WELL -- I wrote for info about eating in Dayton about a month ago and I got LOTS of recommendations about Dayton food. I love writing to the net - you get soooo much information.
Here's the compilation of information
(2) Amber Rose: This charming place bills itself as an Eastern
European restaurant; the owners are Lithuanian, so
there's a rather heavy emphasis on food from that
country along with dishes from Russia, Hungary,
Germany, and Poland. The menu changes rather a lot,
but there are always some very good things that are
probably best described as "hearty." The kugelis (an
odd potato dish), borscht, and chicken paperkash (I'm
sure I've spellt that wrong) are real favorites of
mine. Desserts are gotten from a variety of
neighborhood sources and are of fairly uneven
quality..... if they have the apple date cake with the
boiled nut frosting, grab a piece. Prices are
amazingly cheap, most all dinners under $10. Building
is a very charming restored general store with stained
glass and pressed tin ceiling. Busy on weekends, I
think they take reservations, closed Sundays. Located
in "Old North Dayton" probably about 5 miles from
downtown (a real easy drive).
* This quaint little deli/restaurant is in a restored
building done up beautifully. They serve what they
call "Eastern European" food. The owners are actually
Lithuanian, so you get quite a bit of that country's
offerings; there are also Polish, Hungarian, and some
German selections available. All of the food is
hearty, rich, wonderful, cholesterol laden "comfort"
food. The whole experience has a very happy kind of
family feel to it. Also amazingly inexpensive.
Antonio's (Rt. 48 and 725, in Centerville) has excellent Italian
food in a good atmosphere at reasonable prices ($9-17
or so). More than just the standard red sauce fare.
(2)Charley's Crab The other is a place called Charley's Crab,
also smack in the middle of downtown on (well,
actually under) Courthouse Square. These are
relatively new digs, since they were booted out of the
historic Arcade Market last year when it went bankrupt
(the market, not the restaurant). I haven't been to
the new location yet, but the old one was quite a bit
more posh than Jay's (and quieter), but also a bit
more on the expensive side..... I'd guess roughly $5 a
meal or so more, and they don't have the half portions
or as good of desserts. They do have a rather nice
seafood chowder though....
* is a good seafood restaraunt even though it's a
chain. It's downtown at Arcade Square.
Chickery It is located on SR 725 south of I-675. They brew
their own beer and rootbeer.
Daniel's Park Row Continental food. Belmont area.
The Diner Downtown.
Dominics If you like homestyle Italian, my favorite is Dominics
on Main Street and they aren't kidding when they say
the house salad dressing is garlic.
Fricker's has the best Buffalo Wings, we go to the one on South
Dixie but the one on Woodman is good also.
The Grub Steak (N. Main, alias SR 48) is a good basic restaraunt.
It's got a real nice pork tenderloin, and everyone
likes their stewed tomatoes. Prices $7-$14 except for
the seafood which I'd avoid here.
(2)Jay's: If you're into fresh seafood, this is probably the
best place in Dayton. It's in a restored warehouse in
the Oregon District (a rather trendy historical
district within walking distance of downtown). A
fairly wide variety of changing fresh catch specials.
Reasonable prices ($12-$25); also have very good
"half boat" smaller portions for smaller appetites (or
those holding out for dessert). The desserts
are made on the premises and are very good, especially
the chocolate almond torte. Very busy weekend
evenings; I think that they take reservations on
weekdays and Friday evenings, but not Saturdays.
Don't know if they are open on Sundays.
* One of the two decent places to go in town for fresh
fish. Intersting converted warehouse, but does tend to
be a bit noisy. Not much but fish on the menu....
though they do have a couple of very good desserts.
(3) Kitty's: a very nice place with rather modern decor right in
the heart of downtown Dayton. Very good food, with a
menu that changes monthly and incorporates seasonal
ingredients. Prices range from around $10 (pasta
dishes mostly) to around $22 (steaks and such). A
favorite of mine that they often have is the Bruce
Gore salmon cooked over their hardwood grill. The
rosemary dinner rolls are locally rather famous, and
the rattlesnake cake is a chocolate lover's dream.
Always a very solid choice, reservations recommended,
closed Sundays last I heard.
* Wonderful food from a menu that changes monthly to
take advantage of seasonal ingredients. Very nice
atmosphere, fantastic food, fairly reasonable prices.
Desserts are to die for (especially the creme brulee).
L'Auberge French and $$$$. But quite good.
* As you can probably guess from the name, this is
Dayton's French restaurant. Extremely good food, but
rather snobby atmosphere and service; also quite
expensive.
Mamma DiSalvo's good, home-style Italian. In Kettering.
Milano's Deli (Brown St., near Univ. of Dayton) has the best
submarine sandwiches (italian style). The rolls are
very close to the real thing like you get in
Philadelphia.
* There's a good submarine sandwich shop on Brown just
south of Stewart, called Milano's.
Old Hickory If you like meat, Old Hickory on Brown Street near the
University of Dayton. The Best !!
Paragon I can recommend a VERY, VERY good steak restaurant.
It is the Paragon and is on 725 near the Dayton Mall.
I recommend the filet. They also are well known for
their stewed tomatoes. Not being a stewed tomato
fan, I can't say, but a lot of people I know really
like them.
(6) Pine Club (Brown St not far from Univ Dayton) Very good steak
house. Always busy - no reservations, no cards.
* is generally accepted as the best steak house in
town. almost indisputably the best steak in town;
actually among the best that I've had anywhere. Also
very good pork chops. Atmosphere not that great;
always a wait.
* The Pine Club is the best steak house in the world.
* I grew up in the meat business. This place is
wonderful. That retro dinner you've been promising
yourself ever since you decided to get healthy--this
is the place to do it.
Skyline Chili if you like Cinci style chili, try this. Go to the
one near the Dayton Mall - the others (near U.D. and
in Centerville) are not nearly as good.
Spaghetti Warehouse is good pasta downtown (W. 5th).
Taste of Ruby In the Englewood Plaza there is a restaurant called
something like "A Taste of Ruby". Home run joint and
they had really good corn fritters back a few years
ago. Along with, let's say, traditional home-cooked
meals from the area.
The Winds Not actually in Dayton, but in a little town called
Yellow Springs that's about a 30 minute drive
(depending on where you're staying of course. If you
happen to be at WPAFB it's quite close to that). This
is one of those kind of "alternative" places with the
emphasis on healthy, fresh organic kind of things.
The rather limited but constantly changing menu always
has some extremely interesting items. Great homemade
desserts also change nightly. The building is very
open and plain with lots of white walls and bare
wood...which looks nice, but does make it quite noisy
when the place fills up. The whole town has kind of a
retro-60's hippie feel to it. A really enjoyable
evening.
***************
Personal observations:
DARN!!!!
I didn't bring the list with me :-( but I did remember some things and I really didn't have TIME or money for other places. We mostly fixed our own breakfast/lunches and went out to dinner.
THURSDAY night -- WELL, after SIX votes for the Pine Club we decided to check the place out. We were staying with a friend of ours and we had decided that we wanted to take him out to dinner (which is MUCH less expensive and more convenient than spending 3 nights in a hotel) so we took him to the Pine Club. I must admit, the steaks were VERY good. MAYBE just a little salty for my tastes - but MOST restaurant food is a bit salty for my taste (if I can taste salt, it's too salty, and since I rarely use the stuff I've very good at detecting it).
OKAY -- how does one make stewed tomatoes -- those were GOOD!!!
I have to disagree with the person that said tht the Pine Club is the "best" steak in the world -- the "best" steak house in the world is a place in Covington, Indiana called The Beef House. Of course, Covington, Indiana is smack dab in the MIDDLE of NOWHERE (it's about 45 minutes east of Champaign/Urbana, Illinois and about 1-1/4 hr. from Indianapolis. The steaks there are to DIE for (they don't use any flavorings -- not even salt) and they make their own homemade Strawberry jam which is ALMOST as good as mine :^).
Friday night we went to Skyline Chili - yes we went to the one by the mall. I've decided that I like Texas Chili better.
Saturday night we went to Bill Knapp's - a chain. Not bad for a chain, very reasonable prices
Sunday we went to the Chickery -- MAJOR yum - the chicken was GREAT, the ribs were pretty good and the root beer was excellent :^). Snoopy would be proud.
>From PREVIOUS experience I can also vouch for the buffalo wings at
Fricker's. Next time I go to Dayton, I'll make sure to stop there.Dayton, OH
Dayton Eats
To your list of recommended restaurants, I suggest you add the Savory Restaurant. IMHO, they have one of the most interesting menus in the area. Their cuisine is fairly modern, the ingredients fresh, and the prices not too bad. The ambiance is just OK.
Jeff C. wrote: >Third question for all you Ohioans: where is there good "road food" >for a lone driver in Columbus? In Grandview Heights, there are two very good pizza joints: Spagio and Figlio. Figlio has a much better crust that Spagio, but Spagio easily wins on creative toppings. The smoked duck, scallion, ginger, and garlic pie is exquisite--the duck is smoked on the spot--and the prosciutto, calamata olive paste, goat cheese antomato pie is also wonderful. I try and hit one of these two whenever I'm passing thru, the nod for overall quality and atmosphere must go to Spagio.