IND - IN, Bloomington/Columbus - The Uptown Cafe - American, Eclectic
This is about an hour from the airport, but stop by if you're in Bloomington. Everyone from Bloomington that I talked to, including a stranger on the street, recommended the place. We went for breakfast and ordered off the specials menu - Indonesian fritters, crab Maryland and huevos rancheros were all good.
SJC/SFO - Peninsula - John Bentley's - New American (25)
Two locations, in Woodside and Redwood City. I haven't tried the Redwood City restaurant, but the Woodside location has excellent food. They only showed up for me after I reached Elite.
I just tried the Redwood City location last night. Again excellent food and wine list. The lighting was a bit more dim than we liked, though others may like that better.
Not inexpensive. But if you're looking to fulfill the United 25K bonus milles requirement ($125/month), this is a good place to have a nice meal and fulfill your month's spending requirement in one go.
Programs: AA Gold, Hilton Gold, Emerald Club, Greenpoints, Amtrak
Posts: 701
ugh
This is the opposite of a great place post.
I'm in Charleston, WV, this week, and the only iDine is a Hooters.
Never been in one before, but miles drew me in.
Food is OK (though what was I thinking ordering steamed oysters inland?).
But the sitting next to you, the leaning over your table (oops, I'll wipe my cleavage off your chin). Jeeps, just lap dance and get it over with, OK? I expected a certain degree of, shall we say, friendliness, but did not expect it to go so far in the direction of soft porn.
Yeah, I know, the name makes it obvious.
But having been brought up by steel magnolias, I tend to niaively look for just a little more left to the imagination. YMMV
__________________ ... rode him past Raleigh, on across Caroline. MCR bonus codes list. Last updated 11-26-2007.
Programs: AA Plat 1.737 MM, Priority Club Platinum
Posts: 922
St Louis Update
Cyrano's is no longer on the program. Corwin's has closed.
My favorite idine restaurant, The Crossing, has added lunch Monday through Friday. Since they are idine only Mon-Thurs, Friday lunches will not count I guess.
The lunch menu looks very good and reasonably priced, not nearly as expensive as dinner. Many nice looking entrees are $7.
The Crossing is located in Clayton.
Boogaloo's is a new idine in Maplewood. It has a Cuban/Creole/fusion cuisine. We've been there once and liked it, and plan on returning.
Davios restaurant - but idine only at the Arlington Street restaurant...although you could always get gift certs which don't say it can only be used on the Arlington Street restaurant.
Orzo in N.Andover participates in idine, but the gift certs are only good for that location.
JFK - Upper East Side - Inase - Sushi. BYOB as of now, very fresh sushi (flown in from Japan every week). Can't get more authentic than this, esp in this hood.
Programs: AAdvantage Gold, AS Mileage Plan, SPG Gold
Posts: 265
SNA Dim Sum
SNA - Russell's Seafood Palace - 1818 Main Street, Irvine (corner Main/MacArthur, one block north of SNA.)
Dim Sum menu (with cart service) available everyday during lunch. It's not the greatest Chinese restaurant around, but it's pretty good and quite conveniently located. It's located in what used to be the Rusty Pelican restaurant site.
Steve
Last edited by stevechin; Oct 1, 06 at 12:35 pm.
Reason: correction to directions
Two recommendations, one an old favorite, the other a very promising newcomer:
Esposito's Pizza and Pasta (Fairfax/Burke)--family owned and operated forever, this has been a favorite of ours for at least 15 years. It's red-checkered tablecloth Italian, with the usual favorites, terrific pizza, plus excellent specials on the weekends (don't miss the osso buco.) Not fancy, not expensive, and very kid-friendly, the kind of popular neighborhood place where the owner knows every customer, and the hearty cooking puts those mediocre chain restaurants to shame. (The same family also runs the upscale Cafe Oggi in McLean.)
Bazin's on Church (McLean/Vienna)--run by the former chef at DC's Occidental and his wife, this opened in early 2006 to very good reviews and excellent word of mouth. Have eaten there three times and was extremely impressed with food, service and ambiance. It's modern American cuisine, with dishes that have flair without being fussy. Good place to take a client or a date, or just sit at the bar for a glass of wine (good wine list, too) and an appetizer.
Washington Post review: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...es=Restaurants
Update: Bazin's will give points only to elite members after October 2006.
Last edited by bob12403; Nov 19, 06 at 11:43 am.
Reason: Bazin's still in program, but only for elite members
NYC -- Upper West Side -- SIP bar and lunge
Excellent coffee (though no decaf) and very good fresh squeezed drinks and cocktails. Good place to hang out all day and night. Dines post fast -- no min on the CC in my experience.
NYC -- Lower East Side -- TeaNY seems to still exist but only takes cash and isn't listed on the iDine website :-(
Boogaloo's is a new idine in Maplewood. It has a Cuban/Creole/fusion cuisine. We've been there once and liked it, and plan on returning.[/quote]
We also enjoyed Boogaloo's - excellent cuban sandwich!!!
We also enjoy Momo's Greek Restaurant in the Delmar Loop area.
If you are out in the St. Charles area for lunch, try Gameday!!! The have a lunch that includes burger or grilled chicken breast, side dish, and a drink all for $5! Plus they have multiple HD screens and pretty waitresses!
I go with a group from work 3-4 yimes a week. They give me cash and I put the whole bill on my CC. Sweet deal all around.
We also like AAA's and Stumpy's B-B-Q as well.
Yamonjon
Last edited by yamonjon; Oct 1, 06 at 11:16 pm.
Reason: typo
Astral Plane - bloddy mary bar on Sundays is perfect Bleu Martini - great nightlife The Blacksheep - very fun english bar/restaurant Lula - great tapas Loie - fun happy hour Le Jardin - great brunch and a nice garden to sit in Pasion - one of the highest rated restaurants in the city Patou - good French food Red Sky - fun bar The Bishops Collar - one of the best neighborhood bars in town
Vanessa's Bistro (North Berkeley/Solano Ave.) Vietnamese fusion small plates. A GREAT restaurant. A good crowd since the start a few months ago (meaning she probably won't want to renew with the program, or at least on weekends, when it is renewal time).
SNA Dim Sum
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