Have Information On Unique/ Gimmick Restaurants?
 

I am looking to visit yet unknown rest. that incorporate a unique gimmick in the experience, such as Dick's Last Resort (rude service)and The Hungry Farmer (pouring coffee into back pocket). If you have info. regarding this type of restaurant, can you give me ALL info. possible that I may visit as my nationwide travel continues.

Jim, <BR> <BR>There is a restaurant just south of Fairbanks, AK. known as Skinny Dicks Halfway Inn. I'm not sure if this helps or not. I've never eaten there fearing that there might be something other than mayonaise on my bun. <BR> <BR>illiterat

Jim. Try Lucky Chang in NYC.All transvestite servers in chinese rest. Travelman

Jim -- is this for an article or book of some sort? If so, I'm sure people will gladly help you. But when I see things from this forum published as if the writer had done all the research himself, it bothers me particularly if the people quoted thought they were just helping out a fellow traveler, not contributing to the upkeep of a travel writer.

Ed Debevic's in Los Angeles. Their motto is "Eat and get out!"

Check out www.throwedrolls.com for the Lambert's Cafe in Ozark MO for their unique way of delivering bread to your table. Good food too!

illi <BR> <BR>Can you tell me the type of attraction that Skinny Dicks Half Way House has that is bizzare?

Stella's Blue Sky Diner in Des Moines will make a great milk shake for you, then pour into your glass from about four feet above it. <BR> <BR>There's a diner in Kansas City, Kansas (sorry, can't remember the name) that will deliver your food to your table on a mini-railroad. <BR> <BR>For more weird and wacky sights in the USA, check out <BR> <BR>www.roadsideamerica.com

Sorry I can't recall the name (but they do advertise in the Village Voice) - there's a restaurant in NYC that has S&M / bondage as the theme. Have fun...

Jack's Outback on the Cape (W.Yarmouth) is not an Aussie gathering place. It's a diner hidden behind a group of buildings (thus the "out back"). He's the rudest, but funniest, breakfast cook I've met.

There once was a french bistro in DC where the wait staff served on roller skates ... just cannot recall the name. Anyone remember?

How about "Bed" in Miami's South Beach, where everyone eats in bed? It's very hot right now, no pun intended.

About 4 years ago my son went on a camping trip with friends in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. They ate at a place called the Road Kill Cafe. The waitress was squirting them all with a water pistol, and she made them all carry their dishes into the kitchen at the end of the meal and wash them themselves. He still talks about it. I'm not sure where it is, but I think somewhere in the vicinity of North Conway.

There is a RoadKill Cafe just outside of Salem, MA as well - great fun! The names of the dishes all resemble things you may see on the road along hte way.........

Str8Fwd and All responding: thanks for your help and questions. I do not have another agenda. This is a topic seldom found on this forum and please leave it alone. Small town restaurants and the big city restaurants (that are generally known) all qualify in this forum. These restaurants (for me) beat the heck out of chains, the usual, good and great usual finds and they are ones that are discussed for decades. Have mercy!

The Elbow Room is a tiny restaurant in Vancouver, best for breakfast. Snarly service by gay waiters who tell you to "get your own f------ coffee!". It is all done tongue in cheek and is a lot of fun.

Paul, thanks for the Roadsideamerica.com site. I am still digesting it. I do recomend it for a look at attractions off the regular path. Does anyone else have a site or book that would be helpful in my search for a restaurant with a service gimmick or different premise?

I've been to Twins in NYC were all the staff are twins. Very interesting experience.

Not in the USA, but this one is pretty strange. Go to chicagotribune.com travel section and read the article entitled "the blind leading the blind" about a restaurant in Zurich called the Blind Cow. I think it would be an enlightening &lt;pun intended&gt; experience to dine there.

Thanks very much for that article! I would also try this restaurant, but with some fear and trepidation. Any interested in this topic should see this publication. It's about a restaurant that serves all in complete darkness. It has a serious overtone, but has some funny stories also.

Ed Debevics!! Phoenix, Arizona and a few others in the west. It is a GREAT, FUN restaurant. It has a 50's motif, the waiters are incredibly rude (purposely, of course) and they do spontaneous dances, hula hooping, etc. It is a blast!

I have been to the Hungry Farmer Restaurant in Colorado Springs. They pour coffee from above their head to a mug on their foot.

I have heard about a restaurant in S. Carolina that makes you barter for your meal.

How about the obvious? Prime Time Cafe in the Disney MGM Studios! You are seated in the waiting area until your name is called which looks like a 50's living room and you watch 50's shows on the tv. When your table is ready, you're called and you have to set your own table and your waiter/waitress will spiel off what blue plate special Grandpa killed with dynamite that day. Your waiter/waiter is known as "cousin ....". Cousin Chris was the best! He had the Jerry Lewis personality down perfect, even the dorky glasses! Be careful not to put your elbows on the table though.

Pizza Luce in Minneapolis is staffed by punks (stylistically, at least) whose snarling sass is sublime. They hate you before you even walk in the door and, if your manner is anything other than anti-establishment, they'll show their utter contempt for you in original, creative ways. <BR> <BR>As theme restaurants go, it's the tops.

The restaurant in DC was called <BR>SAN SOUCI - and is no longer in business. I had a blind date there once. VERY FUN!

We went to San Souci several times and I never remember waiters on skates. Did it change at sometime? I remember it being kind of upscale.

I have been to Dick's Last Resort and I loved the experience. It was the best meal and I will remember it forever.

Who could forget the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., the theme restaurants based on Forrest Gump. Food was awful and the waiters would try to make you answer trivia questions about the movie all through the meal.

There used to be a restaurant in Ottawa where they would cut off your tie if you were wearing one. I am not sure how long ago that it closed down.

Jim and Paul: I do live in Zurich and we hear a lot of good things about the Blind Cow (Blinde Kuh in German). I never managed to get in, it's booked for weeks. So, it must definitely be an experience to eat there. I'll try it some time later. Now it's nicer to sit in a garden and enjoy the sunshine.

Thanks Ursula for your message! Very nice to hear from the other side of the pond. Just curious, are there any other restaurants that do something strange, similar to the above in your neck of the world?

Jim hi! I think the "Blinde Kuh" is quite unique in Switzerland an maybe even in Europe! They also have a website (only in German though): www.blindekuh.ch

Lambert's Cafe in MO is known for throwing rolls at you.

Intermezzo on Weybossett Street in Providence RI. <BR>Sunday brunch only.

Though not gimmicky but truly unique without being tacky is "Out on Main" in Columbus, Ohio. It is a great restaurant, similar to a hard rock/planet hollywood concept, only that this one celebrates gay culture. With memorbilia from Elton John (an oufit, of course), Melissa Etheridge (guitar), Martina Navritalova (sp.)(tennis racket), Greg Louganis (speedos), Ellen DeGeneres (copy of the "puppy episode" coming-out show), old pulp-fiction gay/lesbian books,political buttons,photos, a wall of local leaders etc......... it is not to be missed. Open for dinner only, the food is constantly rated as one of the best places to eat in Columbus.

At MGM Studios at WAlt Disney World- The Sci Fi Cafe. You sit in car like table and watch old cheesy Sci Fi movis like you are in a drive in movie. The food isn't great but the atmosphere is one of a kind. <BR> <BR>The Jekyl and Hyde Cafe in NY City is wild. There is a horror show theme with live, unique, avant garde shows being transmitted over the televisions. I remember having to wait forever to get in, but it was quite a show. I wonder if it is still there.

It's been almost a month since the last reply and I wanted to revive the topic. Again, I am looking for restaurants that have a service gimmick but theme restaurants are also appreciated.

Anyone else have information that may be usefull to me?

Jim <BR> <BR>Look at www.travelfile.com for information.