I think everyone needs to go to Louis Lunch, which it says below “holds the title of the oldest restaurant in town”. I had been in and around Gainesville since the 1950s and had never been there until a few years ago. It once catered to the downtown lunch crowd and is located over near the utility power station just a little SE of downtown.
The main draw for me is the little area with all the memorabilia that dates back to the 1930s, maybe; it has a lot of Gator stuff on the wall. The burgers are dressed with cole slaw, as I recall. It is a family run business and I think Louis was 90+ years when he died a couple of years ago. One of his kids was killed in a robbery there at one time, so be careful; not a great part of town. Here are a couple of reviews. Really, you need to check this place out and take some pictures before it goes away. 436 SE 2nd St, Gainesville, FL - (352) 372-9294 Fran Disappointment...but I'll give it another... -- Jan 30, 2009 . I was rooting for it, but it was just a disappointment. Everyone says two things about Louis' Lunch: it's cheap and it's good. It's definitely cheap. In their defense, we did go pretty early for lunch (about 11:00AM), but the burger was just plain bad. Very weird texture. Crunchy on the outside and no discernible taste on the inside. It was like a bun with crunchy meat crumbles on it. With that being said, I can't bear to condemn this Gainesville legend. I hope that I caught it on a bad day, because I seem to be the only person who doesn't like this place. On another up side, the people are super nice, and the "regulars" make you feel like you're in a small town 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful. Rated 5.0 out of 5.0 Louis's Lunch May 22, 2008 Louis's Lunch is an esssential part of Gainesville, and holds the title of oldest restaurant in town. It's hidden in an old ... More » <javascript:void(0)> Louis's Lunch is an essential part of Gainesville, and holds the title of oldest restaurant in town. It's hidden in an old neighborhood in downtown Gainesville, and unless a friend hadn't taken me there, I would never have found it. Going there is like traveling back in time. The fare is all right, mostly burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs, but it's worth the trip. Help keep this historic piece of Gainesville alive, and have a decent lunch too. _____ From: Gatortalk@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatort...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of ken...@earthlink.net Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:44 AM To: Gatortalk@googlegroups.com Subject: [gatortalk] Re: Gainesville restaurants I wouldn't classify this as a great restaurant, but does anyone remember Little Larry's? I walked in once. Larry wasn't little at all, at least not his belly. I don't know about the rest of him. Go Gators!!!! Ken B. (NYC Gator) Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed _____ From: "Charlie" Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:23:08 -0400 To: <Gatortalk@googlegroups.com> Subject: [gatortalk] Re: Gainesville restaurants I'll add the following. Art's Steak House. Had some sort challenge about eating a huge steak and getting your name/picture on the wall. Snuffy's. Just remember the burgers being good Mac's Waffle Shop. Louie's Hamburgers. Weird little burgers Royal Castle out by the Interstate. The original Sonny's on Waldo rd. Believe it was the 1st in the chain. At some point all the meat was smoked at the Waldo rd location and delievered to 13th st. The story at the time was that the city of Gainesville had an ordinance against the smoke. Charlie _____ From: Gatortalk@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatort...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Dave Rice Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 12:04 AM To: Gatortalk@googlegroups.com Subject: [gatortalk] Gainesville restaurants Saving all the cut & paste time to get to the point – I was at UF from 73 – 78 (under the 5-year plan) and recall a few great restaurants: Sonny’s Fat Boy BBQ – South of UF on 13th. Tony & Pat’s – Italian just North of Sonny’s The aforementioned Primrose Inn – next to Nichol’s Alley & near The Great Southern Music Hall Manaro’s – Italian east of town. Capt. Louie’s – seafood near campus on 13th Joe’s Deli – near campus, south on 13th In & Out Hamburgers – somewhere east of campus & finally on Archer Rd. It’s late, but I’m hungry. Go Gators! Dave Rice Home: dri...@austin.rr.com Work: david_r...@roundrockisd.org No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database: 270.13.49/2293 - Release Date: 08/10/09 18:19:00 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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