okay guys & gals, I had a crazy thought: We all chat about which parks have great, good & crappy food, but what about those places you like to eat OUTSIDE the parks. National chains shuch as McD's, Ruby Tuesday's, and Sonic are out, but i'm taling about the little "mom & Pop's" joints you can't miss year after year.
By in the area, how about 30 minutes drive away?
For example, while in Sandusky, I develped a taste for the perch sandwiches at the Sandusky Fish Co. downtown.
As for up here in New Hampshire, it's the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, NH, which is about 25 minutes north of Canobie Lake in Salem, NH.
From the Disney resort in Anaheim: Take the 5 South, 22 West, Brookhurst South, Bolsa West (right turn). Try just about any of the little Pho shops there in Little Saigon. Mmmmm Pho....just 30 minutes away.
Say "Hi" to Martin Sheen....er...Captain Willard when you are down there. ;)
*** Edited 4/1/2008 7:21:30 PM UTC by janfrederick***
There is a little Mexican place in Sandusky called Two Brothers or something which is pretty good. There is a really good Mexican place in Williamsburg near an ihop, I forget the name though so I am no help.
In Danville, not too far from Knoebels, is Brews & Bytes, a little internet cafe with a very eccentric, but good, menu. (Weird hours though.) http://www.brewsnbytes.com
For Sandusky, OH, I'd recommend Toft's Dairy for great ice cream at low prices (for the amount of ice cream you get). There's a pizza place in town too called Chet & Matt's Pizza which has OK pizza but the atmosphere is pretty cool. There's a huge wall mural that is painted full of local community people, OSU and Browns players, and other Ohio-bred celebrities.
If you are ever in Orlando, there is an awesome seafood restaurant on Sand Lake Rd (about a mile off of I-Drive) called Moonfish. It aint cheap, and may not technically be "mom and pop" but it's the best food I have ever had. Anytime I am in Orlando, I try to have a meal there.
If you are ever in Wildwood, NJ, Sam's Pizza on the Boardwalk is a classic "mom and pop" pizza joint with some of the best pizza you will ever have.
There's a Couple of :) ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT :) Brazilian Restaurants on International Drive near Kirkman Drive in Orlando. They go by the names of CAMILLAS and VITTORIOS. A Meal will cost you about $ 12.00 plus Tax & Tip. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND either of them if you are visiting the Theme Parks in the Orlando Area. (You can, Literally have TWICE the food for HALF the price of food in the theme parks! :)
Yeah, I don't think that's one of the places near the park, although I should probably check it out. I want to say one of the places near the park is called Don's...?
Hopman said: National chains shuch as McD's, Ruby Tuesday's, and Sonic are out,
Living in New England now I'm not able to subject my body to some of my favorite non-national chains.
So as a serious foodist myself I'm with you on the mom 'n' pop shops but if I'm in an area with a Chick-fil-A, White Castle, In-N-Out, Checkers/Rally's, Gold Star, Skyline, etc....MMM MMM get outta the way of this fat boy.
I'm not a big fan of restaurant chains either, but I am big on ones that I can't normally visit. There are no In-N-Outs in NJ, and while we do have scattered Chick-Fil-As and Carrabbas, they're not close enough to me to visit with any regularity. I'll gladly go to a chain restaurant that I like, especially if it's something I can't normally visit.
I really only travel for the food. The coasters and parks are secondary.
In general: Libertyland, SFAW/SFoT, and PCar were parks I visited for the local BBQ joints. ;) SFFT/SWT are good to visit for TexMex (as, oddly enough, was Lakeside/SFEG). SCBB was near an absolutely incredible chinese restaurant (hottest and tastiest twice-cooked park I've ever had). SFEV/Fun Forest/Puyallup - smoked salmon and scones. Coney Island - Pizza and Nathan's dogs. Funtown/Splashtown/Old Orchard Beach - lobster rolls. Mt. Olympus/Timber Falls - Mt O has the yummy gyros, but there's also a dee-lish Culver's right near the interstate. We don't have Culver's here. DL/Knott's - as Moosh said, it's all about the Zankou... :)
