Best restaurant meal you ever had

[argiel1234]

mine.. Olive Garden Trio of Italy

lasagna, chicken parm and fettucini alfredo

[JI7]

1. Dennys

[argiel1234]

2. seriously though

Kobe beef in a Las Vegas restaurant inside the Bellagio where me and the GF were staying at the time

cant remember the name

never did try the foie gras

[fizzgig]

3. i am not to proud to say i eat at the olive garden

my best restaurant meal was our anniversary this year. a three hour meal just the two of us, smoked duck breast appetizer, fresh bread and salad, filet for him and braised short ribs for me, followed by coffee and creme brulee for me and chocolate semifredo over flourless chocolate cake for him.

it was worth every dime we dropped on that meal

[argiel1234]

5. ours was two hours

duck is delicious

[fizzgig]

21. yes it is

[applegrove]

4. I had some really great escargot at an italian restaurant in a First Nations Reserve

town, 2 hours north in Quebec. I'm telling everyone about it.

[argiel1234]

6. cant eat escargot but im down with squid

[argiel1234]

7. also butterfish

if you havent heard of it

its just like the name says

[Laura PourMeADrink]

41. omg...yes...butterfish. Had it on Block Island RI. Wish you could find in the fish markets

everywhere, but we were told fishermen tend to hoard for their own families. In the south, Pompano is the same way

[newcriminal]

8. Wild boar.

A nice little restaurant in town called the River Rock Inn. It was on Gordon Ramsey's Hotel Hell.

[erinlough]

9. a large bowl of fried, fresh caught, halibut

on the end of the Homer Spit in Alaska with the Chicago Bulls winning their fourth championship with Michael on the TV. Best fish ever.

[RedCloud]

10. Some place in Mexico

I don't remember the food. Just a Swedie pie I met right before. Greatest conversation ever!

[left-of-center2012]

11. Christmas dinner in San Diego 2011

94th Aero Squadron Restaurant
8885 Balboa Ave, San Diego, CA 92123

http://www.94thaerosquadron.signonsandiego.com/

[benld74]

12. Years ago when the wife and I were dating,,,

R-E-A-L-L-Y good steak and H-U-G-E but you could cut it with your fork
would feed our family of four now for a couple days at least.

http://www.kreisrestaurant.com/

[Go Vols]

13. Huge prawns

from New Zealand at a place called the Chop House in Chicago.

I would recommend to anyone,great place and food.


Edit: http://www.chicagochophouse.com/

[nolabear]

14. Oh good God. Between Italy and New Orleans?

A brazillion. The Italians don't even have to try hard. Hell I've had pizza that almost made me weep. And New Orleans? Simplicity and complexity and seafood and pork. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Although honestly, Tom Douglas and Ethan Stowell have some places in Seattle that it makes my mouth water to just thnk about.

I'm kind of a foodie.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

42. you are so right ! Lived in Nola for three years until 2010...it would have been hard not to find

a bad meal...even convenience stores have great food. What are your favorites? For me...Emeril's NOLA and Cafe Achafalaya in GD. Love the hangover food the best though. Grillades and shrimp and grits with tons of butter and rosemary in the sauce.

Do you cook too? I think I need to make my own cajun seasoning since Tony's and others are so salty. I saw Paul Prudonne on PBS and he said the trick was to melt the spices into the oil before you even start cooking. It was a good tip for me.

[LiberalElite]

15. Pistachio crusted tofu at the V-Spot, NYC

[GoneOffShore]

16. Most memorable

First meal in a Parisian restaurant over thirty years ago.

Onion soup, steak tartare prepared table-side served with allumettes (French fries but not the classic thick ones), sorbet colonel (Lemon sorbet with vodka). And a really good bottle of Burgundy.

The restaurant is still there and we had the same meal there last month - Except for the table side service - can't do that anymore because of health regs. And it was superb.

And we've eaten at Georges Blanc (Vonnas), French Laundry (Yountville), Paul Bocuse (Lyon), Tour d'Argent (Paris), Gramercy Tavern (New York), Bec-Fin (Philadelphia), Chanterelle (Washington), Gary Danko (San Francisco), Crocodile (Strasbourg), Le Auberge d’ Ill (Illerhausen). All excellent, but nothing like that first meal in Paris.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. Yummy. For me, Petit Zinc in Paris - Oysters, Champagne, and Filet Mignon. In US,

got to be the (heart healthy..haha) Garlic Crusted Texas Redfish with bacon buerre blanc at NOLA - Emerils Restaurant in New Orleans.

BTW, I see you went to Lyons....did you happen to make it to Lake Annecy? Couple hours east? We picked it because I found a survey of the top 100 execs in the world who picked Annecy as the most beautiful place on earth. And, is supposed to be the cleanest water in Europe

Mark Twain said: “Lake Annecy is a revelation. It is a miracle. It brings tears to a body’s eyes it is so enchanting. Up the lake there is an old abbey …. And I wish I could have stayed there a few years and got a solid rest”. For Winston Churchill it was “the most beautiful place on earth”.

The place we stayed at, Auberge du Pere Bise, has a one star Michelin chef. The food was great, but it was the most formal and stuffy and uncomfortable atmosphere ever. We felt like we had to whisper the whole time. I like, places where you can talk and have fun and enjoy.


I agree Napa Valley food is fantastic - just because the vegetables are outstanding. We chose Bistro Jeanty in Yountville and their heirloom tomato salad with local olive oil was beyond perfect. couldn't justify paying the FL prices..Was it worth it?

I don't have a favorite restaurant, just favorite dishes.

[mil_5529dem]

17. Fettucine from Olive Garden

Absolutely sublime imo

[Tabasco_Dave]

18. Dar Magreb in Los Angeles

Moroccan food.

[Duer 157099]

55. Been there but can't remember the food

However, I do recall people smoking pot at many tables...

[Odin2005]

19. At a Vietnamese restaurant in downtown Fargo.

Sesame Chicken on rice with a side of spring rolls. YUM!!!

[riderinthestorm]

20. Pasteur's in Chicago. French Vietnamese, an anniversary, I felt beautiful

We started out at a coffee shop browsing for a new coffeemaker. He bought me the one I wanted.

Strolled down to Pasteur's for dinner and then to Millennium Park to people-watch.

Ended up....

I have no idea if that restaurant is fine or not - it was incredible to my unsophisticated palate, but that night was perfect.


http://pasteurrestaurantchicago.com/

[greatauntoftriplets]

40. I used to live near Pasteur.

Excellent food!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

22. Bouillabaisse on the old port in Marseille, France

(Marseille is the original home of bouillabaisse.) Wow, whoever thought a fish soup could be that incredibly tasty? I also had an incredible paella in Valencia, Spain.

[Agschmid]

23. Smith & Wollensky in Boston or Philly

Best ribeye ever, the meat was marbled perfectly, the seasoning was spot on and it was cooked exactly as I requested. Also helps that they have delicious sides and some pretty tasty deserts. Needles to say can't go everyday it's a bit pricey.

http://www.smithandwollensky.com

[MiddleFingerMom]

24. I can think of three.

.
.
.
A 17th c. Colonial farmhouse that had been turned into a very fine French restaurant. Still in
a full-leg cast and on crutches from a horrendous motorcycle accident that should have killed
me, I had just gotten the check for the bike itself from his insurance company. Hottest, most
attractive woman I've ever been with (Sam) and we were celebrating life.
.
Escargots, Veal Oscar and a chocolate mousse richer than Saudi prince. We talked the waiter
into a second bottle of wine (to go) and didn't get to sleep 'til the following evening.
.
.
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I used to catsit for friends here in Tucson. They wanted to pay me... but that's what friends
do without pay. Best "freebie" I ever gave out... they used to take me out to a GOOD dinner
when they got back. He worked at the finest restaurant in town (Janos -- it closed last summer)
and he used to get an annual bonus coupon to eat there once a year. He and his wife took me
along -- We each got a three-entree sampler platter and they brought them out split three ways
one entree at a time -- a NINE-course meal. So fine -- the chef/owner has won the James Beard
award twice.
.
My favorite? The tea-smoked duck breast. And one of the finest wines I've ever had -- a sweet
sparkling dessert muscat.
.
.
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A plain ol' corner gasthaus in a tiny village about 15 minutes out of Nurnberg -- I had Zigeuner
Schnitzel (Gypsy Schnitzel) and, though I never saw it offered anywhere else, it was just
amazing!!! Lots of tri-colored julienned bell peppers in the sauce. There's recipes for it online,
though I've never tried cooking it.
.
The tastiest meal of many, many tasty tasty tasty meals in Germany.
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I've only eaten at Olive Garden once (a company-supplied "reward" lunch for our section). It
wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. I've eaten at far more mediocre restaurants (not to mention
much WORSE restaurants). I've always thought it's just one of those things that are "cool"
to hate -- it's not worthy of strong feelings one way or the other, IMneverHO.
.
.
.

[HeiressofBickworth]

34. I lived in Germany for 2 years

but didn't eat out very often -- couldn't afford it. Husband was in the Air Farce (Force) and his rank didn't pay much so we had to watch our pfennigs. I do remember a meal at the gasthaus across the street from our house (duplex, other half was a chicken coop). I don't remember the potatoes but I remember the schnitzel - it was veal. Yum.

[MiddleFingerMom]

46. I don't think I ever had a bad schnitzel there -- mmmm -- with...

.
.
.
... a big wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top and the ubiquitous "salad" of small-diced
pickled turnips, beets, and cucumbers. And those odd, yet DELICIOUS slices of bread/potato
with gravy.
.
.
.
Sauerbraten was my favorite. My ex was a young German woman and an inexperienced but
excellent cook. Once, to welcome me back from a LONG stay out on field exercises, she had
bought a big beef roast (a splurge on our budget) and had been marinating it for two days
in order to cook me a "Welcome Home" meal of sauerbraten. She took me into the kitchen
to show me proudly.
.
The recipe hadn't specified that it was supposed to marinate in the refrigerator and she had
thought the smell and the blue color of the meat was normal. She actually cried when I told
her.
.
I ALMOST cried... I really, REALLY liked sauerbraten.
.
.
.
(edit to add picture)
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[OriginalGeek]

25. Toss up between

Le Coq Au Vin (A local French place here) and one of Emeril's places and Del Frisco's. great steaks at the last two and great entire experience at the first.

I ain't no fancy guy - I'm happy with baloney sandwiches off of paper plates most of the time - but man it is really nice to be treated like a king every once in a while. Those places above all did it.

I've been to places more expensive than those too and did not enjoy it as much.

[Bombero1956]

26. The Lobster Pot in Provincetown Mass.

I had the boneless breast of chicken baked in mushroom sauce with Ritz cracker stuffing. Oh my God was it good.

[Agschmid]

54. The Red Inn in P-Town is my favorite it's a summer tradition!

[DFW]

59. Same here!

We haven't missed a summer without the Red Inn in 15 years! And it's almost 5000 miles from where we live.

[ElboRuum]

27. Oh, that's easy.

I had the Endless Soup and Salad with a side order of cornflakes at this restaurant called Chuggo's. For some reason they kept casting asparagus at me. I didn't order any, so I thought that was kind of odd.

[SoCalDemGrrl]

28. The Palm in Los Angeles - amazing steak & lobster. It's pricey so it's a special occasion

destination, but it's the greatest and the service is impeccable....

[Flaxbee]

29. A restaurant serving Georgian food in Moscow

I have no idea where it was or what it was called, but the food was just incredible, and the wine(s) went with each course perfectly.

It was a treat - good friends of my husband's took us out for his birthday.

Also, perhaps, a Thai restaurant in Helsinki.


In the US, some of the little Mexican food holes-in-the-wall in San Diego and L.A. were fantastic.

Le Bernardin in NYC was also pretty nice.

[DFW]

60. We were at an Uzbek place in Moscow

It had an ever-changing buffet of spicy everything. отлично!!

[Bertha Venation]

76. Can't beat a good Mexican hole-in-the-wall in So. California

I miss them so much.

[DearHeart]

30. At a restaurant in Sturgeon Bay, WI

Had a burnt cheese ravioli with alfredo sauce! Sounded not too appetizing, but turned out to be Heavenly!!

[Kennah]

31. Bennett's Restaurant in Grayland, Washington

http://www.bennettsdining.com/about.html

We stopped there on a lark day trip out to the beach in late August or early September. We figured it would be decent food, better than sit down chains like Denny's, but it was absolutely the BEST meal we ever had.

There were two seafood specials, both with halibut, so the wife ordered one, I ordered the other, and we shared.

They made their own salad dressing, and we bought a container of the bleu cheese and a container of ranch. Best salad dressing we'd ever tried.

[opiate69]

82. I was just out in Tokeland crabbing this past Friday...

And my friend and I drove up to Westport and ate at the Bennetts Fish Shack there. Smaller menu than the original in Grayland, but man-oh-man was it good.

[Kali]

32. the last one somebody else paid for

[begin_within]

33. Three come to mind:

A place called Top Pan Pizza, on Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1978. Best pizza I've had in my life... I can still remember biting into that. Dough soft as a marshmallow, crispy on the bottom but like a pillow on top, delicious sauce, cheese toppings.

A tiny Vietnamese place in Beaverton, Oregon, run by a woman who was a cook for a high-ranking official in Vietnam. All the standard Viet dishes but made to perfection, no skimping on quality or care. Best curry I've ever had. Giant spring rolls. Perfect iced coffee with condensed milk.

The Marine Room in La Jolla, California. Very expensive place but someone else paid both times I've been there. Complex sophisticated cuisine with international flavors. Little surprises throughout, like sprouted mint seeds as a garnish on the shrimp appetizer, a little pastry boat floating on the lobster bisque with a bit of lobster meat, stuff like that. At high tide, waves splash against the windows. Truly a world-class place.

[Scuba]

77. I did the Marine Room once. It was great, especially because someone else paid!

I like Poseodin's in Del Mar... great food, right on the beach. Sit on the patio and watch the surfers. Even saw some dolphins one day.

[begin_within]

78. Sounds good

If I'm ever in Del Mar to eat I'll check it out. Marine Room is expensive but the "Taste of the Season" meal is $50 for 3 courses, a bargain for the sophisticated cuisine they serve. If you had to order a-la-carte it would be prohibitively expensive.

[Angry Dragon]

35. Tower of Seafood Appetizer

at Native American casino just off Bainbrdge Island
Alaska King Crab, Snow crab, shrimp I can not remember all the rest
More than enough for 2 and the cost was $20
this was in 2008

[AsahinaKimi]

36. Neptune's Waterfront Grill & Bar at Pier 39 in San Francsico

Omg...so good. Dungeness crab and Maine Lobster. It was for my Birthday.

[sendero]

37. You need to ...

... get out more

[marlakay]

38. Restaurant in fancy spa at Big Sur

It was on edge of cliff overlloking ocean at sunset and all the walls were glass. The speakers for the jazz music were so good I thought it was live and the food was great.

[hobbit709]

43. It was either the trout I had in Ankara Turkey back 72

Or the blue cheese and crab stuffed flounder in Port Aransas TX.

[HopeHoops]

44. Damn. Too many to count, much less pick a favorite. Well,...

The local pizza and beer pub had a made-on-the-premises mushroom ravioli on special that was to die for. Combine that with 42+ craft beers on tap and you can't lose.

On Edit: NO! I did NOT have 42+ beers that night. Notice I included the word "that".

[Codeine]

45. A little hole-in-the-wall Ethiopian place in Tempe, AZ.

All sorts of delicious, saucy little blobs of thick stew served with, and on, injera bread. Amazing.

And the used to be a fantastic place in Riverside, CA that served the best Lebanese food I've ever had, but the owner retired and the people that took it over ruined the place. Out of business within about a year.

[Burma Jones]

47. Ribs at some place in Galesburg, IL the name of which I forget, if it had a name.......

It was a cinder block place with picnic tables and a pit out in the back in a "bad" part of a town......

We got Ribs the likes of which I had not had before or in the 30 years since.

You got a rack of ribs and a half a loaf of Wonder Bread...You brought your own beer

It was there, and then it was gone.........

That was the best BBQ I ever had, and I've had a lot.....

I also had very fine meals at Jose Andres' Minibar in DC, Momofuku ko in NY, Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, L'Auberge Chez Francois in VA and Q in Boulder, CO

But, the memory of that Dinner of Ribs, Wonder Bread, Old Style Beer and my College friends make that the best Restaurant Meal ever.

[Hula Popper]

48. My best

would be the Crystal Room in Westmont , Illinois. Bohemian meals centered on pork , dumplings and beige gravy. Or the meals at Palermos in Clarence, NY. Al home made pastas and sauces.

[argiel1234]

49. sorry for not posting to everyone

went to sleep last nite and had to be up this morning..but i love to read all of the responses. i love great food and good stories and descriptions

[kwassa]

50. Lucy's Drive-In, Los Angeles, and a Thai restaurant called Yai.

best chili verde burrito ever, fresh chips and hot sauce. I never found chili verde better anywhere.

bought a beer separately, the entire meal cost less than $5.00.

corner of Pico and LaBrea.

1373 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90019

The Thai restaurant had no visible English name for many years; it has this grilled shrimp salad with chili and lemongrass that is otherworldly. The clientele used to be almost entirely Thai. Many fabulous dishes.

5757 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028, in the back of a 7/11 strip mall.

and I really enjoyed Cafe Del Rey in the Marina

[Curmudgeoness]

51. I love food, so this is hard, but you are ever in Warren OH

(and I can't suggest that you should be), on Tuesday nights, they have a chef out in the dining area with all sorts of ingredients and sauces and pastas, and you can put together whatever you want and she will cook it fresh for you. The place is Buena Vista and is just a little place on a side street, but it is worth finding it. I never get marinara sauces at restaurants, but this is just the best. I only found out since this is an all-you-want buffet. Yum.

[name not needed]

52. Pandan Room in Hackettstown, NJ

Seared duck breast, sweet potato puree and tomato mango chutney

[alarimer]

53. Several meals I had with my now ex-BF

One, for his 50th birthday. I took him to a place on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. I can't remember the name, but it was great, special because it was just the two of us and his birthday.

Almost any meal with him was special.

Just speaking of food, there's a place in Providence, RI called Local 121, where I had the best littleneck clams and great local white wine. I highly recommend it, if you are ever there.

[rppper]

56. "The grate steak" Virginia beach

Had a huge new york strip, salad and baked potato....you get to Select your own cut from hundreds, cook it yourself on a huge grill with a cornucopia of spices and flavors available....they also had the biggest salad/ desert bar I've ever seen....fun experience and a steak cooked to perfection by the worlds greatest chef....ME!!!! Lol

On edit....Apparently it closed in 2011 after the owner died....

[Art_from_Ark]

57. Wesner's Grill, Rogers, Arkansas

There's a reason why it's the oldest restaurant in Benton County

Friendly's Restaurant, Southbridge, Massachusetts
Everything was perfect, including the "Happy Ending" dessert

[pinboy3niner]

58. Chateaubriand at L'Auberge Chez François, Great Falls, Virginia

http://www.laubergechezfrancois.com/

[DFW]

61. No one best. Lots of them!

Devant Vous on the Rue Richelieu on Paris (with the Daitokai in Berlin, best teppan yaki in Europe).

Commander's Palace in NOLA (haven't been to NOLA in 30 years though)

The Red Inn in Provincetown, MA

The Shun Lee Palace on E.55th Street in NYC

Mama Ayesha's (Lebanese) in Washington, DC

ArabesQ in Düsseldorf (Arab food DUH!)

Sticky Fingers in Charleston, SC (forget the fancy places, this one is good AND fun).

Some place whose name I forgot in Luzern that had the best Gschnätzltes I ever had in Switzerland

Finely JP's in Wellfleet, MA

Hasır (the one on Oranienburger Strasse) in Berlin--best Turkish food in town.

Senyor Paradella in Barcelona--NOT to be missed!!

Devon in Philadelphia for seafood (but it's LOUD in there)

Best chain: McCormick & Schmick's--never a bad seafood meal in ANY of them, and mostly memorable ones. Dunno how they do it.

[abbeyco]

62. Instigator! In Istanbul, every meal in the Hilton was to die for!

The meals were buffet-style with numerous meat, fish and vegetarian choices. The salads, bread, fruit and dessert stations were full of delish goodies and I lost 5 lbs in a week sticking to their basic Mediterranean choices and enjoying a small dessert each day. Their butcher went to market daily for the meat selections - he was in his late 60s and had been working there since the age of 15.

My next favorite was a small restaurant in Florence - simple yet wonderful pizza, a wild mushroom pasta dish and and great desserts.

Now I'm all hungry just thinking about it all!

[EmeraldCityGrl]

63. The Herm Farm

Woodenville, WA. No other dining experience compares.

One seating, nine course thematic dinner paired with six wines.

http://www.theherbfarm.com/dining/themes.html#MycologistsDream

The only 5 Diamond restaurant west of Chicago.

[LWolf]

64. I don't know.

The first few that pop into my head:

El Napalito's...little taco shack I used to live near.

Andina's was notable.

The Muchbox; a burger shack near where I went to high school.

There was another place I really liked, on a highway on the long trip from home to family visits, but I don't remember the name, and it might have been the jars of local jam available at the register, more than the rest of the food, that leaves a nostalgic sense of contentment.

[hifiguy]

65. Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger in Wellesley Mass.

Absolutely incredible. Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia. Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas. When you walk into Lotus of Siam, which is in a dingy strip mall in Vegas, there are autographed pics of famous chefs on the walls. The food is so good it is beyond description.

[OriginalGeek]

67. I has a jealous

I've been a fan of Ming Tsai's TV show for years and would love to eat at his place.


Oh and I almost forgot Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa. Don't forget to ask for a tour to settle the steak before you get taken up to the dessert floor. We got Chateaubriand for Two. It was worth it.

[KamaAina]

73. He was not only in my Yale Class of 1985,

he was in Saybrook College, too! (Calling them "dorms" is so common. )

But did I know him? Nooooooooo!

[hifiguy]

74. I was so blown away by the meal that

I told the waitress - who was literally perfection in service - and she said "The chef is in the kitchen tonight, would you like to meet him?" I figured that it would be the guy or gal who ran the kitchen when Ming wasn't there and said "Sure."

A few minutes later out pops Ming Tsai himself! He must have spent ten minutes at my table just chatting food and wine. He's an unbelievably nice, down-to-earth person. He's also a big dude. I'm 6'1" and about 215 pounds and he was taller and huskier than me. He autographed a menu for me and I still have it.

Three courses each, with drinks and wine for two people and the bill was only about $200 give or take a few bucks and that included a generous tip. It was 2001, though.

[fizzgig]

84. i love ming

i bet that was one incredible meal.

[cheezmaka]

66. Ruth Chris Steakhouse

in Memphis, TN... everything was good!

[Aristus]

68. Harbour Sixty Steak House in Toronto.

The most magnificent filet mignon in the history of cooked animal protein. Heavenly mashed potatoes, asparagus, a faultless martini, a bottle of impeccable wine. And dessert that was out of this world...

Wonderful service and incredible atmosphere.

The tab looked like the national defense budget of a small country. The tip alone was $80.

Worth it! I had a chance to treat my brother to what was probably his best meal ever, too...

[BlueMan Votes]

69. sushi at the Japanese Cultural Center in Hilo.

second place goes to a Vietnamese place in Quebec City.

[Bertha Venation]

70. Filet mignon and crab cake at Mike's American

Sublime.

[geardaddy]

71. ...

[geardaddy]

72. Mongolian Hot Pot

at a restaurant in Beijing. Our Chinese friend knew the owner and he closed the restaurant because the health inspector was due the next day. We had the entire place to ourselves. Plenty of beer, lamb, cigarettes and mao tai.

[Patiod]

75. an all-appetizer meal at Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale, AZ

my SO said there was no way it was going to live up how I described it, but at one point he was stamping his feet he was so happy;

close second was dim-sum brunch at David James' Primehouse in Chicago that was so good it almost made me cry;

jambalaya downstairs in the basement bar of a fancy Cajun restaurant on King St in Alexandria (not sure it's still there);

Oysters at a downstairs oyster bar in the middle of Pike Place Market in Seattle

a tapas feast with eight of my (now middle aged) sorority sisters at Bodega Santiago in Key West, and all eight said it was the best meal they had ever had in Key West, and also the best tapas;

Mushroom pizza and a spritz in Venice (the food was generally not good, but the mushroom pizza was really good - the mushrooms TASTED like mushrooms)

Yes, I live to eat. Chowhound is my 2nd favorite website (after DU). My SO correctly supposes that if I didn't have the metabolism of a hummingbird and wasn't sugar-averse, I'd weight 500 pounds.

[charlie and algernon]

79. Le Bec Fin in Philly, the day after a massive election victory in 2006

I was working for a State Rep's race outside of Philly and we won with 76% of the vote and swept every precinct and then got to watch the Dems take Congress.

The next day, the volunteer who allowed me to live at her house during the campaign took the whole staff out to dinner at a posh 5 star restaurant in downtown Philly. Four course meal and two of the courses were Escargot and Quail.

[KamaAina]

80. Assaggio in Honolulu

opah (butterfish). Ono-licious!

Menara Moroccan here in San Jose isn't shabby, either. Mom pronunced their chicken tagine the best thing she'd ever eaten -- and she lives in Manhattan and travels in Europe.

[Crepuscular]

81. Best restaurant meal you ever had

Traveled all over the world and have had many, many fine dinners but one that ranks right up there was in London at a small Argentinian place called the Gaucho Grill, on Swallow St. in Picadilly. The beef there was unbelievable, the churrasco de chorizo is a prime filet mignon that has been marinated for 48 hours in garlic & rosemary olive oil and then spiral cut and flash grilled. So tender that you can cut it with a spoon, truly melt in your mouth. Coupled with a nice bottle of Malbec and it was a truly memorable dining experience.

The other side of the coin was one of the most uncomfortable meals I've ever eaten, although it was not due to the food. First time traveling to Beijing, we didn't get to the hotel until after 11:00 pm but needed to eat after a long flight so we decided to just eat at the hotel that we were staying at. The only restaurant open was the fancy dining room, this was at the Crowne Plaza in Beijing. We were the only patrons in the place and were surrounded by half a dozen staff standing just a few feet back from the table. Literally, every time you took a sip of water, the glass would be refilled. Having never dined in China before, we made the mistake of ordering like we would at an Asian place in the US, getting a number of different dishes so we could sample a variety. The amount of food that was served was truly obscene and I was horrified that we looked like the arrogant, ugly Americans being able to barely put a dent in an amount of food that probably would have fed the families of the half dozen staff that hovered over us, for at least a week. The food was fantastic including a duck that was almost indescribably delicious but both my wife and I felt so uncomfortable that there was no way to enjoy the meal. I would have loved to have invited the staff to sit down and dig in but obviously that was not possible, under the gimlet eye of the Maitre D', who was hovering in the back ground. Suffice it to say that it was a lesson learned and we ordered much more conservatively during the rest of our stay in China and we had a number of other memorable meals during that trip, although I never could fall in love with the deep fried chicken feet, with the toenails still intact.

[HopeHoops]

83. I finally decided. It was after two days without food (road trip) and I found a Waffle House.

Scrambled eggs, hash browns, grits, and whole wheat toast. Damn that rocked.

[Paladin]

85. John's Pizza, Manhattan

Best pizza I ever tasted.