Chowdown Countdown

Chowdown Countdown is an American television special series that features 101 places to find the tastiest and most amazing food at various locations across America. Each episode counts down to the number one spot and features all different types of establishments such as restaurants, diners, drive-ins, bars, burger joints, bakeries, drivethrus, delicatessens, ice cream parlors, pubs, sandwich shops, food markets and even food trucks that make the countdown list with their original food specialty or signature dish.
The series premiered as a special in Spring 2010 entitled 101 America's Tastiest Places to Chowdown on the Travel Channel. The second special aired in on March 16, 2014 as 101 More Amazing Places to Chowdown.

America's 101 Tastiest Places to Chowdown (2010)

Episode 1: #101-81

Rank #	Restaurant	Location	Specialty
101	Abe's Bar-B-Q	Clarksdale, Mississippi	Pulled pork sandwich
100	Denny's Beer Pub	Clearfield, Pennsylvania	Home of the 50-pound cheeseburger
99	Buckhorn Exchange	Denver, Colorado	State-game steaks ; "Rocky Mountain oysters"
98	Bassett's Ice Cream at Reading Terminal	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	148 years making high butterfat ice cream. Signature flavor: Mint Chocolate Chip.
97	Five Islands Lobster Co.	Georgetown, Maine	Freshest steamed Maine lobsters
96	Philippe's The Original	Los Angeles County, California	French dip sandwiches
95	Time-Out Chicken	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	"Chicken Cheddar Biscuit"
94	Gaucho's Village	Glendale, California	Brazilian Steakhouse all-you-can-eat different kinds of meat on skewers.
93	Jimmy Buff's	East Hanover, New Jersey	Italian-style hotdogs
92	Smitty's Market	Lockhart, Texas	Traditional Texas-style barbecue. Signature dishes: beef brisket and hot sausage links wrapped and served in market paper.
91	Black's Barbecue	Lockhart, Texas	Texas barbecue featuring secret spiced beef brisket and pork sausage links.
90	The Vortex Bar & Grill	Atlanta, Georgia	Cheeseburger with three fried eggs and bacon between two grilled cheese sandwiches.
89	Doughnut Plant	New York City, New York	Gourmet doughnuts featuring glazed with rose petals or fruit glazed doughnuts.
88	Giordano's	Chicago, Illinois	Home of the "Stuffed Pizza". Various stuffed crust pizza pies.
87	Hominy Grill	Charleston, South Carolina	"Low Country Cuisine". Shrimp and grits, "Big Nasty Sandwich"
86	Cattleman's Steakhouse	Fabens, Texas	Home of the four-pound T-Bone steak.
85	Daichan Kaiten Sushi	Los Angeles County, California	Conveyor belt sushi specializing in "White Candy Rolls".
84	Cafe Fleuri @ The Langham Hotel Boston	Boston, Massachusetts	Home of the Chocolate Bar Buffet.
83	Schmidt's Sausage Haus	Columbus, Ohio	Bratwurst buffet called "The Autobahn" featuring "Bahama Mama" pork sausage. Signature dessert: giant cream puffs.
82	Willie Mae's Scotch House	New Orleans, Louisiana	Home to the world-famous fried chicken.
81	Nick Tahou Hots	Rochester, New York	Home to the "Garbage Plate"

Episode 2: #80-61

Rank #	Restaurant	Location	Specialty
80	The Brick Pit	Mobile, Alabama	"Serious Bar-B-Que", slow-smoked pulled pork barbecue, pulled pork sandwich, pork ribs and pork butts.
79	The Cherry Cricket	Denver, Colorado	Custom-built burgers, 21 toppings. "Cricket Burger"
78	Kopp's Custard	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Frozen custard, 300 flavors and "flavor of the day".
77	Lynn's Paradise	Louisville, Kentucky	Gourmet Breakfast: "Papaw French Toast"
76	The Olde San Francisco Creamery Co.	Walnut Creek, California	"The Kitchen Sink"
75	The Buffet @ The Bellagio	Las Vegas, Nevada	200 stations of international food selections. Signature dishes: Kobe beef and crab legs.
74	Original New York System	Providence, Rhode Island	Home of "hot weiners"
73	Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana vs. Sally's Apizza	New Haven, Connecticut	Both home to coal-fired brick-oven Neapolitan pizza.
72	GCS Ballpark	Sauget, Illinois	Home of the Gateway Grizzly's minor league baseball team and the "Krispy Kreme Burger"
71	The Grill House	Allegan, Michigan	"Grill-Your-Own-Steaks"
70	El Guero Canelo	Tucson, Arizona	Home to "Sonoran Hot Dogs"
69	The Cozy Inn Hamburgers	Salina, Kansas	Old-fashioned sliders cooked with onions, topped with pickles, mustard and ketchup.
68	Iguana's Taqueria	San Jose, California	"Burrito Zilla"
67	Talkeetna's Roadhouse	Talkeetna, Alaska	"Rudy in a Parka"
66	Yoder's Restaurant	Sarasota, Florida	Amish family-style home cooking. 23 different kinds of homemade pies
65	Camp Washington Chili	Cincinnati, Ohio	Home of the "Five-Way Chili"
64	Round Rock Donuts	Round Rock, Texas	Home of the "Texas Donut"
63	Chap's Charcoal Restaurant	Baltimore, Maryland	Home of "Pit Beef". Famous pit beef sandwich with "Tiger Sauce".
62	Goodson's Cafe	Tomball, Texas	Signature dish: Chicken Fried Steak with peppered cream gravy.
61	Dinosaur Bar-B-Que	Syracuse, New York	Barbecue smoked pork, beef, chicken, ribs, brisket and wings.

Episode 3 #60-41

Rank #	Restaurant	Location	Specialty
60	Sylvia's Restaurant	Harlem, New York	The Queen of Soul Food. Signature dishes: spicy barbecue ribs and fried chicken.
59	Munchie's 420 Cafe	Sarasota, Florida	Home of the "Fat Sammies". Signature sammy: "Fat Daddy" - sammy with melt cheese, 6 burger patties, 3 cheese steaks with mushrooms, onions and peppers, 22 slices of cheese, 6 chicken fingers, 6 mozzarella sticks, 6 onion rings and fries stuffed in a 2-foot long roll
58	Taqueria La Cumbre	San Francisco, California	Home of the "Mission-style Burritos"
57	Chick and Ruth's Delly	Annapolis, Maryland	Home of 6-pound milkshakes.
56	Big Mama's Kitchen	Omaha, Nebraska	Oven-fried chicken served with cornbread salad and sweet potato bread.
55	Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que	Memphis, Tennessee	Sauced barbecue pork ribs and barbecue spaghetti.
54	Steak & Main	North East, Maryland	Home of the "Great Steak Challenge"
53	Juan In A Million	Austin, Texas	"Don Juan Breakfast Taco"
52	Big Lou's Pizza	San Antonio, Texas	Home of the "Big Lou 42" and the "Lone Star Special"
51	Max & Mina's Ice Cream	Queens, New York	"Funky Flavors" of ice cream
50	Dinic's Roast Pork @ Reading Terminal Market	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Roast pork and beef sandwiches topped with broccoli rabe.
49	Country Pancake House	Ridgewood, New Jersey	Colossal pancakes topped with fruit, nine egg omelette.
48	Pappy's Smokehouse	St. Louis, Missouri	Apple and cherry wood smoked barbecue Signature: "The Big Ben"
47	Superdawg Drive-In	Chicago, Illinois	Famous Chicago-style hot dogs
46	Matt's Bar	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Home of the "Jucy Lucy"
45	Cecilia's Cafe	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Home of the "Fireman's Burrito"
44	Doe's Eat Place	Greenville, Mississippi	Home of the 4-pound porterhouse steak.
43	Big Jud's Country Place	Boise, Idaho	Home of "Legend Burgers". Signature burger: "Double Big Jud Special"
42	Soddlak's Original Country Inn	Snook, Texas	Battered and deep fried bacon strips served with cream gravy.
41	Chino Bandido	Phoenix, Arizona	Chinese & Mexican Cuisine. Combo plate favorite: "Jade Red Chicken".

Episode 4 #40-21

Rank #	Restaurant	Location	Specialty
40	Slow's Bar-B-Que	Detroit, Michigan	Low & Slow Barbecue, signature dish: "BBQ Brisket Enchilada".
39	Grimaldi's Pizzeria	Brooklyn, New York	Coal-fire brick oven New York-style pizza
38	Obrychi's Seafood Market	Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland	Secret black pepper seasoned blue claw crabs. Signature dish: "Deviled Crab Balls".
37	Ted Drewes Frozen Custard	St. Louis, Missouri	Famous Frozen Custard. "The Concrete"
36	Markey's Lobster Pool vs. Brown's Lobster Pound	Seabrook, New Hampshire	Home of the best Lobster Rolls. Markey's uses mayo in lobster salad and a buttered hotdog roll. Brown's has the same but adds paprika on top.
35	The Thurman Cafe	Columbus, Ohio	Home of the "Thurman Burger"
34	Junior's Cheesecake	Brooklyn, New York	15 different New York-style cheesecakes
33	'	Seattle, Washington	Cuban sandwiches
32	R U Hungry @ Rutgers University	New Brunswick, New Jersey	Home of the original "Fat Sandwiches"
31	Helena's Hawaiian Food	Honolulu, Hawaii	"Pipikaula", "Laulau"
30	Chipshop	Brooklyn, New York	Deep fried anything! Fish n' chips, deep fried pizza, deep fried candy bars and deep fried Twinkies.
29	Tony's I-75 Restaurant	Birch Run, Michigan	Home of the biggest BLT with a pile of bacon that equals 1-pound
28	Ben's Chili Bowl	Washington D.C.	Famous beef chili on anything! "Chili Half Smoke"
27	Heartattack Grill	Chandler, Arizona	Home of the "Quadruple Bypass Burger"
26	Beth's Cafe	Seattle, Washington	Home of the "Southwestern Exposure"
25	Acme Oyster House	New Orleans, Louisiana	Oysters any-style
24	Charles Vergos' Rendezvous	Memphis, Tennessee	Charcoal grilled pork ribs, pulled pork and chopped chicken.
23	El Tepeyac Cafe	Los Angeles County, California	Home of the "Manuel's Special"
22	Lafayette Coney Island vs. American Coney Island	Detroit, Michigan	Both home of the "Coney Dogs"
21'	Eagle's Deli''	Boston, Massachusetts	Home of the stacked cheeseburgers. "Eagle's Challenge"

Episode 5 #20-1

Rank #	Restaurant	Location	Specialty
20	Voodoo Doughnut	Portland, Oregon	"Voodoo Doll Doughnut", "Memphis Mafia", "Triple Chocolate Penetration", "Maple Bacon Bar"
19	Lambert's Cafe	Sikeston, Missouri	Super-sized comfort food: ribs, ham, steak. Home of the "throwed dinner rolls"
18	Cotham's Mercantile	Little Rock, Arkansas	Home of the "Hubcap Burger"
17	Anchor Bar	Buffalo, New York	Home to the original "Buffalo Wings".
16	The [Big Texan Steak Ranch]	Amarillo, Texas	"The Texas King Steak Challenge": 72-ounce steak, bread roll with butter, baked potato, ranch beans, shrimp cocktail, and side salad.
15	Hillbilly Hot Dogs	Lesage, West Virginia	Home of "The Homewrecker". Other favorites: "Hound Dog" and "Egg Dog".
14	Arthur Bryant's Barbecue	Kansas City, Missouri	Half oak/half hickory wood smoked and sauced barbecue with vinegar-based sauce.
13	Jack-n'-Grill	Denver, Colorado	Massive breakfast burritos
12	Gus's Fried Chicken	Memphis, Tennessee	World Famous Fried Chicken
11	Al's Beef	Chicago, Illinois	Italian Beef Sandwich
10	Durgin Park	Boston, Massachusetts	"Yankee Cooking"
9	Lulu's Bakery and Cafe	San Antonio, Texas	Chicken fried steak and giant cinnamon buns.
8	Albano's Pizzeria	Cicero, Illinois	Home of the "Pizza Puff"
7	The Salt Lick	Driftwood, Texas	Open-pit charcoal barbecue: beef brisket and sausage.
6	Pat's King of Steaks vs. Geno's Steaks	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Philly-style cheesesteaks with Cheese Wiz. Pat's chops up their ribeye meat and Geno's leaves the ribeye sliced.
5	Katz's Delicatessen	New York City, New York	Hand-sliced piled height pastrami and corn beef on rye sandwiches.
4	Fenton's Creamery	Oakland, California	Established in 1894. Homemade ice cream, 400 flavors: "Banana Special", cheesecake ice cream, toasted almond ice cream, "Black and Tan Sundae".
3	Primanti Brothers	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	20 different Italian stuffed sandiches
2	Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles	Los Angeles County, California	World Famous Chicken and Waffles.
1	Louis' Lunch	New Haven, Connecticut	Home of the Original Hamburger Sandwich

101 More Amazing Places to Chowdown (2014)

Note: This special was also nicknamed, "Chowdown Countdown 2".

Episode 1 #101-81

Rank #	Restaurant	Location	Specialty
101	Grinder's Pizza	Kansas City, Missouri	Speciality pizzas: "Le Hog", "Philly Cheesesteak Pizza", "Chili Bomb"
100	Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage	Cambridge, Massachusetts	30 different gourmet burgers: "Tom Brady Burger", "The Celtics Burger"
99	Watershed Restaurant	Atlanta, Georgia	"Tuesday Special Fried Chicken"
98	Idle Spurs Steakhouse	Barstow, California	Ribeye, filet mignon and their speciality, prime rib with au jus and horseradish.
97	Bunk Sandwiches	Portland, Oregon	"Cubano"
96	Gilley's Hot Dogs	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	Steamed spiced hot dogs: "Chili Dog"
95	Jimmy Cantler's Riverside Inn	Annapolis, Maryland	Steamed and spiced blue claw crabs dumped in a pile on your table.
94	My Brother's Bar	Denver, Colorado	Home of the "J.C.B.", "The Johnny Burger"
93	Amy Ruth's	New York City, New York	"Homestyle Southern Cuisine": "The Rev. Al Sharpton", "The Al Roker", "The President Barack Obama"
92	Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant	Sister Bay, Wisconsin	Swedish meatballs
91	Domilise's Po Boy and Bar	New Orleans, Louisiana	Domilise's Restaurant's famous po' boys: roast beef po' boy, fried oyster po' boy and fan favorite: fried shrimp po' boy
90	Skylight Inn BBQ	Ayden, North Carolina	Whole hog barbecue, pulled pork, with hot sauce and vinegar.
89	Johnny's Comet II	Santa Rosa, New Mexico	"Part Mexican, Native American and Cowboy Chuck Wagon Cuisine": Steak Ranchero
88	Chimneyville Smokehouse	Jackson, Mississippi	Low & Slow BBQ : Smoked spiced-rubbed beef brisket injected with beef broth.
87	Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier	Madison, Wisconsin	Hand-dipped dark chocolate truffles, fan favorites: "Lucille's Vanilla Truffle", "Caramel and Sea Salt Truffle", "Cinnamon Cheyenne Truffle", and "Espresso Truffle".
86	Sammy's L.A. Pastrami	Las Vegas, Nevada	Drive-thru massive sandwiches : "Pastrami Burger", "Zombie Burger"
85	Datz Delicatessen	Tampa, Florida	Bacon, mac & cheese-stuffed meatloaf topped with ketchup and served with mashed potatoes and peas.
84	White Knight Diner	St. Louis, Missouri	Home of the "Super Slinger"
83	Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room @ The Wilkes House	Savannah, Georgia	Family-style home cooking: Crispy fried chicken served with collard greens, mac and cheese and cornbread.
82	White Rabbit Fusion Cafe	Los Angeles, California	Food Truck that serves Filipino cuisine: "White Rabbit Burrito Challenge"
81	Paddy Long's	Chicago, Illinois	"Bacon Bonanza" and the "Bacon Bomb"

Episode 2 #80-61

Rank #	Restaurant	Location	Specialty
80	Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse	Dallas, Texas	Brisket sandwich
79	Hot Doug's	Chicago, Illinois	21 kings of exotic sausage: Antelope, buffalo, kangaroo, rattlesnake. Most popular: Chicago-style hot dog.
78	Johnson's Corner	Johnstown, Colorado	Top 10 breakfast in the world, world-famous cinnamon rolls
77	The Daily Catch Restaurant	Boston, Massachusetts	Homemade Italian and Sicilian specialities, Lobster Fra Diavolo
76	Tom + Chee	Cincinnati, Ohio	Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Restaurant: "The Armagoetta", Grilled Cheese Donut
75	The Blind Mule Bar & Restaurant	Mobile, Alabama	"Chili Cheeseburger"
74	Gumbo Shop	New Orleans, Louisiana	Creole Cuisine: Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
73	The Rex	Billings, Montana	Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Bison
72	La Fonda Boricua	Spanish Harlem, New York City, New York	Puerto Rican Food: "El Mofongaso"
71	Kegel's Inn	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	German Cuisine: Weiner Schnitzel, Hasenpfeffer
70	Martha's Lou's Kitchen	Charleston, South Carolina	Fried chicken served with red rice
69	Jethro's BBQ	Des Moines, Iowa	"Sizzling Wings", "Adam Emmenecker Sandwich"
68	Moonlite Bar-B-Que	Owensboro, Kentucky	Barbecue Buffet
67	The Church Brew Works	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	"Pagan Pierogi"
66	Adam's Grub Truck	San Francisco, California	Asian Fusion food truck: "The Kraken", "Ultimate Adam Bomb Challenge"
65	Double Dogs	Bowling Green, Kentucky	"Dog Bowl Nachos"
64	Tomasita's	Santa Fe, New Mexico	"Burrito Grande"
63	Tally's Cafe	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Famous Chicken Fried Steak
62	Morrison Hotel Bar	Portland, Oregon	"Cheesy Pig Fries"
61	PYT	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	"Crazy Burgers": "Chocolate Bacon Donut Burger", "Deep-Fried Twinkie Burger" with bacon.