Zydecos - Mooresville, IN

Somebody at Zydeco's really knows New Orleans and this restaurant is a little condensed shot in the arm of NO right in the middle of Indiana about 30 minutes outside of Indianapolis.

The decorations were really cool and you really did feel like you were in a Bourbon street bar.  The style of the inside was right, there were beads everywhere, party lights, cool cajun bar stuff, you name it and it was here.  There was a mannequin of a joker with a cajun hat on that was part of a Bud Lite advertisement.

The service was really quite good.  The servers were genuinely glad that you were there and were kind of partying along with everyone else.  I was just here by myself.  This would have been a great place to bring a group of people.

The turbo dog beer from Abita was really nice. I don't know if it was an Indiana beer or a New Orleans beer.  It tasted like a thick stout to me.   It had a thick chocolate but not a yeasty

I ordered the crawfish étouffée.  It certainly tasted authentic to me.  My head was sweating from the cajun spices.  I was a little wary because in the north they will sometimes advertise cajun dishes but then tone the spice level down too much.  This was just the way it should be.

The music was likewise authentic and added a lot to the feel of this place.

Overall, this was a really great place.  I would rate it a 9.6.

Zydeco's
11 E Main St
Mooresville, IN 46158
(317) 834-3900
http://www.zydecos.net

Cecilia's Cafe - Albuquerque, NM

Cecilias is a cool little diner in downtown Albuqureque, New mexico.  It's got a cool atmosphere. It is in a very old typical new mexico style building with lots of exposed brick and rough wood beams. I think that the only heat was from a wood stove in the middle of the serving area which wasn't lit on this January day, I might add.  I had to put my coat back on to stay warm.  I suppose this qualified as a dive.

The lunch menu showed that Guy ate a double patty bacon burger when he was here.  That was a little too much for me so, I just went for one of their burritos for lunch.

Service very friendly and fast.  The table they put me at first was a little dirty but, she fixed that quickly.  I had asked for a slice of lemon for my water.  It sure looked and tasted like orange slices.

Parking limited. Downtown area. Bring change for parking meter.


The burrito was really good.  It was chicken with just the right amount of chorizo spice in a bath of the New Mexico green chile sauce.    This is what you are looking for with a triple-D restaurant.

I would rate Cecilia's a 9.1.  Great points for food, good points for atmosphere, slightly negative points for cleanliness.  I would still go back.

Cecilia's Cafe
230 6th Street Southwest
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 243-7070
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cecilias-Cafe/184663328221698

Gatsbys Diner - Sacramento, CA

Gatsby's Diner was kind of a fusion of American diner meets Japanese cooking.  There were old Japanese hibachis inside which makes me think that it might have been a Japanese steak house in a previous life.

So, The chefs cook out in open which is kind of cool.  You can chat with them as they go about their work.  Instead of cooking Asian food, it could be anything the diner serves but they still do that spatula slap on the griddle thing..  My chef ask me as I passed by when I was leaving how I liked my buger.

They serve cold beer in frozen mugs which struck me as a thing of beauty for some reason.

I ordered the fire burger.  It had thick cut bacon and avocado on a really good quality bun.  They describe their own food as American comfort food with a twist and I would have to agree.  As the hamburger juices are dripping down one hand while your fingers are frozen by the frozen beer mug in the other, it definitely seems decadent and comfortable.  Luckily, they give you a wad of paper towels to clean yourself.

This was not a dive at all.  I was impressed that everything they did, they tried to do with a flair. Even the way they arranged the buns on griddle in a nice ring.  They make their own deserts.  I didn't try them but one in particular that looked interesting was a strawberry rhubarb tort cooked and served in a Ball jar.  People obviously care.

The atmosphere was pretty good.   I appreciated that all the people who work there really seemed to care about my experience.

I would rate Gatsb's a 9.1.  They had good food and good pizzaz.  Definitely worth a trip back.

Gatsby's Diner 2598 Alta Arden Expy Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 977-0102 gatsbysdiner.com

Parthenon Diner - Brandord, CT

The Parthenon Diner wasn't a Triple-D restaruant but it was very much a typical diner.  Enough so to make me want to review it.

Like any good diner, they had a glass cool case with lots of nice pastries front and center when you first walk in to get you thinking about desert while you are still hungry.

There was also a little model of the actual Parthenon on a shelf which was kind of comical.

I had the chicken soup to start out with because it was very cold outside on a chilly spring day.  I found it to be not too salty.  I half expected them to warm up some Campbell's soup.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't.

I ordered the pastrami and cheese sandwich as part of the soup and sandwich special.  The quality of pastrami wad really good. It came with onion and tomato on rye bread.  The quality of the bread was also very good.

Service was okay.  Because it wasn't a triple-D restaurant, my expectation level was pretty low.  So, they get a bit of a pass.

Overall, I would rate Parthenon an 8.0.  It was a good diner.


Parthenon Diner
374 East Main Street
Branford, CT 06405
(203) 481-0333
www.parthenondiner.com

Standard Diner - Albuquerque, NM

The Standard Diner is absolutely not standard.  It is kind of an upscale diner which means that it is absolutely not a dive either.

The food was creatively put together like you would expect from a triple-d restaurant.  The first clue was the chipotle butter with really good sourdough bread that they serve to you automatically when you sit down.

This was not a finger food joint like you would find in Santa Fe. This is hearty comfort food.  Whereas the people in Santa Fe were dressed in expensive trim-cut designer clothes and sipped white wine, n ABQ the people were wearing jeans and sweaters and drank original formula Coke.

I ordered the monte vista with sweet potato fries.  A monte vista was basically a hot french toast sandwich with a fried egg on top.  Not a good day to skip taking your lipator.

The hot syrup had some kind of spicy kick to it. I don't think that they put jalepeno in it but, there was definitely something spicy added.  The sandwich had ham, turkey and cheese in the middle.

I orderd a cup of their Covina coffee which is grown by some Colombian ABQ residents who went back to Columbia to grow the beans and sell them in Santa Fe.   It was really rich and smooth.  Very nice.

I was there right after new year's eve.  There was a sign advertising "break your resolutions with us."  This would probably do it.

Desert menu looked really good but there was just no way. I'm sure that there are some people that can do it.

I liked it I would give it a 9.5 on the DDD scale. Worth checking out.


Standard Diner
320 Central Avenue S.E.
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 243-1440
www.standarddiner.com

Slim's Last Chance - Seattle, WA

Slim's Last Chance was a pretty cool place.  It was kind of a bar-restaurant with heavy emphasis on bar.  I was there for lunch so, it was almost unfair to judge.

I got the sense that this would be a really fun place to come after work and hang out for a while.  There was a nice beer garden style area outside that probably gets a lot of use in the evenings.  The atmosphere was definitely a little bit honky tonk.

I got the crawdad po-boy salad.  It came with some jalepeno corn bread.  I can see how this would be an exotic meal in Seattle but, for me coming from Texas, it was just pretty good.  Again, this is probably a little unfair.

I struggled coming up with a rating.  My gut says 9.3, so that's it.


Slim's Last Chance
5606 1st Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98108
(206) 762-7900
www.slimslastchance.com

Pizza Palace - Knoxville, TN

Pizza Palace was a disappointment.   It had potential.  It looked like it was an old Sonic drive-in and it was a dive.  Despite the name of the tv show, most of the restaurants are not drive-ins.

I ordered a ham and swiss sandwich on rye bread with onion rings and a vanilla malt.  The sandwich and the malt were ordinary.  I had to through away the onion rings.  They had a strange taste like maybe they were cooked in bad oil.  I luckily didn't get sick.

Please pass this one up

If you decide to give it a try then bring cash because they don't take credit cards.

I'm rating this a 1.0.  I think this is being generous.

Pizza Palace

3132 East Magnolia Avenue Northeast
Knoxville, TN 37914
(865) 524-4388