My husband and I don't really go out to eat very often, but last weekend I ate almost every meal at a restaurant, and loved it. I love having people wait on me, not having to cook and not having to clean up; that, and the cooking is usually better than mine.

Do you go out to eat a lot? What are your favourite restaurants? What do you order when you go there?

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Answers

My official new favourite restaurant is Frere Jacques in Putney, south London. I've only eaten there once, and the food was really simple (feta salad, Mediterranean vegetable tartelette, creme brulee), but absolutely perfect. And the waitstaff were very unintrusive but didn't ignore us. It was the ultimate dining experience, and I can't wait to go back.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

If it were up to me, I'd eat out at every meal. In fact, I'd live in a hotel, so not just my good was brought to me but my clothes would be clean and the bed would be made every day.

My favorite restaurant is in my town, Hoboken, NJ. It's called Leo's Grandevous (it's on Grand St.). There are a lot of pictures of Frank Sinatra on the walls, and a lot of Frank Sinatra on the jukebox. Bread is served on paper plates, the food is great (Italian, natch), the service is great and it's cheap. Leo himself tends bar, where he's been since 1939! I take everyone who comes to town there and everyone loves it!

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Joanne, you can take me to Leo's anytime. And sign me up for living in a hotel, while you're at it.

It's not technically a restaurant, but there's a pub near my father- in-law's in Derby (called the Ragley Boat) that is easily my favourite pub in the world. It's in the country, down a long lane and next to the river, and they do a really mean chicken fajita. As fajitas and other Mexican food isn't really widely available in the UK, I always order them when we go there, despite the fact that the sizzling, smoking griddle they serve the chicken and caramelised onions in attracts stares from everyone in the pub. Also, people usually bring their dogs down and sit at a table outside with them and let them play down by the river. It makes a cute scene.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Check out my errant subject/verb agreement, there. I'm covering my face in shame, believe me.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

When I first moved to Austin, all we did was eat out at Tex-Mex or Mexican restaurants for the first 6mths or so. Sadly, it *is* possible to get sick of Tex-Mex (but the feeling doesn't last long). My boyfriend's hobby is gourmet cooking so we don't get out much to eat. When I do, I go to places for very specific dishes, such as:

Hyde Park Grill: the breaded french fries Hoovers: the sweet potato biscuits Crown and Anchor: the greasiest cheeseburgers...like soaked in grease=perfect for a hangover West Lynn Cafe: artichoke enchiladas Texadelphia: veggie melt Jaime's: real lime margaritas and lard-ridden refried beans

Upon reflection, i'll probably die of blocked arteries by the time I'm 35...

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Gardanna, for some reason I thought you lived in Dallas. I didn't know you were in Austin! Paul has always loved the Crown and Anchor.

I love to eat out. We have a lot of places we like, depending on what part of town we're in and whether or not we have the kids with us. (And on how much money we wanna blow.) Usually, with the kids, we go to Chinese buffets or CiCi's pizza or a tiny Mexican restaurant near my house. Or the Lone Star Cafe. Or we'll drive down to Jorge's on Hancock, near 2222/Koenig. When it's just us, we go to... well, I don't know. We hardly ever go out to eat alone. We always go to movies and then every place near by is closed. So we'll go to Applebee's (which is mostly nasty) or the Whataburger drive-through.

We need to go out to eat more. I want to try new, different places, but we have to drive 20 miles to get to any. I like Kirby Lane Cafe, though. And Kim Fung, this tiny Vietnamese place on Lamar.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Yep, I live in Austin. Smack in the middle of Hyde Park. Kim Phung ROCKS!

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

I keep posting before I'm done, but I was going to add: Crown and Anchor is like 3 blocks from my house, so I go there quite a bit. It's nice b/c like Jackie said in her post about the pub, they allow dogs. My dog isn't a "people dog" i.e. she'd rather everyone just leave her the hell alone, but she likes the Crown. I think it's all the french fries on the floor..

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

My brother lives in Arlington, TX, and I've heard a lot of raves about the food around there. So, naturally, I'm eager to visit.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Lynchburg is like the black hole of interesting resturaunts - if it is a cheap chain resturant, it is bound to be in Lynchburg, VA. Even the independent resturants make themselves look like chains to entice people to come and eat there - it is pathetic. There are a few exceptions.

There is one resturant that I like to go to called At The Hop. It is decorated like a 50s diner and the waitresses wear poodle skirts. You can get sandwiches like the Hunka-Hunka Burning Cheese, which is a triple decker grilled cheese, or Love Me Tenders. They also have a big jukebox that plays all the oldies music. I love going there just for their kick-ass milkshakes. When I want to eat a week's worth of fat at one sitting, I go there.

I also just ate a new resturaunt last weekend called Vinny's, which is actually very good. Most "italian" resturaunts around here blow ass. Vinny is from NYC and knows his Italian food. I plan to visit his place often.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

We eat out a fair bit, but I do cook a lot, too, in the interest of economy. When we're going for someplace nice, it's Cafe Renaissance in Peachtree Corners. All kinds of great food and desserts. It's about the only place in the world I actually eat dessert.

We also go to La Sabrosita a lot, the only non-"Speedy With Beans" Mexican restaurant around here. Great shrimp dishes, which is always a plus. And Fujita for Japanese food/sushi, and Sea Shanty in Tucker for fried oysters, and any of the Mellow Mushrooms for fabulous, chewy pizza.

Anything else is strip-mall-type food, unfortunately. I'm usually the designated driver and I won't drive inside the perimeter without a DAMN good reason, so we mostly eat in the 'burbs. Oh, and gotta mention Folks (formerly Po' Folks). We eat there a lot because they have all of my daughter's staple foods: macaroni and cheese, french fries, chicken fingers and corn on the cob. Plus fried okra and fried pork chops for my husband and chicken livers with turnip greens for me!

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

I forgot to say that sometimes we eat at Luly's. (Yeah, it's actually Luby's, but since King of the Hill came out, we call it Luly's.)

Gardanna, are there any Hyde Park rapists about these days?

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Highway 85 or 285 or whatever it's called...the Ninth Circle of Hell..

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Lord, I hope not.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2000

Y'all are making me miss Texas. Especially how you couldn't throw a rock (in the DFW area, anyway) without hitting a TexMex chain restaurant w/fresh tortillas and chile con queso. We have an On The Border in Woburn, which is twenty minutes outside Boston by car, and I don't have a car......

If I lived in Austin, I would have breakfast at Star Seeds every day.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

Jackie D forgot to mention that the reason for all those restaurant meals last weekend was because she was staying with me, and I'm a dreadful hostess and never cook.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

But Jackie, you made me slices of French bread with butter -- remember? And apple juice, yum. What more could a girl ask for?

I had lunch with my husband and some friends at my favourite pub in Kingswinford this afternoon, the Cottage. It has this really pretty ivy and purple flowers all over the outside, and everyone was buying me birthday drinks and I had a really quite blah cheese and tomato toastie, but it was still lovely to be served, not have to cook and not have to do the washing up. I could learn to live like this...

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

Happy birthday, Jackie D.!

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

First of all, happy birthday, Jackie D!

I get tired of eating out a lot. However, there is one place that I could eat at, every day for the rest of my life. It is a Lebanese place with a hot and cold vegetarian buffet. It tastes exactly like home cooking. I adore it. For a long time, any time my husband picked me up from work and suggested going out for dinner, I would always suggest that place. There are no words to describe how much I love, love, love that place.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

Thank you!

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

I like going out to eat, but don't do it very often. I'm without an SO, and don't have any local friends, so restaurant-going would involve sitting by myself, and that got old about 10 years ago.

I *do* go to a brewpub near my house nearly every Friday night, where I sit at the bar and have a cold one, plus some dinner. That way, I can strike up conversations with other people and it's not so lonely. The place I go has wonderful burgers and other beef; I also get this great salad that has big pieces of sliced chicken on it, plus coarsely-grated parmesan.

When I go out, I like to have something I wouldn't (or couldn't) make at home, or that I don't eat very often.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2000

My girlfriend and i eat out once a month (on pay day) and we try somewhere new each time . A couple of weeks ago we went xmas shopping in Nottingham UK and found a cafe called fashions the food and service where second to non and good value. Iam a non smoker but this is the only cafe ive been in that lets you smoke anywhere, so if your a smoker its a must.

----Stephen

-- Anonymous, December 24, 2000