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Polling the audience here. If you wouldn't mind please give yer fave for the the following and why if you'd like - runners up appreciated too!
BBQ: - Havn't had it in the south yet. Been once in Charlotte at Max's that's all i got to compare it to. I understand there is quite the varying opinions here...
Polling the audience here. If you wouldn't mind please give yer fave for the the following and why if you'd like - runners up appreciated too!
BBQ: - Havn't had it in the south yet. Been once in Charlotte at Max's that's all i got to compare it to. I understand there is quite the varying opinions here...
Thanks!
Southern: Mr. Friendly's
Mexican: don't eat it enough to have a favorite
Japanese: Sakitumi
Sandwich/Deli: Gourmet Shop
Italian: Garibaldi's
Coffee: Courtyard Coffeehouse
other? Middle Eastern: Tabouli, Al Amir and Elie's Place
Thai: Baan Sawan
Vietnamese: Pho Viet
Asian Fusion: M Vista
BBQ: Hudson's Smokehouse, Hites, Palmetto Pig. In that order
Southern: Compton's Kitchen, Southside Restaurant
Mexican: San Jose, Monterrey Mexican
Japanese: Miyabi
Sandwich/Deli: No Name Deli, (Best sub is at Publix)
Italian: Alodia's (my new favorite) Villa Tronco
Coffee: Not really a fan of coffee
Chinese/fusion: Fusion Bowl, Red Bowl
Sushi: Tako Sushi
Best Breakfast: Comptons
Best Business Lunch: Blue Marlin
Best Pizza: Ray's Pizza in Lexington (another new favorite) Best pizza in town. Be sure to talk to the owner. He has a great story to tell about how he got to South Carolina.
I've got to stop. I could go on forever about restaurants.
BBQ/Southern: I'm vegetarian, so I can't fairly comment here
Mexican: Cantina 76 - this is the only Mexican restaurant I know of in Columbia that even attempts to have a relatively high-brow, high-quality menu. Honestly I can take the typical Southeastern US Mexican in food in the San Jose/Monterrey/La Fogata versions only in small doses - I'm spoiled by growing up with high-quality Mexican food in Chicago. If you want something in between, El Chico off Bush River Road is pretty good.
Sushi/Japanese: Miyo's chain, Wasabi.
Sandwich/Deli: DiPrato's (more of a deli). Roly Poly (more of a sandwich shop).
Italian: Villa Tronco, Pasta Fresca
Middle Eastern: Al-Amir, Tabouli
Asian: Miyo's / M Cafe / M Vista - great local chain. Red Bowl/Fusion Bowl is pretty decent if you want a more "comfort food" level of Asian food with nice decor/service, but the Miyo's chain is higher-class, IMHO.
Indian: Touch of India (spartan, a bit hole-in-the-wall, but great cheap food and service), Delhi Palace
Coffee: Can't recommend one as no one really stands out, at least one I've been to.
Pizza: Schiano's for basic NY-style. Thirsty Fellows (haven't been there myself but my wife has been there and we know the chef there from when he used to have his own pizza place near our house - his pizzas were great). ZPizza for decently-priced organic. Mellow Mushroom for a diverse menu of different types of pizzas & toppings.
BBQ: Hudson's is good, but like many Columbia-area BBQ buffets, the other items stand out more than the actual BBQ. Little Pigs is also pretty good.
Southern: Mr Friendly's IS excellent higher-brow southern, but I think Yesterday's is a great choice for a really wide selection of inexpensive, stick-to-your-ribs southern food. Try it for lunch sometime.
Mexican: Cantina 76 is super good, and one of our regular spots, but it's not really mexican. It's sort of world fusion food done in the Mexican style with a southern twist. Like Chi2Midlands, I got spoiled by Chicago mexican, which is REALLY mexican. I haven't found that in Columbia yet.
Sandwich/Deli: Gourmet Shop is good for some things. Their chicken salad is second only to my Grandmother's, and their pimento cheese is second only to my own. They aren't really a DELI deli, though. I don't eat sandwiches out enough to have a firm recommendation here.
Italian: Garibaldi's is good, if just a touch pricey. I've heard Rosso's is pretty good, too, but I haven't been there, myself.
Coffee: Immaculate Consumption
Chinese/fusion: Miyo's
Breakfast: Cafe Strudel
Best Pizza: I'm a sucker for Mellow Mushroom. I know it's a chain, but it's just delicious.
Breakfast -- is there anything more SC than Dennys?
Well, considering it was founded in California, didn't become headquartered in SC until the 90s, has over 1500 restaurants and only 17 of those are in SC (vs 423 in California), and doesn't really serve ANYTHING remarkably South Carolinian...
Yeah, there are about 60,000 things more SC than Denny's.
(Oh, and there's one out on Harbison, but that's it, at the moment, for the Columbia area.)
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