THE BROWN HOTEL

THE BROWN HOTEL

FROM "THROWDOWN"

335 W Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202

THIS IS THE HISTORIC, LANDMARK HOTEL IN LOUISVILLE, AND DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT THE SEELBACH IS...THAT IS BALDERDASH.

THIS PLACE IS KNOWN FOR TWO THINGS.....HOT BROWN AND DERBY PIE.

HOT BROWN...THE DISH THAT WAS ON THROWDOWN IS "an open-faced sandwich of turkey and bacon, covered in Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown. " IT IS GOOD....BUT ALMOST TOO RICH FOR MY BLOOD...BUT A HOT BROWN AT THE BROWN HOTEL...IT PRETTY MUCH TELLS YOU IT IS AMAZING...THEY INVENTED THE FREAKING DISH!!!

DERBY PIE IS THE DESSERT TO DIE FOR. DERBY PIE IS "a chocolate and walnut tart in a pie shell usually with a pastry dough crust" NORMALLY WITH FAMOUS KENTUCKY BOURBON ADDED IN!! IT IS DIVINE!!!

THIS PLACE IS CLASSIC AND AMAZING!! IF YOU CAN EAT HERE, THAT'S AMAZING, BUT IF YOU CAN STAY HERE, IT IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT CANNOT BE MISSED! WE HAD MY FRATERNITY FORMAL THERE, AND BECAUSE I PLANNED IT, I GOT TO STAY IN THE ALI SUITE....AND IT WAS SUITE!!!

Pink's

PINK'S HOT DOGS

FROM "THROWDOWN", HOT DOG PARADISE, AND #12 ON 101 MORE PLACES TO CHOWDOWN

709 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

PINK'S

"21 celebrity-named grilled hot dogs, chili cheese dogs""

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING.....STOMACH TURNING...BUT AMAZING!! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT IN THE LAND OF SAND, SUN, CELEBS, SOY, TOFU, AND SILICONE, YOU WOULD FIND THE EPICENTER OF THE HOT DOG WORLD.

MANY PLACES HAVE DISTINCT HOT DOGS. CHICAGO HAS NO KETCHUP, WHOLE PICKLE, TOMATO, SESAME SEED BUN, GARDINAIRE, AND CELERY SALT. PINKS HAS IT ALL AS LA IS A MELTING POT OF PEOPLE WHO MOVED HERE. THEY HAVE ALMOST 50 TYPES OF DOGS, THE MOST FAMOUS BEING CHILLI CHEESE. DON'T BE SCARED BY THE LINE...IT IS WORTH IT. THIS PLACE IS A LA INSTITUTION FOR A REASON. LOCALS WILL TELL YOU ITS GROSS AND THAT "THE OWNER WONT EVEN EAT THERE", BUT IT NEEDS TO BE TRIED AT LEAST ONCE.

GET THE LORD OF THE RINGS DOG....FOOT LONG DOG PUT THROUGH ONION RINGS WITH BBQ SAUCE....INCREDIBLE....(YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE FOREFRONT IN THE PHOTO ABOVE, ON THE LEFT)

MOST IMPORTANT....THIS PLACE IS CASH ONLY...AND THEY DONT HAVE AN ATM!

LOU MALNATI'S

LOU MALANATI'S DEEP DISH PIZZA

6649 North Lincoln Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL 60712

FROM "THROWDOWN",  BEST PIZZA IN AMERICA, PIZZA PARADISE

LOU

This could be the most beloved pizza place in all of Chicago, if not the most beloved restaurant in Chicago. Chicago pizza is thick...I mean loaf of bread thick....they take a loaf of dough, put on cheese, and stewed (taste like canned) tomatoes and voila. Lou's is not the original, but it is the best. Legend goes that the first deep dish was at Uno's (Due's, the sister store, followed). The head chef at Uno's was Lou Malanati. He opened his own resturant, perfecting the original Uno's recipe.

This place is everyones favorites, but most importantly, it's my wifes favorite food on the planet. When I got married in Chicago in June 2011, every person from Nashville asked where to get the "deep pizza", and I sent them all to Lou's. My friends Hannah and Andrew didnt eat at a wedding to save room for late night Lou's. Lou's can also be shipped across the country, and I swear that it is the best frozen pizza ever...it tastes just like the original. A group of friends from Nashville have had it shipped to them 4 times since my wedding!

I like the veggie or spinach. BUT THE BEST IS THE LOU'S SPECIAL, THE LOU!!! VEGGIES, SPECIAL SAUCE, AND 6 TYPES OF CHEESE!!! AND YOU GOTTA GET IT WELL DONE!!! And do not forget the appetizers (garlic bread, fried zuchinni and mushrooms) and the salad (the Onion dressing!!)  It is fantastic! Many will argue New York vs Chicago. Many will argue Lou's vs Uno/Due vs Giordannos vs. Gino's. You cannot lose an argument against something where the argument is "which is the best". No one loses that argument, everyone wins. CASE CLOSED! DEFENSE RESTS! LAWYERED!

SUSHI CENTRAL

THAT IS IT IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER

SUSHI CENTRAL

FROM "THROWDOWN"

3500 Overland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90034

http://www.sushi-central.net/

IF YOU WEREN'T LOOK FOR THIS PLACE...YOU WOULD MISS IT...JUST LIKE MY GOOD FRIEND HANNAH AND HER FIANCEE/MY LOVER, ANDREW, DID. IT IS ACROSS THE STREET FROM THEM...IN A TINY STRIP MALL...NEXT TO A DOUGHNUT SHOP, YOGURT SHOP, NAIL PLACE, AND CLEANERS, LIKE EVERY PLACE IN LA.

THIS PLACE'S CLAIM TO FAME....THE SUSHI GUY HERE INVENTED THE CALIFORNIA ROLL....

BUT BOY DID HE INVENT SOME OTHER MASTERPIECES....LIKE THE SURF AND TURF WHICH IS A SUSHI ROLL TOPPED WITH FILET MIGNON THAT ANDREW AND I TRIED...A SPECIALTY THERE IS LIVE SHRIMP WHERE THEY TAKE A GIANT SHRIMP, CUT OFF ITS HEAD AND SHELL, YOU EAT THE RAW MEAT, AND THEY MAKE SOUP OUR OF THE TEMPURA-ED HEAD AND SHELL.

THIS IS ALSO A REGULAR HOT SPOT TO SEE CRAIG ROBINSON, OR DARYLL FROM THE OFFICE, WHO HAPPENED TO SHOW UP THE NIGHT WE WERE THERE. HE FREQUENTS THAT STRIP MALL!!

THIS PLACE IS AWESOME....BUT DOES TEND TO BLEND IN IN A CITY THAT HAS THE BEST SUSHI THIS SIDE OF JAPAN....IT IS NOT FLASHY LIKE OTHER PLACES...ITS IS STRAIGHT FORWARD AWESOME SUSHI!

LOVELESS

FROM "THROWDOWN" and BREAKFAST PARADISE

8400 Highway 100, Nashville, TN 37221

LOVELESS CAFE

"South-style breakfast: hot biscuits and gravy & country ham with sorghum syrup"

THIS PLACE IS A NASHVILLE INSTITUTION...THE PLACE WHERE LOCALS NEVER GO...LIKE CHICAGO LOCALS WITH THE SEARS/"WHATCU TALKIN ABOUT" WILLIS TOWER...IT'S THERE...WE JUST DON'T GO.....

FIRST TIME I WENT I WAS 23. IT WAS AND STILL IS INCREDIBLE!!! AMAZING MEAT AND THREE (thats a southern phenomenon where you get one piece of meat, whether it be chicken, beef, pork, or fish, and three side items). BUT THIS PLACE IS KNOWN FOR IT'S BISCUITS, AND THE LADY WHO MADE THEM...THE BISCUIT LADY!!

THIS IS ALSO THE EPISODE OF "THROWDOWN" WHICH CAUSED MY FATHER TO BOYCOTT THE SHOW, BECAUSE FLAY BEAT THE BISCUIT LADY PUTTING CRACKED BLACK PEPPER ON HIS BISCUITS.

WELL.....THE BISCUIT LADY IS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS THE RECIPE FOR THE BISCUITS, AND SHE SWORE SHE WOULD ONLY TELL HER DAUGHTER....THAT IS UNTIL BISCUIT LADY DIED SUDDENLY...AT THE AGE OF 52....FORGETTING TO PASS ON HER SOUL FOOD KNOWLEDGE TO HER DAUGHTER....

STILL...LOVELESS CAFE IS AMAZING!!!

LA PALETTA

LA PALETAS GOURMET POPSICLE

FROM "THROWDOWN"

2907 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37204

http://laspaletasnashville.com/

THIS WAS THE PLACE MY "COOLER THAN ME" COUSINS SAW ON FOOD NETWORK THAT THEY HAD TO TRY...THE IDEA BEHIND MY LIST....

THIS PLACE IS GREAT! I HAVE BEEN BACK THREE TIMES SINCE. THESE MEXICAN POPSICLES HIT NASHVILLE IN THE SUMMER OF 2008 LIKE COCAINE HIT MIAMI IN THE 90'S....EVERYONE WANTED THEM, BUT YOU HAD TO GO TO THE "HOOD"...WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN HIPSTER GENTRIFIED TO GET IT.

I GOT BANANA CHOCOLATE, STRAWBERRY, AND PLUM. THEY HAVE ACTUAL PIECES OF FRUIT IN THEM. DIVINE. MY COUSIN, DANNY, GOT THE FAMOUS RED CHILI POPSICLE.

The Most Elusive of them All

Before I begin on re-telling my journey of gastrointestinal glory..and people ask me a lot..."where is the one place on your list that you have never been that you are dying to go to"...well..there is one restaurant that has always eluded me.....a place that is the place of legends.....a place of urban legend.....a palace of food....a place my brother, Michael, speaks of it like it is the final resting spot of the Ark of the Covenant.

The Nordic Lodge in Charlestown, RI.

Here is the premise. $95 a person. All you can eat buffet. You have two hours to eat and then you have to leave. They email you directions on how to BEST maximize your eating experience. Did I mention it's all you can eat lobster and filet....just to name a few. NOW I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION.

Here is the menu:

THE CENTER OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL UNIVERSE

If anyone wants to take me, please let me know. Now that you have seen where I want to go...it's time to see where I have been!

THE MEH LIST….

These are the restaurants on my list that are just MEH…nothing special….nothing unique…mediocre/average/don't go out of your way to eat at these place.


Hackney's 1241 Harms Rd. Glenview, IL 60025

Giordanno's 730 N. Rush St., Chicago, IL 60611

Gates 1325 East Emanuel Cleaver Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64110

Bryants 1727 Brooklyn Ave, Kansas City, MO 64127

Hugo's 8401 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069

BLD 7450 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles CA 90036

ONLY 5 OUT OF 101 THAT I HAVE BEEN TO HAVE BEEN AVERAGE…NOT SUCH TERRIBLE ODDS….

My Favorite Restaurant in the Entire World....

SAIGON LE

51 N Cleveland St, Memphis, TN 38104

I love all types of food.....and I will try anything twice...except olives and beets.....

But when it comes to my favorite restaurant in the entire world...one would think that as an American, it would be a burger place....as a Southerner, it would be a bbq joint....and as a Jew, a deil....

However....my favorite restaurant in the ENTIRE world...hands down, no questions asked, undisputed....is a hole-in-the-wall, run down Vietnamese restaurant in Memphis named Saigon Le.

I love Saigon Le.  I am truly, madly, deeply, in love with Saigon Le with all my mind, body, and soul....and my family doesnt even like it.  Let me state for the record...I love Saigon Le.  I am truly, madly, deeply, in love with Saigon Le with all my mind, body, and soul.

This place has burned down 3 times, leaving the Vietnamese family who owns it homeless three times, and each time, its loyal patrons, including my loving grandfather, would help give to rebuild Saigon Le from the ashes.

This plaee is legit...dont go for the ambiance, decor, or service...but for the food.  This place has won countless "best of", "favorite", and food awards from local and national publications.

This place would be where my last meal comes from...and here is my last meal menu....the menu I recommend to all people who go...

Albert's favorite meal of all time:

-Order of Saigon Rolls...ten perfectly cooked mini egg rolls that you wrap in fresh lettuce and dip in fish sauce
-Order of Birds Nest....ten perfectly fried mini egg rolls with a different batter than siagon rolls that you wrap in lettuce and dip in fish sauce
-Chicken Wings
-Veggie Egg Foo Yong...best egg foo yong in America according to my dad
-1/2 AND 1/2 MUSSELS....off the menu item..MINDBLOWING
-Chicken Lo Mein

PERFECTION IN EVERY WAY!!!

BEFORE YOU GO TO ALL THE BBQ AND FRIED CHICKEN MECCAS IN MEMPHIS...SAIGON LE MUST BE YOUR FIRST STOP.

SAIGON LE IS LOCATED AT 51 North Cleveland Street  Memphis, TN 38104.  

Sadly Saigon Le burned down (again) on March 8, 2016 and my late grandfather Alfred was not there to help them rebuild.  Rest in peace sweet Saigon Le.  You may be gone, but never forgotten.