15 State Burger Tour Starts Tomorrow!

San Francisco to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Dallas, New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Nebraska, Denver, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and all points in between, near and far. If you have a favorite burger, hot dog, or pizza (or a local food product I should buy and bring home!) in one of these… Continue reading 15 State Burger Tour Starts Tomorrow!

Godfather’s – A Pizza You CAN Refuse!

Started in 1973 in Omaha, Godfather’s tried to go elbow to elbow with Pizza Hut, and at the time, Shakey’s.  The chain was spun off to Pillsbury when they thought they wanted to be in the restaurant business, at the time they also held Burger King, and a pie chain which I have long since… Continue reading Godfather’s – A Pizza You CAN Refuse!

Portland, OR – Aquariva

Mrs. BDB wanted to go out for drinks tonight, OK, she wants to every night, but I usually manage to keep her corralled.  It was one of those few balmy Spring days that we have in Portland (well, balmy compared to Frostbite Falls, Minnesota.) So we racked my brain to think of a place we… Continue reading Portland, OR – Aquariva

Portland, OR – Violetta Redux

I first visited Violetta’s mobile kitchen in mid January, right after they first opened. Read about that visit here. I was wandering around downtown today just pass the lunch hour, thinking of trying something new, when the bright yellow ‘Etta wagon caught my eye. For those of you who don’t know the story of ‘Etta,… Continue reading Portland, OR – Violetta Redux

Portland, OR – Hillbilly Bento

“Fusion” cuisine, created in the US in the 70s, marries the foods and flavors of two or more cultures on one plate. An early example of this could be found in Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant “Chinois”,in Santa Monica, which wedded French and various Asian cuisines on one plate. Due to the decades long influence of the… Continue reading Portland, OR – Hillbilly Bento

Tualatin, OR – Claim Jumper

Mrs. BDB and I were in quirky moods last nite, we both wanted to go out to dinner, but had decidedly different ideas of what we wanted. We both agreed we did not want to go downtown or change out of the de rigueur Portland plaid outfits. She wanted steak. I didn’t. We don’t usually… Continue reading Tualatin, OR – Claim Jumper

Home Cookin’ – Maid-Rite Burgers

Maid-Rites are a upper Midwestern version of sloppy joes, with great longevity. Started in Iowa in the 20s, the “loose meat” sandwiches, immortalized in pop culture via references in the television show “Roseanne” (her husband at the time, Tom Arnold, was from Ottumwa, Iowa, also the fictional home of Mash’s Radar O’Reilly). Now scattered around… Continue reading Home Cookin’ – Maid-Rite Burgers

Duluth, MN – Ground Round Grill & Bar

The Ground Round was founded by Howard Johnsons in 1969 and what one time had over 300 outlets.. Now a shadow of its former self, Ground Round currently operates about 30 restaurants in 13 states, and is owned by a cooperative of former franchisees, and is based in Freeport, Maine.  Some analysts say it may… Continue reading Duluth, MN – Ground Round Grill & Bar

Portland, OR – Wayne’s Chicago Red Hots

“Someone” dropped me an email last week saying I should visit Wayne’s; the mail probably came from an insider since it included a bevy of photos, as well. Some of the pix were really great, unfortunately, they have people in them, so I couldn’t use them w/o permission. I like hearing from restaurants, actually, it… Continue reading Portland, OR – Wayne’s Chicago Red Hots