Foodie Survival in Dayton, OH

[gamefish54]

My wife and I will move to the Dayton, OH, area in June. Not exactly sure where, yet. But, we are looking for serious foodie recommendations. Thanks!

[KristieB]

Dayton is an amazing city. There are tons of terrific restaurants and foodie shops. What follows are a few of my favorites when I visit my sister there:

1. The Meadowlark
2. Brio
3. Don Pablos
4. Golden Nugget

5. First Watch
6. Thai 9

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Thai 9
11 Brown St, Dayton, OH 45402

Golden Nugget
PO Box 80, Boelus, NE 68820

[Fibber McGee]

Don Pablo's? Really? There are a few Mexican restaurants in Dayton that I feel have better menu selection and food than that chain. I've always liked Las Piramides, and there a couple of small places, La Taqueria Mixteca on Third Street in East Dayton and Taco Loco on Burkhardt that are pretty authentic.
Meadowlark is very good, but they're kind of hidden. For their sake, I hope they move to a more advantageous location because they're one of the truly unique dining experiences in the Dayton area.

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Taqueria Mixteca
1609 E 3rd St, Dayton, OH 45403

[Niki in Dayton]

Hi gamefish, and welcome (in advance) to Dayton! If you do a search on the midwest board, you'll find quite a few recommendations and discussions of various Dayton places. David W's suggestion is also good (check out Cinci and Cols) since both are fairly close.

Foodie is kind of a generic term to me; if you provide more specific preferences I can provide some specific recommendations. For instance, we have good Korean and Vietnamese restaurants in the area (Thai, not so much...I go to Cols for Thai).

We have a wonderful small independent grocery store chain, Dorothy Lane Market (there are three in the area). DLM has European ovens and makes fabulous bread and one can buy almost any ingredient there (and if they don't carry it, they'll order it for you). DLM has absolutely first class customer service, as well, and a very nice wine selection.

Let us know what you're looking for specifically so we can provide some suggestions to look forward to when you get to town!

Cheers,
Niki

[gamefish54]

Niki,

Thank you! I thought about characterizing our tastes in my first post. But, it really comes down to the fact that neither of us likes beets and I hate broccoli. Other than that, we're up to try anything once and have had the good fortune in Nashua, New Hampshire, of sampling great Asian, Indian, continental, Italian, etc. We simply enjoy good meals, so suggest a-way!

Gamefish (aka Michael)

[Fibber McGee]

Then you'll want to stay away from Broccoli Beets Cauliflower, located in the suburb of Moraine.

When you do a search, you'll find Niki's name come up a bit. I don't think anyone can speak for the area better.

[David W]

I live in NY, but have family just across the line in Indiana, and so travel in the area.
Dayton has at least one terrific restaurant-
http://www.ruedumainerestaurant.com/
About a half hour south-
http://www.meshrestaurant.com/home.html
For supplies, check this out-
http://www.junglejims.com/

And remember-driving is pretty easy out that way, and you are only about an hour from Cincinnati and Columbus, so you may want to read up on those cities as well.

[carewren]

i grew up in Dayton even though i don't live there anymore. Although it is chock full of chain restaurants, i can recommend Mr. Lee's. It's an asian/sushi restaraunt off of Poe Lane near the I-75 and I-70 interchange. I love sushi, and Mr. Lee's has some of the best i've ever tasted!

You will also have to find some Graeter's ice cream - originally from Cinci.

The only other notable restaurant i can think of is Benham's. It's downtown, though i can't recall the street name. I haven't been there in years, but if it is still going strong, it would be worth a visit despite its humble exterior.