Five Guys Burgers and Fries is famous for those huge juicy burgers and those enormous portions of fries smothered in gravy! Mmm, you will not find a better burger and fry joint than this. We've come in so many times, not just to this location, and no matter which one we go to they are always consistently high quality. Something that not too many people know is that they also have wonderful hot dogs here! If you're as wild about cheese dogs as we are, we recommend that you head over there right now and grab one! They're fantastic. The burgers and fries get all the attention here, but everything on the menu is just fantastic. Great friendly service that's really fast too! Best of all, you can skip the line and order online. Now that's what we're talking about. Don't miss this one.
600 N Greenbush Rd
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 285-4704

The Sports Grill is a great little cozy American restaurant where you can get all your favorite entrees while relaxing in a really nice atmosphere. The ladies love the mixed drinks here because they've got cute sports themed names, like the New York Jets Lemonade. And they're high quality too, made with top shelf liquor (Grey Goose!) and yet they will only cost you a five spot. Unbelievable. The food is pretty good here, not gourmet quality or anything like that, but home style and hearty. They have a cool outdoor seating area to enjoy in the warmer months, and if you come on the right night you can catch some trivia. Just a cool little sports bar where you can always go to relax with friends! No complaints about this one, the service is great and it's just what you'd expect from a place by that name. Thumbs up.
4 Middle Mannix Rd
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 283-4555

Yip's Chinese Restaurant is in a class of its own when it comes to Chinese food. For some reason it seems like most Chinese restaurants are just corner takeout joints at this point in time, but there are still a few gems out there and this is definitely one of them. The salmon special is one of our favorite things here, seared perfectly in a work to keep all the juices inside. It's served in a wonderful garlic sauce that nobody can resist. If you're not a fish lover, you will want to try the Chicken Chow Fun. It's really wonderful with all those noodles, and just so flavorful. The Crispy Garlic Shrimp is another one of our favorites, and the Beef with Mushroom Sauce would also make our top five!  Wonderful ambiance and service too. This place gets five stars as far as we're concerned!
117 Columbia Tpke
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 449-2030

Off Shore Pier Restaurant & Fish Market is a laid back place on the pier where you can come in to enjoy the freshest fish available! Of course you can take advantage of the fish market to bring some home to work your own cooking magic on it, but we really love sitting down in the cozy wood paneled dining area to enjoy it right then and there. Most of the fish here is deep fried which isn't our usual preference, so in case you're like us we'll note that they have excellent steamed king crab and oysters on the half shell. However, the fried fish is really excellent so you can't go wrong with that either. The cole slaw and fries are wonderful here. Note that they only take cash, and they close early, at 7:30PM, so don't plan on a late dinner here. Everybody loves this place. Very highly recommended.
637 3rd Ave Ext
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 283-9880

Rt Four Pizzeria is the number one pizza spot in Rensselaer as far as we're concerned! We love the fact that they are so generous with the toppings here. If you like it really piled high with the good stuff, this is going to be your favorite place. They've got nice crisp salads that go perfectly with that piping hot pizza, and for dessert you can never go wrong with their famous cheesecake. They've got good deli items here too, including a chicken salad sandwich that we really flip for. The wheat bread that it's served on is very soft and really has a wonderful flavor. Try the potato salad here too, we're big fans. They've got ricotta for the pizzas here too, so if you love that as much as we do, be sure to ask for it! Wonderful lunch spot any day of the week, and very very highly recommended!
470 N Greenbush Rd
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 283-3323

Paesans Pizza is our favorite place to go for wings in Rensselaer! They're so juicy and moist, and they don't put a crazy amount of sauce on them, just the right amount, so it really brings out the flavor of the wings themselves. Mmm! As for the pizza, it's also fantastic, especially if you like a sweeter sauce. We can appreciate both a tart and a sweet sauce, and this one is on the sweeter side. The crust tastes so good with it, slightly salty, so it's the perfect combination of salty and sweet. We'd recommend the buffalo chicken pizza most highly. The prices are a litle big high here according to some, but we think the quality of the food makes it all worth it. Everything is great here from the service to the food. What more can we say about this restaurant? All that's left is to go grab a pizza from them!
273 Columbia Tpke
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 477-6612

Casey's Restaurant is located in an old building on Washington Avenue, and we just love the location. It's both restaurant and bar, so it's perfect for those occasions when you're getting together with family and friends for dinner and drinks. It's owned by the Casey family, so you get that high quality family kind of service. The food is all American, with all your classic favorites including sandwiches and salads, hamburgers and steaks, pasta and chicken entrees, etc. We really love the New England Baked Haddock here, and the Chicken Salad Sandwich is always a nice choice for lunch. They have a delicious pasta salad here that's flavored with bacon too, which is a nice touch. Wonderful French Onion Soup too! Always a pleasant dining experience here, great service and ambiance.
77 Washington Ave E
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 463-3318

Double Dragon Chinese Restaurant is one of the restaurants with the most longevity in Rensselaer. It's just a simple takeout restaurant located in a strip mall, but it's been going strong since at least the early 90s if our memory serves us. Some of us gamers love the name for obvious reasons, but we don't know if that was intentional or not! Either way, we love the food just as much as we love the game. They have wonderful Cantonese, Hunan, and Szechuan dishes here, and they are just fantastic. For lunch you can't beat their specials, there are more than forty to choose from and they all come with pork fried rice and either soup or a drink. Unbelievably the price for all that is under four dollars at the time of this writing. You will not find prices like this elsewhere! The Shrimp Lo Mein is probably our favorite thing here. Very highly recommended for a quick takeout meal!
501 Columbia Tpke
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 477-5013

Roasted Red Pepper is a great deli that we cann't resist! Their hot sandwiches are truly noteworthy here, and that's pretty much what everybody comes in for. We love the corned beef and roast beef the best, and the pastrami is also really out of this world. They've got a soup and half sandwich special that makes for a quick healthy lunch. The portions here are a little on the lighter side, so if you are trying to lighten up, this is a great choice. When dining in, they bring the food right to your table which is very nice. The only downside here is that if you're visiting a great deli like this, it probably means you're not in the mood for something like Subway, which is located directly next door and sometimes the smells of their restaurant waft over into this one. For that reason we often get ours to go! Try the Philly Cheese Steak and the Chicken Marsala soup when they have it. Too good!
600 N Greenbush Rd
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 283-4485

Manor House Pizza... it's only right to close out this list with another wonderful pizzeria since there are a few in the area that are really top notch. This one makes the list because we love both their pizza and subs! The subs are really enormous here, and they toast them in the oven so there's a nice crunch instead of just soft bread. The steak and cheese with mushrooms and onions is our favorite sub here, and if you get it with tomato sauce it's even better. Yowza, that is a great tasting sub! They also have great wings and pasta here, so if you want to go all out, order it all and have your family over for an amazing meal. We just love everything here. Great staff too. One of our highest recommendations!
166 Columbia Tpke
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 462-3441