Hi-

I'm heading up to Santa Barbara this weekend from LA for an overnight trip, and I'm looking for some great restaurants that are "off the beaten path." I'm a chef so I don't need to do anything fancy or ultra-refined, I'm mainly looking for any simple, relaxed, and delicious representation of the city.

I already have dinner planned, breakfast and lunch are the two places I'm looking for. Ambiance is no issue, the more casual, the better. I'm open to any types of cuisine as well.

I will be staying at the Canary hotel and ideally I would like to go somewhere within walking distance, but I'm willing to drive if it's worth it.

Also if anyone knows of any places to eat along the way, that would be incredibly helpful.

I'm trying to go through all of the message boards as well so if anyone knows of any threads, please send my way!

Hi, I will be visiting San Francisco for a weekend vacation with a co-worker pretty soon, and I was hoping to receive some insight on good breakfast places and Chinatown lunch spots. I have visited San Francisco in the past and have always been overwhelmed by all of the dining options, so hopefully you guys can narrow my scope a little bit. I will be staying at the Hotel Nikko, and although I am driving, I plan on walking to my destinations, but am definitely up for a trek if it's worth my while.

I am traveling with a co-worker, and we are both adventurous foodies that work in the restaurant industry. We are not nearly as concerned with ambiance as we are with finding tasty, unique food. Nothing is off limits so please feel free to throw any suggestions our way. Thanks so much!

Hi, a few friends and I will be visiting union square west this weekend, and I was curious if anyone had any recs for moderately priced, unique dining options. Two of us are vegetarians, so any restaurants with veggie options are a big plus. We are mainly hoping to find a place that offers international fare, especially indian or japanese, but any other worthwhile options are very much appreciated.

We're staying at the Hilton, and the closer proximity to the hotel, the better. I have been there once before and there were so many options to choose from, I didn't know where to start. Thanks so much for your help!!!

Hi, I will be visiting the L.A. area in February, and will be commuting from West L.A. (Bundy and Olympic-ish) to Agoura Hills via P.C.H. and maybe the 405 if I have no choice. I was wondering if anyone knew of any good spots to eat anywhere along these routes. I visit L.A. quite a bit but this isn't really my neck of the woods so In-n-out is presently my only option. I am open to pretty much anything from hole in the wall to sit down, but the more casual, the better. All cuisines are fair game, and I'm up for driving a little out of my way if it's worth my while.....thanks for the help!!

Thanks for the tips, I will be sure to check them out while I'm down there. I posted back on the following message board in regards to Eugene-scene food: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/410841

Hope I helped, let me know your thoughts if you try any of them! Keep in mind that I did write about places in relative terms, so don't get your hopes up too high when it comes to places I mentioned in high regard.....after all, it's just Eugene :)

I have lived in Eugene for almost 10 years now, and I just graduated from culinary school here so I have a little insight on the restaurant scene, and what I do have is not very complimentary but there are some good places around. Here are my recommendations for places that I enjoy and have received good reviews from my classmates as well.

Maple Garden: It's on campus right across the street from the hospital, and it has the best chinese food in town and the best prices. The lunch special is unbeatable (an entree, soup, steamed rice, and a drink for 5.50), but unless you're indulging in that, I suggest ordering take out as the ambiance is not the best. Their mandarin chicken is always a crowd pleaser, but my favorites are their pork fried rice, pork chow fun, schezwan beef, and their orange chicken is "ok." One of my best friends is asian and it's the only chinese place she will eat with me.

If you're hungry and are looking for consistent, pallatable Asian-American food, kowloon is another good choice. It's right next to Autzen stadium ( on M.L.K. Jr. Blvd), has pretty views, and the prices are pretty reasonable as the portion sizes are pretty big. Their Hunan Chicken is good, as is their Mu Shu Pork, Chow Mein and Chow Fun are good, as is their Egg foo yong. Don't waste your time on the fried rice, get that at Maple garden. Oh and their egg rolls are AMAZING!!! best egg rolls I've had since I've lived in Socal.

I don't care what people say, the Glenwood is a horrible establishment and doesn't deserve an iota of the business it gets. The food is low quality, service is a bunch of brain dead fools, they pay their cooks poorly, it's overpriced, and they still do great business. I have had nothing but bad experiences there. For example: Mother's Day breakfast: hair in my food, but would not replace/grant refund, never refilled my water glass once during my visit, even though it was EMPTY, burned breakfast potatoes that they wouldnt return/refund, rubbery eggs to go along with them. Ordered a fruit bowl to go with my breakfast once and they were out of all the fruit so they just gave me grapes, no discount or apology, simply "Uhh....we were out of all the fruit so........" Ridiculous.

If you want a good breakfast, go to Buddy's Diner. it's on Coburg Rd. and Willakenzie is the nearest cross street. Reasonable prices, good food made to order, they make their own biscuits and hamburger buns and breakfast potatoes-none of that shredded nonsense, and best of all it's not a chain. Lunches are good too.

As far as I'm concerned, if you want good Italian or Mexican Food, you're sh*t out of luck, especially for Italian. All of the "popular" places are waaaay overrated, although I hear Mazzi's is alright.

There is a farmer's market that runs on Tuesdays, which I prefer over Saturday's because it is a lot less crowded and it seems to cut out the dirty riff raff that attend Saturday Market, so you aren't forced to smell mildew and body odor while you're trying to pick out food (summertime can be almost unbearable). Oh and there is supposed to be an excellent tamale stand that attends the Saturday Market and occasionally the Tuesday one. Another great thing about the tamale place is that it's one of the only prepared foods that you can be assured are prepared under sanitary conditions, as they are made off site and simply held there. I have gotten food poisoning from other Saturday Market food and I know others that have as well. No running water...questionable hygiene from employees, go figure.

A BBQ place opened a few months ago over on Franklin on the way to campus called Howling Coyote. It is locally owned and operated, reasonably priced, and for Eugene, it is pretty darn good. Their baked beans are outstanding, and their fries are good enough. Definitely a fun place to eat if you're into BBQ. I am unaware of its authenticity, but it's the best you're gonna get here.

Oh and one last little thing, the culinary program at LCC has a student run restaurant in the cafeteria, called the renaissance room. The food is really good, extremely reasonable (free labor!!), everything's from scratch, and it helps support the culinary program there. It is open for like an hour and a half-2 hours Monday thru Thursday, and you can call to make a reservation and find out what's on the menu. The phone number is 463-3533. Leave a voicemail if no one answers and they'll call you back.

Hope this helps!!

Hi, I'm a 21 year old recent culinary school grad who was born in Thousand Oaks but has since moved to Eugene, Oregon. I am planning to visit Thousand Oaks in a few weeks, and I was hoping I can get some insight on good dining places in Thousand Oaks, as I am unfamiliar with the scene, now. I have noticed that many are quick to put down the dining scene in Thousand Oaks, but let me tell you, once you live in a place like Eugene Oregon, you will relish the diversity available in Thousand Oaks and Agoura. That may sound silly, but it's absolutely true, people wait over an hour on any given weekend just to get a table at El Torito or The Olive Garden....it's sickening.

Anyway, I am in search of any well priced, established, tasty restaurants, but Italian and Chinese are my two faves. I used to go To Geppeto's off of T.O. Blvd. when I was a kid, but that's been gone for years, and I have yet to find a suitable replacement. I also used to go to Schezwan Chen's off of Arboles all of the time, but the last few times I have gone I have been unimpressed, I'm not sure if I am ordering the wrong things or it's just gone downhill in general. Used to frequent Hunan as a tot, but am unsure as to menu faves there. Any advice is very much appreciated!! Thanks a lot!

Hi, I am a 21 year old recent culinary school grad that was born and raised in the Conejo Valley, but has since moved to Eugene, Oregon. I am planning a routine visit back to Ventura county, but have decided to focus some attention towards the San Fernando Valley, as I will be spending a considerable amount of time there as well. My mom spent the majority of her life there, but most of her favorite restaurants have either closed down or changed ownership since her departure.

My main interests are reasonably priced, established, ethnic restaurants of all sorts. I am open to just about anything, but it is extremely daunting for a novice like myself to be able to decipher the good restaurants from the bad amidst the sea of strip malls and chain restaurants. I will be staying off of Victory right by the 405 freeway, but I am always up for a drive if it's worth my while. Last spring break I visited and drove down one street, I don't recall the name but it had "Circus Liquor" on it (Vineland perhaps), and I saw several italian and mexican restaurants that looked like they had the potential to be good, but who knows. Any ideas or feedback? Help is much appreciated, thanks in advance!!!