5 star restaurant in a gas station !
Been here several times, but a bit pricey even if it were located 30 minutes away in downtown Fort Worth.
Wow, got lost watching the show, looks good, really a place I'd like to go to.
Wow! Haven't been to Ft. Worth since I was in middle school! My brother was stationed in Yuma and is finally home. He's made that trip quite a few times by car from Yuma to N. Georgia. I wonder if he has stopped by there. I know one trip they took an extra couple days to get here so they could see some sites along the way.
Whenever you travel make sure you go to www.foodnetwork.com/ddd and check the map! There are other shows that have been on with 'local' places....a good way to map your trip.
Awesome! Thanks! Like I said, it will be awhile. Gotta get our girls to be productive members of society first. The oldest is a Junior and the "baby" is in 5th grade. Oops, the "forgotten" middle girl is in 8th grade LOL. I'm going on extern soon (my last semester!!!!) so hopefully after graduation this Aug, I can find a good job so we can start saving a little at a time for my little adventure
So, not a dive? Do I have to tell you to moderate yourself? LOL
Spike, It's still a gas station...lol.
You have to pay for gas at the register inside (if they have gas - it's not a given ) and you can see the looks on some peeps faces when they come in to pay for gas and they realize their in a bizarre restaurant.
The old stalls were closed off but that section is still cinder block and the concrete floors ( presumably sealed) throughout the original structure still are stained except for where the lifts were obviously filled in.
As a teenager, I worked in a Gulf Station across the Main Highway from my house. The boss was an Argentinian that spoke very little English-great learning situation for me. He was an awesome BBQ chef. We would have parties at the station, we'd clean the drive up on lift, and the floors, raise the lift to about 3, 3.5 feet high, and then line each side with chairs-coudl easily feed 20 people in one sitting. Lot of his family and friends and would aalways invite not only me, but my parents too.
Ready for "mass quantities/portions" of food? Then Tonys in Michigan on I75 is your place. I think it's been on one or two diner/places to eat shows on TV.
Tonys in Michigan
You can check out the pictures but be ready to be blown away by the portions.
Hint: one order of most items there will feed 2-3 adults. You've been warned
I've been there!
My wife is from Michigan and we visit from time to time.
We split a hot roast beef dinner and had leftovers.
Our group shared a sundae--they use a quart of ice cream, and the side of bacon was a pound!
I know, it's crazy. Only time i go there is to take family and friends that don't believe it.
They are all believers by meals end .... that place is nuts
I work in a restaurant--all my life. I am not sure how they really make money, because for the portions they serve, they have low prices.
They must be getting a heck of a deal on buying in mass quantities.
Well one thing is they always seem to be packed. I've never gone right in and sat down. Always seems to be a wait.
High volume low margin i guess.
The Wal-Mart of restuarants!
Is that the place that had the massive bacon sandwiches?
Yeah, check out some of the videos in the link. it show the BLT.
I saw that episode! I love bacon samiches but that thing was bigger than my head!!!
Lol i know ...... a BLT that is extra, extra, extra, heavy duty on the B
Sparty,
Not a really good place like Tony's but pretty good as a burger joint is Halo burger at the Birch Run exit off I-75. Messy but good. I think there's another one in the Western part of the State too, but I've never been there.
Oh yeah, it's been awhile but i've had a Halo Burger or two. Good burger.
Have you ever been up to the little restaurant just across the road from the entrance to the Tahquamenon Falls State Park? Very small and take out only, but some of the best Whitefish I've ever had. Very fresh and cooked in very hot oil.
Maybe but it doesn’t ring a bell. Do you have a name?
No, it's been a few years and I can't remember the name of the place. I think it was only open during the tourist season. It was sort of like a fast food fish place, much like Fry Daddy's in Lowell.
The country store right next to the park entrance sold bottles of 100% Deet, for obvious reasons. The pictures I took were all taken with one hand; the other was busy swatting at black flies and mosquitoes. We made the mistake of going there in early June. The insects aren't so bad in August.
I'm partial to Meat and Threes.
Plenty of those in my neck o the woods.
What is 'Meat and Threes'? Links, pictures? Got my attention......
Not sure if Tex is talking about a chain or not, I'll have to look that up. But anyplace that offers daily specials that give a choice of a meat and three sides.
Yeah, generally any cafeteria or diner, at least in my part of the world, would be a meat and three.
I haven't really found any "dives" here in the Colorado ski towns where I live now (yet), but in SLC, I loved the Koko Kichen best.
In Austin, there were too many to count, but I think my favorite was probably Seis Salsas, although I guess they have since moved from their S 1st location. Also, Magnolia and Kerbey Lane of course.