How about the most homey restaurant you have ever been to?

[gimmethesimplelife]

I was inspired by Packy's Snooty Restaurant thread to start this thread - what is the most homey restaurant you have even been to? For me it's easy - an Afghani place here in Phoenix that is clean, pleasant, unpretentious, and has incredible vegetarian lunch specials for 6.99 - especially a cauliflower/turmeric combo that is just so good and cheap and healthy and filling. I love this place and I love that it is a small business and that I am helping new arrived immigrants by eating here. It just feels good to me to be spending what little money I have to eat out here. I leave with that warm feeling of money spent well that Your Money or Your Life touches on but I think it's phrased differently in YMOYL. Rob

[kib]

Yessi. It's a tiny place in Bacoachi on the Rio Sonora, serving a daily special. Apparently the roof burned down a couple of months ago so now they've got tarps over the top, but the food is still fine, we stop there most trips. And there is Martine's, in Banamichi, which serves possibly the best carne asada tacos I've ever eaten, in what appears to be a cement garage. That one's actually one of my favorite restaurants anywhere, that food is amazing. Imagine, the beef is grass fed and finished ... because they can't afford corn & antibiotics for cows that can just go graze instead. Woot and three cheers for local farming.

[Tammy]

Mel's Diner

[JaneV2.0]

We used go to a Thai/Lao restaurant where the owner's daughters did their homework at a corner table, under the watchful eye of family members. The food was very, very good. Mostly, I stick to ethnic restaurants of various kinds where there is still some pride of ownership evident--small places that are cozy by their nature.

[awakenedsoul]

I haven't been to a restaurant in a long time...well except Panera. Not exactly homey, but comfortable, affordable, and good. Growing up, we used to go to this Mexican restaurant called La Fonda. It's in the Bay Area. They serve really delicious, homemade, authentic Mexican food. I loved their salads, rice, and chicken tacos. The building was like a really classic Spanish style home. They are still there, and my parents periodically have lunch there.

[RCWRTR]

I would have to say Shady Maple Smorgasbord, as the food tastes EXACTLY like my grandmother's wonderful PA Dutch home cooking. It's a tad pricy, as are most good restaurants here in the Philadelphia suburbs, so I only eat there on rare occasion. If you ever get to Philadelphia and Amish Country, I encourage you to dine there. Here's their website: http://www.shady-maple.com/smorgasbord/.

[ToomuchStuff]

Mel's Diner

Thought that was just a tv show.:laff:

Not sure what defines homey. For me, I have a place, but that is due to memories, but it is long since closed and even then wasn't politically correct. (Sambo's, when I was a kid) Their may be one other one, but for the most part, eating out to me, is just about subtance, not environment. Don't think I have ever been or had a snooty type experience. (not sure I could justify the cost/no value for me)

[Packy]

CiCi's Pizza. The one opened here, oh--1996, an all-day buffet for 2.99. It's over $5 now. The company opened up a northside store in 1999, but the big, fat, slobby northsiders would go in there and eat & eat & eat & eat--leaving several plates piled high with the uneaten crusts. They only eat the nice, greasy toppings. So, in 2010, the company did not renew their lease-they could not make a profit with gluttonous slobs coming into eat. So, if I want CiCi's, I must go to the southside store, which isn't very often. But, it's still there, and there are fatso's in there, too. Just not as many.

[Tammy]

The Mel's Diner from the TV show is a real place on grand avenue in Phoenix. It's a step back in time.

[bae]

Kidron Town & Country restaurant, right next to the livestock auction house, and across the street from Lehman's Hardware. I used to eat there with my grandpa and great-grandpa almost every week.

[Packy]

There was a place in out in a small town in Kansas, just across the state line, operated by the same owner since the very early 1960's. It was one of those "authentic" Italian restaurants, and the proprietor was a crusty old geezer of Italian descent that weighed about 350 lbs. Anyway, I used to go in there occasionally. The food was passably good, prices not cheap but ok. What I dug was that it was a nostalgia trip because it hadn't changed much since he opened. It had those chrome-legged formica-topped tables(that needed polished up a bit), asphalt tile flooring(that needed stripped, sealed and re-waxed), and genuine wood veneer grooved paneling, which had some wear and tear. But, the lighting was dim enough, you really didn't notice. Oh, yeah; the light fixtures: those 50's-60's recessed lights. His health went bad & he closed about ten years ago, and died at age 69. But, the building is still there, vacant.

[Tussiemussies]

We just recently found near our home a little Lebanese restaurant with the greatest food. It is not big on atmosphere but the owner is right there behind the serving area, very friendly people, great service and the greatest food. Unfortunately we never see, many cars there but they have been there a long time, we just never went there. We hope to go there, more often to support them.

[Tammy]

Bae - kidron ohio?!? I grew up memnonite in northwest Ohio, near archbold. We could be related. :)

[sweetana3]

We liked Boyd and Wurthmann in Berlin, OH. Funny place that looks like it has not changed in 50+ years. They make a sundae in the old fashioned glasses and pour the sauce on it until it pours over the side and pools on the plate. More fun than the huge huge huge family style barn sized restaurants.

[catherine]

Definitely the sushi place that I mentioned in the other thread--the one DH is getting a little tired of, precisely because it's getting a little too homey. We have gone to the same place since my kids were little, and we go almost every week and we always have conversations with the owners when we're there. It's comfortable but very reasonable. We have our Saturday evening out for $33 + tip, and the food is very healthy and very good.

And what makes it especially homey to me is, when they were moving to another space I overheard the sushi chef/owner talk about how they were going to replace their furniture. We happened to need new kitchen chairs at the time--two had broken. So we asked him how much he would charge for 4 chairs and he gave them to us. He even delivered them to our home. So every time I sit in my kitchen I think of this restaurant.

[bae]

Bae - kidron ohio?!? I grew up memnonite in northwest Ohio, near archbold. We could be related. :)

Kidron Ohio, that's the place :-)

[Spartana]

This place http://ochistorical.blogspot.com/2009/08/belisles-restaurant-garden-grove-1955.html Belisle's was not only a great homey restaurant but my first "real" job as a teenager. I use to dress up as a chef and stand in front of the restaurant and wave to people driving by and open the door and greet customers. I was about 14 and got minimum wage and all the food I could eat! Great food, large portions and really nice owners (I was friends with their son who also worked there). Apparently Walt Disney was a regular while Disneyland was being built (well before my time) and there were some interesting stories about him. Closed now sadly.

[ctg492]

Nothing fancy, local all the way. Nothing I can't really make at home either. Alpha Coney Island in Adrian. Sometimes just being local feels so nice. I have never been local, but now realize how nice that feeling is.

[Gregg]

There used to be a little bbq place in South Austin. Kitchen was in a school bus with a big awning, tables were card tables, chairs were the white plastic stacking deck chairs. In a vacant lot where all the neighbors had fences so it felt like a beer garden. Always someone with a guitar. Christmas lights strung up everywhere. Can't remember the name (this was 30 years ago!), but will never forget hanging out there. The fortunate thing is that now there are probably 50 places with almost exactly the same vibe in Austin. And Portland. And wherever else qualifies as hipster heaven.