The Stone House Restaurant near Chalk Hill PA. We stayed in the area for two nights and had a tour of Fallingwater, just up the road. Stone House was fun and friendly and good food. We noted (altho we missed it) that in the summer they had regularly scheduled big outdoor BBQs for motorcyclists, complete with bands. I'd go back anytime.

http://www.stonehouseinn.com/

Honestly, I find great places to eat everywhere. No way I could list them all! Food is very important to me and I always do my research. The good news is that pretty much everyone has gotten the memo --- people want really good quality, fresh ingredients, some innovativeness, and healthier options. It is a rare market that does not have it.

I will give just one example. Worcester, Mass is a rather down-on-its-luck city. For years we simply drove through it en route to Mass. relatives and now our Maine house. We never once even considered stopping there to eat. The places I saw on offer were not our cup of tea. Well, lo and behold they opened this truly excellent artisanal bakery/sandwich place. O.M.G. They make wonderful breads. They make a grilled cheese with a really good sharp cheddar and mostarda, on coriander raisin bread, served with a bright salad. sigh.... DH, who grew up not that far away, considers the idea that we found fine dining in Worcester to be akin to Disney taking over Times Square! Oh yeah, that happened too, didn't it.

http://www.birchtreebreadcompany.com/menu/

Between Tripadvisor, Chowhound, OpenTable, Thrillist, I am always finding wonderful places. I no longer choose a place to eat at random. I am a little crazy about it frankly. I flatly refuse to ingest calories that are not delicious and preferably healthy too.

Peru, Illinois: Mark Allen's American Kitchen. I don't remember what we had, but it was delicious, the bread was amazing. Really wonderful food in a nice atmosphere, popular with locals but also visitors. One of those off-the-beaten-track treasures.

Normal, Illinois: Medici. Good food (mac and cheese to die for). This is the place parents take their students to when they come to visit. But don't let that stop you ha ha. The interior is interesting...there's a tree in the middle.

DuBois, Pennsylvania: DuBois Diner. Hands down the best BLT ever. Piled with bacon from the griddle, fresh just-sliced tomatoes, oh, yes. Tip: it's pronounced "doo-Boyce"

One of the fun aspects of doing the college visits is you end up driving places you wouldn't go otherwise. That's how we happened through Peru, and why we ate at Medici several times.

Denver (we either used TripAdvisor or OpenTable):

Euclid Hall: Really good gastropub walking distance from the convention Center (14th Street).

Henry's Tavern (on 16th Street Mall): had an Italian sausage and roasted mushroom pizza with fresh basil that was so good, we now make it at home. I get both the sausage and mushrooms from the farmers market, and we grow our own basil and make our own dough with the KA mixer.

We drove from PA to CA last fall. Along the way we visited both small and big cities. We mostly checked yelp & tripadvisor for restaurant picks. Two restaurants really stand out in our minds.

The Pour House in Crossville, TN. There aren't many restaurants in this small town. But this place got good yelp reviews so we went there. My DH likes burgers and orders them often. He is still talking about the burger he had there. Says it was the best burger he had in his entire 60 odd years. Stupid me orders a salad.

Mucho Gusto in Santa Fe, NM. I read all the threads here on gardenweb about visiting Santa Fe. I was armed with a list of possible restaurants. Honestly, I don't remember where we went the first night. But we were hiking the second day, met a local couple and hiked with them for a while. They told us to go to this restaurant. It's rare that I want to lick the plate after a restaurant meal. With a little self control, I didn't. My DH raved about his meal as well. Out of the way and in an unassuming strip mall, it was a great find.

We'll be leaving to drive cross country again at the end of October. Taking a much more southerly route. Can't wait to see what we find this time!

We are not foodies and aren’t usually interested in exotic/gourmet experiences...just happy with a relatively interesting menu, good service, and a nice and/or interesting atmosphere.

Turtle Soup in Narragansett, RI. The cosmo salad there is really just a Greek salad, but it’s one of those dishes that just stayed on my mind. We had other great dishes there, too.

Empire Brewing Co., Syracuse, NY. Your basic pub grub, but it became a favorite when we visited DS at college.

Monkeypod, Maui, Hawaii. We liked it so much, we went twice during our week in Maui last summer.

Halls Chophouse, Charleston SC. Everything was perfect. The meal, the service, everything.

Cru Cafe, Savannah GA. Also perfect but in a different way. Casual, super charismatic waiter, and delicious food.

My favorite place on Maui was a Vietnamese Restaurant called "The Vietnamese Restaurant", and I believe it was in Kihei, as was our hotel. I ordered spring rolls (or summer rolls), and they brought me the filling in a bowl plus a plate and some dry rice paper with a bowl of warm water for softening them. They also gave me no instructions about how to assemble the rolls and giggled as they left my table. However, when they saw how adept I was at using the rice paper and making the rolls myself, they stopped laughing. The food was really good there, and I did not at all mind making my own rolls.

Lars, I love the name of the restaurant. OT, my brother likes a restaurant in Chiang Mai, Thailand named "Butter is Better". Popular with expats for its western-style menu.

Went to Longwood gardens and ate at a place called Portibellos in Kenneth Square. Had no idea that area was a mushroom capital. Had the most delish mushroom hummus!

New Orleans, LA - I'll repeat what Sue said.... "We are not foodies and aren’t usually interested in exotic/gourmet experiences...just happy with a relatively interesting menu, good service, and a nice and/or interesting atmosphere." This fits us exactly. I think I've said here before that I wanted to go to New Orleans for most of my life. When I finally got there, I fell in love with this restaurant - not because of the food, but because it somehow FELT exactly like I'd always thought New Orleans would be. It was like walking into my imagination. Plus they serve a great spicy Bloody Mary. :)

We do a fair amount of traveling, both short and long trips, and I can’t recall all the restaurants we have found to be quite good. I don’t always research the very best, some we just find to be excellent.

A recent one was this summer in Custer SD which is definitely a tourist town and basically only operates most of its restaurants during the season. We decided a Mexican restaurant called the Begging Burrito might be ok one night. Tacos are safe right? Well, let me tell you, it started off on a good foot with wonderful margaritas and perfect service and went up from there. The workers are seasonal and prepared some truly good dishes we tried, and our waiter kept bringing us these delicious sauces to try. I swear one was a mostly chocolate adobo.

Greenville SC is another city we visited recently with some nice downtown restaurants. Soby’s and Husk (we had brunch there) are great.

Last year in Portland we went to a Thai restaurant, but I cannot recall the name. It was so good and I am mad at myself for not being able to recall. I remember it was somewhere near a small college campus. I will try to find it again next summer when we go out again.

Lars, the last time we were in Maui in 2012, I purchased a ‘Girls Guide to Maui’, a pdf one could download for out of the way restaurants, local shopping, and other small places to visit. There were some really neat little places this local recommended and we tried and loved.

Kihei, Maui, HI: Maui Thai. In a little strip mall. Very tasty Thai, some dishes with Hawaiian influences. Was doing a brisk take-out business too.

Gettysburg, PA: Garyowen Irish Pub. Traditional pub food with a good selection of beer and cider.

Gettysburg, PA: La Bella Italia. Pizza and Italian American standards done very well.

Middletown, NJ (also Wall, NJ; OK, kinda cheating since it's just up the road): Meemom's Kitchen. Breakfast/brunch/lunch. Creative and tasty takes on breakfast, especially French toast.

Blue Moon Cafe in Baltimore. We tried it on a fluke on the day we were leaving, when visiting Baltimore for DD graduate school and then every time we went to Baltimore we had to have brunch there one day. AMAZING breakfast. Just trust me. small place, have to wait, but so worth it.

Just returned from a trip to the National Parks in the Southwest. Near Zion, we ate at Kings Landing in Springdale Utah. It was wonderful and the view is to die for. King’s Landing

Dallas, Texas

We are major foodies and are always looking for wonderful restaurants wherever we go. We were just in Dallas 2 weeks ago today, staying at the Hilton Anatole and had a truly memorable dinner at their SER (pronounced “sear”) Steak and Seafood Restaurant on the 27th floor of their drop-dead gorgeous hotel (don’t even get me started on the incredible Asian art work everywhere in this hotel!).

Albuquerque, New Mexico

And . . . Just took my sister who was visiting us this past week down to our favorite two Albuquerque restaurants. I highly recommend both!

El Pinto, for wonderful New Mexican food in a truly beautiful and romantic restaurant.

And then Antiquity in Old Town Albuquerque. I especially love their scallops, which are fabulous.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Our very favorite here is, hands down, Geronimo on Canyon Road. Expensive, but the food is fabulous, and the restaurant is gorgeous and romantic. I’m not really into gamey dishes as a rule, but Geronimo’s elk tenderloin is wonderful!

My other favorite is our quirky, wonderful Harry’s Roadhouse. Not expensive, with great food, fun NM interior, and a patio that is just the best to eat out on, which we did this past Saturday.

smhinnb--What is the name of the restaurant in New Orleans?

Sometimes it's a magical mix of all that's good that makes you remember a particular place during travels. For me it's The Cellar Restaurant at the Y Meirionnydd hotel in Dolgellau, Gwynedd, Wales. As stated it's a cellar, a cellar with stone walls and looks a bit carved out. I had the best lamb of my life. Everything on the menu is fresh and local. The lighting, other customers, staff , food and charming village made for a memorable dining experience.

Now I want lamb.

Junco... d'uh me, kind of an important piece of information to leave out! haha It's Pierre Maspero's on Chartres Street in the French Quarter.

How did we find these restaurants along the road before smart phones ?!? Last night we went a few miles along a country road past vineyards to a a charming winery restaurant in Ohio of all places, then in just a couple of minutes we were back on the interstate. It was our second choice; another looked more enticing, but it was further off the road in a resort area, so it looked a little more convoluted to get to in the dark (even with the phone) and we'd get there too close to closing time. But would love to try it sometime in the daylight.

We are happy to find fresh-food options at more service plazas along the interstates, alongside the Burger King, Popeye's, and pizza. (Notice how, if there's a Gloria Jean or Starbucks in the plaza, no other restaurants serve coffee? I stood in line behind a half dozen motorcyclists in leather, piercings, and tattoos at the Starbucks. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just a little "what's wrong with this picture")

Right now I'm looking for a spot to have dinner along the road near Brewerton NY. There are so many chains near the interstates, it's kinda fun to browse the lists for something local. I think we will want something quicker, without it being fast food.

My parents relied on the AAA Trip-Tik, a great invention. The phone makes it more on-the-go.

Turkey Hill Brewing Company outside of Bloomsburg PA. We found that one thanks to . . . I dunno, maybe Yelp or Google something or other. We make the trip from MI to Allentown area a couple times a year on I-80 so are always looking for good places to stop to eat. This place also has an adjacent inn, and it's pretty close off the highway but not too close, so that was good. Gonna have to check out that DuBois diner some time. We often get hungry about there, which is kinda halfway for us. We often stop at the rest stops in OH, they have Panera which I generally like well enough. Or we pack our own food, at least for lunch. We sometimes stop in Clearview, there's a Dunkin' Donuts and Chinese place there, but that's not good for us!

Pismo Beach, CA:

Lars, we ate lunch a couple of weeks ago at Cool Cat Cafe in Pismo Beach, right across the street from Splash Cafe. It was a throw back burger and shakes place, so fun for lunch! We will try Cool Cat on our next visit.

Venice, CA:

Another memorable meal (one of many) in CA last month was at Felix in LA, homemade pastas and breads, with vegetables from local farms. Great wine list also. We were able to walk there from our Air Bnb and felt fortunate to snag a table without a reservation.

THE ZAGAT REVIEW

A temperature-controlled and glass-enclosed pasta-rolling laboratory helms the center of this warm-wood and mid-century vintage-themed Italian trattoria from beloved chef Evan Funke, on hip Abbot Kinney in Venice. Pappardelle, rigatoni, orchiette and other hand-made noodles emerge as carefully plated yet rustic dishes, alongside a robust and traditional menu of antipasti, secondi and vegetable contorni—plus old school aperitivi and European beers.

Since moving to California we have done many automobile trips around the West and part of the fun has always been finding local dining spots. Especially in fulfillment of DH's eternal quest for the Perfect Pancake, which means that breakfast is an important meal for us. Aside from the pancake hunt, we like ethnic food and seafood and "California-healthy" (soups and salads).

Apparently the Perfect Pancake has finally been discovered, at least DH thinks so, and is served at Du-par's, in L.A. This is a small local chain that specializes in breakfasts and bakery, although they serve all day long. I had the French toast and enjoyed it (my breakfasts are usually lighter). Their portions are not for the faint-hearted; their coffee is excellent. We went to the Du-Par's at the Farmers' Market; it has a nice vintage feel.

Our current favorite ethnic place is Café Turko in Seattle. Marvelous Turkish food, incredibly delicious flavors very well-prepared. They use lots of pistachios and apricots. My favorite dishes are the spinach hummus as an appetizer, followed by aromatic lamb with apricots, and for dessert the bird's nests (yum yum). This is an unusual restaurant - DH and I have eaten Middle-Eastern cuisine throughout the States and in the Middle East, and deem Café Turko to be the best! Because the owners are Muslim the restaurant follows Islamic rules for eating - no alcohol of any kind, and no pork. Also, no American coffee, only Turkish, which I have with my bird's nests for dessert. Décor is straight from Istanbul and the service is very good. In a few weeks we'll be back in Seattle and our hosts know to schedule this place early in the visit!

You can hover over the names of the dishes on the menu for an explanation of what they contain.

bpathome-o-my - I hope you kept driving past Brewerton. And were heading south. There isn't a single place I would recommend in Brewerton. A new place is opening next week that I'm hopeful about but if history is any guide it will either be awful or it will close in 3 months - 6 months if they are stubborn and lower their standards.

bpathhome, a little further north, in Pulaski, try Mill House Market, right off I-81, rosesstink, I'm with ya, nothing in Brewerton worth trying.

I have a few favorites in Monterey and nearby Pacific Grove, CA. Passionfish, Red House Cafe, and Crystal Fish are all winners.

A new favorite is The Fish and the Hog in Waimea, HI (Big Island).

Rosesstink and lake effect, well, we bypassed Brewerton because we weren't really hungry yet. Almost stopped in Parish at Passarelli's, but we'd had a pizza slice for lunch and Italian the night before, and didn't want more. Considered the Grist Mill! By that point, DH just wanted to get across the border, so we stopped at an En Route (rest stop travel plaza) on the 401 and had KFC. Ugh, the En Route was packed with families, probably for the long weekend, and KFC had the shortest line.

Coming home, google maps failed us. We stopped at a diner north of Watertown. Had pretty good reviews. Meh. Just a diner. Had to salt my egg salad sandwich (which did not have lettuce or anything on it), the onion rings were flavorless. DS liked his chili, though. And the waitress chased down a family in the parking lot to return the little girl's lavender jacket, so that was sweet.

Sometimes I just don't like road trips. On our way to the last hotel, , we just wanted a salad. There was a good restaurant nearby open late, but by that time we just hit the McD drive-thru, got a salad and a snack wrap (what? Snack wrap? They discontinued those in our neck of woods!) and brought it to the room. We did, however, open a bottle of the wine we got at the Ohio winery on our first night out. Perfect circle lol

Any suggestions for the Thousand Islands? I'm enchanted just driving across! And how about Ithaca and environs?

bpath, lol, I know exactly which diner you are talking about, and meh is being kind. Watertown isn't overflowing with locally owned, interesting restaurants, it's pretty much "Anywhere USA"; Applebee's, Red Lobster et al (I'd rather eat a PB & J at home) but we do like the Apollo Diner, good Greek food, marooned in a dumpy strip mall just off the main Watertown exit. There's also a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place downtown that's a notch or two above OK, but that's it.

Thousand Islands is lovely and a great place to visit, you could easily spend a low-key week there, rent a camp or cottage on the river if you can, swimming and just watching the ships go by is so much fun and a real visual treat. Singer Castle and Boldt Castle are excellent day trips, and get you out on the water. Clayton is a great town, not very large, but quite nice, with a few good restaurants and some shops, and the Antique Boat Museum, which, if you like classic boats, is a fun time. Alexandria Bay (A-Bay to locals) is a bit honky tonk, but fun for a day, tho I would not stay there, too touristy for me and the restaurants, uhh, no. Sacket's Harbor is also fun for a day; shopping, boats, a national battlefield and good restaurants.

My daughter goes to college in Ithaca, and it's a nice little college town, lots of great restaurants and good scenery, the wonderful State Theater, close to Corning and the Corning Museum of Glass, wine country, etc. Skaneateles, has good shopping, restaurants and scenery as well.

Tell us when you are thinking of going and I can supply more details.

Austin (Driftwood), Texas:

Last year while in Austin for a wedding we had dinner one evening at Trattoria Lisina in nearby Driftwood. There we had the best Italian food we’ve ever eaten in a gorgeous, romantic (inside and out) setting.

Lakeaffect, DS is at IC! Which school is your daughter at? We've been there a couple of times but have only eaten at The Boatyard and a Mexican restaurant on 13. It's kind of a long slog for us so we never seem to have time to spend. If only it had a battlefield, DH would spend more time lol. We visited Sackett's Harbor last year, but it had been pouring rain so some things were closed. About 30 years ago I was traveling with my parents to a wedding, and we overnighted in Skaneateles, and I fell in love with it. Mom had been there back in the 40s as a traveling sales rep and she liked it then, so she chose it for our one-day stay. On this trip we listened to one of Amy Dickinson's memoirs, so of course we had to cruise through Freeville.

We bought gas in Clayton and I was pushing for lunch at River Rat, is it any good? Had to have been better than the Longway Diner. Next trip I'll definitely ask you for recs!

bpath, sorry for the late reply, and how fun we both have kids in Ithaca, my daughter is a junior at CU, and we are only about an hour and 45 minutes, so we haven't had to stay overnight, just lots of lunches/early dinners! There are so many good restaurants in Ithaca, I know that Mexican restaurant you speak of, it's good, not great. We really like a Thai place out by TJ Maxx and a couple downtown, of course I don't know the names, I'll get them from DD. And LOL on Freeville, that's how we get to Ithaca, it's the back way, and faster than going through Dryden, so we know it well. It's small, but with a fun, quirky vibe, driving through there makes me happy (for reasons I can't fully explain).

River Rat Cheese is excellent, especially their super aged cheddar (36 months IIRC) and cheese curd, FYI, available in Tops grocery stores, and I've been to the RR retail store - sample heaven - but I didn't know they had a restaurant, may have to check that out for lunch some weekend, when we do, I'll report back.

smhinnb, you didn't give the name of the restaurant in New Orleans. What is it?