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About two miles west of Coney Island is a local institution Roll n Roaster serving great roast beef sandwiches, just in case you are not in the mood for great local pizza (at Totonno's or Grimaldi's) or Nathan's

 

http://rollnroaster.com/custom/rollnroaster/commercial.htm

 

Roll n Roasters looks good to me, but how old is that commerical? Would like to give them a try someday.

 

I've updated the index on the first page.

 

I stop by the place at least twice a week on the way home from work.

That commercial is from the late 70s. The staff does not quite look like that anymore.

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^^ I thought Fuddruckers was about on the same par as Red Robin. The burgers were okay, but I would much rather find a non-chain restaurant to visit during my travels....like the place shown five posts above!

 

I love the fact that Fuddruckers has the futuristic Coca-Cola machines and their seasoned fries are just...God they're delicious I guess I'm just not used to the fact that we don't have places like Fuddruckers, Hardees, Cracker Barrel,and Sheetz on Long Island. For the longest time we didn't even have Sonic or DQ....that is until we got Sonic in 2011 and a DQ in 2013. Lines still get pretty bad for both in the summertime....

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^^ I thought Fuddruckers was about on the same par as Red Robin. The burgers were okay, but I would much rather find a non-chain restaurant to visit during my travels....like the place shown five posts above!

 

I love the fact that Fuddruckers has the futuristic Coca-Cola machines and their seasoned fries are just...God they're delicious I guess I'm just not used to the fact that we don't have places like Fuddruckers, Hardees, Cracker Barrel,and Sheetz on Long Island. For the longest time we didn't even have Sonic or DQ....that is until we got Sonic in 2011 and a DQ in 2013. Lines still get pretty bad for both in the summertime....

 

We are just getting our first Sonic in Buffalo this summer...I have never eaten at one before.

 

And our local Dairy Queen went out of business about five years ago. I guess having winter for seven months of the year will do that!

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^^ I thought Fuddruckers was about on the same par as Red Robin. The burgers were okay, but I would much rather find a non-chain restaurant to visit during my travels....like the place shown five posts above!

 

I love the fact that Fuddruckers has the futuristic Coca-Cola machines and their seasoned fries are just...God they're delicious I guess I'm just not used to the fact that we don't have places like Fuddruckers, Hardees, Cracker Barrel,and Sheetz on Long Island. For the longest time we didn't even have Sonic or DQ....that is until we got Sonic in 2011 and a DQ in 2013. Lines still get pretty bad for both in the summertime....

 

We are just getting our first Sonic in Buffalo this summer...I have never eaten at one before.

 

And our local Dairy Queen went out of business about five years ago. I guess having winter for seven months of the year will do that!

 

They're thinking about putting a second Sonic on Long Island, but what they should do is put a second DQ because I thought the lines for Sonic were bad, the lines for DQ were unimaginable.

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All this talk about Sonic, DQ, and Fuddruckers is prompting me to repost one of requirements of this thread:

 

2. Remember that this must be a locally owned restaurant--no big chains.

 

DQ is nationwide, as is Sonic. Fuddruckers has restaurants in most of the 50 states, and in a number of countries. They do not qualify for this thread.

 

Thank you.

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It's taken me long enough, but let's try a New Jersey chain-Surf Taco!

 

Surf Taco's specialty (and my favorite) are the Surf Tacos, which are fried cod with a nice cilantro sauce. My other favorite is the chicken tender taco- I generally get one of each every time I go! The order comes with chips and there's a nice salsa bar available for your pleasure. There's plenty of other options as well, but I haven't ventured beyond my normal cause I like it so much!

 

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Fish taco!

 

It's a bit away from Great Adventure (~15-20 minutes, but there's not too much near Great Adventure) and there are locations in Point Pleasant and Seaside as well if you don't feel like boardwalk food. The Jackson location features both a full bar and a Coke Freestyle machine!

 

Six Flags Great Adventure- 21 Hope Chapel Rd, Jackson, NJ

Seaside Park- 212 SE Central Ave, Seaside Park, NJ

Jenkinson's Boardwalk- 1300 Richmond Ave, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ

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Ever since i started my new job close to downtown Cincinnati I have been going to a lot of the small local places and one thats not exactly local but the only other place that has it is somewhere in California the place is called Pieology http://www.pieology.com/

 

Some places I highly reccomend if you to to Kings Island, Coney Island or Strickers Grove are:

 

Tacocracy in northside.

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Thai Express in clifton. It has won best take out a bunch of years. Two little old ladies from Thailand make the food.

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Amol India also in Clifton. If you like Indian you'll like this place.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just updated the index in the first post--thanks for the recommendations.

 

And of you're in the mood for Indian food in Williamsburg, you might want to check out Nawab Indian Cuisine. Dinner entrees run anywhere from $15.00-$19.00, and their lunch buffet is a pretty good deal (just not as much choice as you get at dinner).

 

Nawab Indian Cuisine

204 Monticello Ave

Williamsburg, VA 23185

 

The best way to get there from the park is to turn left on Rt. 60 and just keep going straight (past Colonial Williamsburg) until you cross Richmond Road (you go by the post office and train station and through an old neighborhood). Once you pass Staples, Nawab is in the old strip mall on the right.

 

It's located in a pretty beat-up strip mall near a thrift store, but the inside of the restaurant is rather nice, and it's a popular stop for lunch.

Edited by cfc
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I won't make it to Williamsburg now with the change in plans and only doing Kings Dominion. Any suggestions for near there or on that side of Richmond when i am Headed in the Saturday night before C4K? I like to try specialties and tend to prefer Mexican style foods when trying new places. I don't do Seafood though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you are visiting Martin's Fantasy Island or just driving through the Buffalo area to another park, I got a bunch in order of increasing distance from the park:

 

Jasmine Thai Restaurant: 1330 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Tonawanda, NY (10.5 miles, 14 minutes): Thai restaurant. Surprisingly cheap and really good.

Menu: http://www.jasminethairestaurant.com/Index.html

 

Duff's: 3651 Sheridan Drive, Amherst, NY (12 miles, 15 minutes): Generally known as the best restaurant for Buffalo Wings, the city's most famous recipe.

Menu: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/52ddad0ae4b01d8ef4e51a2e/t/53e6b668e4b05a3ac1740bde/1407628904508/Duff%27s+Menu+-+Amherst+Location-6-13-13-2.pdf

 

 

Blue Fire Bar & Grille: 1340 Millersport Highway, Amherst, NY (12.4 miles, 15 minutes): Higher end restaurant attached to the Buffalo Marriott Niagara; no cohesive theme to the restaurant's menu, though it does drift a tad towards Asian inspired cuisine.

Menu: http://www.bluefiregrillbuffalo.com/menu.html

 

 

Crossroads Culinary Center (University at Buffalo) Frontier Road, Buffalo, NY (13.2 miles, 17 minutes): The other restaurants are still just as good as this, but I'm only writing about this more because there's a bunch of stuff that isn't mentioned online that needs to be said. Dinner is only served from 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM. I'd only recommend to eat there at dinner time, Sunday through Thursday evening, (Friday and Saturday are still good, but markedly worse in quality because 2/3 of the college is too drunk to remember what it tastes like; also the antipasto bar and premier entree are not offered then; more on that in a sec) between the third week of August and the second week of May. I think it is actually open during the summer as summer courses are still held here, but I can guarantee it will be similar in quality to the weekend menu. Yes, this is the main dining hall on campus. Normally you might not bat an eye at it, but I eat there almost every day as I attend the university. It's an insane $12 million facility that opened up about 2.5 years ago. It's $14.50 to get in (you don't need a UB ID card to eat there.) Sunday through Thursday you are offered a Premier Entree where you can pay another $14.50 for a different even higher quality entree. It's in the back of the "Ellicott complex," the giant dorm that looks like a lego set; try to park in the Red Jacket parking lot if you can, but beware that the roads on campus are really confusing for newcomers. The stations they have are:

 

-Oregano's: Pasta dishes; serves real Indian food every Wednesday which isn't mentioned online for some reason.

-Strictly Vegetarian: Self-explanatory; includes a 2-dozen item salad bar with up to a dozen homemade dressings.

-Foundations: Typical crappy college food. I usually don't bother.

-Global Noodle: Make your own soups.

-Blue Dragon: Asian/Chinese.

-Baked Creations: Legit NY-style Pizza as well as calzone-like baked items and a bread dipping station.

-Carve: Usually has various types of meats and hot dishes.

-Premier Entree (Sunday through Thursday only): You pay another $14.50 for a higher quality dish that you can only order once. Don't bother with Thursday's prime rib though, because they pre-cook it and it's overcooked like crazy. (The other steak dishes can be cooked to your liking though.)

-Antipasto Bar (Sunday through Thursday only): Self explanatory.

-Temptations: Various desserts

-Various drinks: Sodas, milk and soy milk, coffees/teas.

-There's a cereal station used all day (there's a General Mills plant in the area.)

All menu offerings are changed pretty much every day, so check the menu for the specific day you go, and though they "plan" the menu months in advance, don't bother counting on the accuracy until the week you go.

 

Menu: http://myubcard.com/dining/menu?date=1430668722

 

El Agave: 3870 Union Road, Buffalo, NY (17.5 miles, 22 minutes): Authentic Mexican restaurant.

Menu: http://agavemex.com/

 

The Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub: 2134 Seneca Street, Buffalo, NY (17.2 miles, 23 minutes): Excellent pub, featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Menu: http://www.blackthornrestaurant.com/menu.htm

 

Shogun Buffalo: 7590 Transit Road, Williamsville, NY (17.3 miles, 24 minutes): Hibachi/bar/Sushi bar/Japanese food. All you can eat Sushi on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Menu: http://www.hibachibuffalo.com/#

 

The Red Mill Inn: 8326 Main Street, Williamsville, NY (18.4 miles, 27 minutes): Higher end, sort of Italian.

Menu: http://www.redmillinn.com/Lunch_Menu.html

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A few miles away from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay - Mr. Dunderbak's is a good German pub with "Americanized" German food.

 

 

Also, I have had many Latin American friends tell me that Taco Bus is very close to authentic Latin American food!

 

 

Both are great in my eyes!

 

Thank you for sharing this link - we went to Mr. Dunderbak's and confirm that this is a must-visit place while in Tampa!

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It's in a plaza and not really what I would consider a "Bier Garten", but that is really the only negative that I could come up with.

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They have a TON of craft and import beers on draft & in bottles, which is always a winner in my book.

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Very Bavarian-ey.

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The Spaetzle and 'Gramma's Cucumber Salat' were to die for! In the background, you can see the remains of our appetizer - Currywurst, which was also ridiculously good!

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This is my sour cream und mushroom schnitzel.

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Mit a side of potato pancakes und applesauce. In the background, you can see the German hot potato salad and red cabbage.

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That is a lot of food...and no, we could not finish it.

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An Americanized version of schnitzel...the Hawaiian Schnitzel with ham, pineapple and cherries on top. All good and reasonably priced!

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^ It was VERY good, Chuck - I highly recommend it.

 

And I was even able to use the leftover schnitzel, cut it up and mix it in with two leftover pastas that we had at Carrabba's to make a very interesting leftover dish the night before we flew back to NY. That was quite tasty too!

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If your in Charlotte for Carowinds and you decide to go downtown, make sure to try Fuel's Pizza. It's so good!

 

You're not the first person from NC I've heard raving about this place but I have to admit I thought it was terrible. I don't mean to be a New York pizza snob but with very few exceptions pizza just isn't worth getting if you're not in the New York or Chicago (in the U.S.).

 

The only way to pull off Pizza outside of those areas seems to be to do something a little different. The problems is that everyone tries (and fails) to copy New York or Chicago Pizza instead of putting their own twist on it and they can't duplicate it. I don't know why, some people say it's the water... the elevation... whatever, but nobody can duplicate it.

 

The only Pizza I've ever had outside of the New York or Chicago area that I've enjoyed are Grotto Pizza in Delaware (it sucks in Pennsylavnia but it's great in Delaware). They put their own twist on it and it worked out great for them, and Cesari's at Knoebels. Cesari's is very much a NY style pizza but for some reason it's good anyway... probably because the food at Knoebels defies the laws of nature and is always amazing.

 

Are there any good country-fried chicken places anybody would recommend in the Carowinds area?

 

Seconding this question. Also, in general, what are some good restaurants in Charlotte? I'm looking primarily for local food/ chains you can't find anywhere else, so not like Mexican food and such.

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Here's another Williamsburg joint I've been meaning to add. From the folks who brought you the Five Forks Cafe . . .

 

Honey Butter's Kitchen

 

 

This place offers "southern comfort" food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I prefer their breakfast offerings, myself, and I'm rather partial to their corn cakes (with honey butter), eggs, and bacon plate.

 

 

There is some overlap with the menu at Five Forks, but Honey Butter's offers some original items, too, not to mention weekly specials.

 

Honey Butter's Kitchen

4680 Monticello Ave.

Williamsburg, VA 23188

 

It's in Monticello Marketplace.

Edited by cfc
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It really would be great if we could add this idea to the park index.... Would make looking for something near parks much easier while on the road!

 

Either way, your truly helping out my summer trip tremendously!!! I'm going to get so fat!

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  • 5 months later...

^ I would fully agree with your suggestion as I found it rather tedious trying to search & revive this thread.

 

Anywho...here are two more to add for the Waldameer/Erie area...

 

I have been to U Pick Six Tap House in downtown Erie, PA twice now and we have yet to be disappointed in their food or beer selection (they have a lot of great drafts and bottles!). Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is an upscale steakhouse located in the Millcreek Mall. I took Michael there for his birthday and while the prices were quite high, the meal was wonderful!

 

Last night after going to see Everest, we tried the u Pick Six Tap House again and while I didn't have my phone or camera with me, I will say that the beer braised onion burger was to die for! Michael had the Italian Boli which was also very good too.

 

I believe during or last visit we had the cordon bleu boli and a mushroom flat-bread pizza - both really tasty!

 

The only caveat for the Tap House is that this is more for adults than a family friendly place to bring kids. The Public House might be larger and more family friendly, but the Tap House is more like an adult bar/pub. I will have to check out the PH sometime and let everyone know how it is.

 

In the meantime, I will let the photos of our meal at Firebirds speak for themselves!

 

 

Edit: Forgot to mention the ridiculously cheap cost of the beer during Happy Hour (5-7 PM M-F) at U Pick 6 Tap House...one 8 oz glass of Stegmaier Cellar Series Grand Hoppa Imperial IPA and one pint of Duclaw Mad Bishop Oktoberfest set me back a whopping total of $6!!!! Michael got two bottles of Stella Artois and those set us back $4 apiece....so go with the drafts versus bottles if you are there drinking beer during Happy Hour!

 

Recommendation is to try and hit this place up during Happy Hour as they have 1/2 off specialty pizzas and flat-breads too!

 

U Pick 6

 

Firebirds

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Pepper-crusted sirloin done to perfection with a loaded Russet baked potato - complete with a salted crust!

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A chile rubbed Delmonico with (surreal) Southwest Potatoes Au Gratin!

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