Walkin' Around Checkin' Stuff Out. #84
Greenline Checklist UPDATE.
Our Heavy Table update to the Greenline Checklist continues. It’s been about 8 years since we first ate at all the independent restaurants on this street and as you can imagine, a lot has changed...some good, some bad...but we’re always surprised. Restaurants you’d never think to try end up having some of the best food you can imagine....and some, don’t.
Please follow Heavy Table to get the full update…these are only the drawings, not the actual food write-ups and reviews, food photography and atmospheric write-ups. It’s worth following along on this crazy adventure. We inhale the calories so you don’t have to.
The Midway Saloon.
This will always be Big V’s to me. I’ve played here more than a few times over the years...never had a good show, but always loved the bar. The new owners kept it a dive bar while giving it a bit off an update. They did good.
The food? Well, let’s maybe not focus on the food...they have a magician on staff! Seriously...there’s a dude at the end of the bar doing magic tricks. It’s amazing.
I’m no expert on magicianship, but I thought this guy was pretty good. He was entertaining and the tricks were great...plus his little promo sign said he worked Vegas for many years, so he’s gotta be good. (He’s also available for private parties.)
There were some regulars in the house that I think have been there since before the Big V’s days and I’m not sure they were too into a group swooping in on a Tuesday night and documenting the joint. (I kind of don’t blame them.) You gotta love a bar with all types hanging out...from young hipsters to a grandma reading a book with a glass of red wine. She didn’t really fit the dive bar stereotype, but I like it.
Any decent dive bar has gotta have a pool table surrounded by tough characters...I mean, how else is a good bar fight gonna break out?
Hodma Restaurant.
This place was run by one dude...he didn’t speak very good English so we weren’t exactly sure what we were going to get, but it was good. A giant plate of meats and veggies and rice...it could have fed a family of 8 and it was really good.
I thought this was funny. SANDWICH. No indication of what kind of sandwich...just SANDWICH. I’d never seen that before, but that would change on our very next stop. And no, we didn’t order it...missed opportunity for sure.
Somali restaurants are always interesting...it’s hard to tell who’s working there and who’s eating there. One minute someone can be hanging out on their phone eating, and the next they are in the kitchen cooking your food or clearling a table. They tend to have a real community “all hands on deck” vibe.
In spite of the sketchy vibe and complete lack of feeling like this was a legit restaurant, the food was pretty damn good. Of note: usually we spaghetti with the sport plate, but they were out and offered rice instead. Good call because it was killer, and the green sauce was next level good, fresh, and HOT.
Kuuso Restaurant.
This place falls into the category of restaurant you don’t even know is there (inspite of the signage that shows every food item they could possibly serve), and if you knew it was there you would go in...and if you went in, you wouldn’t order. That’s the beauty of the Checklist...we have to! And more often than not we are pleasantly surprised.
Wait...there it is again...SANDWICH...with photo of a very sub-like looking sandwich, but no other details. Meat? Veggies? Now I regret that we didn’t order SANDWICH at both of these places to see what it was.
This place was run by one dude...he didn’t speak very good English so we weren’t exactly sure what we were going to get, but it was good. A giant plate of meats and veggies and rice...it could have fed a family of 8 and it was really good.
Dilla Sports Bar & Ethiopian Restaurant.
Ethiopian food is the kind of food I bet few Americans have tried, and almost everyone would love. It’s sloppy comfort food in the best way...Healthy without seeming healthy. I think Dilla figures the way to get more people in to try the food is to make it a sports bar...? Could work...maybe?
Our Checklist outings have brought us to a few Ethiopian restaurants and I can say with confidence that if you see an Ethiopian restaurant...go. It will be good. They’ve all been very good and Dilla was no exception. Not sure how I felt about the sports bar vibe and all the TVs, but the place was new and clean and you can’t say that about most other Ethiopian spots so hopefully more people will give the food a try.
Coffee service at Ethiopian restaurants is always fantastic. It’s not fast...it takes a while, but they make a heck of a show of it. They sure as heck aren’t just slamming a stainless steel pot of coffee on the table, they give it some real thought and presentation. You will get jacked.
Oza’s Bar & Grill.
The old Track’s Bar attached to a dump of a motel. Seedy as hell with a sketchy history for sure. I’m not sure the homey welcome signs are going to change anything, but it’s nice the new owner is at least gonna try.
The sign out front stating “BEST BURGERS” seemed laughably optimistic, but I wasn’t about to say that to our server...whose first job was clearly to be the bouncer. To say I wasn’t enthusiastic about eating at Oza’s was an understatement.
The food? Not bad! In fact the burder was pretty damn good...nowhere near the “BEST BURGER”, but better than most...and we had samosas that were really good. Maybe the sign out from should have said: “REALLY PRETTY GOOD SAMOSAS...AND PULLTABS...AND POOL”.