Have you ever made a roadtrip just for a restaurant?

Yappi

Yappi

Go Buckeyes
Since we have had a couple other nostalgia things come up, have you ever made a roadtrip just for a restaurant? Specifically interested in those that have made a trip for a restaurant that had closed in your area but was still open elsewhere?

A few that I would like to go to:

Ground Round - I see there is one in Perrysburg. Anyone know if they still have popcorn and peanuts as a snack. Coolest restaurant that I went to as a kid.

Damon's - not sure if there are any real Damon's left out there. Looks like there might be a few that are using the name but could be just using the name. Loved watching Sunday football games there on 4 big screen TVs.

Ponderosa - there is one in Warren, OH that is less that an hour away. Not the best steak but was cheap and the wing dings on the buffet were great.

Cajun Joe's - another franchise that bit the dust but at least one in Michigan that apparently uses the old menu.
 
 
Wasn't to a restaurant that had closed in our area, but the wife and I once flew from West Berlin to Augsburg just to have dinner at a Greek restaurant for our anniversary. We'd been there the year before and decided to go back.
 
Adriatico’s pizza. Every now and then we will go out of our way if we are in town, pick some up and drive it back home. The closest one is 45 minutes from our house.

Ohio State and UC both have one on campus.

I’m pretty sure once I drove from Dayton to UC and back to get my wife some.
 
Yappi said:
Since we have had a couple other nostalgia things come up, have you ever made a roadtrip just for a restaurant? Specifically interested in those that have made a trip for a restaurant that had closed in your area but was still open elsewhere?

A few that I would like to go to:

Ground Round - I see there is one in Perrysburg. Anyone know if they still have popcorn and peanuts as a snack. Coolest restaurant that I went to as a kid.

Damon's - not sure if there are any real Damon's left out there. Looks like there might be a few that are using the name but could be just using the name. Loved watching Sunday football games there on 4 big screen TVs.

Ponderosa - there is one in Warren, OH that is less that an hour away. Not the best steak but was cheap and the wing dings on the buffet were great.

Cajun Joe's - another franchise that bit the dust but at least one in Michigan that apparently uses the old menu.
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We used to go to Damon’s in college to watch Bengals games when they weren’t on in Columbus. We’d make a day of it. Appetizers just before the game and then order a meal at halftime.
 
Not for a chain, no. Once or twice 30 miles to Myles pizza in BG. But memories fade and closer good food exists, so not lately. We have a couple out-of-town places we go on traditional days, discussed in other threads. Both good food or atmosphere's that can't be had local and memories are reason.
 
Yes, here and there.

Here's an unexpected one I do once or twice a year (to the peril of my cardiac health)- The Jib Jab Hot Dog Shop in Girard. It's a real classic.

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How far of a drive is considered a "road trip"? Probably went an hour away a few times with another couple who had some out-of-town favorites.

Yappi said:
Ponderosa - there is one in Warren, OH that is less that an hour away. Not the best steak but was cheap and the wing dings on the buffet were great.
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One Ponderosa still going strong in south Columbus, formerly owned the The Neutron Man. Been there since at least the early 1970's.
 
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Taystee's Burger's in Dearborn fits the bill,, they've opened a second place so now it's a chain. It's in a gas station, kind of fun and unique. Heck, I'll drag people there. But catching a football game is even better reason to go.

Clover Club in Tiffin: haven't yet but I've had the urge. It will happen but like other places, Berardi's in Sandusky, Tackle Box in Fremont, I wait for a football game to give me an excuse.

Got me to thinking if there were chains we went to, gone here but exist somewhere else. And if they're worth the trip. Have to think on it. Friendly's and Howard Johnsons but I don't think I'd travel far to go to one. White Tower, we still have one. I guess we weren't chain people.
 
Not really a road trip, but when we go to Disney we usually stop at the Zaxby’s by Eastern Kentucky University. It’s the closest Zaxby’s to Ohio. Just a detour of 2-3 miles though.
 
Yappi said:
Since we have had a couple other nostalgia things come up, have you ever made a roadtrip just for a restaurant? Specifically interested in those that have made a trip for a restaurant that had closed in your area but was still open elsewhere?

A few that I would like to go to:

Ground Round - I see there is one in Perrysburg. Anyone know if they still have popcorn and peanuts as a snack. Coolest restaurant that I went to as a kid.

Damon's - not sure if there are any real Damon's left out there. Looks like there might be a few that are using the name but could be just using the name. Loved watching Sunday football games there on 4 big screen TVs.

Ponderosa - there is one in Warren, OH that is less that an hour away. Not the best steak but was cheap and the wing dings on the buffet were great.

Cajun Joe's - another franchise that bit the dust but at least one in Michigan that apparently uses the old menu.
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How far would you consider a "road trip"?

Would not be uncommon to where I live, and had lived, to travel 2.4 hours just for a nice restaurant.

We want to head to Michigan for some bacon place that was on the travel channel.


What we do though is whenever we travel to new cities for whatever reason, we look to see if there are any places that was on the travel channel or Man Vs Food and have tried out quite a few of those.
 
Yappi said:
Since we have had a couple other nostalgia things come up, have you ever made a roadtrip just for a restaurant? Specifically interested in those that have made a trip for a restaurant that had closed in your area but was still open elsewhere?

A few that I would like to go to:

Ground Round - I see there is one in Perrysburg. Anyone know if they still have popcorn and peanuts as a snack. Coolest restaurant that I went to as a kid.

Damon's - not sure if there are any real Damon's left out there. Looks like there might be a few that are using the name but could be just using the name. Loved watching Sunday football games there on 4 big screen TVs.

Ponderosa - there is one in Warren, OH that is less that an hour away. Not the best steak but was cheap and the wing dings on the buffet were great.

Cajun Joe's - another franchise that bit the dust but at least one in Michigan that apparently uses the old menu.
Click to expand...
Rmember when they had the all the steak you could eat promo?
 
I went to Ponderosa in Ripley WV. About an hour from Athens. For some reason Athens doesn’t have an Olive Garden so we make a lot of trips to Parkersburg and Lancaster
 
Found a York Steak house in Columbus while dropping a kid off at the local university, have been planning to get back ever since. That was upscale fine dining for me and my brother when we were kids.

I have been known to venture out of my way if I am anywhere near DC (such as on my way to Ocean City) to make it to Ben's Chili Bowl.

I hear there may be one last Red Barn in WV near the Ohio border, I might need to make a trip to.
 
utsherman said:
I thought people generally ran away from Ponderosa, not toward it? ?‍♂️
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Times have changed, but we used to go to Ponderosa after mass on Sundays when I was a kid, back in the late-sixties to early-seventies. As a kid that loved hamburgers, I always ordered the chopped sirloin steak (mom always made us order "well done"). It came with a piping hot baked potato, dinner roll and a simple salad bar. The first salad bar that I remember. Ponderosa was a real treat back then.
 
BlackHawk said:
Times have changed, but we used to go to Ponderosa after mass on Sundays when I was a kid, back in the late-sixties to early-seventies. As a kid that loved hamburgers, I always ordered the chopped sirloin steak (mom always made us order "well done"). It came with a piping hot baked potato, dinner roll and a simple salad bar. The first salad bar that I remember. Ponderosa was a real treat back then.
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Same here. Loved it. Miss Ponderosa.

PA has Park & Eats and better yet Hoss's Steak and Seafood. Dynamite buffet.
 
Probably doesn't count as a road trip for the sole purpose of dining, but when we planned a drive to Florida a few years ago, we allowed time for a 4-hour detour on the return just to hit up Lady & Sons in Savannah. Mrs. Zunardo had talked about that place for a few years, and the extra drive was worth it.
 
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Those Ponderosa wings were they best.

I dated a girl once that was the salad bar girl at a Ponderosa. Other than keeping things stocked a major part of the job was going around the salad bar with a spray bottle and spraying some solution on the lettuce and fresh vegetables that kept them "fresh" over time. I'm assuming that solution is no longer FDA approved!
 
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BlackHawk said:
Times have changed, but we used to go to Ponderosa after mass on Sundays when I was a kid, back in the late-sixties to early-seventies. As a kid that loved hamburgers, I always ordered the chopped sirloin steak (mom always made us order "well done"). It came with a piping hot baked potato, dinner roll and a simple salad bar. The first salad bar that I remember. Ponderosa was a real treat back then.
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So you got the #3.
 
eastside_purple said:
I’ve never visited Chicago without going to Giordano’s or hitting up Superdawg.
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When i was in Milwaukee we went to a Carson's Prime Steaks and had the best steak and pork chop. Looked it up and there was one in Chicago and we planned a trip to Chicago this summer around going to that one, but it all got the Rona cancellation
 
clarkgriswold said:
That's way too civilized for us Yappi Ponderosa and hot dog folk!
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I don't know that there are a lot of upscale chains, are there? We'll go to Ann Arbor or Northville but I don't think those are in the spirit of the thread. They're local owned places. Northville, I think almost heard of but if you want to see a town that does downtown right. They built a free parking, garage that fits the already architectural style. Getting in and out is a breeze. Walkable cross street type downtown, well set up for outside dining. Even now preparing to make it happen in winter. Great range of eats. Other than a harness track, not much to do there. Some Christmassy type places nearby so it's mostly all been done for their own purpose I suppose. But it's a nice place to visit.
 
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