Holly Moore

I agree that many chains are ok. I like Popeye's and Arthur Treacher's a lot. But I have access to all the chains in my back yard. So does everyone else in America. There is nothing special about the Outback Steakhouse off the Interstate exit or the Long John Silver's on fast food row in Charleston. It is comfortable food - I know the odds are that I won't get bad food, I won't end up hugging the toilet at 3 AM. No risk with a Popeye's chicken dinner. But the odds are even greater that I won't walk away thinking I had a great meal; boy, that was a special place. Much of the adventure of travel is discovering new, good and perhaps great places to eat. I know it is out there. I may not always find it, but it is there. With adventure comes risk. I am willing to risk a really disappointing, a really bad meal in an unknown place. That is the price I pay for the really great meals I happen upon. The more I do this sort of thing, the better that I get at separating the gems from the coal. Less bad meals and more fantastic discoveries. - I am reasonably sure that in any town that has a courthouse in the town square also has a good breakfast and lunch place within a block or two. - I know that if I am stuck spending the night in interstate exit ramp hell, I can drive five or ten miles to a small town and a decent non-chain meal. - And I get a kick from talking with locals about what's still good to eat here-abouts. Most times I get a good, but not a great meal. At least half the meals I eat on the road don't end up on my web site. But with every meal in an unknown restaurant comes the possibility of a great meal. That is never the case with a chain. I am willing to eat the occasional bad meal, even hug the occasional 3 AM toilet in my pursuit. Ain't no big thing and at my price level it's not like I'm wasting a lot of money. So, other than an occasional craving for Waffle House, it is unlikely in my travels that I will ever not drive the extra mile or twenty miles to avoid a mediocre chain meal.

Sometimes it is. ← Then it is not a good town in which to eat Italian food.

Alas, the worst people to querry are the desk clerks. They'll send you to Olive Garden for the best Italian food in town. I've had good luck with police officers, volunteer fire departments, clerks in book stores, restaurant owners and, on one occasion, county prisoners.

Warn your kids about the scary humpty dumpty at the Pink Cadillac Diner. Otherwise I suspect they'll love the place. I've struck out at "family restaurants" on a number of occasions. But it's a matter of playing the odds. In Lexington VA the odds favor down home american over French cuisine.

Interesting. I was in Lexington VA this past Monday. Passed up the place you mentioned and a few other aspiring fine dining joints for the Redwood Family Restaurant atop a hill on the outskirts of town. Had fried chicken cooked to order. Did very well. Check came to $8 something. Then into town to the local ice cream parlor for some homemade mocha chip ice cream. The next morning, I headed out of town south on Rte 11 and had breakfast at the Pink Cadillac Diner. Grilled pork tenderloin and fried eggs with grits and a biscuit. Did very well again. When in Rome eat Italian, and when in Lexington VA eat down home American.

Yeah, but no lobster roll? Also, it's not a "Philly cheesesteak." It's a cheesesteak. Neat article.

The "Italian Market" area in Pittsburgh is called the Strip. I'm hoping that the reason you didn't hit Primanti Brothers, a big part of the Strip legend, is that you had been there before. They are famous for their sandwichs where fries go inside rather than on the side. If not it's time for another road trip, even if just to Pittsburgh.

There is no such thing as a really great shoe-string french frie - a dialogue I've had with the owner of Monks since the day that they opened.

Another great adventure it appears. I had a different experience with a state trooper out west. In Wyoming as I recall. I was doing 85 down the interstate. The trooper pulled up along side me, slowed down to 85, motioned for me to slow down and then zoomed away doing 95 or so. Almost made me want to move to Wyoming.

You mean it takes more than seven or eight tv episodes to create the next world class chef?

I was the manager for Arby's first franchise restaurant in Maple Heights OH. That roast beef sandwich was as good of a product that has ever come out of a fast food restaurant. Top round of beef oven roasted until medium rare, sliced hot out of the oven and piled high on a buttered, toasted bun. For 69 cents. Then there was a beef shortage in 1969. The price of beef went up maybe 50%. I was with McDonald's working new products. It was gut check time. Only three choices. Raise prices, cut back on portions or serve a cheaper product. McDonald's raised the price of hamburgers from 15 cent to 18 cents and prayed. Absolutely no effect on sales. Arby's chose to go from top round to a communuted (?spelling) roll of beef. Chunks of beef are bound together under pressure and forced into a casing. Tasted as good as it sounds. When I worked for Arby's there were lines out the door and around the sides of the building. Changing to the communuted roll took care of that. My memory refreshed, the fast food product I miss most was the Arby's sandwich as we served it in 1966.

1. The Gino's Giant - a Big Mac with Philly 'tude. 2. You had to live in Cleveland in the late 60's to remember this one, but McDonald's third attempt at a roast beef sandwich - from the factory: individual packets of cooked beef in beef gravy and frozen. At McD's they were heated in a 140 degree water bath - named a tepidarium. Tempidarium II actually. The original Temidarium was a warm oil bath used to reheat cooked, bagged and frozen whole roasts of beef for McD roast beef sandwich attempt #2. The bun was like a giant Parker House roll. One end was cut off and it was forced onto a heated teflon tongue which formed a toasted pocket in the bun. The beef in gravy went into the pocket. It was a great, sloppy sandwich unworthy of the typical McDonald's customer. 3. What Brooks said and Chris seconded - McD's fresh cut, twice fried fries, fried in 25 percent lard shortening.

Very possible at Caman's or server Alexis's hands No, Carman's is not the best choice for a family with young kids. Welcome Hillary. It's about time you showed up. Looking forward to your contributions. One place that might work is Honey, at 4th and Brown. It's a decent sized place with some space between tables which is good from a kids point of view. Interesting breakfast menu. The other possibility that occurs to me is Famous Deli. I'd never have thought the place could sparkle so. They're kid friendly and it could be a lot of fun for all.

One of my life's missions is to mention Bowen's Island and their shovelfuls of roast oysters in any Charleston SC thread. Especially when a writer is heading to Charleston. Man/Woman does not live on she-crab soup and shrimp and grits alone, though it would make an acceptable last meal on my way to the electric chair.

... Back to McDonald's for a second. My point with them is that unlike Nathan's, their menu expansions actually seem to work more often than not. While it's true that ultimately I'd probably prefer a better burger, at least with McDonald's if they don't do that, what they are doing seems to be consistently well thought out, marketed, and yes, at least passably tasty, if not excellent. And again, unlike Nathan's, I don't think the presense of other items at McDonald's is actually making the core product worse--at most it's just maintaining a status quo that's less than optimal for improving that core product. ← Menu expansion has taken away from the core quality of their primary product, hamburgers. McDonald's can no longer fresh grill a burger and serve it within 5 minutes or toss it. The number of products they now produce makes it impossible to control production (grilling) of hamburgers. Burger demand is down because of the breadth of their menu. That is why they have gone to bins that hold cooked burgers until ready to be assembled. Way back when, a McDonald's double cheese burger was a decent burger. And the quarter pounder, back in the days of the six foot grill, was even better. Now it is like eating airline food. And they don't have all that great a history of menu expansion. Top of mind is McD's various attempts to serve a Whopper like burger. Remember "hot side hot, cold side cold?" I'm hoping one of these days the brain trust at McDonald's will come up with a "Classic Coke" McDonalds - limited menu, six foot grill - No McNuggets, No fried and grilled chicken, No salads. Ray Kroc's McDonald's.

McDonald's may be consistent ingredient wise. It is in the execution where McDonald's has fallen apart and lost all consistency. I see that getting worse not better. I will not go to McDonald's because I do not trust the food to be fresh. The exception seems to be the Egg McMuffin, which they can't seem to screw up no matter how badly they sacrifice quality for menu variety. Nathans should be ashamed of themselves. They have taken a brand name totally associated with quality and allowed their products to be squeezed into turnpike feeding stops and anyone else who will sleep with them. You see a Nathan's sign and you don't know which Nathan's you're going to find - a full service Nathan's that knows what it's doing and does it very well or a Nathan's where the same person under-grilling the hot dog and grabbing a cold bun out of the package is baking a cinnamon bun or drawing frozen yogurt. The chain I trust the most is probably one of the only chains that will never add anything "new" to its menu. There may be a menu addition for that chain, but they will not innovate. I know that whatever I get at this chain will be fresh, cooked to order, skillfully prepared, and served with a smile. The best chain in terms of both quality and execution is, tadaah, Waffle House.

What's a guy from Philadelphia to know from Zomack's to Zomick's? You're right. I've used my mighty manager powers to correct my mispellings.

I'll second or third caesar salad. Last night I was going to order in from diningin.com. Was in the mood for a good salad, probably a classic shrimp salad platter, maybe with avocados and such. All any menu had that was even close was a caesar salad with, for a few extra dollars, grilled shrimp or chicken - and about a dozen places offered that choice with the same choices. Scallops amuse more than iritate me. Back in the 80's large salads were considered downscale and bay scallops, gourmet. Now the tide has turned.

I had an on-site meeting in Radnor PA with a manufacturer from Brooklyn. As we parted he presented me with a well stuffed brown paper bag. "Kosher Danish - I brought them all the way from New York." I made a big deal of it. "Wow, New York danish. That's great." I didn't add that Philadelphia bakeries made danish. I know how important it is to feign awe of anything a New Yorker brings from New York. Especially a food product. Especially baked goods. I hauled the unopened bag back to my business and handed it off to the manager. "New York Danish." She set them out on a plate for everyone. There were ooohs and aaahs aplenty. I investigated. "Wow. Huge." Tried one. Heavy, fresh, delicious. "Double Wow." Tried another. And another. A cinnamon roll, a cheese danish and a rolled pastry filled with chocolate and nuts. (They were so big we sliced them into portions.) Really, really good. Far better than anything I've had in Philly. So I called the manufacturer. Assured him that as long as he kept showing up with New York danish, we'd keep doing business. And got the name. "Zomick's." I googled and assume it is Zomick's Kafe and Bakery in Cedarhurst. What surprised me is that there weren't search pages full of raves for Zomick's. Guess, for a New Yorker, Zomick's danish aren't all that special. Probably plenty of places offer such great danish. But this Philadelphian had at least a bit of a "tired of hearing how everything from New York is better" chip knocked off his shoulder.

There's always a Phillies game. They help set up picnics.

Keller was not raging around the kitchen, belittling cooks, pushing plates of food into their chests. He obviously doesn't know how to get the best out of his staff.

Chopped carrots and cabbage.

Finally made it to Charlie's Pool Room It is a must road trip for anyone with a sense of adventure and who lives within a couple of hundred miles. Even more so if you are a "Twin Peaks" fan.

Happening upon this thread a little late. A lot of the names listed here are already open as businesses. See The Hot Dog Page. "Perfectly Frank" isn't as far as I know and it's a great name. My two bits on an approach to the hot dog menu. Don't try to be all things to all people. Don't try to serve every kind of regional dog. Don't cook your dogs every way known to man. I've seen a lot of places try to do all manner of dog and they haven't made it. The dog places I've seen that have become legend - that have thrived - focus on one style dog. The may garnish it in various ways. But they do one kind of dog, they cook it one way and they pay serious, never-wavering attention to the basics. Other than trying to offer every dog know to man, the most common way a dog place screws up is the bun. Either stale from sitting in the bun steam to long or, just as bad, cold out of the box. My ideal dog - all-beef, grilled, on a toasted, buttered bun. Mustard, fresh chopped onion and relish - but not enough of any and all of the condiments to overpower the dog. And chili, Coney Island or all the way sauce. The exception is SuperDuper Weenie in CT. A lot of people rate them as their favorite. But even there I'll always order the dog as described above. Gunking up a great hot dog with with a tossed salad, fancy sauces, and everything found in the fridge is like taking a prime, aged rib eye and dousing it with A-One sauce. But I digress. Great name choice.

The Astral Plane is a special restaurant for me. Nothing to do with the restaurant itself. I opened Holly Moore's Upstairs Cafe in 1978. In the spirit of Philadelphia's Restaurant Renaissance, we opened totally undercapitalized. We had major debt from day one. The Astral Plane paid off a bunch of our bills when, during our first month, they rented the restaurant for an afternoon for a crew party. I'm not sure we would have made it without that cash influx. In any event it took tremendous pressure off. Them Astral Plane folk do know how to party. At some point a chunk got knocked out of one of the globe lamps that hung over a few of the tables. Astral Plane offered to replace it, but I wouldn't let them. In fact we never repaired it. It became a good luck symbol for the entire time I owned the restaurant. For what it's worth, one of the first things the guy who bought my restaurant did was to replace the broken lamp. And the restaurant closed within a year. That said, I'm also a fan of their martinis, their brunch as described by Katie, Reed, their blue apple salad and their professionally carefree approach to service and cuisine. There are many reasons the Astral Plane has thrived for over 30 years and, along with Friday-Saturday-Sunday, is just about the only Restaurant Renaissance Restaurant still going strong.