Driving up from San Fran up to N Cal a friend of mine and I decided to make a pit stop in San Rafael. We checked out a local store and while there asked the extremely hot Asian girl running the place (I mean EXTREMELY hot) what the best place in town for lunch was. She suggested this place... https://www.solfoodrestaurant.com/ Holy shit what a find. Finding a good Puerto Rican restaurant on the east coast is tough enough, finding one out west is nearly impossible. Turns out this place is very well known in the region, but to us non locals it was a ridiculous place to stumble upon. Amazing food, amazing drinks, highly recommend if you're ever traveling up Rt 101 or near San Rafael.
Another place I stumbled upon recently was in my town called The Great Greek... http://thegreatgreekgrill.com/ Fucking ridiculous. One of those places where you order at the counter semi fast food style, and they bring the food to you at your table (same with the above mentioned restaurant BTW). That's where the fast food scenario ends and the greatness begins. First off, they have 3 thick Bulgarian girls with attitudes that are running the show. That alone is awesome, but then the food and the presentation are off the charts. First time I went there I had lamb chops and I'm telling you, it was 4-5 star presentation and amazing. I would have had no problem paying $50+ for the dish, and I think it was something like $13.95 (it was a special not on the menu). I've been back at least 5 times since, as this was only a couple months ago and each time it has been stellar. Highly recommend.
Another place I stumbled upon years back in Henderson is an Italian restaurant called Ventano's... http://www.ventanoitalian.com/ Somehow this place is still not very well known, even though it's been around for years. I tell locals about it a lot and the majority of the time they've never even heard of it. Always top notch, always great service, amazing non menu specials, and one of the best off strip views in the city (I took MWH and his wife there some years back). Great place for a date if you don't mind driving 20 minutes off the strip. In months like October, when it's perfect at night to sit outside, sitting on the deck while overlooking the city is a must. Check it out.
Last place for this post, also in Vegas... Yojie http://www.yojie.com/home Ever had Shabu Shabu with Wagyu? H-O-L-Y F-U-C-K B-A-L-L-S!!!! This place is amazing. You can go there and drop $400, or $60 and still have a great experience. This place is new and will blow up. You know you've hit a good Asian place when you're NOT in China Town, yet still the place is filled with Asians. You want something different and incredibly good, take the 20 minute drive up Sahara off the strip and check this place out.