What's your Favorite Restaurant? (Greensboro, Winston-Salem: house, neighborhood, price)

[Dusty Rhodes]

Actually, the best Mexican restaurant is not in GSO, La Cocina in Mebane rightfully earns that distinction. Not only is it authentic Mexican food, it is really good, authentic Mexican food. All those years I spent in C and S America honed my palate well. The chipotles they do there are excellent. DM me for directions.

[IHeartNC]

Elizabeth's Italian. Fabulous!!!

[SunnyKayak]

OOOO two old time favorites of mine that have closed their doors was Picadilly and
Casa Giardos (sp?) It was right beside Darryl's and was setup very lavish with spanish tile floors and incredible Sunday Brunch.

[ECUJenn]

If you are going to go to Village Tavern, make sure you check out the original in Reynolda Village in Winston Salem. It is different than the others and the service is A+. Also, Bianca's has the best food and good prices. Don't be fooled by how small it is, and the outside isn't that fancy, but I love going there, it always makes me feel special.

[ibeg4sushi]

What about Thai or vegetarian places?

[ECUJenn]

There is a Thai place in Clemmons (well, almost Advance) called Chang Thai which is very good. Unassuming, but nice on the inside. They do Thai and Japanese which works great for my family since my Mom doesn't really care for Thai food. There is also another one in Winston Salem that I have heard of, but I can't remember the name right now.

[smannes]

The Melting Pot .. pricey but my fave!

[Abby]

Originally Posted by ECUJenn

There is a Thai place in Clemmons (well, almost Advance) called Chang Thai which is very good. Unassuming, but nice on the inside. They do Thai and Japanese which works great for my family since my Mom doesn't really care for Thai food. There is also another one in Winston Salem that I have heard of, but I can't remember the name right now.

Best Thai in WS? Downtown Thai most definitely!

[clawhammerist]

I love Thai, and a friend and I have made a practice of visiting every Thai place in the area that we can! A brief rundown:

I personally wasn't nuts about Downtown Thai when I tried it. Everyone with me agreed that the food was pretty bland (even when some of us requested extra spiciness), and the prices were quite steep. I'm sure a location like that is part of the reason behind the prices...but, for me, the food wasn't good enough to feel worth the money.

Sticking with the W-S area, I haven't tried the place in Clemmons, but it sounds interesting and will definitely be added to my to-visit list. My favorite Thai restaurant here is Cha-Da Thai, on Jonestown Road in a stripmall right at I-40. It's pretty popular, and service can be a bit slow...but the food is terrific, and well worth waiting for. Some of the dishes are delicious non-standard items (at least in my experience), but the usual Thai suspect are also featured. Everything I have had there has been totally tasty. The prices are quite reasonable, too.

In Greensboro particularly, I've been astounded by the sheer quantity of Thai restaurants! My current favorite over there is a newish place, Tara Thai, off of College Road south of the Quaker Village center. REALLY good, quite spicy if you ask for it to be, large portions for very fair prices, and still undiscovered enough to be calm and cozy most evenings. Their Tom Kha soup can't be beat!

Forget about the Thai place in downtown Greensboro. It was good the first time I went, when the restaurant was still pretty new, but it's gone swiftly downhill from there. Taste of Thai, while offering the best atmosphere and ambience bar-none among all the Thai establishments in the Triad, continually disappoints me with bland food (as well as one particularly nightmarish takeout experience, food- and service-wise both--but I digress). While not bad per se, it's just not flavorful the way I expect Thai food to be. They also have a satellite location in that strange new "international strip mall" or whatever it is on Market, and its food is similarly nondescript. Rearn Thai has been a solid standby for years, and the food is always tasty. Service for me has been hit-or-miss there, and their oddly-designed new building kinda gives me the creeps...but I still choose it on a fairly regular basis. I understand that there is another newer place on Market near Walker, but I haven't tried it or heard any reviews. Does anybody know how it is?

Beyond Thai, I recommend the following places:

-Sweet Potatoes, Trade Street in downtown W-S: very cool Southern fusion food (but not so fused as to be cutesy...I don't care for that sort of cuisine) served in substantial portions. Not cheap (although not ridiculous, I don't think), but worth it for special occasions.

-Liberty Oak, downtown Greensboro: delicious and creative spins on "traditional" American cuisine, plus some real surprises. I haven't been there in some time, but they used to offer special prices for early-bird dinners, which made eating here be somewhat of a bargain. Does anyone know whether this is still happening?

-Boba House, Tate Street near UNCG: this pseudo-Asian cafe serves up massive portions of soups, stir fry-type dishes, rice- and noodle-based meals, and more at prices appropriate for this student-dominated area. Many dishes feature imitation meat, which is quite tasty once you get past the concept, which makes some folks think twice. Lots of vegetarian and vegan options (perhaps exclusively these--do they serve any real meat?).

-Elizabeth's, far out Battleground Avenue past Brassfield in Greensboro: my favorite branch of this local chain (whose locations vary A LOT--the one at Quaker Village is perhaps my next favorite, and the one on Market is my least favorite...incredibly bland and boring food there, to me!) serves up great pizzas, pasta dishes, and enormous salads (get the Greek salad and add their special rotisserie chicken--it makes a great meal, and you'll surely have enough left over for lunch the next day) in a comfortable setting for very reasonable prices.

-Barberitos, somewhere in High Point (I get lost in that town every time I go through...) and Pisgah Church Road in Greensboro: this is a small southeast chain that features casual pseudo-Mexican food, with an emphasis on huge burritos. Better than Qdoba or Chipotle. Great for lunch! I find their menu options mystifying, and have had better luck simply ordering my food ingredient-by-ingredient (although it seems like I pay a slightly different price every time for the same end result...). However, once you get past that, the food is very fresh, flavorful, creative, and cheap!

In addition, let me second the recommendations for Pie Works, Stamey's, and Brixx (good pizza but smallish portions). Also, here's a vote for steering clear of the national chains that are way too prevalent in the Triad, and instead trying some of the restaurants that are unique to this area!

[nj2nc-2005]

As far as pizza, my favorite so far is Mario's on New Garden Road next to Lowe's Foods and Wendover Avenue next to Costco. I think it tastes as good as some of the Jersey pizzerias I frequented.