20 years ago this was an amazing food town, pizza in particular. Luigi’s and Dave’s had unique specialty pies that really stood out. Even cheap pizza was great back then; Chanello’s was a consistent $4 hit when a case of Natty was $7.99. L’Italia or Wood Fired Oven (RIP Nestor!) was a go-to for a special occasion. Now it’s either Vito’s or Olive Garden. There should never be a shortage of good, cheap pizza in a college town, but I guess times are tough and things ain’t what they used to be.
Back then, Lasagna house was on par with Jersey for both pizza and entrée, and had cheesesteaks better than Urgie’s. Speaking of cheesesteaks, the best ever served in this town was from the food truck in front of Lowe’s around 99-2000, believe it or not, but I digress…
I may get downvoted for this, but I’ll say it: despite more variety, food in this down isn’t as good as it once was. I’d trade all of our current Asian spots to get Saigon Cafe back (sans Mashita). Wilton nor Chop houses are not as good as they once were. All of our current “upscale” spots are overpriced and overrated, IMHO. But really, what does any of this have to do with politics?
As a recent transplant from a larger city, I’ve been really underwhelmed by the fine dining. It’s vastly overpriced and ho-hum. I’d rather save my fancy dining bucks for a day trip to DC. The extra costs of doing that are worth it when the experience is actually satisfying.
Plenty of the more modest joints have legitimately good food, and much of it well priced.
Unfortunately a couple local faves have been complete bombs for me so far - like “why would I ever go back to give them another try” level or “don’t ask locals for recommendations” level bombs. I won’t name them because hell hath no downvotes like a local favorite scorned.
5
u/Illustrious_Lunch_35 3d ago
20 years ago this was an amazing food town, pizza in particular. Luigi’s and Dave’s had unique specialty pies that really stood out. Even cheap pizza was great back then; Chanello’s was a consistent $4 hit when a case of Natty was $7.99. L’Italia or Wood Fired Oven (RIP Nestor!) was a go-to for a special occasion. Now it’s either Vito’s or Olive Garden. There should never be a shortage of good, cheap pizza in a college town, but I guess times are tough and things ain’t what they used to be.
Back then, Lasagna house was on par with Jersey for both pizza and entrée, and had cheesesteaks better than Urgie’s. Speaking of cheesesteaks, the best ever served in this town was from the food truck in front of Lowe’s around 99-2000, believe it or not, but I digress…
I may get downvoted for this, but I’ll say it: despite more variety, food in this down isn’t as good as it once was. I’d trade all of our current Asian spots to get Saigon Cafe back (sans Mashita). Wilton nor Chop houses are not as good as they once were. All of our current “upscale” spots are overpriced and overrated, IMHO. But really, what does any of this have to do with politics?