tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post5859958941530410534..comments2024-03-28T23:57:50.103-05:00Comments on Bayou Renaissance Man: "Warning signs and how to spot a good restaurant in the wild"Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-59281490561359105202019-08-16T01:03:16.823-05:002019-08-16T01:03:16.823-05:00Author William Least Heat Moon's first book wa...Author William Least Heat Moon's first book was titled <i>Blue Highways,</i> it was the story of a trip around the USA in a cargo van, and took months to complete. Heat Moon ate mostly at diners, and his tip on how to find a good one was to count how many calendars could be seen on the walls,with 1 being poor, 2 being good, and three being excellent. <br /><br />I have a friend that only eats in barbecue restaurants if the street sign features an "anthropomorphic pig."Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11402651457453813639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-81662277098110108332019-08-15T14:25:36.048-05:002019-08-15T14:25:36.048-05:00We got a new Thai restaurant down the road a piece...We got a new Thai restaurant down the road a piece. They named it "Thai Me Up". Wife and I found it pretty tasty.Sam L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00996809377798862214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-58685307808915240922019-08-15T13:30:07.050-05:002019-08-15T13:30:07.050-05:00A sign that reads 'Good Eats', in whatever...A sign that reads 'Good Eats', in whatever language, usually draws me in if only for curiosity' sake. The best German food I've consumed (OK, American German; never having been to Germany I can't speak to its 'authenticity') was from a little place near Boston Common. I was wandering around when approaching lunchtime and espied a hand-lettered sign advising, "Gutes Essen", across the street. And it very much was.Bob Gibsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01605741445499179146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-2370513673819563352019-08-14T22:41:03.787-05:002019-08-14T22:41:03.787-05:00I learned in Italy that if the restaurant had pict...I learned in Italy that if the restaurant had pictures of the food outside, it was a no-go. Oddly enough, Yelp was a great help in finding the true 'neighborhood' places, along with following the older women towing their husbands along to dinner--I found some truly amazing places where the staff gave me some startled looks when I walked in--because clearly it wasn't a tourist trap. Jonna Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502533404648468455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-63773915220694070852019-08-14T16:32:05.144-05:002019-08-14T16:32:05.144-05:00Before you order anything, excuse yourself and go ...Before you order anything, excuse yourself and go to the bathroom. If it's dirty, imagine what the kitchen is like. <br /><br />Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17791610798116970807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-53013008791699513112019-08-14T15:09:03.824-05:002019-08-14T15:09:03.824-05:00"If you moved away for 10 years, what's t..."If you moved away for 10 years, what's the first place you'd go when you got back?"<br /><br />It isn't quoted in the post, but Calvin Trillin famously put it this way to hotel folks: "Not the place you took your parents for their 25th wedding anniversary. The place you went the night you got home from Korea."<br /><br />==DwightUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04897541740818276304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-12609643579427219022019-08-14T14:19:27.301-05:002019-08-14T14:19:27.301-05:00Years ago I read a list of hints to help you find ...Years ago I read a list of hints to help you find a good BBQ restaurant. I remember very few but a few are:<br />- A variety of vehicles in the parking lot. A Rolls Royce parked next to a garbage truck is a very good sign.<br />- A messy wood pile. It was most likely knocked over in the dark fetching wood for the smoker.<br />- Old calendars behind the register.<br />- Flies. It it's not good enough to draw flies stay away.<br /><br />I once ate at a restaurant in Dallas just because of the name. Bob's Pinto Bean Palace. It was dreadful but how could you not give it a shot, once.<br /><br />I do look at the cars at a restaurant when sizing it up.Shermhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07098953206824247173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-80488697164816993312019-08-14T12:22:37.665-05:002019-08-14T12:22:37.665-05:00Simple enough, seafood sounds classier than just f...Simple enough, seafood sounds classier than just fish.<br />And certainly more appealing than cooking up a mess of mudbugs.<br />I grew up ten miles from the Mississippi river in north western Illinois.<br />Grandma loved to fish, and grandpa didn't mind cleaning them.<br />We didn't care all that much for catfish, but every summer weekend they would bring back a stringer full of pan fish: perch, crappie, bluegill, sunfish and the like.<br />Grandpa would carve off two palm sized fillets and place them in saved waxed cardboard milk containers.<br />Those were filled with water and frozen. Fish scraps went straight into his garden for fertilizer.<br />When enough containers had accumulated they would be thawed and the fillets dusted with flour and fried in grandma's huge old cast iron skillet in oil.<br />Heaping platters of fried fish all of it one or two bites.Uncle Larhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04008207593205949098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-41663643711144718972019-08-14T12:03:09.594-05:002019-08-14T12:03:09.594-05:00Good recommendations, however some of the best sea...Good recommendations, however some of the best seafood restaurants in Spain are in Madrid.NobobyExpectshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08318004241906731722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-65279116868907243682019-08-14T11:07:51.243-05:002019-08-14T11:07:51.243-05:00Face it folks, unknown and one-off restaurants on ...Face it folks, unknown and one-off restaurants on the road are a crap-shoot. <br /><br />If you ever wonder why there is such a proliferation of chain restaurants in this country, that's part of it. A chain restaurant is a known entity. It's not the best food, but it will do in a pinch when you are tired and just want dinner and then bed.<br /><br />Now, having said that, some of the best food I have ever eaten has come from little hole-in-the-wall, mom & pop places I have found while traveling. The flip side is that some of the worse has come from there too.<br /><br />Royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108430731483801350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-16422118683998148642019-08-14T11:03:59.525-05:002019-08-14T11:03:59.525-05:00Greasy spoons... ALWAYS go for the greasy spoon. A...Greasy spoons... ALWAYS go for the greasy spoon. And if you want correct ethnic, look to see who is coming/going. However, if it's Thai, and you see Thais in there, BEWARE the heat scale... One pepper in Thailand is the equivalent of 3-4 peppers in a US Thai place...Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-40569834447695147722019-08-14T10:58:16.930-05:002019-08-14T10:58:16.930-05:00When traveling I would ask the hotel staff for res...When traveling I would ask the hotel staff for restaurant recommendations and invariably get directions to Applebees or the like.<br /><br />So, I started phrasing the question this way: "If you moved away for 10 years, what's the first place you'd go when you got back?"<br /><br />Haven't had a bad meal on the road since.Joe Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09610203017162443764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-38870607561008814082019-08-14T10:57:05.038-05:002019-08-14T10:57:05.038-05:00Why care about state of the art? I want my food to...Why care about state of the art? I want my food to taste good, and if that means very traditional, I'm fine with that.<br /><br />I also really don't care about plating and presentation. Restaurants that are more concerned about how food looks than how it tastes get a no from me.D.J. Schrefflerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15188340536138859314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-41374617172955347512019-08-14T10:03:02.615-05:002019-08-14T10:03:02.615-05:00Great list except this:
13. Never eat in a restau...Great list except this:<br /><br /><i>13. Never eat in a restaurant that has a souvenir shop attached.</i><br /><br />I shan't be denied my Cracker Barrel Uncle Hershel Breakfast!Miguel GFZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15835217288213611066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-62167339806328543172019-08-14T09:43:29.223-05:002019-08-14T09:43:29.223-05:00One simple rule: Don't order fish in the deser...One simple rule: Don't order fish in the desert.<br /><br />JWMJWMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05564732483476859555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-11326765799729944162019-08-14T09:40:17.932-05:002019-08-14T09:40:17.932-05:00If you think river and lake fish being listed as s...If you think river and lake fish being listed as seafood is bad, you should see the menu that places chicken tenders under the heading "Fried Seafood." TheOtherSeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07141473483312725136noreply@blogger.com