Top 10 Favorite Restaurants

[J-Mann]

As much as I give Bushie a hard time about his eating habits, I truly am a foodie and greatly enjoy exceptional cooking and exceptional dining experiences. What are your top 10 favorite restaurants (or, if you can't think of that many, what are your top five)?

Mine are:

1. Orozco's Portales Cafe, Kanopolis KS
2. Uncle Jack's Steakhouse, Bayside (Queens) NY
3. The Firehouse Restaurant, Sacramento CA
4. Sips Gastropub, Washington MI
5. Oklahoma Joe's Bar-B-Que, Kansas City KS
6. Farallon, San Francisco CA
7. The Vortex Bar & Grill, Atlanta GA
8. Joe Muer Seafood, Detroit MI
9. Steakhouse at Harrah's, Reno NV
10. 13 Coins Restaurant, SeaTac WA

Honorable mention:

11. Brookville Hotel, Abilene KS

[J-Mann]

This is a very good thread! I will put together my list when I get a chance and look forward to reading the others.

If we get some good responses, I'm going to reference lists when I travel. I'm always looking for great restaurants when I'm on the road.

[J-Mann]

Is Uncle Jack's better than Peter Lugars? I've never been to Uncle Jack's but I love Peter Lugars and try to go every time I'm in New York.

I've never been to Peter Luger before, though I pulled up their site and their aging process looks to be similar to Uncle Jack's. Jack's does 45 days of dry aging ... I had a ribeye that simply fell apart when I put it in my mouth ... charred outside, like butter on the inside and no knife necessary. It was phenomenal.

One of the reasons I went to Uncle Jack's in the first place, though, is because they are known for their service. The server was very knowledgeable and made the whole experience better, for sure.

[J-Mann]

I seldom eat out and don't get to travel to other cities much either, but, in no particular order, here are some favorite local Memphis places. These are all fairly inexpensive restaurants as I'm too cheap for fine dining. There are plenty of "better" places available. I just can't speak for any of them.
1.Mosa Asian Bistro
2.India Palace
3.Pho Saigon
4.One and Only BBQ
5.Abyssinia
6.Gus's Fried Chicken
7.Sakura
8.Old Venice Pizza
9. Soulfish
10. Bosco's

Quite a nice variety there, and I'm glad to see you have barbecue represented! I've never had Ethiopian before and am interested in trying it.

[J-Mann]

Have you tried Kozaks yet?  It's my bro-in-laws, and supposedly really good.  He's preparing the menu the Royals are using on their flight to Baltimore.

I'll add it to the list -- probably the next time I go to the Improv in North Kansas City, I'll hit it up. The menu looks good.

[J-Mann]

Everybody in the family can cook, but he's the only one that's done it professionally.  He's been all over the country as a head chef in various restaurants.  This is the first one that's been owned by him though and by all accounts, it's a great place.  We'd have gone down by now, but a 2+ hour drive just to eat seems kind of silly.

Let me know when you decide to make the drive and I'll meet you there

[J-Mann]

Jeff Brown -- several are eagerly awaiting your reply to this thread.

As for $100+ per-person dinners ... they are exceptionally unnecessary, and while I feel guilty after eating one, I treat it as an event and an experience to be enjoyed, not just a typical sustenance-oriented meal.

I think just three of my top 10 were $100+ per person.