Best Place to eat in your town....(no chains)

[steponmebbbboom]

Let's hear it... name, street, town, price range, fave menu item.

I figure listing chains like Montana's and East Side Mario's is just pollution as weve all eaten there and have one at home. Better to support small business anyway and keep the economy local.

Anyone like the idea of a Sculpture.net Diner's Guide? I'll go first...

[steponmebbbboom]

In Regina SK: the Kowloon Restaurant. It's a dive but their Wonton Soup is the best carry out Ive ever had.

In Hamilton: Westown Bar & Grill on Locke St. Gourmet dining with creativity for less than $15 a plate. One Duke St. is also in this category. We have a Liaison College just down the street and a lot of talented chefs get their start at these places.

In Toronto: god, there are so many. Pick any Chinese restaurant on Dundas between Spadina and Queen for a complete culture shock. My favorite is the Swatow on Spadina. Bright fluorescents, open kitchen, menu cards on the wall written in Chinese, NO forks only chopsticks, and you share tables with other diners. Less than $15 and a zero for atmosphere but the best authentic chinese food in the city. Won award after award, year after year.

Mexican food goes to the Rancho Relaxo on College street. Unbelievable Chimi Chonga and hand squeezed lime margaritas. $20 to get stuffed and nicely buzzed. Go upstairs to the Relaxo Lounge for live jazz or walk down to the Kensington Market for a real urban experience.

My alltime #1 for comfort food: The Garden Gate on Queen and Beech in the Beaches. $10 a plate. AKA the "GOOF". Since 1952. Looks and feels like a 50s diner without trying. Chinese and Canadian food. I recommend any of the deep fried Tofu dishes. Get stuffed and go for a walk on the beautiful Boardwalk or get smashed at one of many patios on Queen.

The oldest diner in Toronto, maybe in the whole province is Fran's, two locations one on College and Yonge, and the oldest on Eglinton West. Since 1947. That one is under new management so I dont know how much it's changed but the College st. one is really good for atmosphere and original menu items for less than $10.

The Vegetarian Restaurant on Dundas and Keele is the best vegan restaurant in the city. Nice vibes and nice prices. Lots of choices.

In Guelph I recommend the Bookshelf. Trendy cocktail lounge with classy dishes for less than $20 a plate. Lots of noisy bars across the street with live music for after dinner.

[sculptor]

Anyone know where I can find a good Canadian restaurant here in Iowa?

we have Italian, Mexican, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Sechwan, Western, Polish, and dozens of others------

No Canadian restaurants nor German, nor Dutch, nor Australian, nor Ethiopian, nor South African, .......etc.....

One would think that there are no eateries in these places......surely folks eat , surely they blend the local ingrediants, .....

anyone for a nice roadkill stew

[Julianna]

Anyone know where I can find a good Canadian restaurant here in Iowa?

What? You don't have any donut places down there? Hehehe.

Seriously though, if anyone is ever out in Waterloo, Ontario (although I don't see why anyone in their right mind would want to...), here are some good restaurants:

"Vegetarian Fast Food Restaurant" on University and Phillip serves food quickly (duh) but surprisingly it's not all vegetarian. They have vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections on their menu, and the food is in a Thai/Chinese style. Their imitation shrimp is great, and the prices are intended for poor university-bound students. A heaping plate of noodles or rice with veggies is around $10CND, and I'm usually able to split it into the day's dinner and the next day's lunch. Others (guys) are usually able to pack away the entire meal ;)

"Lotus Tea House" on Regina is a Buddhist-vegetarian place, so you won't see (or eat) any onion or garlic there. The food's great, and the tea is a delight. Their imitation ham is so good I can't eat it very often because I don't actually like the taste of ham! A typical meal (rice with veggies and soup; noodles) costs around $8CND, and if you want one of their specialty teas (some actually involve freshly-sliced fruit), it'll cost a few more dollars.

"Maharaja's Palace" on King and Spring/Young. It's an East-Indian restaurant with what I believe to be the best naan in the city. They have vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. They're also aware that Waterloo has a high student population, and the prices reflect that (i.e. aprox $10CND/meal).

"Jane Bond" on Princess (I think) was great when I still went there. I stopped going because my partner doesn't eat any onion or garlic, and Jane Bond is one of those vegetarian restaurants which cooks heavily with both onion and garlic. It's a very snazzy place, with a great atmosphere and rotating artwork. I continue to crave their "Fat Ass Grilled Cheese". They have the standard North American soups, salads, pizzas, sandwiches, etc. Entres are again around the $10CND-mark, with appetizers and drinks adding to the tab.

Did anyone notice I'm vegetarian? :p

[steponmebbbboom]

Hmmm... oddly enough, I do believe there is an ethiopian restaurant on Avenue Road in Toronto, but I havent eaten there.... yet. I dont think there really is any specific canadian cuisine, as we are after all a melting pot of different cultures, unless of course you mean the "proprietary" canadians, which I would see as the Iroquois, Mohawks, etc. and most of their cuisine is similar and indeed can be found... As for 20th century Canadian cuisine, as television signals naturally travel north we are quite americanised and American staples such as hamburgers, hotdogs and french fries (freedom fries? yeah right) are in abundance up here. Back bacon? It's just peameal bacon. The world is our cuisine. I love that about Canada. Every culture is more or less welcome up here. As my late, great-uncle bill used to say, it is very important always to try new things.

My partner and I tried a Carribean dish the other night, it is called Coo-coo, basically you take dried corn, grind it into powder, and boil it, add fresh whole okra and stir until it congeals, serve warm. Nice side dish, interesting texture and flavor, apparently a staple over there.

[ALH]

If you are ever in St. Albert, Alberta (and why would you be?) slip into 'Gusto's Burgers'. Thee best burgers, and lamb any way you want it if he happens to have it that day. If he isn't busy you also get a good conversation to go with it.

[Julianna]

Hey! Does anyone have any restaurant/cafe recommendations for London, Ontario? I'm going there for a meeting of CARFAC Ontario (http://www.carfacontario.ca/). My partner is accompanying me for the drive, but not going to the meeting and I wanted to...well...have somewhere for him to be for a few hours. Otherwise, I'll have to leave him in the car with the window open a crack :D

[kjm]

Hey! Does anyone have any restaurant/cafe recommendations for London, Ontario? I'm going there for a meeting of CARFAC Ontario (http://www.carfacontario.ca/). My partner is accompanying me for the drive, but not going to the meeting and I wanted to...well...have somewhere for him to be for a few hours. Otherwise, I'll have to leave him in the car with the window open a crack :DJulianna I live in Norman Oklahoma not much help for your trip. There's a really good Mexican restaurant here real clean non greasy food you can go veggy if you want also The Earth it's mostly organic oh yea the of the first one as Pepe del Gados see you in Norman soon.

[Julianna]

Julianna I live in Norman Oklahoma not much help for your trip. There's a really good Mexican restaurant here real clean non greasy food you can go veggy if you want also The Earth it's mostly organic oh yea the of the first one as Pepe del Gados see you in Norman soon.

Haha. Nope, that's quite a distance from London Ontario. I'll look for those places if I'm ever in your neck of the woods.

My partner ended up finding a good pub in London---he has a good internal locator for pubs ;)

[kjm]

Haha. Nope, that's quite a distance from London Ontario. I'll look for those places if I'm ever in your neck of the woods.

My partner ended up finding a good pub in London---he has a good internal locator for pubs ;)
Julianna I looked at that carfac but nothing happened. We have a site called ovac just look that up then go to the oklahoma visual artists I have work there under kenny mccage you might like the on line gallery

[Julianna]

That's strange. What browser are you using?

Thanks for the tip on Kenny McCage. I love his "Diapason" and the two untitled pieces on the second page.