Lengua tacos from Tacos El Nevado on Central Avenue. Kristen Wile/UP

Folks in the restaurant industry know good food, so we want to know where they eat when they’re outside of their restaurants. In this series, we ask a member of the culinary industry to share their favorite local restaurants (not including their own) and what they order. Chef Sam Diminich runs all over town delivering his three-course meals to diners at home with his business Your Farms, Your Table, so it’s no surprise he frequents restaurants across town, too. Here’s where he eats.

Little Mama’s, SouthPark
Frank Scibelli’s newest venture serves the Italian cuisine popular in the Northeast
Diminich’s order: The fresh mozzarella bar and the chicken parm

Tacos El Nevado, East Charlotte
Authentic Mexican cuisine with locations near Plaza Midwood and South Boulevard
Diminich’s order: A sampling of tacos, especially the lengua and barbacoa
Pro tip: “It’s fun to order a little bit of everything,” Diminich says. “Get out of your comfort zone and taste and be a little bit adventurous.”

Village Juice, Optimist Hall
A Winston-Salem-based juice bar with healthy smoothies, bowls, and sandwiches
Diminich’s order: Curious George smoothie — almond milk, cacao nibs, almond butter, banana, and dates

Ace No. 3, Belmont
A low-key burger joint from the owners of Sea Level and The Waterman
Diminich’s order: The Ace burger

Indigo Road Hospitality restaurants
Owner Steve Palmer, founder of the restaurant group over O-Ku and Indaco, founded the non-profit Ben’s Friends, a support group for restaurant industry employees battling addiction
Diminich’s order: Agnolotti (Indaco) and any of the nigiri (O-Ku)

More from this series

Bonterra’s Blake Hartwick
The Fig Tree’s Greg Zanitsch
Yafo’s Shai Fargian
Zeppelin’s Vince Giancarlo
Barrington’s Restaurant’s Bruce Moffett