Five Star Food Favorites

Sunday September 6th, 2009 - Pittsburgh, PA/Lake Villa, IL

The long drive home from Pittsburgh got even longer as I stopped for lunch at good old Mama Guzzardi’s Italian restaurant in North Canton, OH. I’ve loved that joint since I first was taken there years ago by my comedian friend Tim ‘Polish Thunder’ Marszalkowski.

It’s just a little hole in the wall in a tiny strip mall next to a Laundromat on one side and a bakery on the other but boy is the food fantastic. Cheap too. Any time I’m even close to the area I always try to stop for a good meal, even though today it meant I had to hang out at the Laundromat for an hour reading because Mama’s doesn’t open Sundays until noon.

That put me behind schedule but it was worth it. The food was just as great as ever and I’m glad I waited. Places like this are what make road life tolerable and I’ve found a lot of them over the years. Not that anyone asked but I made up a list of my all time favorites.

Besides Mama Guzzardi’s in Ohio, here are some other classics, in no particular order:

-Canter’s Deli on Fairfax Ave. in L.A. is a 24 hour place where comics have hung out for years. It’s filled with characters at all hours of the day and has delicious food of all kinds.

-Miss Letha’s Barbecue in Hattiesburg, MS. Without a doubt, THE best barbecued ribs I have ever tasted. Not only that, outstanding beans and potato salad too. This is the bomb.

-Piccolo Pete’s in South Omaha, NE. I stopped there on my birthday one year and had an amazing T-Bone steak, home made bread, home made salad dressing, all for under $20.

-Juicy’s in Reno, NV has some of the best hamburgers I’ve ever eaten. I don’t know what makes these so special but they are and whenever I’m back there I have to stop to get one.

-Pink’s in Los Angeles is a hot dog joint that is always jammed. Everyone in L.A. knows about Pink’s and many celebrities can be seen there at any given time munching on a dog.

-Jake’s Deli in my hometown of Milwaukee still has the best corned beef I’ve ever eaten. It’s greasy, fatty, thickly cut and out of this world delicious. I’ve never found any better.

-The Rendezvous in downtown Memphis serves up ‘dry ribs’, which absolutely explode with flavor from the first bite. They’re very unique and I never miss them when I’m there.

-Jack Stack Barbecue in Kansas City is all about the best of K.C. barbecue in one place. I’ve tried a lot of places in Kansas City but I like this one the best. It’s pure pork pleasure.

I know none of these places are healthy but they sure are tasty. If I ever do have a chest grabber I’ll have earned it and hopefully I’ll have all these joints flash before my eyes as I leave the surly bounds of Earth. I know as I get older I’ll have to watch what I eat and all that but for many years I did get to sample some of the best food around. And I loved it.