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We loved the crunchy, greaseless catfish. Some good, goopy macaroni and cheese and refreshing chopped slaw completes the picture.

MCL Restaurant & Bakery, Richmond IN

January 21, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

We don’t have cafeterias where we live (at least none that we’d want to eat in), so we’re always impressed, when traveling in a cafeteria-rich region of America, with the bounty of home-style cooking that can be enjoyed in one with the same ease, and minimal expense, of visiting a fast-food chain back home. We normally avoid chain restaurants during our travels, but one cafeteria chain we enjoy when passing through Indiana is MCL. Born in Indianapolis in 1950, MCL now numbers 19 primarily-Indiana restaurants. Continue reading

Quaker's chili is fiery.

Quaker Diner, West Hartford CT

January 14, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

The Quaker is a diner for diner lovers. The brick-exterior little restaurant was built in 1931 by Aristides “Harry” Bassilakis, and the diner appears little changed from those early days (there’s a 1930s photo of the Quaker floating around on the net, and you’d be hard-pressed to identify any physical changes). It is run today by descendents of Mr. Bassilakis. Continue reading

An assortment of first-rate biscotti from Torino Bakery, ready for their cup of espresso

Torino Bakery, Newburgh NY

January 8, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Torino, a 45-year-old Italian bakery, is down towards the western end of the Broadway shopping strip anchored on the east by Tony’s Newburgh Lunch. If the name Newburgh conjures mental images of the worst symptoms of urban decay, rest assured that this piece of Broadway, not far from the New York Thruway, is something of an oasis. Continue reading

There's no need to go searching through the can of nuts for the dark ones. The Carmelcorn Shop offers peanuts cooked extra-dark like these (and also regular roasted nuts, too).

The Carmelcorn Shop, Easton PA

January 7, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Are you someone who looks through a bag of potato chips to find the darkest ones? Is your favorite part of the pizza the burnt edge of the crust? Do you keep the toaster down until it starts to smoke? If so, we have a treat for you. Continue reading

Ecola offers fresh seafood cocktails in any number of configurations. Pictured is a crab/shrimp combo.

Ecola Seafoods Restaurant & Market, Cannon Beach OR

January 5, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

There’s no shortage of seafood restaurants along coastal Oregon, but for a stripped-down-to-the-basics experience, we recommend Ecola Seafoods. In the town of Cannon Beach, Seaside’s relatively upscale neighbor to the south, Ecola is a seafood market with inside and outside seating. Continue reading

The Gianluca panino is stuffed with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto di Parma, roasted peppers, pesto, sea salt, pepper, oregano, and balsamic vinegar . This one is on 7-grain bread. Ciabatta is also an option. A truly first-rate sandwich in the balanced Italian mode, where quality ingredients speak for themselves.

Osteria Procaccini, Pennington NJ

January 4, 2015 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Have you ever spent time traveling in Italy? If so, you’ll recognize Osteria Procaccini very quickly. This osteria is very much in the classic Italian mold, with a simple menu of thoughtfully constructed antipasti, panini, salads, and pizza, and a very casual, almost offhanded, demeanor. None of that would mean a thing if the food wasn’t up to snuff. We’re happy to report that the execution is as successful as the conception. Continue reading

Small dishes of strawberry and peaches and cream ice cream. Simple and unimprovable.

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, Brooklyn NY

December 24, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is one of the most understated ice cream parlors we’ve ever visited. It’s basically a counter inside a small historic old building. There’s little need for ice cream-themed razzle-dazzle inside when the stunning Brooklyn waterfront serves as an incomparable dining room outside. Continue reading

We can now answer this SAT question: ______ are to Montana as biscuits are to the South.

The Western Cafe, Bozeman MT

December 23, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

If you’re out for breakfast in Montana, one thing we guarantee you’ll find on the menu are cinnamon rolls, probably made in-house. In our experience, they are as mandatory as biscuits in a Southern café, a situation which makes us very happy. We love cinnamon rolls! Continue reading

The Chowda House makes their own key lime pie, and it's a good one, perfectly poised between tart and sweet.

The Chowda House, Red Bank NJ

December 22, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Most of what we sampled at The Chowda House was good; some was mediocre. It’s good enough, though, to warrant a return visit to explore more of the menu. That name almost kept us away. It’s a pretty good rule of thumb that when a restaurant uses cutesy names like “chowda” instead of chowder, you’re dealing with a strictly-for-tourists joint. But that rule is violated here. Not that Red Bank is any kind of tourist magnet to begin with but Chowda House, across the street from the train station, is fairly unobtrusive and not in the choicest part of town. If they want to survive they’ll have to click with locals and commuters. Continue reading

We think Charlie's serves one of the best tasting Italian hot dogs in NJ.

Charlie’s Famous Italian Hot Dogs, Kenilworth NJ

December 21, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

It’s possible to be served an Italian hot dog in the Newark area at a restaurant with more soul, more sass, but few dog houses can compete with the taste of a Charlie’s Italian dog. What makes a Charlie’s dog special is that each item in the sandwich is a little bit, but noticeably, better than at most other places. The hot dogs themselves are more flavorful, the potatoes are superb and crisp, and the onions and peppers are brighter, too. We recommend getting a double. In fact, we always recommend a double when ordering an Italian hot dog. Not only is it easier to eat (you get a 180 degree section of bread, rather than the awkward 90 degrees), but it just feels right, in the same way that getting a double brat in Wisconsin feels more right than a single. Continue reading

The terrific rings are made fresh, not frozen.

Lobster Claw Seafoods, North Reading MA

December 12, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

The best fried clams in America can be found in the Ipswich-Essex area of Massachusetts, but it’s not the only place to find good fried clams. The hand-breaded whole-bellied clams fried up by Lobster Claw, while not quite at Ipswich level, can more than hold their own against most challengers. These clams are not as gushy and sea-briny as those at The Clam Box, but they are far superior to the fried clam strips found in most parts of the country. Lobster Claw’s clams are probably a good entry point for novices who approach the consumption of the entire clam with some trepidation. Continue reading

During one visit they were running a special: two sliders, a side, and a drink for $6. Pretty hefty for sliders, these.

Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon, Baltimore MD

December 10, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

We love to try the local cuisine when we travel — we’re LAFers, after all! — but it would be nice to have at our fingertips a list of the best burgers, dogs and, perhaps, pizza, wherever we might be. So, while we crave steamed crabs plastered with Old Bay, crab cakes with big pearlescent lumps, and Maryland crab soup with a kick, we also enjoy the occasional palate refresher when we’re in Baltimore, and a hunk of crusty, flame-cooked beef, as served by Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon, fits that bill perfectly. The trick is in finding it. Continue reading

The maple buttercream-filled doughnut topped with maple glaze and bacon was easily the best, though not the most photogenic, of the four doughnuts we tried.

Dellveneri’s Bakery, Rutland VT

December 6, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Dellveneri’s is an inconspicuous neighborhood bakery about a block off Rutland’s main north-south drag. The Sunday morning we showed up there wasn’t much other than doughnuts for sale (and some great-looking bakery pizza), but those doughnuts looked good. Three of the four doughnuts we tried were just OK, superior to Dunkin’ but not LAF-worthy. That fourth doughnut, however, was special. Continue reading

Surprise! Gumbo is the best thing on the menu.

Gumbo Shop, New Orleans LA

November 29, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

You are a tourist, staying in a French Quarter hotel. You don’t have a car (or maybe you’d just like to stroll the Quarter and duck into a restaurant for dinner). You’re not in the mood to dress up. You don’t want to spend a lot of money. You are not asking for the ultimate examples of the local specialties, but neither are you a LAF rube (did we hear someone say the Court of Two Sisters?) You just want some good things to eat, in pleasant surroundings, with a bit of that French Quarter glow. Continue reading

Kevin's burgers, referred to as "The One And Only," are crusty and well-seasoned.

Kevin’s Hamburger Heaven, Chicago IL

November 25, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Let’s face it: Kevin’s Hamburger Heaven, with its grease-stained parking lot and semi-industrial neighborhood location, looks like a dump. But don’t be fooled: inside, Kevin’s is surprisingly spiffy. This supreme 24/7 grease joint has been open since 1988 and gives the appearance of a much older eatery. The waitresses are diner veterans: efficient, no-nonsense ladies who will take good care of you. There are a few tables, but the counter stools give the best view of the short-order action. Continue reading

The Fra Diavolo pizza is a white pie with caramelized onion, roasted tomatoes, shrimp, scallops, pancetta, and fresh tarragon, with a drizzle of hot pepper-infused olive oil.

Harry’s Bishops Corner, West Hartford CT

November 20, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Connecticut is packed with LAF-worthy pizzerias. The bar has been set awfully high. Can it be possible that Harry’s Bishops Corner clears that bar? With room to spare, based on the Fra Diavolo pie we enjoyed.
Continue reading

The Original, and still the best: a plain cinnamon and sugar Duffeyroll

Duffeyroll Cafe, Denver CO

November 18, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

We’re always on the lookout for cinnamon rolls, and The Duffeyroll Cafe in Denver makes a particularly good one. Duffeyrolls have only a passing resemblance to goop-filled and icing-laden modern mega-rolls. A Duffeyroll cinnamon roll is light-textured, almost like a croissant. It’s a little crisp on the outside, and veined with just enough, but not too much, cinnamon and sugar. Continue reading

Good old-fashioned layer cake

Mel-O-Dee Restaurant, New Carlisle OH

November 8, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Mel-O-Dee is a locally popular family style restaurant that’s been serving Broasted chicken to the Dayton area since 1965. In addition to the chicken, they offer a daily specials roster of old-fashioned home-cooking favorites like chicken and dumplings and Swiss steak, along with a homemade soup of the day. We passed on the chicken, not being big fans of the pressure-frying technique, but just about every table in the restaurant on one busy Saturday evening was laden with plates and platters of chicken, and it sure did look good. If we’re in the area again, we may have to give it a try. Continue reading

Rolls are homemade, using what seems to be pizza dough. They are served with garlic-infused olive oil.

Villa Barone, Robbinsville NJ

November 5, 2014 / / 1 Comment

REVIEW

Dining in Central New Jersey generally offers a choice of Italian, Italian, and… oh, yes, Italian. There are plenty of take-out Chinese restaurants, many mediocre pizzerias, and a light sprinkling of other cuisines but the Italian offerings are overwhelming. So why is it next to impossible to find a decent Italian restaurant around here, especially since Trenton’s Chambersburg district lost its Little Italy identity? We don’t have the answer to that question but there’s no denying that, hard as we’ve tried, we have not found an Italian restaurant around here to call our own, something not very expensive or formal, but with solidly good food. Until we dined at Villa Barone. Continue reading

Red chile-braised spare ribs are, in and of themselves, reason enough to pay a visit to Sadie's.

Sadie’s on 4th, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM

November 4, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Are you searching for that little, unknown, out-of-the-way mom-and-pop restaurant serving home-style New Mexican food? Then you should have come to Sadie’s 50 years ago. Today’s Sadie’s is huge and extremely popular. The portions are beyond huge and what’s on the plate is most definitely restaurant food. But if flavor is what you are after, you will be very happy at Sadie’s. Continue reading

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