Good Food in Sandusky?

Wow, I didn't know that CP season passholders got the same discount at East of Chicago as the CP employees do. And to think, all this time I nagged my friend to pay for my meal so I could get his discount...

I didn't know that either.

I absolutly LOVE the Brown Derby Roadhouse that's in the Ramada on Milan. Excellent food, great service, and hardly ever a wait!

I couldn't get over the Long John Silvers/Taco Bell combo restauraunt just off of Rt. 2 from my last Cedar Point trip. My friends and I have thoughtfully named the place Long John Taco's and for the sake of tradition we'll be stopping in there after every CP trip.

If you like Japanese steakhouses try the new Samauri Steakhouse in the Parl Place Plaza on 250. It's hidden back in the corner, but well worth finding. Great sushi, and the show by the chef's is fun. Prices are resonable for a Japanese steakhouse.

Now the best food in Sandusky would have to be the Red Gables on Cleveland Rd. in the same building as Trader Jack's (or Jack's Deli) Graet steaks, chops, seafood. It's a tiny place, and a little pricy, but the food is phenominal! (Dan Ackroyd stopped in on the way through town and loved it. He even signed a wall.

Best Pizza? Hands down, Cameo Pizza on W. Monroe St. For those who like Chet and Matt's, it's a poor imitation of the original.

Ahhhh... Cameo... now I'm homesick :( East of Chicago is great if you're looking for convenience (in proximity to the park) and Chet & Matt's is better if you want to drive a little ways (Just out by the mall); however, Cameo is worth venturing into normally "unchartered" (by the majority of Sandusky tourists, I think) territory if you're looking for great pizza. In my personal opinion, Jack's Deli is a must visit if you're looking for great subs! I could go on forever... dang, I want to go home!

Speaking of food, I work in the franchise department of Little Caesars Pizza in Detroit. I myself a huge fan of the park was thinking of moving to the Sandusky area and opening up a couple of Little Caesars. Any thoughts on this for anyone who may live in the area?

I vote for a dutch burger at the Dutch as far as a burger goes. It takes awhile fro them to cook it, but it's worth the wait. As far as pizza, I'm from Chicago and never really found a pizza that I would call good in the area. But the pizza at Thirsty Pony was alright. Just about everyone else has fast food pizza. Pizza is not meant to cooked in 5 minutes, it's all the same! For price I'd say cameo pizza also. Buffet I would say Ryan's is worth it.

^Seriously? Ryan’s for buffet? Wow!

And where the hell are you getting pizza in 5 minutes?

^^Well there is not a Little Caesars anywhere close to Cedar Point. I suppose it might work for summer tourists who know the Little Caesars name, but in the winter a shop may struggle. There are a lot of pizza locations in Sandusky already. A mix of both franchise and locally owned. Personally, when I order pizza here I get something locally like Cameo. I use to love Little Caesars pizza but I haven’t had that since I was in high school due to all of the Little Caesars going out of business in that area.

I suppose I wouldn’t mind if one came to town. It still wouldn’t be my go-to pizza when I order but it would be my first choice after local.

I think it would be better for you to try and lease space in a hotel for a Little Caesars. Maybe Maui Sands?

^I thought for sure you would have mentioned Danny Boy's.

^Seriously? Ryan’s for buffet? Wow!

And where the hell are you getting pizza in 5 minutes?

Yes, Ryans. I like steak and shrimp! And my family loved the salad bar.

And 5 minute pizza is pizza put through, not in, a rotation oven in about five minutes(it's probably more like 6-7 minutes). Places with it include Pizza hut, Little ceasers, marco's, domino's, east of chicago, donato's, etc. Those are the ones I can prove since the oven is in visable sight! That is why I call it fast food pizza.I understand why places do it, It's cheap and effective. Just not the quality I'm looking for. I'll pay more money for a good product.And I thought this was about good food.

Steak N Shake is always good. Maybe you could even eat at Kahunaville in Kalahari too?

There was a Little Caesars in Sandusky, but it closed many years ago. The K-Mart in Sandusky also had some sort of "express" Little Caesars, but it may have closed before the store itself did.

I'm not a franchise expert, but there's a lot of pizza competition in Sandusky. East of Chicago doesn't even bother to stay open in the winter.

The Thirsty Pony across from Castway Bay is the best place to go in Sandusky. They have great wings, pizza, and beer if you are into that sort of thing. It's none of that chain crap and its one of those hometown pub type of things and the service is usually really good. Great place to go if you wanna get away from the park for awhile and they also have off-track betting, which is good if you have spent a lot of money in the park.

Thirsty Pny is kind a neat place, but anyone who thinks their wings are good just doesn't know what good wings are! :)

To each their own I suppose, but seriously, you actually call the "beef" Ryans serves a steak? My friend dragged me in there once and I was amazed that a place actually has a "steak" worse than what you get at Ponderosa. All the food at Ryans tastes like it comes out of a can with a white label with black text.

Pete, that's because it does come that way.

Shorty said:
I thought for sure you would have mentioned Danny Boy's.

Thought about it. I was also going to mention Jet's but I didn't think anyone would drive that far.

I forgot you were even a member still.

This topic is old..

Steak and Shake is the only reliable good restaurant I found.........we showed up after a Halloweekends Saturday night at like 1 A.M to Thirsty Pony so needless to say we didn't get to eat there, but from what we saw it was a very cool restaurant.

We had bad service at Applebees (server wasn't that good, food wasn't hot).

Sandusky is just hit or miss with food.

Oddly, I've never had good service at that Steak n Shake regardless of what time it is or how busy it is.

Well thank you for all the input. I am aware that there was three Little Caesars and they closed in the early 90's. I am also aware reading many posts that the locals are very close to their mom and pop style pizza. However everytime I (being from out of town) and stay in a local hotel I have to pay $20-30 for a pizza that I have to pick up ot get delivered. With our Hot-N-Ready(TM) I was thinking of opening a couple in the area and selling a large pizza for $5.00 all day every day with no need to call ahead. My thinking is based on Sandusky's economy this would be a great buy. And since we are a global brand and the largest carryout pizza store in the world that people from out of town would also be familier with the brand. I guess my thoughts are again for locals. Do you think this would be a good fit and of course I would market with some Cedar Point ideas for the summer.

Well as someone who lives in Sandusky let me chime in a bit.

Food and service here (all over) is pretty catch and miss. Sometimes it is great, and other times not so great. But for me the places I eat a lot are Mona Pizza (http://monapizza-gourmet.com/) great pizza and you can get a huge slice of Pepperoni for $2.50 (or cheese for $2, or their special for $3)
Also I eat mostly at the chains because it is what I know and love, but occasionally I will eat at Outback (yes I know a chain) and Diana's Deli.

As for a Little Caesars, where I grew up had one and I love their pizza, especially their large for $5. So if you put one here I know I would frequent it, probably not as much as some other places but I would be there. But I agree with what some people have said before, I don't see enough business, and too much competition, to be worth staying open during the winter. Unless you are near the end of 250 with Kalahari and make sure you push it to the guests there; but then I think you lose the guest from Cedar Point to an extent. My best advise is to come down sometime both during the summer and winter and see how many people are around, and where they are located.