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AMERICANA IN LOS ANGELES AND ATLANTA While in Atlanta recently, I hit the famous downtown Varsity. Billed as the world's largest drive-in restaurant, the Varsity is indeed huge. Multiple levels. Spaces for 600 cars (with car hops to serve them). And seating for 800 inside. They claim to be the world's largest single outlet for Coca-Cola and they sell over two miles of hot dogs every day (not to mention a ton of onion rings, 5000 homemade fried pies and 300 gallons of chili, all made from scratch)! The main items on the menu are hot dogs and burgers, and the main toppings are chili and cheese. I opted for chili dogs and a frosted orange drink ("F.O."). The chili dogs were okay. They don't compare to the Portillo's dog I had in Chicago a few months ago. But they were decent, as were the fries. The "F.O." was a tasty treat. My real lasting memory of this place, though, is the numerous cashiers at the gigantic counter who yelled at me, "What'll ya have? What'll ya have?" It got me thinking about other restaurants where people have shouted at me. Gates Bar-B-Q in Kansas City came to mind, as the cashiers there greet all entering customers with a loud "Hi, may I help you?" And I've been to several sushi restaurants where the staff yells "Irasshaimase!" My half-Japanese sister-in-law informs me the phrase means, "Thanks for entering." (Miyake in Palo Alto, CA, is perhaps the standout in this department. The staff there also likes to dim the lights, turn on the disco ball and shout out a three-count ("Ichi! Ni! San! Sake Bomb!") as drunk Stanford students stand on chairs and chug their beer and sake concoctions.) Let me know what other spots you know that are famous for their "shout outs." Anyway, the Varsity is worth a trip just for the experience. I found another such spot recently in Los Angeles. The Apple Pan was on my radar for showing up in Bret Stetka's article, "America's Best Burgers" for MSN City Guides. (Stetka, by the way, is a medical writer who seems to enjoy his food. I gotta meet this guy!) The place is an institution; it's been there since 1947. There's one U-shaped counter with the cooks and servers behind it in their old-school service caps. The cardboard-like paper plates seem eco-friendly, but I think they're just a throwback to the '40s. The servers like to pour ketchup on them for you for dipping. They also give you your burger wrapped in paper without a plate. I certainly don't rate it as one of the top burgers I've had. It was tasty but I could have done without the overly thick wedge of iceberg lettuce between the buns. My fries were lousy--burnt to too much of a crisp. The apple pie was room temperature and nothing special. But I enjoyed drinking my Coke from a paper cone in its own little metal holder. I'd go back to try the highly touted Hickory burger and to hope for a better batch of fries. And I'd encourage others to go at least once. I hit the L.A. institution Spago on the same trip and had a tasty but way overpriced sandwich for lunch. But the real winner of this L.A. story was an institution visible as you descend from the skies into LAX: Randy's Donuts. If you haven't seen it from the air, you've seen it on screen, as it's shown up in a number of music videos and movies (most recently "2012"). It's the place with the giant 32-foot donut on the roof. But it's not simply a geographical landmark; it's a great donut shop! The cake donuts were good but the chocolate old-fashioned, glazed raised and coconut raised were outstanding! And I was eating them in the late afternoon when nothing was really fresh. Gotta go back and get 'em when they're hot. So there you have it, folks. As always, thanks for reading. Contact me with your favorite spots. And be healthy! (But allow yourself to indulge a little bit!) Until next time! © 2010 Brad Nieder. All rights reserved. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CHEESESTEAK FACTORY Or, as was the case recently, when in Philadelphia?eat cheesesteaks! I had been to Philly several times in the past, and I had sampled a lot of different cheesesteaks. It was time, though, to revisit some old classics and finally answer the age-old question, "Who has the best cheesesteak in Philly, Pat's or Geno's?" My unequivocal answer: neither! I know, I know. I'm supposed to take a stand. So I will. Pat's wins, hands down. But neither one is even close to being the best. Both are coasting on reputation and just going through the motions, as far as I'm concerned. I've had better in Denver! Pat's and Geno's actually face each other at an intersection in South Philly (South 9th St. and Passyunk). They both had long lines early in the evening at sunset when I drove up. I ordered the same thing at each spot: a "Whiz wit." Translation: cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and onions. (That's the Philly way. Other cheese choices often include white American and provolone. "Witout" is the buzzword to go sans onions.) Geno's was actually among the worst cheesesteaks I've ever had. They spread the Whiz on both halves of the authentic roll and then added a few slices of meat and grilled onions. Like a factory assembly line. No chopping. Lazy. And kind of skimpy. Pat's did a bit better. Heartier sandwich overall. Authentic roll, carved out more like a boat instead of a true top and bottom slice. The meat was chopped a little bit. The onions and Whiz were added on top, which allowed the cheese to mix in a little bit with the meat below. Decent. The next night I went old school (literally) when I hit Abner's (38th and Chestnut) right off the Penn campus, where I believe I first had a cheesesteak in Philly on a college scout trip with my brother about 15 years ago. (He ended up attending Penn.) Abner's beat the Whiz out of both Pat's and Geno's. Still not the best, as they pumped the Whiz on to the boat-like roll first, which isn't ideal for blending the cheese throughout the sandwich. But they chopped the meat and onions on the griddle together and gave a hearty portion. I was satisfied. And though it wasn't quite the scene of Pat's or Geno's, it had it's own charm, such as the cops in bulletproof vests sitting behind me watching the Monday Night Football game. (Not the best neighborhood around Penn!) For those interested in my favorite cheesesteak in Philly, I'll tell you it's in quite an unexpected spot. Gianna's Grille (507 S. 6th St., near South Street) is kind of a bohemian, vegetarian-friendly pizza joint. No long lines of tourists. No cops in Kevlar. But wow, do they make a great cheesesteak! Chopped meat and onions all mixed together with the cheese. Hearty and delicious! Best of the bunch. (Thanks to Nicholas Gilewicz for his online article "The Cheesesteak Chronicles" in MSN City Guides for turning me on this spot.) Of course there are still many I haven't tried?but I intend to! Let me know your favorites. Until next time, Philly! © 2009 Brad Nieder. All rights reserved.
EATING HARD IN CHICAGO I recently traveled to Chicago, which, in terms of culinary options, means ? well, a lot! Italian beef sandwiches. Chicago style hot dogs. Deep dish pizza. And my travel files revealed numerous places to sample each. Most establishments were downtown, though, and I was with my relatives in the northern suburbs. Still, they assured me they had great options nearby. It had been a while since I had had a good Italian beef sandwich, so I made that my first request. They didn't hesitate. Portillo's was the spot. Sure, it was a chain, they said, but it was authentic and consistently high quality. So we went, I indulged ? and I loved it! Tasty beef. Great hot peppers (giardiniera for those in the know). Just right on the gravy (more like au jus for you neophytes). Delicious! And here's the thing: maybe I'm rationalizing here, but it wasn't that big. And the meat seemed pretty lean. Not too deadly, I thought. Not too big an indulgence. I could eat more, I realized. Reading the magazine articles on the wall praising Portillo's hot dogs, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. So I got a dog, too. Again, delicious! And done properly: steamed poppy seed bun, mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, pickle, sport peppers and celery salt (no ketchup of course). And (definitely rationalizing now) it wasn't that big, either. But I was done ? ? at least 'til dinner, when I completed the Chicago trifecta with some deep-dish pizza. Again, I took my relatives' word for it: in the northern suburbs, Lou Malnati's is tops. No true carnivores in my dinner crowd, so we got a mushroom and spinach pizza. I've always preferred an authentic slice of thin New York pizza to Chicago style, but, hey, on a cold windy night (of which there are many in the Windy City), it's tough to beat that deep dish of cheesy, tomatoey goodness. On my final day, before flying out of O'Hare, I just had to hit one of the spots from my files. I entered Mr. Beef's address in my Garmin, battled traffic on the interstate and (behold!) found a spot to park right in the adjacent lot. The place is an institution. It's an experience. The accents are thick in there. And ordering an Italian beef sandwich is like ordering a cheesesteak in Philly (with "sweet" or "hot" (as in peppers) and "wet" or "dry" (as in gravy) replacing "Whiz wit" (as in cheese and onions).) I stood at the counter facing the wall of autographed celebrity photos, Purelled thoroughly and grabbed my sandwich. Again, delicious (though I think I preferred the Portillo's sandwich for its bread and spicier giardiniera)! And again, it wasn't too big! Not too deadly, right? Long flight ahead, I thought. I should really fill my belly before the airport. I consulted my trusty Garmin and saw top dog spot Hot Doug's was more or less right on the way to O'Hare. A final dog to cap the trip! I'd go for it! I got off the highway, took my little detour and again found a parking space right in front! I marched up to the door ? and found they were closed for vacation! Maybe it was a sign from above: "Stop you glutton!" I had had enough already ? at least until the next town. Southern barbecue maybe? Crab cakes? New Mexican? Stay tuned! And in the mean time, let me know your Chicago favorites for my next visit! Thanks for reading! © 2009 Brad Nieder. All rights reserved. |
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