restaurataunts

This is a meme I've seen around here and there, and it's not nearly as difficult or soul bearing as that dirty Eight Things meme that floats around getting people in trouble. This is the Five Restaurants meme wherein you list and discuss your five favorite restaurants.

Apparently there are rules, link to the person who tagged you, tag other people, list the rules, blah, blah, blah. I'm not doing most of those things, but I will point out that, though she didn't individually tag people, Frankie did the umbrella tag of all her readers. I may or may not tag individuals at the end of this.

I should also admit that we haven't done much eating out lately, at least not the kind that happens in restaurants. There were a couple of places in Nashville, think corporate giants like IHOP, and I just never really want to go to places like that. It wasn't as bad as the White Castle on the way to Idiotapolis where Momma asked, "If I'm eating this, why am I not drunk?"

1. Senor Taco takes top honors for my favorite Mexican restaurant. It's not only owned and run by real live Mexicans, but the mass of diners are also Mexican. From my very first trip to Senor Taco, that Mexican people were eating there was a good sign. The food is good and the X's on the salsa bar are not to be ignored. Yeah they have a salsa bar with six to eight salsas among other things to roundout the food your way.

2. Tomato Head is always good. They were one of the very first (if not the very first) local restaurants to voluntarily institute a no smoking policy, a policy which extends to their patio, and they've never hurt for business. Tomato Head has pizza, salads and sandwiches, and they make absolutely everything from scratch. They bake the bread for their sandwiches even. They offer really good vegetarian offerings which impresses me, and I'm a proud omnivore. The food is sort of on the light side but filling. They have a fair selection of beers and wine.

3. Cha-Chas would get us in trouble if we ever hit the Powerball. Momma and I could easily spend an entire evening after evening after evening over drinks and tapas. I had some of the very best calamari ever at Cha-Chas, and Momma still raves about the mushroom risotto. The price can mount quickly if one forgets to pay attention to such details, but it's hard not to have a great time there. Their beer selection could be better, but they do have a full bar, and a good mojito chases tapas down beautifully.

4. Sunspot has great vegetarian offerings as well as great omniverous fare. The food is generally good and mostly original. I love their burger which is actually nothing special except that it's always cooked pretty much right, something few places can really manage which is sad really. Though I don't usually eat fish, the tilapia is fucking sweet, seared and served over grits with cream sauce, lovely little crawfish frolicking about.

5. I've pondered number five for a while. There's Patrick Sullivans for bloody marys and brunch. There's Urban Bar for hot wings and the patio. There's La Costa who has the best mojitos but a randomness in terms of food quality as well as a bit of confusion as to direction. There's Stir Fry, though we haven't even gotten take out from there in so long I nearly forgot them. Or then how about Downtown Grill and Brewery? The brewer always makes good beer, but the food is like whoever created the menu threw a hand full of corporate restaurant menus into the air and shot them with a shot gun and then created a standard recipe for whichever items had the most shot go through them. I should also point out at some point that I also love Cracker Barrel for breakfast, whatever time it is.

So number five is vague shout outs with no clear winner. Now I really want to go out to eat at pretty much any of these places, though a few are more appropriate for all night babysitter nights, which don't happen all too often. I'm debating tagging people, but I'm not too sure who I'd burden with this meme. So why wait for a tag? Just do it. Tell us where you like to eat.