CurryLover's Profile
Detroit - need recommendations near Milliken State Park Marina
Great culinary recommendations from everyone especially Jim M, VTB & berkleybabe - thanks for sharing your foodie expertise as far as Detroit. I am working on researching all your recommendations so that my husband and I have several plans in mind once we dock in Detroit - I am adamant about visiting Detroit during the upcoming boating season. Boating is so weather dependent & can change plans at the last minute. So, if we have plan A, plan B, & plan C in place as far as what we're doing for meals, we'll be fine and there will be no disappointments. My husband and I are rather adventurous & love new boating/culinary destinations. Many of our boating colleagues will NOT consider Detroit as a destination - it's not safe, they say, and they prefer Windsor instead. But, the state park marina is relatively new & has 24hr security & has nice amenities plus it doesn't seem that difficult to get around using the marina as the home base - whether it is by foot, bike or the PeopleMover Monorail. I'll definitely report back on how our trip goes...I definitely want to impress our boating colleagues & be able to tell them we had no or very little problems docking in Detroit & eating our way through.
Detroit - need recommendations near Milliken State Park Marina
Those are good recommendations. I've read about some of the places you've mentioned elsewhere on this board.
Detroit - need recommendations near Milliken State Park Marina
No specific budget in mind - casual & nothing high end where we'd have to dress up. If we have a big meal at noontime, we might just settle for appetizers & drinks for dinner. If we have a small lunch and/or an active afternoon of biking that leaves us hungry, then we'd opt for a bigger dinner meal.
Detroit - need recommendations near Milliken State Park Marina
We will be coming up the Detroit River from Lake Erie and we plan to dock at Milliken State Park Marina for one night in May as part of a multi-day excursion. We'll have bikes on board & plan to arrive late in the morning in time for a lunch destination. I'm aware of Eastern Market but am wondering if there are any other culinary gems within walking/biking distance of the marina??? We'll also need some dinner recommendations within walking distance of the marina - is it safe to walk near the river front at night or should we plan on bringing food to grill/cook on the boat & just stay near the boat/marina?? Not interested in walleye/perch b/c we have an amply supply of favorite places around Lake Erie that serve fresh walleye/perch. Interested in Middle Eastern food and anything unique to Detroit that we shouldn't miss.
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
We ate dinner at Sugo Bistro last night on State Rd in Cuyahoga Falls. Sadly, we were very disappointed & will not go back again. The food was nothing to write home about. My husband had the lasagna & it was served in a bowl & very soupy. He said Spaghetti Warehouse & I make a better lasagna. I had the Flat Iron Steak Expresso. While it was very tender, it was cooked well done and I asked for medium. I can do a better marinated flat iron steak on the grill at home. I did observe that other diners had the cioppino which didn't look like much of anything for $26. We have found that we really like the Saturday night seafood buffet at Mon Ami Winery in Catawba Island, OH. It is $30/pp but where else in NE or NW Ohio can you get all you can eat crab legs, shrimp, prime rib, mussels, and various types of fish as part of a buffet? We're not big buffet fans, but this seafood buffet is really nice & unique for Ohio. Not only that, but the ambiance is really nice at the winery.
hubby is traveling to Independence Ohio, good dining options please
There's an Aladdin's in Independence which has great middle eastern food.
Seattle - April
Hi Seattle Chowhounders:
Is the second week in April a good time to visit Seattle as far as eating & sightseeing???? Looking for a spring break destination....not sure if April is a good time to visit Seattle & eat our way through??? Should we avoid Seattle in April??
Akron, OH - Mexican -Tito's
My husband and I tried the new Mexican place, Tito's, on Ghent Rd in Fairlawn this past weekend. We were pleasantly surprised at how good the food we ordered turned out to be. It doesn't replace Two Amigos which closed in Highland Square which at one time had the best Mexican food in Akron - but for Mexican in Akron, Tito's is really good & enough to satisfy our Mexican food craving. There was a $5 coupon in the local newspaper, so with two dinners & two margaritas, the total bill came to just under $22 for two people. The servings were huge & enough to ask for a box to take home the leftovers. Akron is a culinary wasteland, but this new Mexican place, Tito's, is definitely worth visiting as long as their food remains good. For a Friday night, it was packed and we had to wait for a table - not long, but a good sign it was a good place to go.
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
Glad the Spaghetti Warehouse worked out even though it wasn't the best chow meal - but I was trying to help with the 3 year old & MIL in tow. My 17 year old daughter has a December birthday & we always take a group of her friends downtown Akron for dinner & ice skating at Lock 3 afterwards. She always asks for Spaghetti Warehouse b/c the menu seems to be diverse enough for the pickiest eaters among her friends. Last year, we couldn't get a reservation at Spaghetti Warehouse b/c of all the corporate holiday parties so we settled on Barley House which is practically next door to Lock 3. Well, turned out not only did our birthday daughter & her friends join us, but so did our college age son & HIS friends, too, who had just finished final exams. Amazing how many "friends" you have when you are buying especially the beer for those who are now 21. We treated a party of 12 kids to dinner, beer (for those over 21) and and ice skating (skate rentals $3) and even coffee & hot chocolate at Lock 3.... The college age kids loved Barley House but our daughter was not too impressed & thought it was too pub-like just like your MIL thought. And, yes, it is way easier being a chowhound in the BIG city!!! Haven't been to Mustard Seed in a couple of years - glad the food sounds good even though it is less than 2 miles from my house.
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
If you are going to Lock 3, I would suggest the Barley House or the Spaghetti Warehouse both on Main Street, especially with a three year old in tow. Both are popular with families. You can check their menus online at their respective websites.
Port Clinton, OH - new eateries
Just had two wonderful meals at Pattaya in Port Clinton - it just opened for business late June. It is a Sushi/Thai restaurant on E. Perry Street in the same plaza as Ace Hardware. On the first visit for dinner, my husband had the Pad Thai and I had the Green Curry Shrimp. The food was fabulous & presented beautifully! On the second visit for lunch, I had Pad Thai which was wonderful and my relative had a sushi combo which she loved. This restaurant is definitely a welcome addition for a very small town. Judging from the license plates in the parking lot, most of the other customers were from out of town. Most people who come to Port Clinton want the best walleye or perch meal which is what the area is known for. But, for others like me who are seasonal/weekend residents, having Pattaya is wonderful!!! Pattaya is probably a one mile walk or more for anyone wanting to come by boat & dock at the city's public docks.
Saw an ad for another new restaurant in Marblehead that just recently opened- Canoe Club Wine Bar. Has anyone tried it? It is on my list but we'd have to take a taxi since I am a little weary about drinking any alcohol and/or driving with the heavy law enforcement presence in the area as well as multiple and frequent DUI checkpoints for both boats & vehicles.
Vacation in Panama City--Large Family
Our family of four (two kids - 21yrs & 16yrs old) just got back from PCB. Our main purpose of the trip was to visit family who live in PC. We were not disappointed as far as food - we ate fabulous fresh seafood the entire time. Our biggest disappointment was the "June Grass" which is algae in the ocean. We were only able to hang at the beach two days b/c the algae was so bad that we were literally covered in "slime". St. Andrews State Park has a jetty beach that seemed to be protected from the algae blooms. We packed a picnic the day we went to St. Andrews. My husband called around to the various state parks to inquire about how bad the algae problem was.
Here is what I can tell you about local seafood.... Tarpon Dock is a great seafood market that you can pick up fresh seafood to cook yourself if you don't mind that when you are on vacation.
We went to Hunt's Oyster House for oyster appetizers one night before a family dinner at a private residence. We got to Hunt's at 4:30pm and by the time we left at 5pm there was already a waiting crowd outside. Three dozen oysters ran us about $20. Ate one night at the ShrimpBoat across from Hunt's. That was very good & expensive - you will need reservations unless you plan to arrive before 5pm. Another night we got to Captain Anderson's at 5pm which is a landmark PCB restaurant complex. We were told we had a 45 min wait but it turned out to be a 5 minute wait....they can get an army of people in and out of that place very efficiently. Another night we went to J. Michael's. They have a play area inside the restaurant for the kids which might be of an interest to you. We celebrated our son's 21st birthday at Firefly - for six of us (the four of us plus two other family members) the bill was close to $300 for dinner & drinks!!! But it was a special occasion so it was fine. Our rental condo was just a few doors down from Pineapple Willy's but we did not go there. It seems to be a popular family hangout with kids meals served in buckets. We saw kids with those buckets on the beach.
It was our first time to PCB and we will not be going back to PCB in the summer, specifically, b/c of the June Grass problem that seems to be a problem all summer long. PCB kind of reminded us of Myrtle Beach with the same kind of touristy attractions.
Hope this helps!
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Pineapple Willy's Restaurant
9875 S Thomas Dr, Panama City, FL 32408
Sandusky, OH area - anything I shouldn't miss?
LaHabana is in Marblehead if you like Cuban Food. Kind of unique for that area.
Bell Mell Tavern is in PC if you like pizza...they have something they call Pizzabellas which are pizzas on lavash bread - quite delicioius& unique.
CrossWinds in PC is good - never had a bad meal there.
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Bell Mell Tavern
307 Fulton St, Port Clinton, OH 43452
Sandusky, OH area - anything I shouldn't miss?
We ate lunch at the Goat on Put in Bay last weekend. My husband ordered the perch tacos they were AWESOME... I was only sorry I didn't order them, too. The only drawback of the Goat is that it doesn't have waterfront views and it might be a little too long of a walk from the main drag. We had our bikes & biked there after we docked at Oak Point. Afterwards we had a bottle of wine at the Heineman Winery a little ways south of the Goat. They have outdoor tables which is nice and relaxing on a sunny & nice day.
Sandusky, OH area - anything I shouldn't miss?
The OP didn't say where she was from but I am a (rather new) seasonal resident of Port Clinton. We've been trying to find good restaurants over the past year - hit & miss. We like Jolly Roger in Pt Clinton for their perch & walleye - it was mentioned & reviewed in the June issue of Coastal Living magazine as well as the New Sandusky Fish Company in Sandusky. We have not been to the New Sandusky Fish Company yet but it is on our list. The Goat on Put in Bay has perch tacos if you're looking for walleye/perch. Nagoya in Pt Clinton is fun for faqmilies but the only problem is they overcrowd the tables and there is not much elbow wiggle room. Margarittaville off Rt 6 in Sandusky is fun for families but their food is not great - mostly Mexican. You'll find every kind of chain restaurant on the main drag of Sandusky but if you're looking for local fish, I'd recommend Jolly Roger.
Panama City restaurants in June
That sounds like my kind of place, too - reminds me of Star Market in Bradenton Beach - no frills but good fresh seafood. Trying to balance out the trip with culinary experiences in both fine dining & no frills local picnic table types of places. The 21st birthday celebration needs to be "fine dining" but we can do lunches/cheap dinners other times. Thanks for sharing!
Panama City restaurants in June
I also saw that Firefly was the restaurant the First Family dined at when in the PC area last year.
Panama City restaurants in June
Thanks - I'll add that to my list. I like to try to avoid the tourist areas part of the time & focus on good quality food. I hope others will chime in with more recommendations so that I have a big list with lots of choices when we leave home for PC.
Panama City restaurants in June
Great ideas! Thanks for the suggestions.....a good start!
Panama City restaurants in June
Hi, we are a family of four from NE Ohio and we're going to be in PC for a week in June. Never been there before (although we have been to Destin, Navarre Beach, Orange Beach, etc.) What should we not miss as far as restaurants/food in the PC area??? We love all types of seafood & that will be our main focus - fresh seafood. One of our children turns 21 the week we are in PC - any ideas for a fun & memorable place for a 21st birthday dinner??? Thanks -you CH'ers have always come through with great recommendations!
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
Good to know about Pub Bricco in the valley - will have to try them out sometime, too.
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
Glad to hear that D'Agnese's food is good...I was going to let them be open for a while before I tried them out. Tried out the new Aladdin's in Montrose last week - they've only been open a couple of weeks & they are in the old Baja Fresh location. By 12:15pm there were no tables left & people were waiting. Their food isn't quite up to par yet with the other Aladdin's locations (falafel & stuffed grape leaves were overcooked & too dry) so I think I'll let them work out their bugs & improve their food before I go back again.
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
There was a new ad in today's West Side Leader for Bombay Grill...mentions Wednesday night dinner buffet 5:30-9:15pm. Sounds like they only have the dinner buffet on Wed nights. I think you are right about buffets being a little on the bland side.
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
We eat at Saffron Patch at least once a month for their lunch buffet & it is always very good. I prefer Saffron Patch over Raj Mahal. Raj Mahal used to have a second location in Montrose & they suddenly closed a few years ago. Now, Bombay Grill is in that location. We've had their lunch buffet a few times & ended up disappointed. We still like Saffron Patch better. I saw an ad that Bombay Grill now has a dinner buffet...it's on my list to try since no other Indian restaurant in northeast Ohio has a dinner buffet that I am aware of. When I do try Sugo, I will be comparing to Tomato Bistro which is located in Hammonds Corners in Bath Twp. They have great Italian food but the ambiance there leaves a lot to be desired - the tables are so close together that you don't feel you can have a private conversation. I do like that Tomato Bistro has outside seating in season but it is next to a busy road & that kind of ruins the setting - nothing like the intimate outdoor cafes in pedestrian areas in Europe & larger cities in the US which spoils me! Cafe Bricco does have outside seating (also next to busy West Market St) but the last time I was there in season, they did not have a permit to serve alcohol outside. The server said they were working on it & had lost business b/c people could not sit outside & have drinks.
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
Chowder House Cafe is VERY good & YES we are desperate for good seafood in Rubber City...their Lobster Bisque, Lobster Rolls & Fish Tacos (lobster & shrimp) are the next best thing to what you can find in New England as far as lobster as well as fish tacos in Southern California.
Brunch at Sweet Pea Cafe, Akron OH
I'm a former Brookline resident who relocated to the Akron area - it has been a real struggle finding good food in Akron. I second Sweet Pea Cafe - real culinary gem for Akron. The owner, Josh, has a facebook page where he posts his specials. There are some other good places - Chowder House Cafe on Chestnut St. in Cuyahoga Falls. Chef Prpich posts his specials, too, on CHC's facebook page. He just opened a new Italian Bistro called Sugo down the road from CHC but I have not been there yet. Another good place for lunch is Cafe Bricco in the Doubletree Hotel across from Summit Mall. Their food is very good & their menu is online for viewing.
Trip Report for LA & surrounding areas
First, I want to thank everyone for their recommendations and I want to sum up our trip as far as the culinary experiences in one post. I hope I don't get in trouble for combining both culinary & travel experiences because I cannot report about the culinary part and not link the travel part to it. They go together.
Day 1 - arrived John Wayne Airport, OC, from Ohio, headed down PCH to Laguna Beach with intentions of stopping at House of Big Fish & Ice Cold Beer for a combination of our lunch/dinner. The sun had just come out in LB after heavy rains & mudslides. The main drag was closed & the traffic was rerouted to clear out mud. Sad sight. But, we managed to find parking & have lunch/early dinner at House of Big Fish & Ice Cold Beer. I had the grilled mahi-mahi lettice wraps. My husband & son had the swordfish burritos while my daughter had the mahi-mahi tacos. Very good. The view was nice & we needed those beers after the long flight from the midwest.
Day 2 - Paramount Pictures tour in the morning. Walked to Mario's Peruvian & Seafood Restaurant on Melrose Ave. We got there just before noon & had the last table. Others had to wait outside for the next table. Got the Lomo Saltado, Pescado Sudado and Arroz chaufa deCamarones and shared family style. We were so impressed. It was our first time ever eating Peruvian food. We had a lot of restaurant choices that CH'ers provided including Lucy's, the Columbian restaurant, farmer's market, etc. Afterwards, we went to walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame - not impressed - reminded me of Niagara Falls - touristy & seedy. Headed to the Getty Center - beautiful place - too bad we didn't plan enough time to visit. Dinner was at the Canary in Westood - Persian. I had a few Persian restaurants in mind in the area & the Canary ended up to be near where we found parking. Finding parking at 5pm was difficult in Westwood. I probably would have chosen someplace else different but we were not disappointed. Among our family, we had the mirza ghasemi and the Gormesh Sabzi, a lamb kebab platter & a salad & soup.
Day 3 - Lunch at Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. I don't think any of us were impressed since we were already having such good food elsewhere. Dinner was at Habana at the urban anti-mall. Cuban - good. No complaints - the food was presented beautifully. We had a hard time finding any place open on Christmas Eve without nosebleed prices.
Day 4 - Christmas Day. I had packed a collapsible cooler in my luggage to use for a picnic in Joshua Tree National Park b/c I didn't think any place would be open. The day before, I went to Albertsons and picked up pre-made sub sandwiches, single servings of potato salad & hummus & pretzels & beverages. Packed the cooler & headed for JTNP Christmas morning. Found a remote location to have a very nice picnic in the park. I am a very untraditional mom - I'm sure there were many moms back home in the midwest slaving over turkeys/hams/standing beef rib roasts, etc. It was a good thing we entered the park via the south entrance after detouring to Palm Springs & the other upscale desert towns b/c when we exited the park in the town of Joshua Tree, I was alarmed - it was like a no-man's land of outlaws - I was scared - had we entered the park from Joshua Tree, I would have been scared there were outlaws hiding behind rocks ready to shoot us!!! We still had some daylight hours left so we made a small detour to Pioneertown - creepy.
Day 5 - Griffith Park. Lunch at India Sweets & Spices on Los Felix Ave. Wonderful! Dinner - the kids were ready for pizza so we went to BJ's Pizza near the Balboa Pier and then afterwards walked Balboa Island admiring the holiday lights on boats & houses.
Day 6 - Birch Aquarium, SD. Stopped at Bull Taco in Oceanside for lunch. My son had the swordfish burrito, daughter had the shrimp burrito. My husband and I had a combination of tacos including the duck, asada carne, shrimp curry & swordfish. Those were the best tacos & burritos our family has ever had.
Day 7 - Lunch - Vien Dong in Garden Grove, CA. My husand & son had bun cha ca Thang Long. My daughter and I had the simple pho. We also had two orders of cha gio which were wonderful. Dinner was pizza at Big Belly Deli in Newport Beach. We had such a big lunch that we didn't want anything too much to eat for dinner.
That sums it up. Thanks to all the CH'ers for all your help!
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Getty Center
1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049
Vien Dong
14271 Brookhurst St, Garden Grove, CA 92843
Mario's Peruvian & Seafood
5786 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Habana
2930 Bristol St Ste A110, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
The Crab Cooker
2200 Newport Blvd, Newport Beach, CA 92663
Big Belly Deli
6310 W Coast Hwy, Newport Beach, CA 92663
Thang Long Restaurant
9550 Bolsa Ave Ste 115A, Westminster, CA 92683
Quaint little eatery in Port Clinton, Ohio
Being a newly sort of transplanted part time summer resident of Pt Clinton, I've had to scout out the area and find good eating areas. Not easy. Found five more quaint little places with GOOD food. By the way, Bassett's Market on the corner of Rt 163/Rt 53 is a great supermarket - they have great sushi - even better than what we can find at home in northeast Ohio.
The first is LaHabana, a Cuban restaurant, in Marblehead on the main drag. They are only open in the summers for the most part. The menu is limited, cash only, but very good food from what we've had.
The second is Lagoon Saloon on Nugent's Canal. They have great pizzas & homemade egg rolls (the owner's mother in law is Korean). Lagoon Saloon is located on the Portage River and has dockage for boaters & jet skiers. My kids wouldn't like this place unless it was summer with outdoor seating b/c the atmosphere is bar-like.
The third is Bell Mell Tavern. An article in the Catawba Island Magazine led me there to try the Pizzabellas which are thin pizzas made from lavash bread. We usually get take out from there - it is not a place for kids with the bar like atmosphere.
The fourth is Jolly Roger - they have very good walleye & perch sandwiches. It is my husband's ultimate favorite. Seasonal restaurant, also, and they are closed for the winter. I saw a plague on the wall where they won an award from Coastal Living a few years back.
The fifth is Captain's Corner on Kelley's Island. They have a mediterranean platter that is good to have with beers. Not bad for a sparsely populated island.
We've eaten at many other places but they aren't chow-worthy to write home about. I am hoping to try the Goat on Put in Bay in the spring when they open up. They were closed already for the season when we docked at PIB early October - apparently they have great perch tacos.
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Bell Mell Tavern
307 Fulton St, Port Clinton, OH 43452
Bassett's Market
228 W Main St, Bellevue, OH 44811
Vietnamese in Orange County
adamclyde, you are right - the cha gio was absolutely wonderful at vien dong- they were huge. Unlike anything we've ever had. They were the BEST we've ever had, actually. We ordered two dishes thinking they were small cha gio - they turned out to be HUGE. One order would have been plenty for a family of four but we didn't know what to expect at first.
Vietnamese in Orange County
Das Ubergeek, the pho was very good. I've never had bad pho so it would be hard to compare. It was my 16 year old daughter's first time having pho & she loved it. There were plenty of other things on the menu I would have loved to try...but it doesn't work that way for a one time visit. Thanks for all your help.
