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Favorite Restaurants Every cook deserves a night out once in a while. Here are some of our favorite restaurants we've discovered in our travels. Alabama Mobile: The Brick Pit, 5456 Old Shell Road (251) 343-0001. We read about this place in the excellent book Road Food. The review said that the food far outshines the ambience, and they were right. They smoke their meat for hours before serving, and it will make your taste buds sing with joy. Arizona Apache Junction: Happy China Buffet, 725 W. Apache Trail (480) 982-0208. We never miss a chance to stop at this friendly restaurant with an excellent selection and very affordable prices. Everything on the buffet bar is delicious. Casa Grande: Manual Mexican Seafood & Steaks, 1300 N. Pinal Avenue (520) 421-3199. Everything we have tried here has been very good. Casa Grande: China Buffett, 1677 E. Florence Boulevard (520) 876-5688. We love all you can eat Chinese buffets, and this is one of our favorites. We've never been disappointed. Cottonwood: Hog Wild, 705 N. Main Street (928) 639-3232. This is the best barbecue restaurant we have found in 9 years on the road! The portions are huge and everything on the menu is delicious. We recommend the Sampler Platter, which will feed two hungry adults, and the signature garlic fries. www.azhogwild.com Mesa: Streets of New York, 1959 S. Signal Butte Road (480) 986-6175. Terry and I agree that this is the best pizza we have found anywhere in Arizona. They also serve delicious pasta and sub sandwiches. Mesa: Organ Stop Pizza, 1149 E. Southern Avenue (480) 813-5700. This was a real find. The restaurant features one of the world's largest Wurlitzer theater organs, which rises from the floor. The organ, played by world class musicians, has over 6,000 pipes, along with numerous percussions and other instruments. The show is unforgettable and free, and the pizza is good too! Pinetop: El Rancho Restaurant, 1523 E. White Mountain Boulevard (928) 367-4557. When I owned the weekly newspaper here, El Rancho was everyone's favorite Mexican restaurant. On our last trip to town we learned it still is. El Rancho serves huge portions, it's all delicious, and the atmosphere is comfortable.
Quartzsite: Grubstake Bar & Grill, 725 N. Central (US Highway 95) (928) 927-4485. The helpings are huge here, and the food is delicious. Their fish dinner consists of two mammoth pieces of Alaskan whitefish, slaw, and a mound of French fries. They also serve a gigantic two pound burger with all the fixins' that is free if you can eat it all in an hour. Tucson: Luke's Italian Beef, 101 E. Fort Lowell Road (520) 888-8066. Luke's serves up delicious shaved beef Italian sandwiches dripping with juice, and their French fries are to die for. Nothing fancy, but great food, and you get a lot for your money. Luke's has two other locations in Tucson, at 1615 S Alvernon Way and 4444 E Grant Road. Tucson: Lucky Wishbone, 4092 N. Oracle Road (520) 887-9160. Lucky Wishbone has been famous for its chicken, shrimp, and steak fingers since 1953. This is basically take out food, though some restaurants have a few tables outside. My favorites are the steak fingers and shrimp. The small locally owned chain has seven restaurants in Tucson. Tucson: Sausage Shop Meat Market, 1015 W. Prince Road (520) 888-1701. Step inside this deli style market and your taste buds will go crazy! The aroma of all those cheeses and smoked meats alone is delicious. The shop also makes a wonderfully decadent selection of sandwiches that will have you returning time after time. Tucson: Lococo's Pizzeria, 8330 N. Thorneydale Road (520) 744-7136.This is one of those hidden gems that we love to find. A small family owned place tucked away in a shopping center, the prices are very reasonable, the service is friendly, and the portions are huge. I loved the Sicilian Roast Beef sandwich, and Terry was just as impressed with her Meatball sandwich, both served on an 8" Sicilian roll. We did not sample the pizza on this outing, but the friend who introduced us to the restaurant says it is just as delicious. Tucson: La Fuente, 1749 N. Oracle (520) 623-8659.La Fuente has been a Tucson landmark for over 40 years, and Miss Terry quickly decided that this is one of her favorite Mexican restaurants anywhere. The food is delicious, the servings are generous, and the prices are well in line with the quality of the food and service. Wickenburg: Anita's Cocina, 57 N. Valentine (928) 684-5777. The folks at the Escapees North Ranch RV park recommended this friendly family style Mexican restaurant, and Miss Terry loved it! The portions were generous, the food was delicious, and the service was super friendly. We'll be back. Yuma: Mr. Lu's Super Buffet, 1960 E. Palo Verde Street. Very good Chinese buffet with a good selection. Arkansas Fort Smith: New China Chinese Buffet, 5428 Ellsworth Road (479) 478-8985. This gem has one of the largest and most delicious buffet bars we have ever found. Try anything on the menu, it's all great. We were very impressed with the service and attention we got from the entire staff. Florida Key West: El Siboney Restaurant, 900 Catherine Street (305) 296-4184. For delicious Cuban food at very affordable prices, don't miss this small restaurant off the beaten path. This is where the locals eat, and those tourists who know about this overlooked gem. Lake City: Cedar River Seafood, 4460 Highway 90 West (386) 752-8399. This is without a doubt one of the best seafood restaurants we've ever dined in, and we make it a point to stop whenever we're in Lake City. Order anything on the menu, it's all delicious. Lake City: Guangdong Chinese Restaurant, Lake City Mall on Highway 90 (386) 961-8181. This is one of our very favorite Chinese buffets anywhere in the country. We never miss a chance to dine here. Marathon: Keys Fisheries, Market, and Marina, (305) 743-4353. We loved the fresh seafood at this open air restaurant so much that we drove 50 miles from Key West not once, not twice, but three times in eight days! Need I say more? Try the blackened grouper, it's the best I've ever tasted. Idaho Moscow: La Casa Lopez, 415 S. Main Street (208) 883-0536. This is one of Miss Terry's favorite Mexican restaurants anywhere in the country. The portions are huge and we've enjoyed everything on the menu. Moscow: Sangria Grill, 2124 W. Pullman Road (208) 882-2693. The menu is eclectic, its all delicious, the prices are reasonable. What more can you ask for? We enjoyed Sangria Grill and will go back again. Wallace: Pizza Factory, 612 Bank Street (208) 753-9003. This is a friendly small town place where everybody knows everybody, the waitresses tease the customers, and the food is great. Indiana Bedford: Asian Pearl Mongolian BBQ, 1309 James Avenue (812) 278-9388. Offering Szechuan, Hunan and Mandarin cuisine, this all you can eat buffet has an excellent selection, affordable prices, and good service. Goshen: South Side Soda Shop, 1122 S. Main Street, (574) 534-3790. The nostalgia of this small diner is reason enough to visit, even if you did not consider the delicious food! Everything we have tried on the menu has been great, from the pork tenderloin sandwich, to the clam dinner, to the Philly cheese steak. Be sure to order the spiral fried potatoes! And did I mention the desserts? Wow! Middlebury: Village Inn, 107 S. Main Street (574)825-2043. This small town restaurant is popular with the local crowd, and you'll see lots of the local Amish dining here. No fancy fare, here, just good basic down home cooking. The pies are the real stars here, but order your pie with your meal, because they go fast! Mishawaka: Grand Empire International Buffet, 313 W McKinley Avenue (574) 255-6888. One of the nicest Chinese buffets around, with a good selection of items that are always hot and fresh. Iowa Ankeny: Bandana's Barbecue, 301 E. 1st Street (515) 964-9989. This excellent restaurant serves huge portions of delicious barbecue at very reasonable prices. While we were teaching at Life on Wheels in Ankeny, several students and instructors went there two or three nights in a row! Michigan Berrien Springs: Roma Pizzeria, 121 West Ferry Street (269) 471-7755. This small, family owned restaurant has the best pizza we've found anywhere within a hundred mile radius, along with other Italian dishes and sandwiches. Edwardsburg: Lunker's Anglers Inn, 26324 U.S. Highway 12 (269) 663-3745. While you're shopping at one of the largest privately owned sporting goods stores in the world, be sure to stop at the Anglers Inn for lunch or dinner. Their Italian beef sandwich is a favorite of mine, but the walleye, grouper, perch, and burgers are all winners too. Save soem room for dessert! The Mackinac Island fudge cheesecake is decadent. Traverse City: Don's Drive-In, 2030 N. US Highway 31 (231) 938-1860. Don's is a popular restaurant for the burger and fries crowd, and they are very tasty. But what makes this place special are their strawberry milkshakes. Thick and loaded with real fruit, they are almost a meal in themselves. Missouri Branson: Cakes-n-Creams 50s Soda Shop, Highway 76. Blame this place for my new expanded waistline! I love their funnel cakes, and the burgers are great too. Sedalia: King Chef Buffet, 2923 W Broadway (660) 827-3388 The buffet line at this friendly, clean restaurant includes over 150 delicious items to suit every taste. Montana Deer Lodge: Broken Arrow Steak House and Casino, 317 Main Street (406) 846-9965. I had one of the best steaks ever at this combination saloon, restaurant, and casino. It's not cheap, but it's delicious!
Marlton: Olga's Diner, 100 W. Route 70 (609) 596-1700. Olga's has been a favorite with the locals for decades, and one meal told us why. The food was wonderful, and their bakery is famous throughout the region. New Mexico Albuquerque: Lin's Buffet, 10100 Coors Boulevard (505) 898-6868 This is one of Terry's favorite buffets in the entire contry, with a huge selection, and everything is delicious, hot, and fresh. Deming: Si Senor, 200 E. Pine Street (505) 546-3938. Terry loves good Mexican food, and admits to being somewhat of a snob when it comes to south of the border cuisine. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but indulge her when we can find a place that also serves a decent steak. Several people recommended Si Senor, so we decided to give it a try. Terry's combination plate was huge and delicious. My T-bone was just a bit tough, but very tasty. The prices were good and the service attentive. We'll go back again. Ohio Celina: China Wok Buffet, 1401 E. State Route 703 (419) 584-1188.This is a very good Chinese buffet, with a good selection to choose from, and prompt service. Everything we tried in both visits was delicious. Celina: CJ Highmarks, 1211Irmscher Boulevard (419) 586-5552. I had without a doubt the best ribeye steak I have ever enjoyed at this nice family restaurant. It was so good, I went back the next night for another! Miss Terry loved their grilled chicken salad, and others in our party raved about the ribs and pork chops they ordered. Van Wert: Hong Kong Buffet, 349 Towne Center Boulevard (419) 238-5888. We discovered this restaurant, located in the new WalMart shopping center, while in town for Fall Escapade, and we went there four or five times in the week we were in town! Oklahoma Elk City: Western Sizzlin, Interstate 40, Exit 38 northwest quadrant. You can order off the menu or sample the buffet here, and either way you'll be pleased. Good food, friendly service and low prices make this a good choice for dinner. Midwest City: Golden Palace, 1224 S. Air Depot Road (405) 737-7118. We never pass up the chance to try out a new Chinese buffet, and this one was so good we went back a second time! They have a nice selection of Chinese and Vietnamese items in the buffet line,and feature a Mongolian BBQ. Pennsylvania East Earl: Shady Maple Smorgasbord, 129 Toddy Drive (717) 354-8222. This has been a Lancaster County favorite for years, serving up at least five different meats daily, fourteen vegetable dishes, a massive salad bar, and a selection of deserts to die for. Harrisburg: Grand Buffet & Grill, 5125 Jonestown Road (717) 526-2077. If you've read this far, you've probably figured out by now that we enjoy Chinese buffets. This is another excellent one, with a good selection of delicious food to choose from. Marysville: Mr. Gs Waterfront Tavern, 13 N. Main Street (717) 957-4227. The menu includes everything from steaks to burgers and seafood, and the portions are huge and delicious. But save some room for dessert, because the cheesecake can't be beat. Tennessee Clinton: Golden Girls Restaurant, 2211 Andersonville Highway (865) 457-3302. We never pass up an opportunity to have dinner at this excellent family restaurant. Their broasted chicken is a favorite of ours, but everything on the menu is good. Jackson: Old Country Store restaurant, Highway 45 bypass at Casey Jones Village (731) 668-1223. If you like good old time Southern cooking, don't pass the Country Store up! Their buffet includes lots of delicious entrees that will tempt your taste buds and stretch your waistband, and the menu items are just as good! Texas Aransas
Pass: Pepito's Bar & Grill, 1212 Highway 35, (361) 758-5562. Miss
Terry loves good Mexican food, but having lived in the Southwest much of
her life, is a bit of a snob. She won't settle for less than authentic
Mexican fare, and much of what we have found in our travels just does not
measure up to her high standards. Pepito's certainly fills the bill very
well. Only a fwe bites into her dinner, she informed me that we would be
returning often. They also serve good steaks and shrimp. Aransas
Pass: The Butter Churn, 228 W. Wheeler (361) 758-2300. This
buffet offers lots of old style country fare like steak, chicken
fried steak that melts in your mouth, delicious chicken strips, catfish,
mashed potatoes, and fried okra. The selection wasn’t as large as
at a chain buffet like Golden Corral or Ryan’s, but everything was fresh
and delicious, and the service was fast and friendly. We’ll go back. Aransas
Pass: The Big Fisherman Seafood Restaurant, 510 Highway 188 (361)
729-1734. Take a big appetite when you go to this restaurant, because
you're going to need it! The portions are huge! Two of us would have had a
hard time finishing off the seafood platter I ordered. It came with soup,
stuffed crab, shrimp, scallops, oysters, fish filets, French fries, corn
on the cob, and coleslaw. All for $14.95! After I stuffed myself, I still
put at least a pound of fish in the To Go box! We'll be going back
again! Ellinger:
Peters Bar-B-Q, Highway 71 (979) 378-9115. This is one of those hidden
gems we love to find. I thought the barbecued beef was the best thing I've
ever tasted, until I tried the barbecued chicken! Their Friday night all
you can eat buffet includes three kinds of barbecued meat, catfish,
shrimp, frog legs, and a full buffet bar. Everything was fresh, hot and
crisp. Fulton: Moondog Seafood Eatery, 100
Casterline (361) 729-6200. This small restaurant looks kind of funky from
the outside, and inside it's nothing fancy either, but it's fun to watch
the shrimp boats coming in to the docks as you enjoy your meal, and the
food is excellent. Rockport: The Boiling Pot, 201 S.
Fulton Beach Road, (361) 729-6972. You don't have to go all the way to
Louisiana to enjoy good Cajun food, just come to this delightful
restaurant. We enjoyed the Cajun Combo, a delicious blend of blue crab,
shrimp, boudin sausage, red potatoes and corn, all boiled together in Cajun
seasonings. Nothing fancy here, they cover your table with sheets of paper
and pour it all out for you to pick through. Delicious is an
understatement. Rockport: China A Super
Buffet, 2822 Highway 35 North (361) 729-8881. This rates in the top two or
three Chinese buffets we have found anywhere in the country. The buffet
menu is huge, and they also have a sushi bar and steaks grilled to order,
all included in the very reasonable buffet price. Rockport:
Novosad's Smokehouse, 3817 Highway 35 South (361) 463-2022. Nothing fancy
here, just a few tables set up to one side of a very good meat market, but
the barbecue is delicious and the prices are reasonable. After your meal,
stop at the meat counter and take home a couple of steaks for your
grill.
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