Regional dives

[Jim Matthews]

I'm curious about the regional "dive" favorites from The Usual suspects... I'm in a region that considers mayonnaise a spice, but does have amazing "Clam Shacks" like Evelyn's in Tiverton, RI.

Outside of places with a National advertising campaign - what "made to order" restaurants are a draw in your area?

[Jim Becker]

It's kind of a moving target due to the nature of the restaurant business...which has additional challenges right now. Asian, Latin and vegetarian are hot around here. There are a few small multi-location operations for things like thin-crust gourmet pizza, chicken-only and a small, expanding local "chain" of breakfast/brunch/lunch restaurants. Craft made Ice Cream is also gaining steam with a wonderful local multi-site business called O-Wow-Cow that utilized locally sourced ingredients and offers very unique flavor combinations. There are also a few small craft-beer establishments.

Broader in area, Lee's Hoagie House and Wawa (which you are familiar with) are pretty well known.

[Steve Eure]

Catfish Shacks. Seafood. And cannot forget BBQ.

[Adam Herman]

http://westsidetav.com/

a tiny building that has about 5 tables and a good size patio. best food in our town though. we try to get takeout from there every couple weeks, would really like to see them stay open, but not sure being able to have one table inside and about 5 outside will keep them going through the winter. they also have the best bartender, very knowledgeable and creative. the owner once let us pick some interesting stuff for them to get from the catalog of their liquor distributer.

for a local chain we have mountain sun breweries, about 6 restaurants or so. great food, also struggling mightily. I think we should tell the big retailers and chains they have to shut down for a couple months and give the little guys a chance. but the government finds the small business a neusense to their goal of control and reliance.

[Paul F Franklin]

"Barberton Chicken" is a thing around here (between Cleveland and Akron). The name comes from Barberton Ohio, and is not the name of a restaurant but rather a style of fried chicken served by several local dive places: Whitehouse chicken, Belgrade gardens, and others. Not something that will make any healthy eating lists, but every couple of years I give in to the yen.

[Jim Matthews]

Not something that will make any healthy eating lists...

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.
- Mae West

[Brad Chenoweth]

Paul,

Back in the day, when I was coaching youth baseball, Barberton was one of our favorite places to play, because they always fed us fried chicken after the games. I'd almost forgotten about that...

[Mike Henderson]

If you go to New Orleans, try Frankie and Johnny's (http://frankieandjohnnys.net/gallery/). Order the oyster po-boy (also called the oyster loaf). It's fried oysters. If they ask you if you want it "dressed" that means with shredded lettuce and tomato.

The roast beef po-boy is also very good. The roast beef is cooked in gravy and gravy is put on the French bread. Maybe add a bit of mayo. You can also get a regional favorite - red beans and rice. Here's the menu (http://frankieandjohnnys.net/menu/).

It looks like it's been remodeled since I've been there. It used to be a real dive. It's in the uptown section of New Orleans, not in the downtown business district. You can't walk to it if you're close to the French quarter - you'll need a car.

Mike

[Bruce Wrenn]

Here in Eastern NC, it's any place that serves seafood, and BBQ. Johnson's, Wilbers, Dillards, Parkers, White Swan, Hot Lake, Clyde Coopers, Bullocks, Starlight in Ayden, Kings, McColls and the list goes on and on. As for a chain, Smithfield Chicken and BBQ, plus BoJangles. Over in the western half of the state they serve Lexington style BBQ, which we refer to as slop. Looks like the cook cut his finger and bled to death on the meat

[Bill Carey]

In Morocco we have 2 diners. Mel's is my favorite - far and away the best Italian beef I've ever had. I have friends who drive down from Chicago (90 miles) just for the chance to get a beef from Mel's. And they have great pies. Nothin like jumping in the golf cart and cruising on over for coffee and pie.

[Scott Winners]

I have a pound of Wilber's pulled pork in my freezer right now, saving it for a special occasion. I have it double foodsaver bagged, and when it gets down to -40dF here I take it out to my tool shed for a couple days to make sure it stays frozen all the way through. Besides the 'cue, my favorite thing about Wilber's is the sign on the ice machine "Do not latch ice machine door open - health department regulation- but you kind of have to crane your head around the screen door latch holding the icemachine door open to read the "health department regulation" part.

Kings, best banana pudding in the world.

If you are headed up towads Raliegh, do try the RedNeck BBQ lab in Benson. I thought they were in McGee's Crossroads, but their website says Benson.

An epic day for me would be diving NC shipwrecks off the Captian's Lady with Captian Leroy and then hitting all three of Wilber's, King's and Redneck lab on my way back to Chapel Hill for the evening.

Good times.

[Scott Winners]

My last dive trip the wife had a business thing in San Antonio, I guess 2018 or so, we were there for a week. While she was in powerpoint presentations I was running around central Texas trying BBQ. The wife let me check a cooler as one of my checked bags, it weighed 48 pounds when I checked it for the flight home.

If I only had time to go back for two I would pick the South Side Market in Elgin Texas, and Two Brothers BBQ on the north side of San Antonio. I did not have any bad BBQ and I am not trying to start a fist fight or a flame war. Those are the two I would pick. Driving around on country roads with beef cattle grazing under the live oak trees they will get cooked on later, hard to screw up, sort of like salmon and alder. Freshness is essential.

Instead of Franklin's we took a son who was living in Austin at the time to some shi-shi place that was pretty good. A James Beard winner or contender, not a dive.

[Scott Winners]

Fairbanks has a Latin America family operating four pretty darn good TexMex places, and a ridiculous critical mass of Thai resturaunts. If you are coming and want BBQ message me in advance so I can cook something for you, I don't patronize any of our cue joints.

[Bruce King]

Here in Eastern NC, it's any place that serves seafood, and BBQ. Johnson's, Wilbers, Dillards, Parkers, White Swan, Hot Lake, Clyde Coopers, Bullocks, Starlight in Ayden, Kings, McColls and the list goes on and on. As for a chain, Smithfield Chicken and BBQ, plus BoJangles. Over in the western half of the state they serve Lexington style BBQ, which we refer to as slop. Looks like the cook cut his finger and bled to death on the meat
The Lexington style luckily is only in that town with a few exceptions.
Most places in western NC are similar to most places in SC now, you get several choices of sauce for moist, real pulled pork. There are some places in mid SC that do the mustard base.
I only see the vinegar based que in the eastern half of NC.

[Bruce King]

Here in the Charleston SC area we have several hundred restaurants with a handful closing every year and the same or more opening. We spent a small fortune trying different ones starting 11 years before we actually moved here. Let me know when visiting, lots to do and see, would take many weeks to put a dent in it. Our favorites include a few fancy places on the peninsula but our regular rotation includes Swig and Swine Barbecue, Mario’s Peruvian Chicken and Boxcar Betty’s Chicken sandwiches. We buy our seafood from a boat and grill it. If your in the upper end of FL you need to eat at Timoti’s Seafood Shak, Amelia Island location is where we go.

[Bill Dufour]

https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/04/11/two-die-while-scuba-diving-in-jamestown-mine/

[Ole Anderson]

Here in Cortez FL, where we stay 3 months of the year, a place called Star Fish Company is our go-to. Cash only, picnic tables outside and on the dock, no inside seating. You order at the bar, no wait staff except the busboy. Owner also oversees the local commercial fishing fleet and distributor. They only do whole fish, and can store a million pounds in their freezer. Anyway this little restaurant, if you can call it that, has the freshest seafood available. Everything is served in a box.

https://www.starfishcompany.com/starfishcompany/rest.html

[Malcolm Schweizer]

So, I came here expecting to talk about coral reefs and shipwrecks! Ohhhh- it’s that kind of dives! We have lots of those. Gladys’ Cafe’ is probably the most notorious, although actually food trucks are a huge thing here. That’s where you get real local food like pate’, roti, goat water, ox tail soup, kallaloo, and stew chicken. Many of these trucks are permanent fixtures with porches and shelters built around them. I am not sure they even have engines.

[Stan Calow]

There must be a hundred BBQ joints in KC, from upscale to fast food to hidden gems in strange locations. In KC, its not so much pulled pork, mostly brisket, chicken, ham and pork ribs. We have a big BBQ contest every year so it encourages amateurs to open their own restaurants. Two interesting ones are Joes KC, which is inside a gas station, and Woodyard BBQ. That one is an actual wood yard, where they have piles of various seasoned wood that they sell to the other BBQ restaurants for smoking.

[John Goodin]

My last dive trip the wife had a business thing in San Antonio, I guess 2018 or so, we were there for a week. While she was in powerpoint presentations I was running around central Texas trying BBQ. The wife let me check a cooler as one of my checked bags, it weighed 48 pounds when I checked it for the flight home.

If I only had time to go back for two I would pick the South Side Market in Elgin Texas, and Two Brothers BBQ on the north side of San Antonio. I did not have any bad BBQ and I am not trying to start a fist fight or a flame war. Those are the two I would pick. Driving around on country roads with beef cattle grazing under the live oak trees they will get cooked on later, hard to screw up, sort of like salmon and alder. Freshness is essential.

Instead of Franklin's we took a son who was living in Austin at the time to some shi-shi place that was pretty good. A James Beard winner or contender, not a dive.

If you haven't had it next time you are in Austin try Stiles Switch Barbeque. It is really good and some say it is "The best barbeque you don't have to stand in line to get."

[John Goodin]

Not a particular cuisine but in Austin, just anything in sold in a food truck is popular. I also think it is a great way to get into the food business without all the upfront capital. Quite a few food truck owners have moved on to brick and mortar stores after perfecting the menu -- Franklin's Barbeque being the most famous. It is a great way to build a good following before making the big investment as well.

While I am not a food truck fan I do think the best tacos in town can be bought from a trailer on the side of the highway.

[Jim Becker]

I'm glad you brought up food trucks, John. They are definitely local businesses almost all the time and many of them are really creative. They also have the latitude to focus purely on the food, rather than spending time and money on "ambiance", so it's truly a chelf-led and focused endeavor.

[Mike Henderson]

Not a particular cuisine but in Austin, just anything in sold in a food truck is popular. I also think it is a great way to get into the food business without all the upfront capital. Quite a few food truck owners have moved on to brick and mortar stores after perfecting the menu -- Franklin's Barbeque being the most famous. It is a great way to build a good following before making the big investment as well.

While I am not a food truck fan I do think the best tacos in town can be bought from a trailer on the side of the highway.

If you're interested in movies, take a look at the 2014 movie "Chef (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chef_(2014_film))" which is about a chef who leaves a restaurant and opens a food truck. Sofia Vergara (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sof%C3%ADa_Vergara) is the female lead so even if you don't like the story, you'll enjoy the visuals.

Mike

[Jon Grider]

Kalamazoo Mi.'s downtown location of Coney Island hot dogs fits the "dive" description. Store has been passed down for a couple of generations, all who have resisted the tendency to "modernize" the interior. Original tin ceilings, original booths, original tile floors add to the old time charm and ambience. Coney sauce is a highly protected family recipe and served on Michigan's Koegel Vienna hot dogs. Sooo much better than the chain restaurant fare offered in every city.

[Jim Koepke]

So many of my favorite dives have closed over the years. This was even before the 'Dumpster Fire' we call 2020.

In Berkeley, CA there was a little hole in the wall down an alley across from campus called the Pizza Haven. My favorite was their spaghetti dinner; salad, garlic bread and spaghetti. It closed back in the 1970s. There was another place across campus called LaVal's Pizza. At various times there was entertainment in the basement.

In Point Richmond was a little place called Jumbo's. My favorite was the ham & cheese omelet. My recollection is of many times having an omelet with potatoes, toast and coffee for a total of $2.72 + tip. The hamburgers were also great. The biggest problem was the owner Betty had a big heart and made many meals for people who couldn't pay. Many of the local politicians and other luminaries came their to eat and chat. it was as much a social scene as it was greasy spoon restaurant. Betty was the owner and cook. Shirley was the dishwasher, cashier and waitress who didn't write down the diner's orders.

Another one that started out a little down the highway from Point Richmond was Jo Ba Ja's. Three sisters Joan, Barbra and Janet had a bar/restaurant on the highway between Marin County and California's north coast and Oakland, California. It was in the middle of the Richmond harbor area. As times changed the area had some renovations that made them move to the middle of Richmond. Years later they moved again to El Sobrante. Their El Sobrante location was next to where my parents at one time had their furniture & appliance store. In those days, the mid 1950s into the 1970s, there was a family type restaurant connected to a bar called DiGeorgio's. My dad took me there once for lunch. After that the establishment changed hands and became Casa Del Sobrante. This caused me to laugh almost every time when driving by. It made me question if anyone ever told the owner that El Sobrante meant 'the leftover' or refuse.

The original owners decided to sell. Janet had passed on many years earlier and they were getting too old to run the business. The new owners did well for a few years until the cook and head waitress (the owner's - husband and wife) had a knock down drag out fight during the middle of business and both walked out. That was the end.

The other way down the road was a burger place called Johnny Mac's. The burgers were cooked on an open flame. Customers would put the toppings on their own burgers. There were pinball machines. One of my recollections was a cigarette machine with a price of 23¢ by the coin slot. Each pack of smokes had 2¢ inserted inside the cellophane. Imagine having that job and people actually caring that much about 2¢.

At the end of the road was an old truck stop. There was a little place with about six stools called Giant Hamburger. They ended up growing into a chain through parts of the East Bay from Berkeley to Pinole. To the best of my knowledge they are still going.

When we were looking for our retirement home we ate at many little dives up and down the west coast. Some deserved return visits. Others deserved a visit from the local health department.

There was one place we always liked to stop at in Eureka, California called the House of Omelets. Looking at Google Maps it appears it may no longer be there.

Kountry Kitchen south of Portland on I-5 is another business to disappear without a trace.

Locally we still have Stuffy's II. This is an interesting place to dine. The theme is kind of mid-1950s. There is a Marylin Monroe life size figure with what looks like the scene from Seven Year itch where she is standing over a vent.

445691

Found a page of images from Stuffy's II > Stuffy's Images (https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x54946c954856098b%3A0xcad25e3c5b6eef33!3 m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com %2Fp%2FAF1QipOlRkegugFqUA05vOwirrAVgI7F_WEIw_QD-D9F%3Dw132-h176-k-no!5sstuffy%27s%20ii%20restaurant%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipPEJjdzQka8mWo8280yWVW6-Df76bmwbCGQD3Tg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU-dKm_qDtAhUPIDQIHX5fALYQoiowCnoECBAQAw)

There is also a House of Omelets in Longview. Though it is likely independent of the Eureka establishment. We ate there once and noticed everyone there was very much overweight. The food was good and abundant. We have not been back.

A place we have also eaten at a few times is the Pancake House. Small place average food.

During my days as a field technician there were many great places to stop and eat. It would surprise me to find some of them still in business with the same people.

jtk

[Jerome Stanek]

We had a dive in Wellington Oh where the regulars would not give up their seats for anything. There was a fire in it and the regulars just kept eating and only the volunteer fire fighters had to leave to come back and fihgt the fire.

[Peter Kelly]

Not a dive per se but Barney Greengrass on Upper West Side has a very old school stuck in time NYC restaurant feel to it. Very little has changed about the place since they opened in 1908.

https://www.barneygreengrass.com

[Peter Kelly]

In Berkeley, CA there was a little hole in the wall down an alley across from campus called the Pizza Haven. My favorite was their spaghetti dinner; salad, garlic bread and spaghetti. It closed back in the 1970s. There was another place across campus called LaVal's Pizza. At various times there was entertainment in the basement.La Val's has actually expanded and added locations to Alameda and Albany. Original Berkeley location is right near one of my fave places, Top Dog (http://www.topdoghotdogs.com).

[Jim Matthews]

If you're interested in movies, take a look at the 2014 movie "Chef (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chef_(2014_film))" ... even if you don't like the story, you'll enjoy the visuals.

Mike

Dunno Mike...https://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/fp/Jon+Favreau+John+Leguizamo+Film+Chef+Wo_rQtLThNRx. jpg

[Jim Koepke]

La Val's has actually expanded and added locations to Alameda and Albany. Original Berkeley location is right near one of my fave places, Top Dog (http://www.topdoghotdogs.com).

Top Dog was one of my favorite places for dinner when working in Berkeley. The Calabrese is my all time favorite.

They do mail order and every once in a while it occurs to me to order about five or ten pounds of Calabrese to freeze.

Another of my favorite places in Berkeley was Cancun. Their chorizo burritos were wonderful. They also had about thirty different types of salsa at the self serve salsa bar. Candy used to love their carne asada burritos when we ate there.

jtk

[Michael J Evans]

Here in the Oregon and especially the portland metro there are about 8 billion breweries, and almost every one I've been to has good food.

My favorite place of all time was a run down looking joint, called the snack shack in the middle of a not so great neighbor hood. They only had 5 or so tables but they cooked just about everything and did a damn good job at all of it.

[Robert Galey]

Bella Vista, AR. Best food in town is the two food trucks next to Highway 71. Chinese and Italian. One beer or glass of wine from home, a couple of lawn chairs, and the pickup tailgate as out table for two. Fine dining!
Also, Dalia's in Mission, TX. Best tamale's I've ever had...anywhere.

[Jerome Stanek]

I've been in a lot of them over the years. I traveled installing and remodeling drug store for 2 major chains. been to most states east of the Mississippi

[Peter Kelly]

Top Dog was one of my favorite places for dinner when working in Berkeley. The Calabrese is my all time favorite.

They do mail order and every once in a while it occurs to me to order about five or ten pounds of Calabrese to freeze.An old friend had Top Dog cater his wedding rehearsal dinner. Was great.

[lowell holmes]

Every time I see this string, I think of the following.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dive+bar&oq=dive+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i433j0i457j0i433l2j0i131i433j0 l2.9663j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8