Strangest Restaurant at which You've Eaten

Rushina · May 20, 2004

Seems the appropriate place to ask this. Which is the strangest restaurant you have eaten at and why? Was it the food, ambiance...? What?

Rushina

fifi · May 20, 2004

Early 80's... I am on a trip to Hawaii with me, myself and I.

I am on the north shore of Kauai and I stop at a place called the Sandgroper. This place was well known for the "crusty" Australian guy that ran the place. I mean, it was written up in the guides. I went in and the place was empty. Well, except for this portly gentleman at the bar, and the Australian proprietor behind it. The proprietor was this character right out of central casting with the kahki shorts and the whole bit. I sat at the bar and ordered a beer and looked at the menu and ordered a hamburger. Then, the portly gentleman struck up a conversation about his adventures around the South Pacific islands... tuning pianos. It seems that he was a "footloose" type who had an ex-wife in England that was a brewery heiress, who supported him, and a daughter on Oahu that owned a restaurant and he spent his days wandering the outer islands, tuning pianos and staying on the plantations "entertaining" the residents. (One would hope that most responsible patriarchs locked up their ladies.)

Well, he tried to pick me up and I declined. But that was one weird experience being the only diner in this bizarre, deserted restaurant with these two characters.

Bicycle Lee · May 20, 2004

well...as far as ambience goes, Farallon in San Francisco was just as the Zagat said "Like Captain Nemo on acid"....it was very flamboyantly decorated and pretty much overshadowed the food...which wasn't BAD, but wasn't GREAT either....

but then, on my most recent trip to SF, I came across an Indian food/pizza joint over in Sunset. That has to be one of the strangest combos ever...that and the ever-popular Chinese food/donut shops...

Lyle · May 20, 2004

The strangest concept I've seen (have not eaten there) is in Granbury TX; a sush and doughnuts joint housed in a vacant Dairy Queen. It reportedly got good reviews from the Hood County News.

The most eclectic I've ever eaten in is the now defunct Enigma in Dallas. Nobody in the press knew who owned it, or if they did, they refused to publish that information. The restaurant prided itself on mismatched (very nice) silverware, stems, plates, chairs, tables...and everything else. The menu focused on game, much of it relatively exotic, and rumors circulated that diners weren't guaranteed to receive the order they placed. Also, it was reported that no diner was allowed to order a duplicate dish as another dining companion. This was assured by the fact that each diner received a different menu. If duplicates were ordered, one would be changed. In my lone experience dining there, all diners recieved what they ordered be it with strange garnish. A novelty that did not last.

Carolyn Tillie · May 20, 2004

Typhoon in Santa Monica.

Known for their "interesting diversions" such as:

INSECTS
WATERBUGS STUFFED WITH CHICKEN
Thai style deep fried 6.00
CRICKETS* 6.25
Taiwanese stir fried style with raw garlic, chili peppers
and asian basil
CHAMBAI ANTS 6.95
Manchurian Ants sprinkled on potato strings
WHITE SEA WORMS* 7.95
Thai style crispy fried on spinach leaf with ginger,
chili pepper, peanut, lime with Tamarind dipping sauce

There is also this drink they serve (can't find it on their website) where you have to push the seahorses and other matter out of the way to get to the liquid...

Daniel Rogov · May 20, 2004

I have been dining at and writing about restaurants for more years than I will admit in public. Believe me, it's been enough years to have had some pretty weird experiences. The restaurant at which I dined (or did not dine as the case may be) that was probably the strangest, albeit absolutely charming, of all was a place in Tel Aviv called "Cafe Ke'Ilu". For that 99.74% of the world population that does not speak Hebrew, "ke'ilu" means "as if". Following is the review that I write in HaAretz Newspaper on 19 May 1998 and in the International Herald Tribune on 22 May 1998.

Once Upon a Time on Shenkin Street

Daniel Rogov

It has long been part of the conventional wisdom that in order to

appreciate the art of a chef, one must destroy his work. That is

to say, in order to appreciate a culinary masterpiece, one has to

consume it. In Tel Aviv, starting during the first week of April,

with the opening of chef Philippe Kaufman's Cafe Ke'iilu

conventional wisdom was at least temporarily

suspended.

According to his curriculum vitae and stated clearly in the

introduction to his book, Kaufman was born in Switzerland, studied

the cuisines of France, Italy and Japan, and worked for several

years in New York. Kaufman, who concluded that fusion cuisine, as

well other recent Franco-Japanese-American culinary innovations

are nothing more than wrong interpretations of other chefs,

devised his own cuisine. More than this, Kaufman states that

his own newer, lighter, tastier and more tantalizing "conceptual

cuisine" depends as much on the openness and cooperation of the diner as

it does on the chef.

All of which may sound like a good deal of pompous chutzpah

mixed together with a tremendously outsized ego until one realize

that (a) Philippe Kaufman never existed, (b) the pages of his book

are blank, and © the only food or drink served in his restaurant

was that conjured up by the imagination. Cafe Ke'illu,

in all of its culinary glory and in a scenario that might slide

comfortably into a novel by Umberto Eco was nothing more than a

postmodern venture into hyper-reality.

Nearly everything at the restaurant was perfection. The handsomely

set tables with their linen tablecloths, attractive dishes and

silverware, like the wine bottles with their remarkably attractive

labels, and even the jars that were said to contain caviar,

truffles and goose liver were splendid. All were designed

especially for the restaurant. Considering the physical amount of

food served, it was entirely appropriate that the wine bottles and

caviar jars were all empty.

Even the menu was brilliant, offering innovative but tempting

dishes as cigar leaves filled with asparagus and goats' cheese;

a soup of poppy flowers; lamb chops in a sauce of black

currants and mint; creamed seafood with asparagus served in

saffron sauce; and confit avaz in sabra sauce. The bread was

served with truffled butter; the water came from the North Pole;

the service was polite, prompt and professional; and the

tiny little restaurant was remarkably attractive. Only the most

hard hearted patrons could have failed to be charmed by the

wall-sized portrait of the chef dozing off in his kitchen.

I could not have been more pleased but my thoughts and reactions

during the meal on which I "dined" were somewhat mixed. At

times, I found myself bursting out with peals of laughter as I

played the game to the hilt, even "tasting" from the plate of my

dining companion, at moments trying to conjur up the precise

flavors of this dish or that, and at other moments reflecting on

the not entirely friendly parody of what is happening in far more

real restaurants both here and abroad.

At midnight, on the 4th of May, with no advance notice and with

not even a note on the door, the restaurant or, if you prefer, the

show, simply disappeared. All of which is just as well, because

conceptual food, like conceptual art, has a specific time limit,

and vanishing into the night may be the most graceful way for such

places and events to say their goodbyes. Rumor has it that the

whole affair was arranged by a group of students at the Ascola

school of design, and that an exhibit, including a

reconstruction of the entire "restaurant" will be held at the

school's gallery starting in mid-July. At this writing, all that

remains of Cafe Ke'illu are the already fading memories and a

telephone number (03: 6200442). Chef Kaufman and his marvellous

cuisine may never have existed. Nevertheless, he still gets a

solid round of applause from this critic.

Behemoth · May 20, 2004

Once Upon a Time on Shenkin Street
Daniel Rogov

This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful things I've ever read. It reminds me of something, but I can't think what exactly...actually it reminds me a little of interiews I've read with political prisoners who say they would conjure up memories of favorite meals to keep themselves occupied. Ghost food for ghost people...

Bicycle Lee · May 20, 2004

it IS a beautiful piece, although it also saddens me....My dream is to one day open a conceptual restaurant...being an idealist, I do not like hearing that my ideas are destined for failure.

OPJK · May 20, 2004

I like to think that the concept was so attractive that McDonald's bought-out Chef Kaufman (who retired to the south of Atlantis where he continues to conjure-up special meals at his whim for the local populace). Unfortunately, as the restaurant was turned into a chain, the quality of the concepts started to decline, the empty caviar jars and wine bottles replaced with empty velveeta jars and coors light bottles, the menu made mundane. Eventually, the chain was quietly closed down. (However, several enterprising thinkers bought out a few of the local franchises where they continue to serve up ideas, albeit with a regional spin, despite the hard-to-miss trapping of a chain restaurant.) :smile:

foodgeek · May 23, 2004

Ambience wise....I once sat at Old Devil Moon (www.olddevilmoon.com) in NYC (Manhattan) under the moosehead, right next to the mounted turrantula.

Cuisine wise....Tangra Masala in Queens NYC, a Halal Indian Chinese place. They were ethnic chinese who lived for generations in India. Basically Chinese cooking methods with Indian spicing. And its REALLY good.

I've been in Chinese restaurants in NYC that had crispy fried intestines, frog, duck tongues, jellyfish, sea cucumber, pork kidneys, etc... Plus a tiawanese place in Queens where the only non offal appetizer was stinky tofu.

Oh, and then there is streetfood: The guy who grills baby octopus outside a restaurant in Flushing, Queens (NYC). Its really good.

Cusina · May 23, 2004

I'm not sure what the definition of strange is... but.

Most exotic, for me, was in Greece, on the island of Corfu. We befrended a local bar owner and she took us to an eatery for dinner. It was, to my eye, just someone's house that they served food in. Ancient quintessential greek home on a hillside with about 6 foot ceilings. I think I remember the floor was partially tiled, partially dirt. Rickety chairs, big slab table, goats and chickens wandered around. The meal was simple, but delicious. Roast chicken and vegetables, home made red wine. If I remember correctly it cost us each about $2.

Mabelline · May 23, 2004

Oh my...this is creepy. I had to use a grain elevator's scales to weigh some cattle at Julesburg,Colorado. I was in a line of grain trucks, so I walked across the road to an old Drugstore type lunch counter.When I walked in there were about 8 folks,including the cook and waitress. No one said a word to me. When I sat down, I said hi and asked for a hamburger, fries and iced tea to go. The girl wrote it up, the cook made it and bagged it all up, and the waitress took my money, made change, so I figured she would at least say something if I handed her a buck. No dice, not a word the WHOLE time. It creeped me out, I tell ya. I think there's maybe a massive inbreeding problem up there or somethin'--oops;down there now. I almost didn't eat the food, but I was about to have my stomach start gnawing on my backbone, so I settled for just lookin' it over real good!

Edited May 23, 2004 by Mabelline (log)

Bicycle Lee · May 24, 2004

Oh my...this is creepy. I had to use a grain elevator's scales to weigh some cattle at Julesburg,Colorado. I was in a line of grain trucks, so I walked across the road to an old Drugstore type lunch counter.When I walked in there were about 8 folks,including the cook and waitress. No one said a word to me. When I sat down, I said hi and asked for a hamburger, fries and iced tea to go. The girl wrote it up, the cook made it and bagged it all up, and the waitress took my money, made change, so I figured she would at least say something if I handed her a buck. No dice, not a word the WHOLE time. It creeped me out, I tell ya. I think there's maybe a massive inbreeding problem up there or somethin'--oops;down there now. I almost didn't eat the food, but I was about to have my stomach start gnawing on my backbone, so I settled for just lookin' it over real good!

that's Coloradoans for ya....damn em all....

pardon me if you're from Co....us Utahns hold a special distaste for our eastern neighbors...

Raynickben · May 24, 2004

The strangest concept I've seen (have not eaten there) is in Granbury TX; a sush and doughnuts joint housed in a vacant Dairy Queen. It reportedly got good reviews from the Hood County News.
The most eclectic I've ever eaten in is the now defunct Enigma in Dallas. Nobody in the press knew who owned it, or if they did, they refused to publish that information. The restaurant prided itself on mismatched (very nice) silverware, stems, plates, chairs, tables...and everything else. The menu focused on game, much of it relatively exotic, and rumors circulated that diners weren't guaranteed to receive the order they placed. Also, it was reported that no diner was allowed to order a duplicate dish as another dining companion. This was assured by the fact that each diner received a different menu. If duplicates were ordered, one would be changed. In my lone experience dining there, all diners recieved what they ordered be it with strange garnish. A novelty that did not last.

I ate at Enigma and I'll never forget it. It was beautiful inside, gorgeous artwork, lighting, etc. My silverware was hanging off of a gold hand sculpture and my husband's silverware was fashioned into a teepee shape. The china was all mismatched and all top quality. We did have different menus but ordered off of the same menu. I can't remember what on earth we ate but I remember it was unusually presented and we had no complaints on taste. There was a big party seated next to us and they did order some of the same dishes...all came out plated completely different from each other. Someone back in the kitchen was very creative!

I was sorry when it closed.

phaelon56 · May 24, 2004

The strangest concept I've seen (have not eaten there) is in Granbury TX; a sush and doughnuts joint housed in a vacant Dairy Queen. It reportedly got good reviews from the Hood County News.
The most eclectic I've ever eaten in is the now defunct Enigma in Dallas. Nobody in the press knew who owned it, or if they did, they refused to publish that information. The restaurant prided itself on mismatched (very nice) silverware, stems, plates, chairs, tables...and everything else. The menu focused on game, much of it relatively exotic, and rumors circulated that diners weren't guaranteed to receive the order they placed. Also, it was reported that no diner was allowed to order a duplicate dish as another dining companion. This was assured by the fact that each diner received a different menu. If duplicates were ordered, one would be changed. In my lone experience dining there, all diners recieved what they ordered be it with strange garnish. A novelty that did not last.
I ate at Enigma and I'll never forget it. It was beautiful inside, gorgeous artwork, lighting, etc. My silverware was hanging off of a gold hand sculpture and my husband's silverware was fashioned into a teepee shape. The china was all mismatched and all top quality. We did have different menus but ordered off of the same menu. I can't remember what on earth we ate but I remember it was unusually presented and we had no complaints on taste. There was a big party seated next to us and they did order some of the same dishes...all came out plated completely different from each other. Someone back in the kitchen was very creative!
I was sorry when it closed.

My former GF (or one of many I should say :rolleyes: ) ate there on her birthday years ago and still raves about it not so much for the food (which was very good but not so stellar that she felt obliged to return at that price), but for the truly unusual ambiance and concept. When she went, they had no listed pghone number, never advertised and were strictly word of mouth. You had to call to make a reservation and then call back one or two hours before dinner to get specific directions - they didn't even tell you the location until then. She also recalls walking up to a building in which what looked the liked the doors were not the doors - what appeared to be a wall (of glass I think) next to the doors was what actually opened up and allowed one entry.

The third hand story she was told is to the effect that a very oil-rich Saudi or Kuwaiti businessman owned the building, had a private apartment upstairs and kept a highly trained kitchen staff on hand at all times for his periodic visits. He then decided (so the story goes) to have some fun with the space downstairs by creating the most unusual restaurant he could imagine and keeping his staff occupied when he wasn't in town. Cool story even if it is a bit implausible. It might well be true, as she (my GF) couldn't fathom how they could possibly earn any profit from such an operation.

Moopheus · May 24, 2004

but then, on my most recent trip to SF, I came across an Indian food/pizza joint over in Sunset. That has to be one of the strangest combos ever...

I think I may have actually done take-out from that place the last time I was in San Francisco. Pretty good Indian food; I recall being told by a local that he didn't know of anyone who'd had the pizza.

High up on the weird places I've eaten list has to be the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada. It's about 130 miles north of Vegas and notorious in certain circles for being the closest populated spot to Area 51. A roadside diner decorated with UFO-related paraphernalia, with pro-gun and -smoking messages mixed in.

The weirdest place I've eaten, not a restaurant, had to be a picnic lunch at the bottom of a subsidence crater at the Nevada Test Site.

Foodgeek's memory of the restaurant with the moosehead reminded me of a bar in Utah I went to many years ago that had an extensive collection of mounted animal heads, small and large, the centerpiece of which was a St. Bernard.

fifi · May 24, 2004

Foodgeek's memory of the restaurant with the moosehead reminded me of a bar in Utah I went to many years ago that had an extensive collection of mounted animal heads, small and large, the centerpiece of which was a St. Bernard.

ACK!

How deeply disturbing.

foodgeek · May 24, 2004

but then, on my most recent trip to SF, I came across an Indian food/pizza joint over in Sunset. That has to be one of the strangest combos ever...
I think I may have actually done take-out from that place the last time I was in San Francisco. Pretty good Indian food; I recall being told by a local that he didn't know of anyone who'd had the pizza.
High up on the weird places I've eaten list has to be the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada. It's about 130 miles north of Vegas and notorious in certain circles for being the closest populated spot to Area 51. A roadside diner decorated with UFO-related paraphernalia, with pro-gun and -smoking messages mixed in.
The weirdest place I've eaten, not a restaurant, had to be a picnic lunch at the bottom of a subsidence crater at the Nevada Test Site.
Foodgeek's memory of the restaurant with the moosehead reminded me of a bar in Utah I went to many years ago that had an extensive collection of mounted animal heads, small and large, the centerpiece of which was a St. Bernard.

Actuallly.....now taht I think of it...another thing that makesd Old Devil Moon strange is that they run a baked goods business called Masterbakers out of the back. It sells...um...adult cakes and such.

Foodie_Penguin · May 24, 2004

Seems the appropriate place to ask this. Which is the strangest restaurant you have eaten at and why? Was it the food, ambiance...? What?
Rushina

One memorable restaurant that I used to like visiting was called Taja, an Indian restaurant on the Whitechapel Road, London, E1.

The builing was formerly a public convenience (public toilets) and the restaurant was located on the pavement (it was a very wide pavement).

Due to the size limitations, seating was canteen style.

The food was good, fresh and pretty authentic. As I recall, service was a litttle slow but I guess the kitchen was tiny. I only told friends about the previous use for the building after they'd eaten and left the restaurant.

I don't know if it's still there now (it opened in 1999).

GSBravo · May 24, 2004

Let's see if this counts.

I had done some work in our office, replaced the tiles in the drop ceiling, and our landlord gave me a gift certificate to a local rib house.

I took my girlfriend and daughter and since it was a holiday (although now I don't remember which one), my girlfriend called up and made a reservation. You know, you don't want to get there and can't get in.

So we went over, and when we got there the parking lot was pretty much empty. There were maybe three cars, including ours. We debate whether or not to go in; I mean the place looks deserted.

We're hungry, the place really doesn't look bad, so in we go. And there are people inside. Five, that we can see, including us. The other two are employees. Other than that the place is completely empty.

So my GF tells the first one that comes up that we have a reservation, and he actually checked the book. We get seated, we order.

The drinks arrive shortly after ordering, then the appetizers, followed by the main course. All of the food was good, some of the best ribs I've had. But it was so quiet, other than my daughter trying not to laugh. And the service was excellent.

We were there probably about 45 minutes, an hour, and no one else ever showed up.

Mabelline · May 24, 2004

That is a weird sensation, isn't it? I swear, if I had heard the first notes of Dueling Banjos, I'd have beat my skin back across the road!

phaelon56 · May 24, 2004

I'm now thinking of a place we ended up not eating at bur surely it must qualify for an honorable mention. I work in a small suburban office park area but it has more of a manufacturing and blue collar bent than the office parks many of you are accusotomed to. It's on the edge of the city and heading out northeast takes you smack dab into the country.

Apart from a few take-out style delis and a few upscale places in the hotel lzone heading in towards the city, there are few options for sit down dining at lunch. One of my co-workers suggested that we try this one specific raodhouse tavern for lunch, as she had heard tyhat they served decent burgers and good Buffalo style wings. When she called them to find out if they were open for lunch and get directions.... the voice at the other end... after confirming that we had ion fact reached said tavern.... asked "Are you the police?"

I couldn't convince her to go to lunch there, despite the appealing notion that we might happen by there when they were having their annual Lawnmower Race (guys bring in their riding mowers, get really shit-faced and have races int he parking lot). Yes it's true. A roadhouse on the other end of town used to have an annual Turtle Race (quite entertaining and no turtles were harmed during or after production).

aliwaks · May 24, 2004

My first reall starnge restaurnat experience was a chinese restaurant in Puna, india, I was 8 years old living on a commune and for my brothers birthday we went out for chinese, it looked exactly like Lyons Chinese restaurant in East Hampton and played the Muzak version of teh Bee Gees the entore time.

A memeorbale one though is this:

Couple of years ago I went to Marseilles in NYC , it had just opened and I had read the chef had studied with Adrian Feria so was intrigued.

It was a vile vile night cold windy rainy, my friend and I had gone to see The Women on Bway and were looking forward to a nice dinner (it was like 10 30 and we were starved)

It looked pretty busy but we had a reservation so were not worried. We walked in and they cooed over us, giving us napkins to wipe off the rain, assured us our table would be ready momentarily if we would care to have a drink in the bar. happily we went to the lovely bar and ordered a champagne. Minutes passed, several minutes at least 20 maybe 30 we were talking about the show so it could have been been longer I know we had finished our drinks and were not ready for another till we could eat something. I went to find the very nice man who took our coats, gave us napkins and escorted us to the bar.

When I found him he looked at me as though I had just dropped from the ceiling and snottily told me there was at least an hour wait for a table. I gently reminded him that I had a reservation for a half an hour before and had been waiting at the bar with a sniff he brought us to one of the two empty tables, this table was next to the door and everytime the door opened blasts of icy cold air hit the table. I asked to move and verrrrry reluctantly he moved us.

Then our perky happy server came by handed us menus we ordered a bottle of rose she suggested we look at the "tapas menu and order something to nibble while we decided on our entreees. How nice! We were lulled back into the place, seemed like such a nice idea. We order two kinds of assorted nibbles a vegetable and a meat had our wine and looked at the menu. We ordered, olive crusted salmon for my friend, shortribs & beef cheeks with garbanzo beans for me and a shared salad of haricots verts and hazelnuts.

And we waited and we waited for our nibbles and we waited we finally got hold of our server and she assured us that it would be out momentarily and it was. A charming assortment of little nibbly morrocanish bits, lamb filo cigars, spicy eggplant we were yet again charmed they were delicious. half way through our salad arrived, we were not too put out it was about 11:30 by this point, about 2 minutes after the runner put the salad down our entrees arrived , he put them down amoungst the other plates and dissappeared, we needed more water, more wine but it was not to be had.

My short ribs were great though a bit weird on top of hummus but I was expecting weird. My freinds salmon was awful just awful. we shared the short ribs and pushed the salmon off to the side. When a server finally stopped by we mentioned the icky salmon and she shrugged and removed a few but not all of the plates.

For some reason we decided to have dessert, maybe we were just loath to go out in the rain. daringly we ordered a peanut butter tart with celery sorbet. It was very interesting but we couldn't finish it too odd. We were about to write it off as this terrible experience when the chef came by our table and asked about the dessert we told the truth and he said wait he had someting for us, he brought out these incredible heart meltingly fabulous deep fried chocolate truffles, I think in a beignet batter they were just wonderful. One bite and we loved Marseilles.

We decided it wasn't such a bad place after all, we got our check they had taken 20% as an opening week promotion off so it was very reasonable.

And as we got us to leave we saw the hostess hand two other women our coats.

Pan · May 24, 2004

What a weird experience, Ali! I just checked www.menupages.com, which seems to confirm that Marseille (as it's spelled there) is still in business, on 630 9th Ave. I don't know if I'd rush to go there, though, based on your report.

Mabelline · May 25, 2004

Sometimes it just seems that the only explanation of your dining experience is that perhaps you at your table and they in their kitchen are not operating in the same dimensions. Maybe that explains why some good Twilight Zone and Night Gallery episodes were so spooky--because we've been there, and it hits close to home.

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