#12737 - 10/15/08 09:36 PM
My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
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fakepropht
Big Slick
active member
Registered: 08/29/07
Posts: 980
Loc: Virginia
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As you know, I am into food. I live on Foodnetwork, when my wife isn't hogging the tv or I am not playing poker. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives is one of my favorite shows. So is anything Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmeren, bbq, competitions, and The Nealys. I take notes, search the websites, make plans to visit the places they hit, and try to make the recipes. Recently, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives did a feature on burgers and franks. I was not going to miss this show. One of the places featured was an old school joint in Baltimore. After we wiped the drool from our chins, I started making a plan. Find out where this place is and hit it on the way back from the cabin in NY. We have to pass right through the heart of Baltimore, so why not. I found out it is only about 2 miles off the highway. Perfect. So I hatched my plan. I knew we would be hitting rush hour traffic on the way back. We could either sit in bumper to bumper traffic and move a mile in a half hour, or pull in for a meal and let that traffic pass and hopefully hit traffic when it was moving a bit better. Worked out pretty well.
On the show, Guy explored the goodness that G & A Restaurant offers. They are all about gut food. No steak tartar or truffles here. Just generations worth of sloppy joes, Coney Island dogs, never ending breakfast, chili slathered on burgers, eggs, and of course dogs. Huge burgers served with ham, bacon, chili, and cheese. Fries with gravy. Sliders, wings, of course a good greasy breakfast. The place was old school diner. Being in the same location for 90 years. Nothing is modern. Ugly green countertops, worn seats, smoke colored walls. The decor was all posters and pictures from years past. Elvis, the Rat Pack, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Coney Island, Babe Ruth, Vegas. The owner is a transplanted NYer, and had plenty of personality. The prices are dirt cheap. So after watching the show, I knew this was a place that I had to hit.
Baltimore is an ugly city. There is no sugar coating it. It runs from least ugly, to roll up the windows, lock the doors, and floor it through red lights. We were pleased to see this was a least ugly section. After bouncing through potholes, missing a turn, and having our kidneys rocked by cracks in the road, we arrived. A little storefront on the sidewalk. Ample parking though. As we approached the door, there was a big ole picture of Guy Fieri in the window. "As featured on DDD". We walked in and the owner was right there. The smell hit us instantly. That smell of simmering chili, grease, and hot dogs. Spittle ran down my chin. The owner quickly saw my wife was wearing a DC area tee shirt. "You guys didn't drive all the way up here just for a hot dog, did you"? Um pretty damn close. I was taken aback that he was able to figure out where we were from in only a second, and we hadn't even said a word. LOL, he let us in on how he knew. So we told him the story of why we were here and where we had just come from. His eyes lit up when we mentioned NY. He sat us and gave us a menu. The locals know the menu and don't get one. Then he came and sat with us. He shared the story about the filming. Talked about how nuts Guy really is. He made his recommendations of what to order, based on what was shown on tv. And he kept coming back to sit with us. He asked about NY. Whether we had made it up to Maine or Vermont. What did we do, where did we eat, what did we eat? He told us his story about attending school in Baltimore and staying there. What a great guy and so personable. I could have sat with him all night and just talked and feasted.
The diner was exactly as featured on the show. Well worn, the pictures, the atmosphere. The chrome and stainless. Nothing modern. I don't think they even take credit or debit cards. On with the feasting. At his recommendation, we each ordered a Coney Island dog. That was mandatory anyway. We also ordered a round of sliders and a side of fries and gravy. If it wasn't enough, we could always order more. The menu is really quite full, and was a struggle to come up with "the meal". The dogs were perfect. Steamed bun, dog, homemade chili, onions, and mustard. I could have eaten a half dozen. The sliders were great. Three mini burgers. Mustard, ketchup, cheese, and a pickle slice. The burger had a nice flat iron char on it. So much flavor. The fries were hand cut and the gravy was perfect. The meal was filling but not to the point where you felt like you had a brick in your gut or had to push away a half eaten plate. The check came to $14. We paid our bill and assured him we would be back. And we will. It's the kind of place that you have to know it's there, or you'll never see it. And there is so much more to explore on the menu.
BTW, there isn't much information on the net about this place. I tried. If I made you curious or hungry, check out the show. It will repeat on Friday. The episode is "Burgers and Dogs". Check Foodnetwork.com for showtimes and schedule. One of my favorite episodes.
_________________________
Beer, the reason I get up every afternoon.
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#12748 - 10/16/08 01:39 AM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: fakepropht]
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Nykky
stranger
Registered: 09/27/08
Posts: 22
Loc: Northern CA
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I love Food Network to. I haven't seen that show but I'll check it out on Friday. I don't know when I'll ever be able to get to that side of the states but I have a list of places all around the country I want to try out one day. It's my restaurant bucket list lol.
Guy Fieri has 2 restaurants here in Sonoma County, he is from here. I'm in Santa Rosa. Johnny Garlic's and Tex Wasabi's. He also had Russell Ramsey's Chop House but its gone now.
Johnny Garlic's is really good. My brother eats at Tex Wasabi's once a week.
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#12904 - 10/19/08 11:10 PM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: Nemesis]
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BloodHorn
member
Registered: 10/02/08
Posts: 131
Loc: Stockbridge Ga
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meatloaf w/ gravy and mac n cheese w/ bacon. Curse you!!! lol
Damn that sounds good Nemesis. Going to have to make that soon. How the mac was home made. I hate that package shit.
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Fuck You And Your Thoughts, I Have My own
Hail The Swords Of Darkness
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#12905 - 10/20/08 12:12 AM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: fakepropht]
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Fist
active member
Registered: 08/31/07
Posts: 1007
Loc: B'mo Cautious MF
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Baltimore is an ugly city.
There is no getting around it. The historical character of Baltimore is decidedly working class, industrial, and tolorant of criminality. The British called it a 'nest of pirates and scoundrels.'
Most of the city is no-shit gritty - sort of like old New York before Disney bought it and cleaned up Times Square.
What you do get in B'mo is real local flavor. Of course, like any recovering East Coast city there are a few conclaves of yuppie jackasses trying to play Bohemian. Check out the Canton and Brewers Hill areas - you haven't seen that many pretentious fucks showing off their new tattoos this side of the East Village.
Once, a couple of guys I know saw Bobby Flay 'rollin with his crew' at the Brewers Art (good custom food and brewhaus). Two of these fuck nuts were coming off like his security detail and trying to throw their weight around. Bad idea in B'mo. Fortunately for Flay and Company the people I know were just out for a good time and more or less just made fun of his crew. Unlike modern NYC, your average Baltimoron 'keeps it real.'
One of the cool things about B'mo now is that a lot of people from the old DC and Baltimore scene now live and work there. Everybody is really busy (about half own businesses) but there is a nice little community of assorted freaks. Rodney's Dangerously Delicious Pies this sort of a case of local kid makes good. He does a modern take on the old pie and coffee.
In any event, the next time you think you might be in B'mo PM me. If local flavor is what you are looking for, I know a few spots.
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I am the Devil and I am here to do the Devil's work.
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#29354 - 09/06/09 10:57 AM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: fakepropht]
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BelialsGal
stranger
Registered: 08/30/09
Posts: 40
Loc: Tulsa, OK
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"Both of those places are on my list of places to visit. Funny how I plan my vacations."
I plan vacations the same way, Fake! The memories I keep from my travels are ALL food related. I spent a month in Southern Germany a few years back. I couldn't tell you the names of three castles I visited, but by Crom, I can tell you the villages with the best breakfasts and the shops with the best chocolate. Since I'm already talking about Germany, if you ever go there for an extended amount of time, stay in a village for a week. Ask the locals what church they attend, then, attend a service. I did this twice. I experienced some of the best cakes I've ever tasted.
One of the things I love experiencing more than food is religion. If I'm given an opportunity to have both, it is a good day.
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#29368 - 09/07/09 08:31 AM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: SkaffenAmtiskaw]
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Jake999
senior member
Registered: 11/02/08
Posts: 2174
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It's not a dive or diner, but if you ever get in the area of Rhein Main, Germany and want your tastebuds to slap you for ever eating anywhere else, I can recommend the Mainterrasse Hotel and Restaurant in Seligenstadt. Their food is GOURMET with a capital G... the dinners have names like "Symphony of Province," and TASTE like it. Dinners run about $30 per person, plus wine.
http://www.selected-restaurants.com/cgi-..._restaurant=125
One word of caution, if you go in the winter, watch out for black ice! Had my first experience with it there and slid off the road. But the food was so outstanding that I risked the trip over and over again.
_________________________
Bury your dead, pick up your weapon and soldier on.
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#29369 - 09/07/09 08:47 AM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: Jake999]
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Jake999
senior member
Registered: 11/02/08
Posts: 2174
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While I'm at it, if you go to Chicago, a MUST EAT place for me is Ala Turka Turkish Restaurant at 3134 N. Lincoln Ave. This is REAL Turkish cuisine, cooked by Anatolian chefs. I spent three years in Turkey, and I can tell you that the food here is as good as any of the food I ever tasted in Turkey, and hasn't been "Americanized."
I've seen some reviews of Ala Turka saying that the food is not good... or that the owner is rude. In all of the times I've been there, this has been far from the case! From the the first taste of borek and choban salad to my last bite of TURKISH baclava, it's always been superb. I speak a bit of Turkish, and enjoy letting the waiters correct my mistakes... which, by the way, makes them like my attempts to honor them by ordering in Turkish, and they send the belly dancer my way. BONUS!!!
http://www.alaturkachicago.com
_________________________
Bury your dead, pick up your weapon and soldier on.
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#29524 - 09/13/09 02:58 PM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: fakepropht]
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Dimitri
veteran member
Registered: 07/13/08
Posts: 1357
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Now that I have met others with an enthusiasm for food, I will make this offer: If any of you are ever in the Tulsa area, I will treat you lunch at our awesome diner, called Claude's Hamburgers. It fits maybe 20 people, but man do they have the perfect cheeseburgers. The atmosphere is charming too.
Cheeseburgers? I thought we were talking about food? 
Anyway, despite being "young" in comparance with most members I already have visited quite a few places in Europe (mainly France, Belgium and other nearby countries), yet have learned quite early to respect and find some quality restaurants, taverns and pubs where you can get quality food for a decent payment.
The first one is situated in the Southern regions of the country I live in. To be more precise in Namen --> Alle Sur Semois.
A quick English link to the main restaurant:
http://www.recrealle.be/index2.php?sm=recrealle_en-1
If the link is working properly you should end up on the English page of the Restaurant "Les pierres du diables" where the menu is being shown together with the prices. It is on of my favourite places to go during the Easter holidays. The food is prepared with much taste, and it is safe enough to say you cannot leave the restaurant without a good filled stomach.
Of course if you are in for a quick bite, next to the restaurant is a little place with bowling hall where you can eat also, of course not the special sophisticated menus as in the restaurant, but I quite liked egg and bacon plate I once ordered. I should also mention that they serve their own home-brewn beer which really IS a must-do when passing by.
It's worth a try when being on holiday in Europe and are having a stop in Belgium. I can come up with a few other pubs and other places for those who call themselves a "gourmet".
Edited by Dimitri (09/13/09 03:00 PM)
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You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
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#29555 - 09/14/09 02:26 PM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: SkaffenAmtiskaw]
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Michael A.Aquino
veteran member
Registered: 09/28/08
Posts: 1247
Loc: San Francisco, CA, USA
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... my recommendations are restricted to Northern England and Oslo, Norway.
The next time you're in Britain, jump over Hadrian's Wall and have a magical dinner here.
_________________________
Michael A. Aquino
[On Ignore: Dan_Dread, 6Satan6Archist6, Caladrius, MindFux]
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#29592 - 09/15/09 02:23 AM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: fakepropht]
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Michael A.Aquino
veteran member
Registered: 09/28/08
Posts: 1247
Loc: San Francisco, CA, USA
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Well, if you go to Scotland, just be careful while jogging by Loch Ness. And if you drive by there, I recommend you do it in a Toyota Tacoma truck.
_________________________
Michael A. Aquino
[On Ignore: Dan_Dread, 6Satan6Archist6, Caladrius, MindFux]
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#32951 - 12/15/09 07:57 PM
Re: My Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Feast
[Re: Jake999]
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Natalia666
stranger
Registered: 11/29/09
Posts: 34
Loc: Alabama
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I second that. Their hamburgers here in Bama suck.
There is a dive not too far from here called "King's Wings". It's owned by Latinos and Cajuns from Lousiana. They have aprox. ten different flavor wings. They also have about six different flavor fries. And they serve catfish. One order is a TON of fries and wings. There is one flavor hot wing called "Lava". Totally dangerous but good stuff! Places like this is where real food is found.
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"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman."
-Simone De Beauvoir
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