<p>Hi,
We are leaving for daughter's Orientation soon, and will have a few days on our own before she checks in. We would prefer to eat at popular local places rather than chain restaurants, any recommendations? </p>
<p>Any good casual Italian restaurants? Where do the college students like to go when they are off campus? We will have a car, so places within a half hour or so of campus is fine.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Popular destinations within walking (or close to it) distance of campus:
[ul]
[li][Momo’s</a> Pizza](<a href=“http://momospizza.com/]Momo’s”>http://momospizza.com/): across from the north side of campus, sort of behind Moe’s Southwest Grill/Cold Stone Creamery. They really do mean pizza slices as big as your head. The food is good, the atmosphere is good. Pretty cheap- I think 1 slice of pepperoni (all you’d want) and a drink is about $7. [/li][li][Po</a> Boy’s Creole Cafe](<a href=“http://www.poboys.com/]Po”>http://www.poboys.com/): West of campus, corner of Pensacola and Ocala streets. Good food, decent prices. It’s sort of the typical Louisiana/Cajun offerings. [/li][li][Hobbit</a> American Grill](<a href=“http://www.myhobbitonline.com/]Hobbit”>http://www.myhobbitonline.com/): in the shopping center across the street from Po Boy’s, next to Bill’s Bookstore. They’re okay, I’m not really all that impressed by the food; it’s your standard sports bar fare where the food is passable and coated in enough grease to start a fire. [/li][li][Tomahawk</a> Sports Bar/Grill](<a href=“http://thetomahawksportsbar.com%5DTomahawk”>http://thetomahawksportsbar.com). Sort of on the Northeastern corner of campus, along Tennessee Street (the main east/west street in Tallahassee). Just don’t go during Adult Trivia night (Monday), unless you’re okay with that subject matter. The food’s semi-decent, and I think it was the Victory Fries I ordered that I thought was going to be just a small side-order and I ended up getting a huge platter for $8. Plus, chocolate covered bacon. [/li][li][Mr</a>. Roboto’s Tokyo Grill](<a href=“http://www.mrrobototokyogrill.com/]Mr”>http://www.mrrobototokyogrill.com/): Located across the street from the north side of campus on Tennessee Street. If you’re in the mood for Japanese food, but not wanting to pay upscale Japanese steakhouse prices, Mr. Roboto’s is really good. It’s about $10/person but they have a decent list of choices, and the food is really good. [/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Further away:
[ul]
[<em>][Monk’s</a> (Well’s Brothers, apparently is the official title)](<a href=“http://www.wellsbrothersbarandgrill.com%5DMonk’s”>http://www.wellsbrothersbarandgrill.com): It’s located on Tharpe Street, so it’s a little bit of a drive (10 minutes or so) from campus. Good food. Pretty cheap. Honestly one of the best places in Tallahassee to eat.
[li][El</a> Tapatio](<a href=“http://www.el-tapatio.com/index.html]El”>http://www.el-tapatio.com/index.html): I actually haven’t been, but it’s apparently pretty good Mexican food. Plus, they apparently have cheap but good alcohol (which, if you’re a parent attending Orientation, you’ll probably end up wanting at some point).[/li][</em>]Bella Bella: Located off Monroe Street (the main North/South street in Tallahassee). Apparently one of the best Italian places in the city, although I’ve never been.
[/ul]</p>
<p>People will also likely suggest [Bird’s</a> Oyster Shack](<a href=“http://www.birdsoystershack.com/]Bird’s”>http://www.birdsoystershack.com/), but I’ll be honest: aside from the large burgers, there’s nothing particularly special about the place. Every time I’ve been, I’ve been treated like crap by the owner himself, who seems to not have any notion of what “people skills” are. The food isn’t really that great, it’s just larger than your typical burger. The price is okay (you also save $1 if you pay with cash instead of a credit card), but the service is often absolutely horrible, and parking is usually a nightmare (it’s located on a one-way street, so if their “parking lot” of about 7 spots is full, you have to drive around the block). I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t ever go here if it wasn’t popular among my friends for karaoke night on Thursdays. </p>
<p>I tried to avoid chain restaurants for the most part. I’m sure I also missed a number of good spots to eat, too. You mentioned Italian specifically, but I really couldn’t think of many Italian restaurants that weren’t chains and weren’t mostly pizza places. Of course, Tallahassee has the standard Carabba’s, Olive Garden, etc and a lot of steakhouse places.</p>
<p>Little Italy is in the courtyard by Winn Dixie on Magnolia. It’s a good local, family Italian restaurant. Reasonably priced.
Peppers on Capital Circle, across from Sams Club, has good Mexican.
Both of these are within 10-15 mins from campus.
Hopkins is a great local sandwich/salad cafe. Three locations.</p>
<p>Definitely check out Monk’s (now called the Wells Brothers Bar and Grill). So good.</p>
<p>Long time favorite - [Mom</a> and Dad’s Italian Restaurant](<a href=“Panoramio is no longer available”>Panoramio is no longer available) on US 27 east of town. Been in business for decades.</p>
<p>Not Italian but not to be missed is Food Glorious Food in Betton Hills. It’s about 7 minutes from campus, good wine for Tallahassee, fantastic brunch, homemade desserts.</p>