What's there to eat in Dayton Ohio?

Hey everybody,
 
My wife will be spending two days in November in Dayton - lucky her, she gets to spend the two evenings before the election in a hotel room looking at swing state Romney / Obama ads on TV - and ten days in December.  The children and I will be joining her for the second half of the December stay.  While she's working, the kids and I will be popping over to Cincy and to Columbus, where I have found good recommendations aplenty, but Dayton itself is kind of confounding me.
 
On her first business trip to Dayton, she visited Tank's Bar & Grill and Culp's Cafe.  I'm aware that I can take advantage of our location and revisit Gold Star or Skyline, but what's the town got as far as really old roadfood, regional treats, pre-chain fast food, roadside architecture, or stuff we just need to see for our blog?  *Toddler-friendly is a must.*  We'll be there for the better part of five days, apart from lunchtime visits to Cincy / Columbus and their childrens' museums, so pile up the recommendations, please!
 
Also!  On our way home, we plan to stop at Hathaway's Coffee Shop in Cincy for breakfast and try that goetta stuff.  Can I find that in Dayton as well?
 
As always, thanks a lot for any advice!

http://www.roadfood.com/F...iddletown-m379488.aspx

HBS-
I assume all the places listed in the reviews are already on your radar. Of those, The Pine Club is truly an excellent restaurant, but not exactly family friendly.
 
Two other places nearby that I really like is Hamburger Wagon in Miamisburg and Schuler's Bakery in Springfield.

Heartbreaksoup

On her first business trip to Dayton, she visited Tank's Bar & Grill and Culp's Cafe.  I'm aware that I can take advantage of our location and revisit Gold Star or Skyline, but what's the town got as far as really old roadfood, regional treats, pre-chain fast food, roadside architecture, or stuff we just need to see for our blog?

 
Quick note: Dayton is not Goetta territory. I am in Warren County (between Dayton and Cinci) and even where I live nobody knows about it.It hasn't really penetrated up there.You'd have to go someplace on the north end of Cincinnati, such as to Jungle Jim's Market in Fairfield, to buy it.
 
Tank's is an excellent choice and I go there very often.
 
One Dayton regional treat is the idiosyncratic local thin, square cut pizza. If you have Donato's, that is the kind of product that it is, except that locally you can get more authentic non chain versions of that style of pie. Marion's Piazza with several regional locations is the most easy to get example (always ask at Marion's to have them bake your pizza in the "old oven" for a better crust.) A really good independent version of this type of pizza (the best, I think) is Ron's Tavern in Miamisburg on town square, about 20 minutes south of downtown.
 
Old roadfood: Legacy Pancake House, in a bombed out looking part of North Dayton. Excellent and cheap food and service.
 
BBQ: In my opinion the overall best BBQ experience around Dayton is at City BBQ in Centerville. Oinkadoodlemoo gets a lot of mention (it's local, whereas City BBQ is from Columbus) but in my opinion it's a cut down and more expensive version of City BBQ.
 
Mexican: a great road foodish option is Taqueira Mixteca on East Third Street (another bombed out area.) Avoid Hot Head Burritos - it's a local chain that is talked up a lot but it's just mediocre.
 
A bit out of town, there are two places that are worth the drive for different reasons. In Yellow Springs, the Old Trail Tavern in Yellow Springs is a generally mediocre to awful restaurant in an original log cabin, with a ton of character - Rod Serling was a bartender here when he attended Antioch in the 40s or 50s.  (Skip Ha Ha Pizza in Yellow Springs - it looks better than it is - I am not a fan. Absolutely horrible service.) In Clifton, the highly scenic Clifton Gorge areas has the restaurant at Clifton Mill. Expensive for pretty ordinary breakfast foods, but it's priced for the view.
 
I'll think of more later...

I'll agree that The Pine Club is worth a visit.

Momma DiSalvo's for the family. Its reasonable and consistently good. I would not order pizza there. http://www.mammadisalvo.com/ If you want Pizza you only have two choices Troni's or Deweys. http://www.deweyspizza.com/#!/venues/brown-street
If you like Thai Food Dayton has one of the best I have ever been to with great sushi called Thai 9. Great menu and service. Its my Daughter's favorite all time restaurant http://www.thai9restaurant.com/Main.html
Best steak in town can be found at Carvers http://www.carversdayton.com/
Looking for a good Beer and Gastro Pub try The Pub at the Greene http://www.experiencethepub.com/ If you get down to Cincy for Chilli try Camp Washington http://www.campwashingtonchili.com/ instead of Skyline or Gold Star. Or if you cross the river my favorite is Dixie Chili http://www.dixiechili.com/ you can pick it up by the can and take some home.
Finally I cannot stress this enough! If you have not been to Jungle Jim's in Cincy this is a must stop for any Foodie. http://www.junglejims.com/
 
...Russ
  

I like the thin-crust pizza from DJ's Pizza Alley in Tipp City.  It's on 2nd Street just south of Main.

Hmmm.  I was going to pass on Jungle Jim's, until I saw that, magically, they're open at 8 am on Sundays, which is just the time we'll be coming back through Cincy on our way home.  How convenient that I can get goetta from them; we may do that instead of Hathaway's.
 
Keep the Dayton recommendations coming.  I can't *schedule* anything in the city, but I need a thread full of good ideas for when my exhausted wife comes back to the hotel and tells me what she's in the mood for.  Also, I have no idea where in Dayton the hotel is.  It could be anywhere from downtown to Miamisburg, I guess.
 
(I've already scheduled lunches and snacks in Cincy and in Columbus, and, yes, I will be stopping at Camp Washington on my way up.  Skyline and Gold Star are for backup plans in Dayton itself.)

More votes for the Pine Club and Mama DiSalvos.   Dewey's pizza is very good, too. (they are based out of Cincinnati, and we are fortunate enough to have a location here, too)
 
El Meson is excellent Spanish food and tapas, as well.  I always get the grilled calamari when I go there, although it's been a couple years...
 
Jay's Seafood in the Oregan District is also good, if pricey.
 
Golden Nugget pancake house has good breakfast.

The Pine Club does not strike me as being remotely toddler-friendly.  I'll pass on that one.  The other diners might be pretty angry about me bringing the cranky 18 month-old!

Heartbreaksoup


The Pine Club does not strike me as being remotely toddler-friendly.  I'll pass on that one.  The other diners might be pretty angry about me bringing the cranky 18 month-old!

 Do not bring a child to Pine Club or Carvers. Jay's Seafood is great also and is next to Thai 9. Also the wood bar at Jay's is a sight to behold. If you love woodwork it is something special. Make sure you give us a report...Russ

Here are some various, random suggestions:
 
Amar India ( http://www.amarindiadayton.com/ ) in Miamisburg, across from the Dayton Mall.  It's sit down, the service is decent, and it's family-friendly.
 
Namaste India ( http://www.namasteindiadyt.com/ ) - Good food, also in Miamisburg, fast-casual setup (similar to the way a Chipotle is laid out).
 
Kabuki Korean & Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar ( http://daytonkabuki.wix.com/kabuki-long ) in Centerville serves some really, really good sushi (in fact, I heart the Playboy Roll so much I want to marry it).
 
If you want to dine at a Chinese place that maybe features some dishes that aren't the typical dumbed-down-for-American-palates ones served at most Chinese restaurants, try Tsao's Cuisine in Fairborn ( http://tsaoscuisinefairbornohio.weebly.com/ ).  And if you want to eat at a Chinese place that features more familiar-to-Americans dishes, but does them extremely well, you should stop into one of the China Cottage ( http://www.chinacottagerestaurant.com/ ) locations.
 
The best chicken I've ever put in my mouth can be found at Nelly's in Miamisburg ( http://www.nellyschicken.com/ ).
 
Finally, for really good doughnuts, you could go to Bill's Donuts Shop in Centerville ( http://www.billsdonutshop.com/ ), which gets high praise round here; or you could drive down to Middletown and stop at my personal favorite doughnut place of all time, Milton's ( http://www.urbanspoon.com...tons-Donuts-Middletown ).

For Italian food Troni's Pizza and Restaurant in Kettering:
 
https://plus.google.com/103855730893132259629/about?gl=us&hl=en#103855730893132259629/about?gl=us&hl=en
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/123/890136/restaurant/Tronis-Pizza-Restaraunt-Dayton
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tronis-pizza-and-restaurant-dayton
 
Dewey's Pizza is also excellent but no other Italian food is served there except salads.

Rabkin

Namaste India ( http://www.namasteindiadyt.com/ ) - Good food, also in Miamisburg, fast-casual setup (similar to the way a Chipotle is laid out).

I can also vouch for Namaste.  One of my regular stops when in the area for WPAFB.
 
Actually, several really good Indian places in and around Dayton.

buffetbuster


HBS-
I assume all the places listed in the reviews are already on your radar. Of those, The Pine Club is truly an excellent restaurant, but not exactly family friendly.

Two other places nearby that I really like is Hamburger Wagon in Miamisburg and Schuler's Bakery in Springfield.

Forget about Hamburger Wagon, that place is a RIPOFF!  McDonald's is much better!

I like Joe's pizzaria on Airway. I'll be going there in April, along with the Pine Club

45013

buffetbuster


HBS-
I assume all the places listed in the reviews are already on your radar. Of those, The Pine Club is truly an excellent restaurant, but not exactly family friendly.

Two other places nearby that I really like is Hamburger Wagon in Miamisburg and Schuler's Bakery in Springfield.

Forget about Hamburger Wagon, that place is a RIPOFF!  McDonald's is much better!

I'm assuming you were joking/trolling.  Because otherwise, in light of this, I'd have to question your opinion on everything else.

I've read that Hamburger Wagon is a strange old fashioned style of burger: really thin patties that are dusted with a strong mixture of white and black pepper and then griddled. So it's a burger that is basically all sear. That certainly falls in the province of personal taste and might taste like overpriced garbage to some people. If I ever get up to M-burg during the day I'll give one a whirl.

You guys have me curious about Hamburger Wagon now!
It's looking like we'll be spending a little less time in Dayton than I thought, and staying at least one night with family in (apparently) the north suburbs of Cincy.  The only firm Dayton pick is a place called Thai 9, which my wife tried on her most recent weekend training trip, and wants to return.  Every suggestion's a helpful one, though!

Has anyone tried the Piada in Centerville? Sounds like an interesting concept:
 
http://www.mypiada.com/

Rabkin

45013

Forget about Hamburger Wagon, that place is a RIPOFF!  McDonald's is much better!

I'm assuming you were joking/trolling.  Because otherwise, in light of this, I'd have to question your opinion on everything else.

 
I'm sorry, but the price of $1.10 for a hamburger, as well as a 12-ounce soda, is RIDICULOUS!  And that was in July 2010, so it could be higher now!

45013

I'm sorry, but the price of $1.10 for a hamburger, as well as a 12-ounce soda, is RIDICULOUS!  And that was in July 2010, so it could be higher now!

 
Just to normalize things so we know what we're talking about, can you contrast the wagon's burger with a White Castle or a McDonald's dollar menu burger? As far as size of the patty and the entire sandwich, at least?

Here is a photo of one of the burgers they serve at Hamburger Wagon.

They are on the small side, but certainly in line with what you would find at a typical slider joint.
 
I stand by my original recommendation of Hamburger Wagon.

The Hamburger Wagon is what it is. Wok fried hockey pucks with a weird spice blend. Then shoved into a brown bag. No way I am not stopping when I drive by. It can be 15 degrees outside around noon any day and there will be a line. Please do not compare it to a McDonalds burger cooked in a drawer. If anything Hamburger Wagon is original....Russ

buffetbuster


Here is a photo of one of the burgers they serve at Hamburger Wagon.

They are on the small side, but certainly in line with what you would find at a typical slider joint.

I stand by my original recommendation of Hamburger Wagon.

That right there is a thing of beauty.  I think I know where I'll be going this coming Saturday afternoon.

That burger sort of looks like it's sticking a tongue out in mockery.

Oinkadoodlemoo
 
I love IT, wish i would have thought of that name for a que shack.

My wife likes Dayton style pizza. So when she wants it we hit Rons in Miamisburg ,along with the hamburger wagon which sits right out front of Rons for the most part. Rons to me is the better version of dayton style. Its a nice dbl shot.
 

Looks like Hamburger Wagon is on my to-do list on our free day, along with the Maid-Rite in Greenville.  Thanks for everybody's help!

Maid-Rite, IMHO, is not worth the long drive to Greenville.  Think loose ground beef fried up with a little salt - it's not much more than that and not worth an hour-plus drive to get there.
YMMV