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Houston's is by far the best chain restaurant burger around. The beef is excellent quality, and its always cooked perfectly

I mostly drink Green and White teas - Ten Ren Tea Company has a really good selection of all different teas and are high quality and good value.
http://www.tenren.com/
they have a few stores in the US, but they also do mail order.

Gui Zhou Chicken and Dan Dan Noodles from any of the Grand Sichuans - they're probably my favorite dishes in nyc. (8th st btwn 2nd and 3rd, 9th ave @ 24th street are my 2 favorite locations).

Pork Buns at Momofuku (1st and 10th i think)

Peter Lugers is pretty amazing for steak.

Soup Dumplings at Joe's Ginger or Joe's Shanghai are the best I've had.

Yaki Tori on 8th Street/St Marks is always fun and delicious (there's a few between 2nd and 3rd ave)

I've always been a fan of Fish on Bleeker St in the West Village. 1/2 dozen oysters and a beer for $8 cannot be beat.

I've searched but I think the only real options up there is an Applebees and a Fridays, both of which are pretty awful. I did once find a sushi place that was decent in Monroe (I think), but I can't remember the name of it (but it does exist). It was about a 15 minute drive from Woodbury Commons.

chinatown/bowery is the place to go. they have everything you could possibly need, all for very cheap and typically good quality. just walk from houston all the way down bowery and you'll pass a ton of places. then when you're finished, have a great meal in chinatown.

Hi bessfour, I logged on to the Counter Burger website, and this looks like a winner. I live on the East Coast also, and hope one will be coming to the Central Fla area. If no one replies to your post, please give an update, thanks!

Braum's isn't so much the Central US (I assume you mean like the Midwest?) as it is towards the south. When we drive from St. Louis to Dallas, one of our markers is how far north Braum's has moved. I believe theres now one in Springfield, MO, but until last year we didn't find them until the second half of Oklahoma.

And I vote for Steak 'n' Shake. Five Guys is good when it's good but a little inconsistent.

pg tips for me! with plenty of milk and sugar.

for a change i like lapsang souchong or a tisane brewed from fresh mint leaves.

plain old lipton is pretty good, too.

@philosophotarian - You're not the only tea snob here! My mom gets frustrated with me when I refer to her Twinings as "slumming it." I travel with my own tea pot and tea leaves.

Right now, I've been going through a huge Darjeeling kick. Sometimes, I'll drink it straight, but I've been mostly enjoying it as Indian chai with whole milk and a little cardamom (not to be confused with masala chai, which is the whole gamut of spices).

I like mostly black teas - the smoky Lapsang, the assertive Assam, the delicate Yunnan. I admit to enjoying Earl Gray every now and again - but, please! only from someone who knows what they're doing and can balance out the flavors properly. Good Earl Gray shouldn't taste exclusively like bergamot.

My favorite tea, however, are the lovely post-fermented teas. Pu-erh has long been my tea of choice - what other tea could give coffee a run for its money? One of these days, I'd like to buy a brick of 30-year-old raw pu-erh, just to see what it tastes like after aging.

Loose tea leaves all the way! I have banned the bag at home and at work. There's something really nice about pouring tea from a pot.
Darjeeling for me please, preferably single estate SGTFOP grade leaves. No milk or sugar, just tea.
Yes, I am a tea snob, and quite content with that thank you very much.