Best Eats in the burg – Day 2
Picking up where we left off yesterday, we’re going to profile the other half of the bracket. Vote early and vote often.
[polldaddy poll=2917069]3. Luigi’s – Todd’s Take: (The original out on 42, not the misguided downtown version that tried to move into Gus’ old space) – This bastion of slow service really can’t claim great food, but a lazy afternoon fading into evening out at Luigi’s with a good friends, good beer, a serious case of the munchies and a Mushroom pie on the way is definitely in my top five for JMU events that will live in my warm nostalgic dreams for as long as my liver functions. My personal pick to win it all but we’ll see.
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14. El Charro – Rob’s Take: I have absolutely no recollection whatsoever about the taste of the food at El Charro. All I remember is that it came out from the kitchen so quickly that everyone swore it was microwaved. Well, I also remember that every year on Cinco de Mayo a rumor would spread across campus that El Charro had $1 margaritas and every year the joint would be packed, despite the fact that the margaritas were full price (and presumably terrible).
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6. Boston Beanery– Rob’s Take: Some older guys in our fraternity used to go there occasionally and they’d always talk about it. They did WAY better with the ladies then me (go figure), so in my head the Beanery was some sort secret Harrisonburg hot spot where the drinks flowed and woman threw themselves at guys. Imagine my surprise when I made my first trip there to find out it was pretty much exactly what it looked like, a random TJ McFunsters serving burgers and salads in a strip mall.
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11. Waffle House – Todd’s Take: The largest and most recognizable chain to make the field, but being from Northern Virginia and therefore failing to comprehend when we were growing up that sometime between the Civil War and the early 1990’s, the real Mason-Dixon line had relocated somewhere around Fredericksburg, this was an important non-school factor in our education. Our dutiful and seriously “not cheerful” waitress through our time at JMU was Ravenna. She came to our buddy Kevin’s graduation and even got an invite to his wedding.
[polldaddy poll=2917075]7. Biltmore – Todd’s Take: This is a true “moment-in-time” entrant, sort of a UNLV or Loyola Marymount and most likely low seed to make a deep run on the strength of one INCREDIBLE shock-the-world player. I even worked there one summer. Food was generally below average, service was poor and often unfriendly, and they never busted out the secret wheel behind the bar enough, but for a brief two-year period when The Biltmore Grill unleashed Thumbs & Toes on an unsuspecting world, there was no place better. No one had even heard of a boneless wing back then and when they started all-you-can-eat T&T’s for $7 on a random weeknight, it was appointment dining. Going for the record on multiple occasions with my buddy Deta, I should have bought stock in Preparation H. But seriously good times!
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10. Gatti’s Buffet – Rob’s Take: Sure the pizza wasn’t fantastic, but we’re looking back at a time in my life when I would have told you with a straight face and no hint of irony that my favorite food was “buffet”. What was it, like 5 bucks for all you can eat pizza? That’s like striking oil to a college kid. Plus they had a big screen tv. Yeah, it was one of those funky projection things from the 80’s with the colored lights and you couldn’t see a thing if you veered even 2 degrees from dead center, but it was huge! And they had air hockey.
[polldaddy poll=2917081]2. Spanky’s – Rob’s Take: Every college town in America has place like Spanky’s. A place where the menu lists way too many sandwiches, yet somehow they’re all actually good. A place where you can show up for a quick bite and a beer, and end up stumbling out 4 hours later, with a good buzz, a full stomach, and a woman who’ll make you hate yourself in the morning. Not every college town has one that got shut down for tax evasion though.
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15. Finnegan’s Cove – Rob’s Take: This place went through more names that Sean Combs. New management would come in, think up a new name, throw up a new coat of paint, and then open for business with some big new drink special. They’d quickly find out however, that it would take a really fantastic drink special to hide the fact that the restaurant stunk like rotten fish. I swear, I wore a sweater to this joint when it first opened as Awful Arthurs and I had friggin seagulls pecking at me the whole way home. True story. OK, I made that up, but trust me, the place reeked.
Check back next week for the Elite 8!
You are selling the Luigi’s calzones short.
new luigis or out-of-business luigis?
Out of business Luigi’s. I’m with Uncle Ron btw. I know part of the charm of the place was the fact that it would take 2 hours to get your food while the wait staff hot boxed it in the beer cooler, but I thought the food was pretty good anyway.