• Chimy's - Great for a margarita, tacos or nachos!
• Spanky's - Want a burger or chicken sandwich that actually tastes good? This is the place.
• Josie's - For a quick breakfast taco, Josie's is the best bet. Be prepared to wait in line at 2:15am though.
• Cagle's - Lubbock is surprisingly lean on the BBQ joints, but Cagle Steaks fills the gap nicely.
• Cricket's - Great beer selection and a decent menu of "bar" food.
• One Guy From Italy - Affectionately called "One Guy's" this place has the calzone you want in a hurry.
• Little Panda - Right across from campus, Little Panda is great when you have a craving for Chinese.

The place I miss most since leaving Lubbock is Little Panda, especially the one right across campus.

Added.

Dude, you all have to be joking about Little Panda -- sure it's cheap but C'MON! Do you KNOW how many health violations they repeatedly got. You couldn't pay me to go eat at that place.

Also: Thai Pepper, Rosas, and Jaliscos

Thai Thai, FTW!!

I have not lived in Lubbock since April of 07, so obviously things have probably changed some, but here's my restaurant take:

Localized to Lubbock:

Spanky's - Can't say I ever really thought Spankys' burgers were anything special, but I do think they have the best fried cheese ever.

Burgers - My favorite burger in town is a toss up between Skooner's "Burger to beat all burgers" or Bonus Burger. Bonus Burger is cheap and has great tots to go along with it, and Skooner's has great beer specials.

Cagle's - I've come to find that you either absolutely love their steak (ribeye only, order by the thickness) or don't care for it. It's all in the rub they use. Personally I love it and always make it a point to get out there whenever I'm in town. Same thing with their other favorite of mine, their potato salad. It has a heavy pickle flavor so, like the steaks, either you really like it or don't.

Orlando's - Ok this place gets talked up way too much IMHO. Fairly decent food, but I have to mention them because I think they have the absolute best chips & queso in town. Weird, yes I know, that I would say this about an Italian restaurant. But I mention it because I think anyone who hasn't tried it should.

Chain restaurants:

On the Border - always good stuff, IMHO the best fajitas in town. They seemed to be the only ones who understood that the best fajitas still have a little pink.

Abuelo's - Good Mexican food that's a little more high brow than the other Mexican restaurants in town. Good date place. Go and do yourself a favor and get a plate of medium rare pork tenderloin medallions and their mashed potatoes. Best mashed potatoes in town. Make sure to ask for the hotter salsa too, it's purty good if you can handle it.

Wingstop - The one on Slide near the loop is the best one I have ever been to. The people knew us by name and seemed to actually care about their customers. Best french fries ever IMHO.

Chick Fil A - The one on Slide at the loop. Weird to mention I know, but we got to know the owners there and this place was damn good as far as fast food goes. They were 5th highest in ratings for the entire company at one point.

there's a fast food italian place..can't remember it, but it's pretty good for fast food italian... starts with an S

You thinking of Fazoli's? That place was always good for what it was. Never seen another "fast food italian" like that. Great breadsticks.

edit: Maybe you're thinkin of Stella's. That place... eh I always thought it was overhyped, but that's just my take. Their regular restaurant was way overhyped and overpriced IMHO.

oh yeah i think it was fazolis

I forgot about Bonus Burger -- I used to eat there about once a week. Damn good.

I miss Orlando's. They had the most amazing fried zucchini.

I miss Little Panda as well, but I preferred the one on Slide that collapsed.

Rosa's was yum as well.

Then there was this giant Chinese buffet on University past 50th. That place RULED.

I like Orlando's because they take a Texas spin to the Italian restaurant. I like when people make the food their own. It isn't the best Italian food but it is good.

My favorite local bbq is J&M off of 34th street, but for a chain Rudy's is really good.

And my favorite steak so far is Las Brisas. Cagles is also good for the price. I haven't been to double nickel yet but they are pretty pricey.

Places to avoid:

Spankys - If you're looking for the most over-rated eating experience in West Texas, then spankys is the place for you! Tasteless frozen fries, Dry non existent patties overloaded with condiments and a friend cheese log with little to no flavor! Don't get me wrong, homemade cheese "sticks" are amazing in concept but they don't add proper flavoring and spices to the batter to make it worthwhile. What's left is a case of clogged arteries and a possible stroke.

Caprock Cafe - Horrible food and portioning. Not worth the price. Stay away from this shit hole.

Good food includes:
Gardskys on broadway - overall good food

Five guys burgers and fries- It just opened up where moe's used to be (on 19th and quaker). It's a chain but they have great burgers and fresh cut fries! Much better quality then spankys.

Ruby Tequilas - good tex mex

Picante's- over on 34th... great food

Home Cafe - By far one of the best eating experiences in Lubbock, it's on 34th st and has been featured in Texas Monthly but it's kind of pricey and it's only open for lunch mon - fri. Gourmet chef husband and wife team. It's worth checking out.

Orlando's

One guy from italy - Stick with the pizza or calzones

Jumbo Joes - surprisingly very good burgers

Jaliscos - cheap margaritas on tuesday and decent tex mex.

Great Wall - Good food

Saigon Cafe -

Shoguns - Pretty good hibachi style food. I've heard tokyo's is better but i've never been.

just make sure to be nice to the guy who works the cash register in the evening, he is a pretty cool guy

Is he... you?


Ive only been there during lunch time.