Firewind

BOS - West - Framingham - Ken's Steakhouse. You know - the one that spawned Ken's Steakhouse salad dressings? Nice to see the old, venerable icon joining. Boston's running out of icons... To be sure, it's a drive from BOS.

Firewind

Say it ain't so! Used to be the place(-s? Were there two?) to go in The City for good Indian food served in a classy setting -- um, 40 years ago.

Firewind

Yes. In FlyerTalk DO discussions of today's Rewards Network, I voice that it's down to just keeping dormant accounts open. But several friends note what you do above. Similarly, Groupon and LivingSocial-affiliated restaurants. And to be sure, I've turned up at a few doors, looking forward to exploiting one of these benefits, to find the doors shut. Sometimes, Rewards Network, Groupon and/or LivingSocial haven't even heard yet. Or an establishment has been closed for a while, but still shows up in an email tile. To be sure, when I've reported this, they (confirm, I'm sure, and then) write me back with thanks. And the restaurant is gone from the catalog when next I log in ... Where it was dicey, in one instance, was when a restaurant burned out - literally. Newsworthy fire. When I told RN about it, nothing happened. Turned out that the owners were strongly intent on reopening. Which they never did. But RN did the right thing in deferring to them.

CMK10

Shiki Sushi - Durham, NC: Really good drinks and sushi as well as a huge menu with some very generous lunch specials. Nice atmosphere and good service too.

Raaga - Chapel Hill, NC: One of my favorite lunch spots in the area. It's an Indian restaurant with an incredible lunch buffet (for only $12.99!) and also a pretty solid menu as well. Great service and a full liquor license with premium bottles too.

pwrshift

Enjoyed Lonestar Steakhouse in Orlando a month ago...still think they have great food there.

CMK10

Hmm I had the opposite experience. One of the restaurants in Durham is iDine and I went there to get the $30/2,000 mile Delta sign up bonus. I was very unimpressed.

paradocs

Bourbon Street Seafood Kitchen in San Antonio. A fairly new idine offering. On the new part of the RiverWalk; inside the Wyndham Hotel. Excellent food and atmosphere. If you are staying downtown use the River Taxi.

The gumbo and the fried shrimp are excellent. Reasonable prices, extensive menu. They have happy hour til 7PM every day in the bar only. We are trying to go once a week.

Other SAT restaurants worth your while are:

Soluna - Mexican
Acenar - Mexican
Stonewerks - Everything
Sushi Zushi
Good Time Charlie's
Tycoon Flats
Angie's Barbed Wire -BBQ
Texas Land and Cattle
Luciano's - Italian
biga on the Banks - upscale
Silo - the menu is a little weird (gourmand). I can't drag my husband very often.
Nosh - related to Silo - same comment

Those are all less than five miles from my house and they are all excellent. We are very fortunate to have so many solid choices! I remain a die hard Idiner

Points Scrounger

Some people remember you as a newiDiner (AHEM!), back in the days when every joint earned 10 miles per dollar, were all once-a-month only, and NO promos, period.


Seattle has never had terrific choices, just a shifting/rotating cast of mediocre ones, but here are my take on the current ones I'm at all familiar with ...

Seattle Center/Space Needle Area

Agave: Food's not bad, but I'm down on them for switching to a la carte at lunch (rice and beans NOT included). Pretty much use them only to charge happy hour drinks and food (separately for "visits"). Their bacon-wrapped prawns (double your treyf, double your fun!) with a mango dipping sauce are incredibly filling!

Tin Lizzie: I've tried this place a couple of times for drinks only, but gave up when there was no server to be seen at the bar after a reasonable wait on my last visit. Located off the lobby of the Mar Queen Hotel.

Ozzie's: I only go for lunch/happy hour, as nights/weekends it's a "scene" most tourists would prefer to avoid. I don't find it a "dive" myself (except perhaps for the rest room, which would only earn a spread in a magazine like "WHOA, DUDE!"). Prices are reasonable, staff are fine, food is okay. I tried their PB&J burger ... once.

Chen's Village: I've never patronized them, but their Yelp comments aren't exactly inspiring; they're relatively new to the program.

Sushi Samurai: located at the top of Queen Anne Hill, across from Trader Joe's (#13 bus stop at Safeway). I don't get up that way all that often, but a decent place.

Downtown

Icon Grill (ex Fri-/Sat): Haven't been there in a while -- a bit pricey, although they have lunch specials.

University District

Jewel of India: I've only been to their lunch buffet (solid, if not exactly "creative", choices). Family that runs it are terrific people.


That's about it from me. The rest of the participants are either dinner-oriented or in a location I wouldn't find at all convenient.

P. S. I do recall having gone to Merchants (Pioneer Square) many years ago -- see Ozzie's above.

KathyWdrf

Here are some places in NYC (Manhattan) that I recommend. I ate at them half a year ago and longer, and as of today, all three are still in the program. (Sadly, Ciao Bella Gelato in the Grand Central food court no longer is. Not only no longer in the Rewards Network program -- it is permanently closed.)

Socarrat Nolita: An authentic Spanish tapas place in the LES. I've enjoyed tapas in Spain and this is the real deal, both food and atmosphere.

(BTW, it has four sister restaurants, all on Rewards Network, none of which I have yet tried, but I am eager to do so. They are: Socarrat Chelsea, Socarrat East, La Churreria, and La Nacional. Socarrat Nolita and La Churreria share an address.) Also on OpenTable. EDITED TO ADD: Paella is Socarrat's other specialty -- haven't tried that yet. Also be sure to check to see if your preferred branch has happy hour specials -- half off (some of) the tapas during certain hours.

Pinche Taqueria: A branch of the original Tijuana taqueria. (Same neighborhood as Socarrat Nolita, except a bit north of Houston St. rather than a bit south. )

Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company: Genuine boiled-then-baked bagels. This is where I go for a lox, cream cheese, and bagel fix. I've only been to the Manhattan branch (Chelsea - 8th Ave/24/25) of this chain, but the three Queens branches also participate in Rewards Network. (None in Brooklyn -- what's up with that?)

Wasko

SJC - Downtown & Evergreen - Iguana's Burritozilla - Mexican
This place is an all-time favorite of mine and I make a point to go every time I'm in SJ. It's famous for a 17-inch, 5-pound "Burritozilla" that was on Food Network's Man vs Food show. Quality burritos (albeit not the most authentic place) topped with their special orange sauce. You haven't been to San Jose if you haven't tried an Iguana's burrito. The original location is downtown and not too far from the airport, but it's in a college neighborhood near SJSU and definitely not the cleanest looking place in the world. They just expanded their Evergreen location if you happen to end up in east/south SJ.

nineworldseries

Spagio in Columbus is the rare occurrence of a first-rate restaurant that's also on the dining rewards program. I consider it to be the best restaurant in Columbus (faint praise, but it's great).

Other places I'd consider going that are on the list:
Bodega
Strongwater Food & Spirits
Local Cantina (both locations)
Smokehouse Brewing Company
Elevator Brewery
Tip Top Kitchen

I'd avoid every other place in CMH like the plague.

Open Jaw

I found a great BBQ place out on Long Island. It's not too far from ISP airport. I would guess it's about 8 miles or so from the airport in the hamlet of Patchogue, NY. The place is named BOBBIQUE.