Restaurants that are Local Institutions

[displacedyankeedem]

Everybody knows of certain restaurants which are treasured parts of cities that not only serve fantsatic eats, but are part of the definition of that city.

In a world where chains so often rule the roosts, these are treasured places that we must cling to and support(unless you want to eat Taco Bell all the time-see the movie Demolition Man if you don't get this reference).

For example:

Pittsburgh, PA- Primanti Bros. Sandwiches- I jokingly call thse things heart attack specilas but they're fantsatic. Meat, provolone cheese, fries, tomato,lettuce, and cole slaw all on two slices of Italian bread. Now that's a sandwich.

So give a shout out to your local institutional restaurant!

[Duncan Grant]

1. That's a hard question to answer, best to stick to my 'local' neighborhood

In Noe Valley (24th and Douglass/SF), there's a wonderful neighborhood restaurant called "Firefly". It's been there for years and years! Unpretentious but sophisticated; urban but cozy. Great seasonal menu, great wines, great service. Eating there is an opportunity to see San Francisco like a native.

(This message brought to you by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce :silly:)

[JackDragna]

2. I live in New Orleans..

..the restaurants ARE the big institutions. Commander's Palace, Pascal's Manale, Mother's, Court of Two Sisters..I could go on and on. I fucking love you, New Orleans.

[The Lone Liberal]

6. Commander's Palace

A mecca of great meals, a pilgrim's palace of palate pleasing plates.

[JVS]

3. Kings and Eat n Park are both local institutions

although they are chains

[Don_G]

4. Kalin's

In Louisville, KY claims to be the first to come out with the Cheeseburger.

Also, Mazzoni's Oysters in Louisville has been in business since 1886.

[TheMightyFavog]

5. In Marinette, WI

The Mickey-Lu Bar-B-Q. Right on 41 as you head towards Downtown Marinette It's a hamburger joint that's been around since 1942. It's also known as a popular teen hangout since then. They grind their own hamburger which they make their patties out of fresh every day and they grll em over a charcoal grill, and serve 'em up just the way you like it with a pat of butter on top of the patty.

The burgers are kinda small, so If you're hungry, order two, and a bag of chips. Last time I was there the hamburgers were only $1.35 (The last time I was there in November)

You NE Wisconsin Dems who are going to the 8th CD Convention in Marinette this year will have a great chance to try those burger for yourself, as Mickey Lu's is a stone's throw away from where we're having the Convention.

Actually now that I mention it, the place where We're holding the convention has becoms somewhat of an instituion. It's called The Rail House. It opened in the mid 90s as a restaraunt with great food (try the muffeleta), banquet facilities and a microbrewery that makes some halfway decent beer. (Try the Scottish Ale, if it's available, It's my personal favorite.) Twice a year, they have a dinner theatre, and up until the end of the month they have an improv group (which I used to be a part of) which plays every Friday. BTW, the owners of the Rail House are moderate liberals who hate minibrain with a passion.

[puerco-bellies]

7. Philippe's Downtown Los Angeles

About a century old. The place where the Beef Dip was born. Great lemonade too!

[nemo137]

8. beef-a-roo

beef-a-roo is rockford's native hambuger chain, and is the best fast food in existence. just regular burgers and fries stuff, but fresh, not too greasy, lots of specially seasoned salt. it's also an institution, it's founf only here and, oddly enough, in the UP in michigan.

[Whitacre D_WI]

11. Don't forget their classic "Beef-on-a-Stick!"

Hello, Rockford! I went to Beloit College, just up the road, and I had to go to Rockford for a good time. I remember Beef-a-Roo fondly!

[Nile]

9. The Brotherhood of Thieves - Nantucket

Good food, good drink, good company.

[Nile]

10. Louie's Lunch - New Haven CT

Home of the original hamburger.

[bearfan454]

12. Austin Tx has Threadgills

That place is goooood.

[fudge stripe cookays]

16. And Kerbey Lane Cafe...

can't forget those gingerbread pancakes for extra ballast!

[greatauntoftriplets]

13. The Berghoff in Chicago

http://www.berghoff.com/

http://www.berghoff.com/Berghoff/home.html

[bearfan454]

19. I've been there. Excellent German food !

Next to the Blackstone Theater still ?

[greatauntoftriplets]

20. Still there.

Same old building, what a great place.

[ikojo]

24. Ah yes, The Burghoff...every year the German Club from my

high school would go to Chicago for a day and we always ate at the Burghoff!

Good food!

[NewHampshireDem]

14. Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery, ME

The *best* place to get fried clams in all of New England.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

28. Very good clams there. Have you been to the Maine Diner?

That place is AWESOME.

[NewHampshireDem]

32. I haven't been there ...

but that reminds me of another:

The Great Lost Bear in Portland ... has it been around long enough to count?

[LincolnMcGrath]

15. Prairie Du Chien Pete's Hamburgers

Been gong there annually since Ford was stage diving out of Air Force 1!

[Whitacre D_WI]

17. George Webb.

Not the best burgers in the world, but they're great for coming off a bender at 3am.

[Bertha Venation]

18. down on Rte 301 in La Plata, MD -- Twin Kiss

It's a burger & soft-serve ice cream joint. I haven't lived here long enough to know if it's really an institution, but it's been on the side of the road -- nothing else near it, surrounded by trees and the lonely road -- for a very long time. Excellent burgers & fries. The onion rings are marginal. The ice cream is rich, and always good. The servers -- the young kids, anyway -- are friendly and efficient.

[TheDebbieDee]

21. Gates Bar-B-Q in Kansas City...............

Great ribs, great sweet potato pie.

I heard that the Big Dog, Bill Clinton, almost always picked a slab of their ribs whenever he came to Kansas City.

Gates is over-priced, but they're good.

[ikojo]

22. In St Louis there are a couple that come to mind...

For the well heeled....it's Tony's on Market Street Downtown St Louis. Wow! You have not been pampered until you have eaten at Tony's. One of my friends took me there for my birthday last year and it is something I will NEVER forget. I promised her that I would return the favor on her next "milestone" birthay.

For the rest of us....OT Hodges The quintessential diner. They make AWESOME chili.

There are Italian restaurants on "The Hill" that are institutions I guess but I don't frequent them that often.

[NewHampshireDem]

33. What about "Blueberry Hill"?

I have to admit I've never been, but when I say I haven't everyone is always like, "How can you not?"

[nuxvomica]

23. New Way Lunch, Glens Falls, NY

They are known for their hot dogs, which are adorned with a secret sauce that's primarily hamburger cooked to a slurry in water with generous doses of paprika. Natives have always called it "Dirty John's" because the original owner would lay several franks and buns on one less-than-sterile arm and slather on the mustard, onions and secret sauce. In my youth, we called them "nightmare sticks" because they never failed to conjure wild dreams once you retired after a night of barhopping and a stop at the all-night eatery. I never feel well after eating four or five but sometimes I have the craving and can't help myself.

[proud patriot]

25. Nations Giant Hamburgers

They are just in the East Bay here ...

They are the best

Yummy Harvest burgers too

[jdsmith]

26. How can someone from SC not mention the Beacon?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

27. Union Oyster House: oldest operating restaurant in the country

Also Durgin Park in Faneuil Hall. It's a tourist trap-I think I've eaten there once. Jacob Wirth is the oldest German restaurant in Boston (1880s I think).

Doyle's in Jamaica Plain is a politico hangout with inexpensive, good food. It has been in the same (Irish) family for generations.

Kelly's Roast Beef on Revere Beach is an institution. They have EXCELLENT fried clams.

There were a couple of institutions in Harvard Square that succumbed to gentrification: The Tasty-a 24-hour dump featured in "Good Will Hunting" and the Wursthaus, another old German restaurant.

In Boston/Cambridge, a lot of the old places that I frequented as a kid have succumbed to gentrification: DeliHaus in Kenmore Square for a 2AM breakfast, Moon Villa in Chinatown for greasy Chinese and 'cold tea' (beer after hours) and Buzzy's Roast Beef. RIP.

On edit: I must add Woodman's in Essex on the North Shore for excellent lobstah; Pizzeria Regina in the North End, which has the oldest operating brick oven in the US; and Santarpio's pizza by Logan Airport, where you get served up some local attitude with your pizza!

[electricmonk]

29. Texas Tavern-Roanoke Va

It's a law* that if you go bar-hopping you have to hit the TT on the way home for a Cheesy Western and a bowl with, just to insure that you wake up with a stomach ache to match your headache.


Texas Tavern






* not really.

[HEyHEY]

30. BC and White Spot - best burgers in the world

[opiate69]

31. Tacoma's The Cliff House

http://www.cliffhouserestaurant.com/index.htm

[SOteric]

34. In Seattle: Ray's Boathouse