Top Five Ames Restaurants

[URBCLONE]

I can't believe no one has said:

Hickory Park

Bingo! I'll add Great Plains Sauce and Dough and (sigh) O'malley and Mc'Gees (wish it were still around).

 

[Mr Janny]

1) Aunt Maude's
2) Cafe Shi
3) The Spice
4) Olde Main
5) Dublin Bay

not necessarily easy on a college student's budget, though.

 

[tbone]

It is too hard for me to list them in a certain order. But my fav's are:
Wallaby's-the cheese fries and wallaby burger are amazing
Pizza Pit- inferno wings!!! also the only good thing about Iowa City
Olde Main-the meatloaf with a dinkey
Hickory Park- great chicken, pork ribs, and malts
West Street Deli- best sandwich shop I have ever eaten at hands down...anywhere

 

[bigredqb7]

im not sure if anyone has posted or if anyone knows, but hickory park has crinkle cut fries back instead of the batter-dipped fries.

 

[mplscyclone]

off the radar a little:
has anyone mentioned tradewinds for lunch with a old mil draft?

Tradewinds is closing if not already closed...

 

[ISUKyro]

Is Legends still open? I really liked them.

I personally think Hickory Park is wayy over hyped. Yes it's good and yes I'll stop by when I vacation back in Ames, but it's not anything special.
Same goes with Great Plains.

 

[ISUKyro]

wow, most of the time i went in there, they had a fair amount of people. do you know why?

There was an article in the Trib (online) about how the owner was working too many 60 hour weeks just to try and break even. May have looked busy but guess things weren't going great.


http://www.amestrib.com/articles/2009/05/04/ames_tribune/news/doc49fbcd9b2c675858391380.txt

edit: added link

 

[Wingback]

How about by restaurant type:

Mexican - LaFuente
Chinese - Mandarin
Barbeque - Battles (sandwichews)/Hickory Park (ribs/meals)
Pizza - Great Plains Sauce & Dough
Buffet - Valentinos
Steak - Olde Main (Open Flame if you count Gilbert)
Fast Food - Culvers/Taco Time
General - Applebees/Okoboji Grill

 

[mplscyclone]

oh wow. who woulda thought. i'd stop in there once a month, i always thought there was people there. just a few weeks ago when there must have been a firefighting convention it looked really busy.

I do not know all of the details and this is just my opinion, but perhaps the owner never really made a big profit from running the place. Perhaps the economic environment has had an impact on the owners OUTSIDE of the business. Or maybe the owner was just tired of working so much.

 

[RayShimley]

If you're talking about the Ames undergrad experience (which it sounds like you are), then you have to take into consideration quality, environment, and cost. Aunt Maude's, The Cafe, Cafe Shi, The Spice, etc. are all great, but I could never afford to go to those places unless my parents were footing the bill! Based on the above criteria, these were my 5 best:

1. Hummdinger at Smiles and Gyros stand on Welch Ave. (preferably after 2 A.M.)
2. Anything on a Denver Style crust at Great Plains Sauce & Dough Co. (Don't forget to dip your crusts in honey!)
3. Angry Chicken at Little Taipei (Extra hot sauce if you're a tough guy)
4. Steak Chimichanga at El Azteca (Goes down extra smooth with a Dos Equis or Grande Margarita)
5. Bar-b-q pork sandwhich at Battle's Bar-B-Q (Make sure to get some Texas Toast on the side!)

Honorable Mention:

Hickory Park (Stay the hell away from it on gamedays or any other time an inordinate amount of non-natives are in town as 95% of them will flock here)

Grove Cafe (This is the place to go for breakfast food that will shorten your life expectancy considerably)

Cazador (This would've beaten out El Azteca if they still had the patio)

Dublin Bay (On the expensive side, but their delicous shephard's pie along with a frothy black and tan made it worth the cost!)

 

[CYNWIA]

Not sure if anyone here has heard of any of these restaurants... I'm a pretty unique eater so these ones aren't very common. Also, I really like to eat at restaurants that are unique to ames only so here it goes...

1. McDonalds
2. Burger King
3. Subway
4. Wal Mart
5. Pizza Hut

 

[MNCyGuy]

westcyde wings

After 4 years I finally made it out to Westcyde last week. It was good, especially on a Tuesday with the half-priced wings.

 

[Wingback]

You left out the hot dogs at Kum & Go, Cynwia.

 

[drmwevr08]

Ruttles

Oh, wait, damn.

 

[MoreCowbell]

When I was in school:
- Jimmy Johns
- West St Deli
- CHC/Coscost (didn't discover them until Senior year)
- DaVinci's
- Battles

Going back now to visit:
- Hickory Park
- Dublin Bay
- Wallaby's
- Great Plains
- Okoboji Grill

When I was in school I wanted good drunk/hangover food that was cheap. Now we tend to go to more family-friendly restaurants.

I definitely think Ames has a good selection of restaurants for its size.

 

[everyyard]

It is funny to see the top 5 list from a student perspective versus what I think as the top places living in Ames as an adult.

that was my first impression as well.

 

[CycloneErik]

I really miss Ruttles. That place was incredible!!

 

[RayShimley]

Cazador (This would've beaten out El Azteca if they still had the patio)

After going to Cazador today for Cinco de Mayo I discovered they have just built a brand new patio so I must bump them up!!

 

[greatshu]

UDCC

I have to say Dungeons. That was the best place to eat when I lived in Helser. They had the best hot wings ever.

Panda Express in MU.

Little Taipei, Cocoast, and May House was awesome. I still go to all of them everytime I am back in Ames. I even bring extra containers, so I can enjoy them for next few days after I get home

 

[Cycofan1]

Pizza Pit