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This thread finds its inspiration in the Food Network's series "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." It features chefs, food critics, and restaurant owners talking about the best thing they ever ate in a certain category. For example, an episode will focus on pizza and another will focus on barbecue. They then reveal the exact restaurant that serves the item so that viewers can try it if they'd like.
What are some of the best things you have ever eaten? If you can recall the place where you got it, that would be helpful as well so that maybe others can try it someday. For me, a few things come to mind:
-Crispy chicken basil at Nud Pob; Boston, MA. Really crispy yet succulent bits of chicken cooked with spicy green and red chiles and basil over a sweet pad thai. The level of spiciness has a mild burn and makes my eyes water yet the cool, nutty pad thai really balances it out. The place is a hole in the wall but this hearty dish is so satisfying that I try to have it for lunch every time I go back to Boston.
-Various cocktails at Eastern Standard; Boston, MA. This place not only has great ambiance but absolutely fantastic cocktails. Some of the best drinks I've ever had are the strawberry cobbler, pisco sour, and tarragon-infused gimlet.
-Miso-glazed bone marrow with orange-olive marmalade and toasted brioche at Double Crown; New York, NY. This is such a decadent dish. The bone marrow is fatty and rich, and you spread it over the buttery brioche, put on some marmalade over it and then sprinkle it with sea salt. A little goes a long way.
-Anchovy, garlic, and chile oil crostini at the portside restaurant (don't recall name); Sorrento, Italy. They were spicy from the chile oil, salty from the anchovies, and nutty from the garlic and parmagiano-regiano cheese that was shaved over them. With a side of greens and a glass of red wine it was a great light lunch.
-Hamburger steak with fried onions and sweet plantains at El Siboney; Key West, FL. This place has some of the best Cuban food I have ever had, which is saying a lot because I grew up in Miami and the Keys. This is a huge portion of ground beef, smashed down and cooked with garlic and lime with a nice crust formed on all sides. It is served with melt-in-your mouth-buttery Cuban bread, fried onions, sweet plaintains, and rice and black beans.
I could probably list more, but I want to hear from you first!
Years ago a friend had a huge bar-b-cue and slow cooked a side of beef-it was possibly the best tasting ever-and thankfully we were invited next day for leftovers.
Great Neck,LI-an Italian restaurant-veal chops.
Providence,RI-Little Italy-homemade pappardelle with bolognese.
Niagra Falls,NY-awesome osso bucco.
Ocean Gate,NJ-flounder francaise and angel hair alli oilo.
The Europa Restaurant near Heidelberg Germany- Jaeger Schnitzel with a side of french fries, german dinner salad, fresh brotchen and butter.
Columbia Restaurant Saint Augustine Fl. Chicken and Yellow Rice "Sarapico", Filet Steak Salteado, The Original Cuban Sandwich Columbia Restaurant - Columbia Menu
Vince's Spaghetti House Ontario, California. Spaghetti with Vince's Original meat sauce. Dinner salad and garlic bread.
http://www.vinces-spaghetti.com/Torrance/About_Vinces.html (broken link)
Last edited by High Springs Gator; 01-24-2010 at 04:29 AM..
Fillet Steak served blue with Wild Mushrooms and the best ever sauce of a red wine and meat juice reduction with a hint of spiced poached pear. Sounds odd but this was the sauce I have ever had. I still dream about it though the restaurant has now closed down.
Amuse-Gueules in the "Manoir aux-Quat Saisons" restaurant near Oxford , every single tiny mouthful was an explosion of tastes, flavour after flavour packed into a tiny little morsel of food. How the chef did it is still a thing to marvel at.
Scallops dived for by a friend served on a beach with a little garlic, butter and parsley. Heaven, heaven, heaven on a plate.
Wild Boar Casserole in Corsica. Divine beyond measure.
My Great-Aunt's Hare stew, served with wild Mushrooms picked by my Great-Uncle
Crab and Langoustines straight off the boat ( on the boat in fact) with a home-made lemon mayonnaise
Sashimi as served by the "Fusion" restaurant in Glasgow. Like I had died and gone to heaven.
Cassoulet from a tiny little restaurant South of Toulouse . Never had a better one since.
Grand-Marnier Souffle in a little restaurant in St Malo, France, still the best dessert I ever had
Roasted Red Pepper Mousse in " Le Manoir aux -Quat Saisons" again. As an avowed carnivore the only dish that could have turned me vegetarian. Divine.
Just about anything on the menu of " Mugaritz" in Spain. The chef is a genius. Absolute genius
Anything off the "Bras" restaurant's menu in the Auvergne, France ( I have family nearby) another culinary genius mixing the best of French food with Japanese cuisine. My idea of heaven .
Way too many dishes , I am starting to salivate at all the memories.
Ceviche from a little restaurant in Lima , can't remember the name but it was sooooooooooo good.
Carnitas from a restaurant in Edinburgh. Once again sounds very odd but best Carnitas ever. Melt in the mouth, moist, and so , so moreish and delicious. I have travelled extensively through Mexico but no Carnitas has ever come close...
A very simple and yet sublime Risotto in "Da Romano" restaurant on Burano Island. Stunning in its simplicity and so tasty it made you want to weep with delight.
Fillet of Alberta Beef in the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino British Columbia served with a bitter chocolate and port sauce, with roasted root vegetables. The beef was simply sublime.
Bison Fillet served with Bearnaise sauce and the best triple cooked fries in the world and a wild mushroom stew in Belgium. To die for.
1) I had a neighbor who came from New Orleans. Ninth Ward. One night about 10 o'clock the doorbell rang and there he stood with a plate of food in his hands. His mother had come to visit and she'd made red beans and rice, dirty rice, corn bread, the works. Not only was it a wonderful surprise, but that woman could cooooook!
2) A little motel outside of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. There was a small cafe attached to it. I had fried fish and hoecakes. (Flat corn bread pancakes.) I'd never had them before. This Southern Californian yuppie ate so much the cook came out to see who it was.
I should also add every single meal my grandmother Agnes ever cooked.
I had duck a l'orange once in France and it was amazing.
Locally, there's a great Italian restaurant that makes me drool just thinking about it. I don't know what they do to their chicken, but no matter what recipe it's used in, it is sooo good.
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Enchiladas, tacos, chili , puffy tacos .......
