Sunny & Liz's Food Network Road Trip!

So, Liz and I are both huge fans of the Food Network, and unfortunately for us, the Canadian shows just don't cut it (Exhibit A: Top Chef Canada... whoever thought it was a good idea to air it right after Top Chef Masters should be fired)... maybe except for Chuck's Day Off, that's the only Canadian show on it I watch. We've been longing to check out the food joints that were featured in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Long weekend is coming up, and we were wondering what to do. What better way to spend it than to drive down and explore the restaurants we've been longing to visit?

Based on estimates of which cities we can hit, we shortlisted all the restaurants that were featured on the two shows we could possibly visit.

. Name Metropolitan Area Show Recommended by Featured dishes Yelp Rating . Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger Ann Arbor Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Burgers 4 . Earl's Drive-In Buffalo Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Chicken a la King w/Buttermilk BIscuits, Pizza 5 . Pizza Junction Buffalo Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Beef on Weck Pizza 4.5 . Grovers Bar & Grill Buffalo Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A The Bruiser Burger, Cattleman Burger, Cheeseburger Soup, Garlic Parmesan Wings 4 . Sophia's Restaurant Buffalo Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Open-Faced Sandwich, Souvlaki 4 . Lake Effect Diner Buffalo Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Pizza, Meatballs, Chicken Parmesan, Italian Fish 3 . Blackthorn Restaurant and Pub Buffalo Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Beef on Weck, Irish Beef Cheddar Soup, Triple D Platter 4.5 . Mulberry Cafe Buffalo Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Lasagna, Meatballs 4 . Charlie the Butcher's Kitchen Buffalo Best Thing I Ever Ate Geoffrey Zakarian Beef on Weck 4.5 . Geraci's Restaurant Cleveland Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Chicken Marsala, Pasta, Pizza 4 . Sterle's Slovanian Country House Cleveland Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Chicken Paprikash, Wienerschnitzel 3.5 . Lucky's Cafe Cleveland Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Corned Beef, Bread, Granola 4 . Momocho Cleveland Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Tuna Tacos w/Blood Orange Marmalade, Guacamole w/House Smoked Trout 4.5 . Parkview Niteclub Cleveland Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Smoked Salmon BLT 4 . Melt Bar and Grilled Cleveland Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches 4 . Velvet Tango Room Cleveland Best Thing I Ever Ate Michael Symon Lime Fizz 4.5 . Czuchraj's Meats Cleveland Best Thing I Ever Ate Michael Symon Beef Jerky, Smoked Meats 4.5 . Sokolowski's Cleveland Best Thing I Ever Ate Michael Symon Perogies, Stuffed Green Pepper Soup 4.5 . Lolita Cleveland Best Thing I Ever Ate Aaron Sanchez Fried Brussel Sprots 4 . The Greenhouse Tavern Cleveland Best Thing I Ever Ate Michael Symon Gravy Frites 4 . Seti's Polish Boys Cleveland Best Thing I Ever Ate Michael Symon Polish Boy 4 . Big Al's Diner Cleveland Best Thing I Ever Ate Michael Symon Beef Hash 3.5 . Lopez Southwestern Diner Cleveland Best Thing I Ever Ate Michael Symon Sage and Bleu Cheese Guacamole 3.5 . The Fly Trap Detroit Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Pho 4.5 . McClures Pickles Detroit Best Thing I Ever Ate Ted Allen Pickles 4.5 . National Coney Island Detroit Best Thing I Ever Ate Sunny Anderson Chili 4 . Joe's Gizzard City Lansing Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A The "DDD" Burger 3 . Starlite Lounge Pittsburgh Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Perogies, Stuffed Green Pepper Soup 2 . Kelly O's Diner Pittsburgh Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Haluski, Polenta w/Bolognaise Sauce 2 . Big Jim's Pittsburgh Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Rueben, Big Jim's Club 4 . Nadine's Pittsburgh Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Roast Beef, Na's Pasta 4 . Crystal Restaurant Pittsburgh Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Hummus, Tabbouli, Kibbee 3.5 . Dor-Stop Pittsburgh Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Pumpkin Hotcakes, Dor-Stop Burger, Steak & Cheese Hoagies 4 . Lo Bello Pittsburgh Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives N/A Spaghetti, Gnocchi, Ravioli 3.5

After drafting out a realistic schedule, our tentative timetable is as follows:

. Date Time   Place Address   . 5/21/2011 8:00:00 Pick-up car Hertz     .   10:30:00 Meal 1 (Buffalo) Charlie the Butcher's Kitchen 1065 Wehrle Drive, Buffalo, ON   .   12:00:00 Hang around       .   14:00:00 Meal 2 (Buffalo) Earl's Drive-In 12139 Olean Rd, Chaffee, NY   .   17:00:00 Shopping in Erie, PA       .   20:00:00 Meal 3 (Pittsburgh) Dor-Stop 1430 Potomac Ave, Pittsburgh, PA   .             . 5/22/2011 9:00:00 Meal 4 (Pittsburgh) Nadine's 19 S 27th Street, Pittsburgh, PA   .   10:00:00 Explore Pittsburgh       .   14:00:00 Meal 5 (Cleveland) Czuchraj's Meats 1979 W 25th St # B10, Cleveland, OH   .   15:00:00 Explore Cleveland       .   19:00:00 Meal 6 (Cleveland) Lopez Southwestern Diner 2196 Lee Rd, Cleveland, OH   .             . 5/23/2011 9:00:00 Meal 7 (Cleveland) Melt Bar and Grilled 14718 Detroit Ave, Lakewood, OH   .   12:00:00 Meal 8 (Toledo) TBD     .   16:00:00 Meal 9a (Ann Arbor) Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger 551 South Division Street, Ann Arbor, MI   .   18:00:00 Meal 9b (Detroit) McClures Pickles 330 E Maple Rd, Troy, MI   .   20:00:00 Return car Hertz

And to map it out...



My arteries will not like me very much, but oh, I can hardly wait!

EDIT: Goddamn Facebook doesn't like tables, so I'm using a graphic.