Best:

Primrose Path - everything I had was tasty, the "small plates" were still generous compared to other places with that style of menu, and the servers were great at making sure our selections came out in a good sequence


Worst

Maria Mia - the fajita meat in my taco/enchilada (don't remember, it was just so bad) tasted like it had died twice (i'm not sure what that means, it was just gross). when I sent it back I was told it was probably because they had put extra soy sauce on it so it didn't dry out. ????????? to their credit, no one got sick, it was just the taste.

BaronDeBishopville said:

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You must be talking about China Wok. I too thought it was pretty good, probably went through the drive thru once a month for 5 or 6 years. Never got a look through the drive thru window to see, much less take a picture, of the counter area and a rat.

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China Garden (along with a practically-new gas station and something else) got demolished a number of years ago for the Walgreens there.



China Wok Express is in the upper left.

R.I.P. Tinsley's…

My thoughts exactly….

PS3D said:

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BaronDeBishopville said:

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You must be talking about China Wok. I too thought it was pretty good, probably went through the drive thru once a month for 5 or 6 years. Never got a look through the drive thru window to see, much less take a picture, of the counter area and a rat.

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China Garden (along with a practically-new gas station and something else) got demolished a number of years ago for the Walgreens there.



China Wok Express is in the upper left.

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R.I.P. Hastings, while not the one on Texas in college station, I'll still pour one out for my childhood.

I did eat at China Garden a few times in the 1990's and it was pretty good. The building was a Pizza Inn before that and had a two level dining area.

BaronDeBishopville said:

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I did eat at China Garden a few times in the 1990's and it was pretty good. The building was a Pizza Inn before that and had a two level dining area.

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It was a Mr. Gatti's

It was definitely a Pizza Inn.

Mr. Gatti's

in 1986 I had a visit from a family friend who did start ups for Pizza Inn. I had to drive him over there so he see it. In 1986 it was a Pizza Inn

BaronDeBishopville said:

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in 1986 I had a visit from a family friend who did start ups for Pizza Inn. I had to drive him over there so he see it. In 1986 it was a Pizza Inn

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Well, I'm intrigued. I don't have 1986 yellow pages, it's a gap in my collection, and digital copies for newspapers don't exist. But..."The Pizza Pub" d/b/a Mr. Gatti's opened in 1977 at 2901 S. Texas Avenue, similar to the College Station location at 107 College Avenue North. In 1986, there is a gap for the permits at that location from March to October, with the store closing for good around early 1987. A listing for Pizza Inn appears from November to December of 1987 at 2901 Texas Avenue South, indicating there might be some weight to the idea that Pizza Inn was there, albeit briefly (evidence that it was there in 1986 is likely missing). So it probably was Pizza Inn for a very short time.

Until I can go downtown to the library to check, I don't know for sure but there is some weight to the idea it was Pizza Inn before becoming China Garden around 1991.

Maybe… I never remember a Pizza Inn actually opening in town. Mr. Gatti's was definitely there. Booths, multi-level dining, buffet (I think). Virtually identical to the one across from campus.

If Pizza Inn ever opened there, I don't remember it.

I still stand by it being a Pizza Inn although maybe 1987 instead of 1986. But it was also a Mr Gatti's too. Not sure on time frames.

Brazos1865 said:

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Maybe… I never remember a Pizza Inn actually opening in town. Mr. Gatti's was definitely there. Booths, multi-level dining, buffet (I think). Virtually identical to the one across from campus.

If Pizza Inn ever opened there, I don't remember it.

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There was a Pizza Inn by Bryan High and near the intersection of Texas and University back in the day. I really don't remember the Gatti's in Bryan being a Pizza Inn, but I may be wrong.

Who remembers Pizza Planet in the Amico Nave building?

I might have put a hurting on the lunch buffet at Pizza Planet a few times.

BaronDeBishopville said:

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I still stand by it being a Pizza Inn although maybe 1987 instead of 1986. But it was also a Mr Gatti's too. Not sure on time frames.

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It was definitely a Pizza Inn sometime during that time frame. That would have been my Soph/Junior year at A&M and we definitely ate the buffet there a few times.

If I could bring back pizza places though, it would probably be Mama's and Flying Tomato though!

As for the thread topic, I don't remember any genuinely awful restaurant experiences, and I assume the censorship by forum mods are still-operating ones. You can't think of any defunct restaurants that are also bad ones? I have spent more than a third of my life cataloging defunct restaurants in town. They can't all be winners.

I seem to remember Old Country Buffet for starters tasting like an inferior version of Golden Corral, which is NOT high praise.

We're building a retirement home in Bryan, so we've been sampling some different restaurants (and realize we have a long way to go!).

We love Primrose Path. Have been a couple times and will definitely return.

We ate at Casa Mangiare last week for Valentine's Day and thought the food and service were excellent. They had a set menu for Valentine's Day, and we would like to go back when we have the whole menu available to us. I would have liked to see a few more $60-90 bottles of wine on their list. I would say 3/4 of it was well over $100 for reds.

Marfa has already become a favorite, and I could go to Fuego every day and probably never tire of it. To us, Fuego is better than Velvet Taco, and much better than Torchys. We also think Stella is great for breakfast or lunch (but loud if you time it wrong), and we like Elia, the new Tapas place where Clementine's was in the Old Bryan Market.

Both 1860 and Ronin were a mixed bag for us. We thought the food at 1860 was very good, but it was one of the loudest restaurants I've ever eaten in. We couldn't even think about carrying on a conversation. It didn't help that it was after the Auburn game when I already had a headache from the heat that day.

We loved the concept of Ronin, and will definitely try again on a non game weekend. When we went it was very cold and they seated us right next to a door that kept opening (waitstaff going in and out propped it open). A nice meal loses its appeal when you're shivering. I asked to be reseated and even offered to wait past our reservation time for a table to open up, but was more or less told to take the table or find another restaurant. We chose to stay because where else could we go on Friday night of a game weekend? We thought most of what we had was good, but there were some hidden charges that rubbed us the wrong way and we thought the portion of scallops was minuscule for the price.

Koppe Bridge was a miss for us. We went on a game day so it was very crowded. We both had burgers, but didn't think there was anything special about them. Maybe it was better at one time, but it wasn't great the day we went.

We live in Houston right now and we like to eat out, so I'm sure we'll keep exploring and trying new (to us) restaurants!

You should try Republic if you haven't. It's probably my favorite, and the service and quality has been consistent every time we have been there over the course of the years.

What charges at Ronin? I've never noticed anything but I'd love to know if they've added something

SPI-FlatsCatter 84 said:

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I miss Cenare's. Crab Gnocchi

Current Fav probably Primrose. Food artistry

Biggest disappointment in 2022 probably 3rd & Main. (But I know others that like it fine)

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my best two are Luigi and Christophers.

Not worst food, but worst experience is 3rd and Main. You go through the line and order and then pay and give the tip before you get your food and then we had to wave and get up to get coffee refills.

Not been back since.

trouble said:

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What charges at Ronin? I've never noticed anything but I'd love to know if they've added something

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The main one was a surcharge for using a credit card, which is a pet peeve of mine. I don't think restaurants should be passing their business expenses on to the customer, but if they do it needs to be well advertised (including on their website) which was not/is not the case at Ronin. I would rather restaurants just raise their prices a couple dollars than force me to feel like I need to carry several hundred dollars in cash for an expensive meal.

The other one was a small $3 charge for smoking my husband's cocktail. To be fair, that charge IS on the menu, but the drink wasn't ordered from the menu. It was a suggestion from our waiter who also suggested adding smoke.

I'm really not cheap! I don't mind spending the money for a good meal, but I do want to feel that a restaurant values my business and I'm getting a meal and experience that are in line with the cost. We didn't think that was the case they night we went to Ronin, but we will definitely try again on a night when there's not a football game in the morning.

histag10 said:

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You should try Republic if you haven't. It's probably my favorite, and the service and quality has been consistent every time we have been there over the course of the years.

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We absolutely will! I tried to get a reservation for last Wednesday, but by the time we decided we were going to be in town on Valentine's Day they were completely booked.