The idea for this came to my when I had planned a trip to Houston, or more namely Spring. It's nominally (and realistically) to visit my cousin who lives there, and spend time with him and his three adorable kids. But Spring, and its neighboring suburb The Woodlands, happens to be the location of a client project I did in the fall 2018. It was the last project I did as something of a nomad, which in totaly was a mostly 18 month stretch where I was mostly isolated week to week. It was sometimes boring, but I made it work by trying to maximize my enjoyment of the areas. It was in this period I discovered Hop Scholar Ale House in Spring. It soon became a 2x/week after work spot to just unwind, meet some locals, drink a truly fabulous collection of brews (seriously, it might have one of the better draft collections for a suburban bar). When I planned the trip, I could only get a flight in on Thursday late enough where I didn't want to bother my cousin and his family, but early enough to visit some of my old haunts - both Hop Scholar, more embarrassingly, Buffalo Wild Wings, and then EAD Vietnamese the next day. What this also prompted me to do is re-write a list I did at the tail end of that project, it was a list of my favorite client locations. My project changed significantly in 2019, as it lasted right up until the pandemic. There were many cities, larger teams, a different way of experiencing towns, but if anything the restaurants got fancier and more varied. Anyway, here we go. Actually, before we go, quick list of what's not ranked (due to it being just one-off or two-off site visits)
- Lamanon, France (I mean, this might be #1, but I made it into more of a tourist trip anyway)
- Winnipeg, Canada (very cool city, would love to go back)
- Sault Ste. Marie, Canada (not a cool city, don't want to go back, but somewhat glad I went)
- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (I have no real thoughts here)
- Leiden, Netherlands (ironically, I went here as a tourist way back in 1999, very cool little Dutch town, plus apparently the namesake town of my neighbor and good friend Chris Leyden)
- Bangalore, India (honestly, I have the strangest luck in site visits....)
- Vancouver, Canada (in reality, some town near Vancouver, nowhere near as fun as the actual city)
- Wilmington, North Carolina (only cool think was the connection to Cape Fear!)
- Atlanta, Georgia (no real thoughts)
- Nashville, Tennessee (all the thoughts, but going for work and not as a tourist sucked)
- Norfolk, Virginia (literally no thoughts, I arrived at 12:15, went to the shadiest sports bar for some wings....)
On to the real show!:
11.) Meriden/Wallingford (May 2017 - February 2018)
Local Restaurants: J. Christian's, The Library, Ola!, Gianni's
Bars: Wood-n-Tap; Knucklehead's
Meriden is a nothing town. The neighboring town of Wallingford is at least a place that had a main street, a few nice restaurants, and a really nice, if a it dingy, beer bar. It is staggering how much my appreciation of each place I went to depeded on if it had a workable, usable, weekly bar I could go to on days that work got too busy. Meriden's place was called Knuckleheads, normally patronized with people that would normally look like, well, knuckleheads. It took about a month before they remembered me each Wednesday night, when the pain of three straight days started to get to me. Meriden is also probably hurt because I had to drive there, a painful three hours every Monday morning, where I definutely came close to falling asleep on the road multiple times.
Bars: Wood-n-Tap; Knucklehead's
Meriden is a nothing town. The neighboring town of Wallingford is at least a place that had a main street, a few nice restaurants, and a really nice, if a it dingy, beer bar. It is staggering how much my appreciation of each place I went to depeded on if it had a workable, usable, weekly bar I could go to on days that work got too busy. Meriden's place was called Knuckleheads, normally patronized with people that would normally look like, well, knuckleheads. It took about a month before they remembered me each Wednesday night, when the pain of three straight days started to get to me. Meriden is also probably hurt because I had to drive there, a painful three hours every Monday morning, where I definutely came close to falling asleep on the road multiple times.
10.) Battle Creek (November 2013 - March 2014)
Restaurants: Acadia Brewing Company (now closed), Pastrami Joe's, Maru Sushi, La Cocina Mexicana
Bars: Griffin's Pub, Arcadia Brewing Company (now closed)
Battle Creek was the location of my first project as a consultant. It was a truly Michigan outpost, a place I learned how to deal with negative temperatures, as I was there in the middle of the polar vortex in the winter of 2013-14. My go-to place was Arcadia Brewing Company, which I know have learned has since closed - a development that really burns me. That place was great for its food in isolation, and when you add to it pure Michigan craft-beer, you get something special. Honestly, this news really depressed me. They truly had great food. Anyway, outside of Arcadia, they had a great sandwhich place for lunch, some nice ethnic food, a casino in driving distance, and the city of Kalamazoo, which had some nice food to match its great namem about 30 minutes away. It was the most remote place I went to, which by itself lent some mystery. ALso, they had those giant midwest-sized beers.
Bars: Griffin's Pub, Arcadia Brewing Company (now closed)
Battle Creek was the location of my first project as a consultant. It was a truly Michigan outpost, a place I learned how to deal with negative temperatures, as I was there in the middle of the polar vortex in the winter of 2013-14. My go-to place was Arcadia Brewing Company, which I know have learned has since closed - a development that really burns me. That place was great for its food in isolation, and when you add to it pure Michigan craft-beer, you get something special. Honestly, this news really depressed me. They truly had great food. Anyway, outside of Arcadia, they had a great sandwhich place for lunch, some nice ethnic food, a casino in driving distance, and the city of Kalamazoo, which had some nice food to match its great namem about 30 minutes away. It was the most remote place I went to, which by itself lent some mystery. ALso, they had those giant midwest-sized beers.
9.) Southfield/Detroit (January 2019 - December 2019)
Restaurants: Selden Standard, Chartreuse Kitchen, Beau's Grillery,
Bars: One-Eyed Betty's, Craft Breww City
The first new city in my list, this was one of many locations in the project I was running from the start of 2019 through April 2020. They had a lot of locations, but I restricted it to ones I went to at least four times. Anyway, the problem here is not so much Detroit, but the random suburb the waste management client was in, Southfield, was just blah. The options close by were extremely limited. We would venture closer to Detroit proper a few times and genuinely have good food. Selden Standard is a fantastic restaurant that could be easily placed in many metros. But it's also the place I had maybe the worst sushi of my life (to be fair, it was a last minute spot after my flight got cancelled). One-Eyed Betty's was a fantastic little beer bar, reminding me a lot of those in Battle Creek that it was a nice hit of nostalgia.
8.) Horsham (March 2018 - August 2018)
Restaurants: The Farm + Fisherman, Nara Thai, Tony's Place, Ooka Sushi
Bars; Magerk's Pub, Miller's Ale HouseIron Abbey Gastropub
Horsham was the only other driving client I had, but unlike Meriden, which was three hours away, this was 45 minutes away, and was close enough that I somewhat felt like I was at home. Horsham was a blue-collar town, one that the local pizza bar was open during multiple blizzards in the winter of 2018, which allowed me to get some sustenance while hte rest of hte town was snowed under. my nightly bar became Magerk's, which is actually a Western Pennsylvania chain, but the one in Horsham had a really good seelction of rotating taps - some that used to switch in and out each week, and had a couple nice bartenders I got to know. For actual restaurants, my favorite palce actually closed down when I was there, a lunch place that served really good Mexican food. But in its place, was multiple asian restaurants and a few nice upscale gastropubs. Itwas close to home, but since I like home it wasn't that bad.
Bars; Magerk's Pub, Miller's Ale HouseIron Abbey Gastropub
Horsham was the only other driving client I had, but unlike Meriden, which was three hours away, this was 45 minutes away, and was close enough that I somewhat felt like I was at home. Horsham was a blue-collar town, one that the local pizza bar was open during multiple blizzards in the winter of 2018, which allowed me to get some sustenance while hte rest of hte town was snowed under. my nightly bar became Magerk's, which is actually a Western Pennsylvania chain, but the one in Horsham had a really good seelction of rotating taps - some that used to switch in and out each week, and had a couple nice bartenders I got to know. For actual restaurants, my favorite palce actually closed down when I was there, a lunch place that served really good Mexican food. But in its place, was multiple asian restaurants and a few nice upscale gastropubs. Itwas close to home, but since I like home it wasn't that bad.
7.) San Ramon (August 2017 - March 2018)
Restaurants: Beer Baron Bar, Blue Agave, Walnut Creek Yacht Club, Sauced BBQ, Vanessa;s Bistro
Bars; Beer Baron Bar, Mr. Lucky's, OL Beercafe
San Ramon, located in the East Bay in the Valley, itself has nothing, other than rapidly becoming unaffordable housing. However, it was 15-20 minutes away from Pleasantville and Walnut Creek, two great suburban towns with great restaurants (everything from top-market Asian, to Barbecue, to gastropubs), great bars, a micro-brewery or two, and the cool air of the inner valley, a palce that rarely experienced anyhthing other than 70 degrees in winter. If you were to venture at all towards SF or Oakland, the traffic did become nightmarish, but therer was enough locally to ensure that it wasn't needed to go to the big city.
Bars; Beer Baron Bar, Mr. Lucky's, OL Beercafe
San Ramon, located in the East Bay in the Valley, itself has nothing, other than rapidly becoming unaffordable housing. However, it was 15-20 minutes away from Pleasantville and Walnut Creek, two great suburban towns with great restaurants (everything from top-market Asian, to Barbecue, to gastropubs), great bars, a micro-brewery or two, and the cool air of the inner valley, a palce that rarely experienced anyhthing other than 70 degrees in winter. If you were to venture at all towards SF or Oakland, the traffic did become nightmarish, but therer was enough locally to ensure that it wasn't needed to go to the big city.
6.) The Woodlands (October 2018 - December 2018)
Restaurants: TRIS, Fieldings Local, Del Frisco's, EAD Vietnamise, Roberto's Cocina
Bars: Hop Scholar Ale House, Bar Louie, Buffalo Wild Wings (sadly)
Unlike one unfair ranking to come, I'm not going to include Houston in this ranking. Given the disaster that is Houston traffic, downtown or the Galeria area is just too far away for me to go to enough. Anyway, Spring and The Woodlands, is a nice little posh suburb of Houston, that has a little slice of Houston, without the irascible traffic, namely great ehtnic food, great modern restaurants, and nice bar spots. The one downside which hurts it is that everything closes early. The only bar that was open after midnight was Buffalo Wild Wings (seriously). The restaurants are really nice though, if a tad expensive being a suburb - but I guess that's what posh gets you in one of the silently richest parts of the country. The one upside is their best local tap-house was really great. Hop Scholar Ale House was so good at rotating taps, and putting up a lot of stouts - a place after my heart.
Bars: Hop Scholar Ale House, Bar Louie, Buffalo Wild Wings (sadly)
Unlike one unfair ranking to come, I'm not going to include Houston in this ranking. Given the disaster that is Houston traffic, downtown or the Galeria area is just too far away for me to go to enough. Anyway, Spring and The Woodlands, is a nice little posh suburb of Houston, that has a little slice of Houston, without the irascible traffic, namely great ehtnic food, great modern restaurants, and nice bar spots. The one downside which hurts it is that everything closes early. The only bar that was open after midnight was Buffalo Wild Wings (seriously). The restaurants are really nice though, if a tad expensive being a suburb - but I guess that's what posh gets you in one of the silently richest parts of the country. The one upside is their best local tap-house was really great. Hop Scholar Ale House was so good at rotating taps, and putting up a lot of stouts - a place after my heart.
Restaurants: Pampas, La Casa Verde, Chucho el Roto, Tikua Sereste
Bars: Hotel Real de Minas Bar, Brewer Pub, Odric's Beer House
In a way, Queretaro is cheating, as it is a city, with a good city center (which doubles as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) right there. It houses a top university in Mexico, and has many US companies that have set up shop (including my client). But given it was in Mexico, and not in Mexico City, I feel like it deserves its spot. Queretaro was lovely, my first experience in Mexico outside of tourist traps. The city center was amazing. THe restaurants were all great, going from street tacos, to Mexican takes on Brazilian Stakehouses, to upmarket fare (that still generally landed within my expense budget). Queretaro also had a nice bull ring which I got to watch one concert (bull fighting is more or less dead un Mexico). Being the home to many US company's operations, it is largely middle class, which helps as well. It was just a great place to get lost in for three months.
4.) Vaughan/Toronto (December 2016 - March 2017 & January 2019 - March 2020)
Restaurants: The Keg, Bellwood's Brewery Gastropub, Di Manno's (lunch), Locale, Belsito's Trattoria
Bars: Moose & Firkin, Bar Hop Brew Co (Toronto), C'est What (Toronto),
Bars: Moose & Firkin, Bar Hop Brew Co (Toronto), C'est What (Toronto),
Ok, this is an interesting one. It was included in my list last time because I did a project in Vuaghan Dec'16 - Mar'17, the last project with my first company. Well, I went to Vaughan roughly 20x more times with a different client that somehow was in the exact same "desolate" suburb of Toronto. Back then, I included Toronto int the ranking. I'm taking Toronto away, at least for restaurants, because in the year plus that we went to Vaughan we had some fantastic meals in Toronto that would put the rest ot shame - oh what a 10-12 person budget gets you! Anway, I kept my favorite beer spots, two of which are in Toronto proper. One is Bar Hop Brew Co, which while having the most frustrating wifi was a genuinely great spot, and Bellwood's being truly my favorite gastropub in North America. What really opened my eyes this second sojourn in Vaughan. We went to Locale in King roughly ten times, each was great. The place is fabulous. The Italian food in the area is peerless. Di Manno's is an unmatched lunch spot from a consulting team's perspective, walking distance with incredible food. I really grew to love Vaughan. Somewhat helped by its place as the last client location I ever went to....
3.) Raleigh (January 2019 - March 2020)
Restaurants: Poole's Diner, Beasley's Chicken, Seoul 116, Vidrio, Garland, Rye
Bars: The Raleigh Times, Isaac Hunter's Tavern, Foundation
Now we're talking. This is probably the closest I've ever come to actually having a long-term urban client - though Raleigh is about as pleasant an "urban" environment as you can think of. We stayed at the Marriott which was right in the heart of Raleigh, with the State House on one end of the street, and the Arts Center on the other. Raleigh is a fascinating little town with an amazing food scene. All of the restaurants I've listed are great. The first two are classic Southern fare, with Poole's being maybe my favorite restaurant at a clietn location to date. Garland is somehow an Indian restaurant, though the chef is American, and its fantastic. Seoul 116 is a great Korean spot. Beasley's great fried chicken. In 2021 America, most cities have great food, but Raleigh has particularly great food. Oh, and The Raleigh Times bar is about as good a beer bar as I've found for the food it had, and the atmosphere. Raleigh is just a great town man, and the worst part is I'm really struggling to think of a reason I would return. But when I do, I can't wait.
2.) Denver (August 2019 - January 2020)
Restaurants: The Bindery, Annette, Beast & Bottle
Bars: Falling Rock Tap House (closed)
Denver barely makes the cut in my arbitrary "you had to go here four times" rule. I went there exactly four times on this same godforsaken (read: amazing) waste management client. I had been to Denver once as a tourist with friends in 2015, but this was a realy experiencing of the city and all its glory. Denver is a great place, eminently drivable despite how sprawling it is as a town. The city has some great restaurants. In full openness, I'm going back as a tourist in a months time so I'll have a better sense of its true glory then. The Bindery is a fantastic downtown restaurant. Annette apparently is a James Beard winning restaurant but was in the Stanley district that is well outside the city center. For a moment, I need to talk about Falling Rock. I discovered it on a whim as a place to go after me and two colleagues went to a Rockies game. Little did I know it was an institution in Denver, credited with really bringing the craft beer movement there. It closed very recently after a rent issue. Honestly, that by itself was almost enough for me to reconsider my trip. It was an excellent place. Denver was and is an excellent town.
1.) Montreal (January 2019 - January 2020)
Restaurants: Robin Square, Bouillon Bilk, St. Hubert's Chicken
Bars: NYKS, Dieu du Ciel, Santos
Ok, I admit this is such cheating. I've been to Montreal countless times before I ever went for work. That said, man was it great for work as well! I did go about five times on that last project (god bless those days, I used every damn dime of my expense budget), and to be fair I'm only considering things we went to during the project, so no Schwartz, or Juliete and Chocolat, or many other places that would just make it a more formidable #1 than it already is. There are a couple spots I did discover courtesy of me doing a project there. Robin Square probably topping that list, though I believe they've closed during the pandemic. It was a truly mom & pop shop where the whole family worked. The bars are great, NYKS being my go to during the Jazz Fest as well, and a beautiful little oasis the couple times I arrived really late and needed dinner among Hoth-like conditions. The only one downside of the whole Montreal work experience was how far away our actual client's operation was, so the lunch food there was really average. It did allow us to discover St. Hubert's, which is Montreal's answer to Nando's, and was great by itself. Of course we ate it a night after partying on a Wednesday at Santos, a random Cuban bar in Montreal Old Town, so maybe that helped everything greasy and fatty taste better...
