25 New Restaurants in 2010

[vizzah]

1.  Starlite Diner (Wilmington Pike in Kettering) - 4 out of 5 sporks
You can read the full review here. 

[The Hegemo]

1. Caffe Davinci (Tremont & Zollinger in Upper Arlington) -- got carryout for lunch. I had the sausage sandwich. It was pretty good. Probably not something I would go out of my way to get all the time. My coworkers were kind of meh on their entrees. 3/5

[Butter]

Starlite Diner was one of the worst places I've ever eaten.  Ever.  It's been a while now (2 years, maybe?).

Not that I'm trying to make you feel bad, but everything I had when I was there looked like it had just been plopped out of a can from Sam's Club.  And actually didn't taste quite that good.

[vizzah]

Doesn't make me feel bad at all.  I don't tend to apologize for liking anything, even if everyone else hates it  - like Rally's , or hating something when everyone else likes it - like Cassano's. 

I'm not sure if management has changed or what, but I'd suggest giving it another try.  If you still don't dig it, at least you're not out a fortune.

 

[Kwyjibo]

I don't tend to apologize for liking anything, even if everyone else hates it  - like Rally's , or hating something when everyone else likes it - like Cassano's. 

Actually, I agree with you on both of those.

[vizzah]

I'm always surprised to hear anyone say they like Rally's.  Cassano's is definitely an acquired taste for most people, but people from Dayton totally love that nasty shit. I've never been a fan of the "Dayton style" pizza.  I can deal with Marion's if it comes down to it, but I still wouldn't pick it over any other pizza. Not even a chain.

[Kwyjibo]

I don't see what's not to like about Rally's.  They are no better or worse than any other fast food burger chain, if you like them, you should like Rally's.  Those fries are freakin' awesome, which can't be said of say, Wendy's, whose burgers are nearly identical.

Marion's is where we go our separate ways, I'd run over my granny for the last square of a Marion's pie.

[Cockney Rebel]

I'd run over my granny for the last square of a Marion's pie.

You say this as though you are proud of it

[Kwyjibo]

Actually, both of my Grannies are dead, so it was just a metaphor.

Am I proud of the fact that I can use the term "metaphor" correctly?  Kinda.

[Butter]

Last time I had a Rally's burger it tasted like the meat was straight off a horse.  It reminded me of that old place called Hot 'n Now, which as you'll notice didn't mention "tasty" or "good" anywhere in the place name.  I couldn't tell you if Rally's fries were good or not.

Cassano's continued existence confuses me as well... why would I want to go there and eat marginal, oversalty pizza especially when I have a quality place like Cousin Vinny's literally half a mile from my house?

[MissKitty]

1. Brothers Bar & Grill - Newport on the Levee

Blech. Tasteless food, cookie-cutter atmosphere. It's more a bar than a restaurant, which is probably a good thing, because it won't survive on food sales. Blech!!!

[The Hegemo]

1. Brothers Bar & Grill - Newport on the Levee

Blech. Tasteless food, cookie-cutter atmosphere. It's more a bar than a restaurant, which is probably a good thing, because it won't survive on food sales. Blech!!!

There is a Brothers in Columbus. Of all the terrible frat boy douchebag bars on Park Street, it may be the worst. On top of being just generally terrible, they've even been accused of being racist: http://sarasmith.org/articles/OPC_20060000_Color_Coded.pdf

I would do a happy little dance if the Columbus Brothers burned down...

[vizzah]

a quality place like Cousin Vinny's

I loooove me some Vinny's.  I'm so glad to see them doing well enough to open 4 more locations. 

[Cockney Rebel]

1. Brothers Bar & Grill - Newport on the Levee

Blech. Tasteless food, cookie-cutter atmosphere. It's more a bar than a restaurant, which is probably a good thing, because it won't survive on food sales. Blech!!!

It really was disgusting food too. The garlic fries came out with a revolting dip that the server later admitted was little more than the spicy sauce they coat their wings in. Its requested replacement - allegedly "peppercorn ranch" - was also horrible. The wrap I had was supposed to be chicken but I'm convinced the meat was pork.... even though pork was nowhere to be seen on their menu. My friend Neville said his beef fajitas tasted of 'nothing' whilst MK's simple grilled cheese sammy cost a mind-blowing 7 bucks and looked like shit.

The joint was empty bar us and another table with a couple of dudes on it. Staff outnumbered customers. OK so it was 5 o'clock on a midweek night and the place might get like a sardine tin for games or nighttime partying and the such, but I'll put money on the fact that this bland uninspiring shit-hole will not survive and end up being another Levee casualty within a short space of time.

AVOID! AVOID!

[Doug]

1) El Matador Restaurant - Taylors, SC.

We took a wrong turn on our way down to SC and wound up off the highway.  It was about lunch time, so we decided to stop at the first good looking place we could find.  After passing miles of fast food joints, we pulled into the parking lot of this crummy looking place.  What we found inside was some of the freshest and best prepared mexican food we've ever had.  I don't think it was really mexican..more like something further south.  I had some tasty carnitas tacos with generous helpings of some fresh cilantro heavy salsa.  The boys ate tamales and Michelle got a combo.  We were so happy for our accidental discovery.

2) Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company - Cashiers, NC.

This is where we ate on New Years Eve.  We got there just in time to watch the sun set in the valley from the deck of the pub.  The food was standard brewpub fare.  Michelle had a wood smoked pizza and I had smoked chicken wings.  The boys split a burger.  Dessert was oven baked s'mores.  It was all really good.  I had a couple of their house brews..a stout and a pilsner.  It was just a really nice atmosphere and a relaxing way to fatten up for the new year.

3) Uno's Chicago Grill - south of Knoxville TN.

Maybe it was the 50 mile detour we took at 20 mph through a winding 2 lane mountain road that spoiled this for us.  Or maybe it was the bland. fresh out of the microwave taste of the food.  Either way, I spent the rest of the day feeling sick from this place.

4) Fuji Japanese Steakhouse - Florence y'all.

After 12 hours of driving and with home in site just a couple hours ahead, we decided to stop in here.  The boys wanted spaghetti, but the only place we saw for that was Fazolli's, and I'd rather eat Chef Boy Are Dee.  So when we broke it to them that we were going to have Japanese, they started a fuss.  Then the hibachi chef came out and lit some shit on fire and that shut them up.  It was pricey, but well worth it.  I had my favorite, steak and scallops with lots of shrimp sauce.  Michelle ate tempura and sushi and the boys got chicken and shrimp.  Everybody left fat and happy.