All inclusive. Whether it was something you cooked at home, something gourmet you ate or something else just done really well, what was the best meal you've ever had and why?
It was angel hair pasta with a seafood medley in a pink sauce. I can't recall the exact seafood, but it was so tasty that since then, whenever I go to Italian restaurants, I ask if they can prepare a similar dish (if the ingredients already exist on the menu, it's just a matter of mixing and matching, and Italian restaurants are pretty accommodating about that sort of thing).
Best $300 I've ever spent. However, my best meal was Thanksgiving 1985 at my mother's house. The turkey was perfect, the matzoball soup was sublime and the blueberry cheese cake was delicious. But what made it really great was enjoying it with my family. They were in a really great mood, we laughed and feasted endlessly. And, we had Santana-Abraxis playing on the reel to reel tape machine. Just a wonderful memory. A really happy day.
Queue de Cheval steakhouse in Montreal. They have round bar seating around the grill where you can watch your steak being perfectly prepared. Incredible lobster, oysters, sauces, steaks, sides, Scotch, and cigar lounge.
and I had to pick one thing, I'd pick my grandfather's minestrone, which was his mother's recipe. It's really more like pasta fazool than what most people call minestrone, but he said that's what his mother called it. We were just up on LI last month to visit, and at 91 years old Grandpa can still make a mean bowl of soup. With a nice, crusty loaf of bread, it's heavenly.
Alexandria called Cajun Bangkok - right on King Street, it was kind of unique, but a favorite of my family. Some very spicy asian dishes with a cajun infusion.
Never a bad meal there, and whenever friends visited and we went to old town we'd often eat there.
It was small, but always packed, not sure why it closed.
conformation or whatever party we had this amazing chicken sauce thing. I asked my dad what it was and the idiot gave me the wrong recipe/dish. I still regret not asking the cater guy what it was.
For almost 10 years my work required eating in the finest restaurants in the country 4 days a week. But outside of my work, the most memorable meal was in Santa Fe at a tiny place called the Pink Adobe. It was just a Salmon filet, but however they prepared it was delicious almost beyond belief
8
I ate at the Pink Adobe last year. Food was superb, but the service, especially the wine delivery, was terrible. The waitress mangled 3 different corks, leaving residue in the bottle.
For almost 10 years my work required eating in the finest restaurants in the country 4 days a week. But outside of my work, the most memorable meal was in Santa Fe at a tiny place called the Pink Adobe. It was just a Salmon filet, but however they prepared it was delicious almost beyond belief
8
I ate at the Pink Adobe last year. Food was superb, but the service, especially the wine delivery, was terrible. The waitress mangled 3 different corks, leaving residue in the bottle.
Why would they put 3 corks in a bottle? Seems that they are just asking for trouble, can't blame the server on that one.
I just made a Butternut/Bacon/Crab soup that was amazing. Another thing to try soup wise that we don't make here in the states is a Pumpkin soup. Pumpkin soup - ( New Window )
For almost 10 years my work required eating in the finest restaurants in the country 4 days a week. But outside of my work, the most memorable meal was in Santa Fe at a tiny place called the Pink Adobe. It was just a Salmon filet, but however they prepared it was delicious almost beyond belief
8
I ate at the Pink Adobe last year. Food was superb, but the service, especially the wine delivery, was terrible. The waitress mangled 3 different corks, leaving residue in the bottle.
Why would they put 3 corks in a bottle? Seems that they are just asking for trouble, can't blame the server on that one.
LOL! But if we are expanding the candidates beyond restaurants, I've got to say that almost any meal prepared by my Italian Grandmother would be the best. We had guests who had traveled the world and claimed Grandma's sauce and meatballs could not be matched even by anything they've had in Italy.
And on Holidays it was crazy ... started with a baked ham and after a short respite was followed by lasagna, and after another short respite, turkey and stuffing. Mind blowing. I used to watch her rolling out sheets of dough on the kitchen table and placing tablespoons of ricotta on them to make raviolis. Each morning my grandfather would grate fresh Romano and parmegian and squeeze fresh orange juice for breakfast. I had no idea then that this was so special.
a few years ago at Mama's Fish House in Maui...private table looking out over the ocean (Leonardo DiCaprio had eaten at the same table a few nights earlier)...great food, drink and ambiance...waiter was originally from Pittsburgh and had the same (first and last) name as me...the staff thought he had made a reservation under his own name for some reason...
have been cooked by my wife. Sometimes with a little help from me.
My best ever restaurant meal was probably from Dirt Candy on the lower east side. I remember the portobello mousse in particular.
Haddam and brett. And.... there was some little Italian restaurant in Montreal where I had the BEST meal. This was 18 years ago and I cannot remember the name but I have the matchbook somewhere. Best breakfast was at some huge log cabin restaurant on Lake Miriam in SC. Best Chili = nashville, TN. A purple building on a corner near the river. I can never remember the names of these places. Ferrara's in little Italy = best desserts. Best Vietnamese= Nah Trangh Centre I (not II which is owned by the brother). This is by the first precinct by the Holland Tunnel.
a few years ago at Mama's Fish House in Maui...private table looking out over the ocean (Leonardo DiCaprio had eaten at the same table a few nights earlier)...great food, drink and ambiance...waiter was originally from Pittsburgh and had the same (first and last) name as me...the staff thought he had made a reservation under his own name for some reason...
I thought Mama's was good but over rated and frankly not worth the very long wait. I've had many enjoyable meals in Hawaii, but non that I would rate as unforgetable
so picking one isn't easy. I can say that my favorite dining experience was at Kali's Mezze in Fells Point. We sat for hours on a cold winter night, in the corner of the restaurant. It was warm and cozy was, with the snow falling outside. It's tapas style, so it was plate after plate and lots of wine. Just a great night overall.
It is in south of France not far from Nice in the Provence region.
A small restaurant for lunch. No one spoke English and our French was not more than minimal.
We had the Prix Fixe three course meal
My wife - Mussels, A wild salmon glazed with a sweet sauce and a creme brulee for desert
My daughter - Escargot, Stuffed veal roast in a lovely wine sauce and a very sweet and chocalate cake
Myself - Steak tartare, Broiled sweetbreads in a burgundy sauce finished with a Pear tart.
Besides all of dishes being wonderful the total bill was about $27. This was back before the Euro and when the dollar was much stronger.
Like Chris in Philly the dad was the chef, the mother the hostess and their young daughter the waitress. Again alhough neither could speak each other's language we all communicated.
visits to 464 Magnolia in Larkspur (where I was the head chef) on my off night, and 464 had access to fantastic local ducks and pigeons, I'd have to say either a New Year's eve fixed menu at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago or a Thanksgiving turkey (and all the rest which was pot luck by a bunch of chefs and others in the biz) at Gloria Ciccarone-Nehls' house.
Also when I was a chef, for awhile I made regular visits, Â
once a week on my night off, to the Osome sushi bar and restaurant on Fillmore St in SF. After maybe 3-4 consecutive weekly visits to Osome, and sitting by myself at the bar, and tipping the sushi chef as well as my server, the lead sushi chef introduced himself to me and asked me what I did. When I responded that I was chef in a modern French restaurant, he began treating me a bit differently, and I stopped ordering anything but rather just left the experience up to him. He would ask one question before we started: "how hungry are you?"
He was amazing and each "meal" he prepared for me after that was like an event, or a voyage. More than once he invented new nigiri combinations for me, but nothing at like the overworked heavy and cloying crap rolls that you might get from modern Americanized sushi joints nowadays. Every bite was ephemeral. He taught me how to spot truly fresh sea urchin roe from stuff that had sat around a few days, among other lessons.
But, one of the most rewarding meals I ever had was not necessarily the best food (although it was excellent) and it wasn't an upscale atmosphere/service. When we were in Italy, one stop we made was the Aeolian Islands. We stayed on Lipari and hired an old fisherman to take us to and around Vulcano. After we did the natural mud baths and hot springs, he takes us to a tiny restaurant only the locals know about that can only be reached by water. He ordered everything and everything was outstanding.
Now, this 65 year old man knew about 2-3 words of English and our knowledge of Italian was only slightly broader. But, we sat there for about an hour and had an amazing meal, including a "conversation" that had us all laughing and smiling. It was a truly amazing and rewarding meal.
I don't remember exactly what we ate, but I recall one appetizer he ordered were these tiny fish that looked almost like worms pan sauteed in garlic. They were whole, which is why I think my wife was a bit hesitant. He tells her, "No mangia pesce, no capitano!" He points to me taking a forkfull (and really enjoying it) and exclaims, "Capitano!" He then points back to her disappointingly, and says, "No Capitano!" He repeated that a few times the rest of the day and we laughed so hard each time.
the experience of a nice meal enough to not fret too much about spending a day's earnings on one. I'd say two meals I've had are unforgettable:
-Olde Hansa in Tallinn. Yeah, it's a "Medieval Themed" restaurant, but not like that bullshit you'd find in Orlando or some shit. I'm pretty sure the building it's in is actually medieval. I had some mixed meat plate featuring elk and boar, and it was almost as good as the phenomenal salmon my Finnish cousin had. Plus the waitresses were gorgeous and hilarious.
-Dalmatino in Hvar. We tried Octopus Carpaccio at a few places after we visited here but we quickly learned that none of them would be nearly as good. Every steak I ate when in Croatia was phenomenal, almost embarrassment-inducing really (they call the shit in our restaurants steak?), but this place's steak and gnocchi combo was even better than the rest. And we had the best cheesecake I've ever eaten in my life for dessert. All this, with a bottle of an incredible locally-made wine and super friendly and attentive service, for under a hundred bucks for two. It was also near a Croatian election of some sort and we were surrounded by parades of festive people.
Happily hungover the next morning, well, midday more like, the buffet at Lil Dizzy's.
It.
Was.
Glorious.
Some of the best biscuits I've ever had, amazing fried chicken, bread pudding done perfect, but what put it over the top was the mac and cheese, simply out of this world. Completely unplanned meal that blew me away with how great it was.
. As a kid(16) way way far from home hitchhiking thousands of miles as way popular way back then, taken into a local tiny jail just for temporary holdings 6 or so cells with me being the one prisoner…..no charge just checking me out runaway or such……. I looked much younger. Going to visit my brother actually.
In Texas south of San Antonio. The regualar officers ran the jail. I don't know if it was bought or what, by my guess probably one of the officers wives….simple breakfest of eggs bacon and toast. Wonderful I guess cause I was expecting dog crap.So that now I remember was my best.
Touched my heart they actually took the time to do that. Feed this kid a good meal even though he is nothing to us.
Good peoples back then…times have changed way changed.
That cannot happen in todays world not a bit. A glimpse back it was perhaps.
Unfortunately, Alice's closed (I can't believe how many) years ago. Here' an old story about it....
Remembering Alice's Restaurant on the Malibu Pier
Its a shame she never opened her own Italian restaurant. Man I'm hungry now.
Better make them at least a month in advance, especially for a Saturday.
Never a bad meal there, and whenever friends visited and we went to old town we'd often eat there.
It was small, but always packed, not sure why it closed.
8
I ate at the Pink Adobe last year. Food was superb, but the service, especially the wine delivery, was terrible. The waitress mangled 3 different corks, leaving residue in the bottle.
Quote:
I had a wonderful meal at The Modern in NYC. Best $300 I've ever spent.
If the best $300 you ever spent was on a meal, I hope that means you got laid afterwards!
LOL! The meal was shared with my wife, what do you think?
Quote:
For almost 10 years my work required eating in the finest restaurants in the country 4 days a week. But outside of my work, the most memorable meal was in Santa Fe at a tiny place called the Pink Adobe. It was just a Salmon filet, but however they prepared it was delicious almost beyond belief
8
I ate at the Pink Adobe last year. Food was superb, but the service, especially the wine delivery, was terrible. The waitress mangled 3 different corks, leaving residue in the bottle.
And so cheap that we ate for about 2 hours...
That was some meal.
But there were many more...
I just made a Butternut/Bacon/Crab soup that was amazing. Another thing to try soup wise that we don't make here in the states is a Pumpkin soup.
Pumpkin soup - ( New Window )
Quote:
In comment 11947405 River Mike said:
Quote:
For almost 10 years my work required eating in the finest restaurants in the country 4 days a week. But outside of my work, the most memorable meal was in Santa Fe at a tiny place called the Pink Adobe. It was just a Salmon filet, but however they prepared it was delicious almost beyond belief
8
I ate at the Pink Adobe last year. Food was superb, but the service, especially the wine delivery, was terrible. The waitress mangled 3 different corks, leaving residue in the bottle.
Why would they put 3 corks in a bottle? Seems that they are just asking for trouble, can't blame the server on that one.
LOL! But if we are expanding the candidates beyond restaurants, I've got to say that almost any meal prepared by my Italian Grandmother would be the best. We had guests who had traveled the world and claimed Grandma's sauce and meatballs could not be matched even by anything they've had in Italy.
And on Holidays it was crazy ... started with a baked ham and after a short respite was followed by lasagna, and after another short respite, turkey and stuffing. Mind blowing. I used to watch her rolling out sheets of dough on the kitchen table and placing tablespoons of ricotta on them to make raviolis. Each morning my grandfather would grate fresh Romano and parmegian and squeeze fresh orange juice for breakfast. I had no idea then that this was so special.
My best ever restaurant meal was probably from Dirt Candy on the lower east side. I remember the portobello mousse in particular.
I thought Mama's was good but over rated and frankly not worth the very long wait. I've had many enjoyable meals in Hawaii, but non that I would rate as unforgetable
korean bbq.
A small restaurant for lunch. No one spoke English and our French was not more than minimal.
We had the Prix Fixe three course meal
My wife - Mussels, A wild salmon glazed with a sweet sauce and a creme brulee for desert
My daughter - Escargot, Stuffed veal roast in a lovely wine sauce and a very sweet and chocalate cake
Myself - Steak tartare, Broiled sweetbreads in a burgundy sauce finished with a Pear tart.
Besides all of dishes being wonderful the total bill was about $27. This was back before the Euro and when the dollar was much stronger.
Like Chris in Philly the dad was the chef, the mother the hostess and their young daughter the waitress. Again alhough neither could speak each other's language we all communicated.
He was amazing and each "meal" he prepared for me after that was like an event, or a voyage. More than once he invented new nigiri combinations for me, but nothing at like the overworked heavy and cloying crap rolls that you might get from modern Americanized sushi joints nowadays. Every bite was ephemeral. He taught me how to spot truly fresh sea urchin roe from stuff that had sat around a few days, among other lessons.
Now, this 65 year old man knew about 2-3 words of English and our knowledge of Italian was only slightly broader. But, we sat there for about an hour and had an amazing meal, including a "conversation" that had us all laughing and smiling. It was a truly amazing and rewarding meal.
I don't remember exactly what we ate, but I recall one appetizer he ordered were these tiny fish that looked almost like worms pan sauteed in garlic. They were whole, which is why I think my wife was a bit hesitant. He tells her, "No mangia pesce, no capitano!" He points to me taking a forkfull (and really enjoying it) and exclaims, "Capitano!" He then points back to her disappointingly, and says, "No Capitano!" He repeated that a few times the rest of the day and we laughed so hard each time.
-Olde Hansa in Tallinn. Yeah, it's a "Medieval Themed" restaurant, but not like that bullshit you'd find in Orlando or some shit. I'm pretty sure the building it's in is actually medieval. I had some mixed meat plate featuring elk and boar, and it was almost as good as the phenomenal salmon my Finnish cousin had. Plus the waitresses were gorgeous and hilarious.
-Dalmatino in Hvar. We tried Octopus Carpaccio at a few places after we visited here but we quickly learned that none of them would be nearly as good. Every steak I ate when in Croatia was phenomenal, almost embarrassment-inducing really (they call the shit in our restaurants steak?), but this place's steak and gnocchi combo was even better than the rest. And we had the best cheesecake I've ever eaten in my life for dessert. All this, with a bottle of an incredible locally-made wine and super friendly and attentive service, for under a hundred bucks for two. It was also near a Croatian election of some sort and we were surrounded by parades of festive people.
It.
Was.
Glorious.
Some of the best biscuits I've ever had, amazing fried chicken, bread pudding done perfect, but what put it over the top was the mac and cheese, simply out of this world. Completely unplanned meal that blew me away with how great it was.
In Texas south of San Antonio. The regualar officers ran the jail. I don't know if it was bought or what, by my guess probably one of the officers wives….simple breakfest of eggs bacon and toast. Wonderful I guess cause I was expecting dog crap.So that now I remember was my best.
Touched my heart they actually took the time to do that. Feed this kid a good meal even though he is nothing to us.
Good peoples back then…times have changed way changed.
That cannot happen in todays world not a bit. A glimpse back it was perhaps.