D. Taylor's Food & Travel

Review by Don Taylor My sister and I were about during Memorial Day. After an early start and a long day of paying our respects at various cemeteries in the Detroit area, we decided we were finally done and it was time to eat. We were both famished and stopped at a place for a late lunch, early dinner. We stopped someplace, (I forget where) and learned that the place closed at 3:00 PM because of the holiday. She then suggested we go to Travis Restaurant in Clinton Township. She said they have good food at a great price. She couldn't have been more right on. Travis Restaurant, Clinton Twp, MI Photo from Google Maps .  Travis Restaurant is what I call, a "hole in the mall" restaurant -- a small strip mall with several different businesses in it. We arrived about 3:45 in the afternoon and they still would serve breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. It has been my experience that if you want to judge a place on their breakfast there are two things to order. First, if...

By Don Taylor When we want a really great meal, we go to the Pine Point Grille in Scarborough. I think it is the best restaurant I've ever been to that doesn't have tablecloths. The food is elevated, I'd even say gourmet, and the service is impeccable. We had two reasons for going to the Pine Point Grille. First, my wife's birthday was last March. She wanted to go there for her birthday, but they hadn't opened for the season yet. Our going kept getting put off and I needed to make good on my promise to her.  Second, we had an out of town guest that we wanted to take to dinner. The Pine Point Grille seemed to be the perfect place to do both. We arrived early -- opening time, which is at 5 PM. and ordered drinks. We took our time with the menu. I'm a native of Minnesota, where "Tater Tot hot dish" is a staple. I was amazed reading about how the Pine Point Grill was elevating the humble Tater Tot ® to gourmet status with truffle ketchup, black ga...

By Don Taylor I have liked The Tilted Kilt ever since I visited my first "TKs" I was hooked. Great atmosphere, great food, and an excellent bar.  What more could you ask for?  When I lived in Georgia, I and my co-workers, particularly our out-of-town visitors would enjoy a trip to TKs.  Yes, I know what you are thinking, it was for the scantily clad young women. But no,  it was for the food. When I moved to Maine two years ago, I was disappointed that there were no TKs in Maine.  Luckily, last fall one opened up in South Portland.  It was definitely on my list to check them out. Tilted Kilt Bar & Eatery, South Portland Photo by Don Taylor It had taken several months before I had a chance to get there.  When I arrived, I felt like I was back home.  Because I was alone, I decided to sit at the bar. It was a warm day, so I ordered a Leinenkugels Summer Shandy from their excellent beer menu. I took a look at the food menu. I've ...

One of my worst car rental experiences ever. I should have realized things were going to go badly when it started to rain the decrepit van carrying us to the rental site leaked from the roof. The driver would make a turn, and the water would come flooding in. I spent forty-five minutes standing in line. Neither of the two rental representatives appeared to care the slightest that the line was very long and slow. It appeared that one of the two representatives was new and needed a lot of assistance from the other. While I was in line, it seemed that a manager came out from the back and gave the person some help. That was good, but it would have been nice if he had stayed out and helped to work down the line. He quickly vanished, never to be seen again. I knew that Hertz owned Dollar and Thrifty, but I didn't realize that their cars were interchangeable, so when I went out to get the vehicle. It was in the Dollar row and had nothing to indicate it was a Thrifty rental. I we...