What’s the best meal you ever had?
Was at a private yacht club in Central America and had the best carbonara I’ve ever had. Believe it was listed at $12 (we weren’t paying). Weren’t even supposed to be there but plans fell through and we ended up there. Amazing experience in the marina.
Haven’t really had a meal in the US that made me go wow. Lots of great food but nothing that stands out to me like that pasta did.
I’ll be taking some family members to Fogo de Chao in a few months. I’ve been wanting to go for like a decade now
Was about to say Fogo de Chao, definitely some of the best food I’ve ever had, mainly because it’s not only top tier quality but you get unlimited quantity
Fogo is trash.
FOGO does NOT agree with my stomach
Yeah fogo meat is only one step up from chain restaurant steak. In fact, I think it is a chain. Better off going to an actual steakhouse
Jean Georges in the US is probably my top, but I also have some other favorites from around the world:
- Steak in Argentina (I like bife de chorizo).
- Tapas and Paella in Spain (I like rabbit or chicken paella, but the seafood paella is popular).
- Juanita’s Carne Asada burrito in Encinitas, CA.
- Burrito Revolución in Sayulita, Mexico.
- Local Italian food is to die for. Authentic fresh made pasta is amazing. And the gelato and the coffee.
Have to agree with you.
Regarding paella, chicken and rabbit paella is the authentic valencian paella. A good one is unbeatable. Seafood paella is good too, but it is not the same for me.
Yeah definitely
Getting fresh pistachio gelato in Milan broke my brain, it was too good.
Wowww authentic pistachio gelato in Italy is soooo good. I had some in Cinque Terre.
I love Milan too.
Brazilian dish in Bahia called Moqueca. Sort of a seafood stew. Single freshest, tastiest thing I’ve ever eaten soaked in a rich sauce.
Been chasing that high ever since but to no avail.
Mt Tremblant skii village, had an amazing burger with a garlic aoli and some bomb ass fries.
I’m not really a burger guy, but the meat was so juicy and tender it was amazing.
Everything tastes amazing on the slopes.
Agreed, any slopeside meal should be discounted by about 50% to account for actual food quality.
Also, I'll throw all you NYC based ski-monkeys a bone. The best date spot for a day trip to hunter is the Last Chance Cheese Cafe in Tannersville. Neat, quirky off the beaten path with good food and a great beer list.
ayyy let's go
Don Julio in Bueno Aires
Ostra in Boston
Cosme in NYC
Steirereck in Vienna
Noma in Copenhagen
Casa Tua in Miami
What about Cosme struck you as being the best restaurant in NYC / even the world? It’s ok elevated mexican
If you didn’t catch the Latin theme I’m from SA. Cosme did a pretty excellent job of having modern Latin food and excellent wine that doesn’t break the bank. Sure, you can get a much more expensive meal but these are my two cents.
Fried chicken at Lawson in Japan
Actually I did get a really affordable omakase at Manten Sushi in Tokyo which was incredible, but really probably omakase at any price point in Japan would be incredible tbh.
Went to a dai pai dong in HK, I forgot which one I was at but that was also amazing.
Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth is also incredible.
Probably overrated but I remember Mustafa's Gemuse Kebap in Berlin being really good, though the line is long and there's probably better kebab places, even in Berlin.
I’ve had tacos in a small town in Mexico called Ajijic, they were absolutely delicious. Growing up in Los Angeles I thought I knew good tacos, especially from East LA. But nothing beats this place. The sign literally says “Tacos” and it’s 3 blocks inland of the waterfront. Apparently that was par for the course there too. Highly recommend as an unusual travel spot, lots of people speak English there. My wife grew up 30 mins away from there.
Rocksugar (was in LA and NYC) was also my favorite place to go where I’m at. Unfortunately closed due to COVID but it will always be my favorite restaurant. It was an interesting blend of Thai, Indian, and other foods that was so interesting.
off the top of my head.
ramen stop in princeton
it's always got to be the local varieties of ethnic/regional food for me. Pizza was a religious experience for me when I lived in Naples. They fired the pizzas in wood-shaving ovens. I was working at an orphanage there, and while normally the food was not great (had maggots/worms sometimes), on Sunday afternoon the cooks would make a special meal for the volunteers and man, they can throw down. Homemade pasta al forno by legit southern Italian Napolitan cooks. In Israel my aunt would make some crazy-good food. Safron rice, hummus, malawach, shakshuka. In China, it was the simple things I like best - dumplings, jianbing, fanqie chao dan (eggs and tomatoes. Chicago - deep dish pizza FTW.
Pizza was invented in Naples.
bistecca fiorentina in firenze
This is objectively the right answer.
Happy to send anyone who who wants some? Let me know. It's Fantastic.
ITS FREE IF YOUR A PARTNER! :-)
you’re
Had the tasting menu at Quintonil in Mexico City. Incredible -- think my buddy and I were there for ~3.5hours and never noticed, it was an amazing experience.
Was going to write the exact same thing, cheers.
Mine are a bit different given the circumstances, but 1 sticks out more than others.
The best meal I had was some rockfish that I caught with my best friend when I was a kid. We had been out ocean kayaking with the Scout Troop I was a part of, and got caught in a really nasty storm that separated our group into two as we headed towards the nearest island. I was 14 or 15 at the time and grossly out of shape, and got hypothermia out on the water as I got separated from the main group while the wind was pushing me back and I was paddling against some large swells. I remember seeing a tree that I nick-named "the Spire" (in my hypothermia brain, stole it from Fable 3) to paddle towards, and pushed with all I had to get there--ended up collapsing on shore and my brother and friends got me something to drink. We almost lost 3 or 4 kids, but luckily, we were able to flag down a Russian trawler with our flares and rain jackets, and they called the Coast Guard. Scoutmaster and other leaders had also paddled out to save the other kids, and everyone ended up okay. When everyone was back together and the storm had subsided, it got really calm so my best friend and I got in a double kayak, grabbed some fishing poles, and went fishing for some food. I had barely eaten that day so that unflavored, over-cooked rockfish was the best meal I had ever had. Represented how grateful I was to be alive.
Also had a prime tomahawk ribeye from Costco that I cooked up for my birthday that has beaten out every other steak I've ever had, hands down.
This guy fishes.
.
Fatty Tuna - BONDST in New York
Margarita Pizza - Campania in Staten Island
Margherita
Tasting menu - Quintonil, Mexico City
Tasting menu - Uchi, Houston
Fresh Red Snapper with Mofongo (ripe + plain mixed) and fresh hot sauce included - Kioskos (not the name of the restaurant, it is a bunch of outdoor kiosks), Puerto Rico
BBQ Plate - La BBQ, Austin
Going to Uchi and doing that this weekend.. never been.
My mother's carbonara>>> what you had. Unless it was done by an Italian grandma.
Also, arrosticini.
il mio suocero cucina carbonara tanto bene come la sua nonna, ma non probabilmente come la tua mamma . me piace moltissimo. la abbiamo mangiato per natale.
Suocero maschio o suocera femmina?
Steak at Beefbar Monaco
Not sure what is called,but went to this hole in the wall food court in Flushing, Queens where I got the best dumplings I have ever had in my entire life. Still go a bunch.
Ice cream at this cute shop in Barcelona was to die for
Cordero patagónico at Don Pichón (el Calafate ARG) and almost everything (meat) at La Cabrera (Buenos Aires ARG).
Game at zum Kropf in Zurich (CH)
Shrimps cocktails at Sincelejo in Cartagena (COL)
Ceviche in Lima, unfortunately the place no longer exists
Loup de mer at Under the sea in Giardino Naxos, Sicily (ITA)
Picanha in Miami at a small office restauu close to Hilton MIA airport, will check name again and edit comment
I think we'd get along famously. bookmarked for my next trip to Sudamérica
Absolutely!
Then we can go on gourmet tour, with some Malbec in Argentina, punchy pisco sours in Lima, nice rum in Cartagena, picanha with caipirinhas or caipiroskas, to continue the tour to Europe...
Best meal was probably Le Bernadin, basic but fully lives up to expectations as one of best in the world.
Close 2nd comes to a little strip mall sushi place in Hawaii, randomly walked in when it opened (~10 person sized restaurant) and was the best sushi I have ever had. (later learned it has a ~2-3 month wait list)
Highest quality ingredients prepared in complimentary ways. The meal "flowed" well, with each course building from the last. Everything on the plate was there for a reason, beautifully presented and equally as flavorful. I personally am also a massive seafood fan which is the restaurants forte. Have gone for lunch and dinner, and both were similarly spectacular (would recommend going for lunch, as its like half the cost for 2 fewer courses I think, neither time I left hungry).
A5 Wagyu steak lives up to the hype. One of my favorite eating experiences.
best meal ever though? That’s tough. Jean George’s restaurant at the Miami Edition called Matador Room is pretty stellar. Short rib tacos, a chicken bowl with crispy chicken skin, amazing sides, and the best molten chocolate lava cake ever.
Best meal I've ever had was in Florida, where they prepared our catch from the day. Our group caught like 25 snapper, and all our families had it family-style prepared blackened, sauteed, veracruz so we all got the different styles. Also had a crab dip that was amazing for an appetizer.
Another one just came to mind.
I was in Sicily, Italy over the summer. Sicily is super small, we were staying in Catania at the time in the “city”
Lots of alleys and small walking paths throughout the archaic town.
We came across this traditional Sicilian restaurant that filled up everyday at 8:00 pm. We decided to wait for an hour in line, luckily my dad had learned some Italian over the summer for the trip so he started chatting up the owner and he got us a table after waiting for an hour and no table opening up anytime soon.
Nice little ambience with some locals playing the guitar looking to make some money.
We ordered some wine and a fish entré platter to start off. Came with smoked salmon, fresh tuna, sardines, octopus, squid, mussels etc. A little of everything. I’m not that big of a fish guy but damn was that good.
Then we ordered carbonara, seafood fettuccine, mussels in a tomato wine sauce and risotto.
I’m not kidding that was the best meal I have ever had but the carbonara god damn it was so good. Carbonara is such a simple dish but made right, holyshit it’s amazing.
We then went back for dinner there every day for the entire week we were in the Catania region.
We tried all different types of risottos, pastas, fish dishes and typical food of the region.
But the best dish I had was a pasta made with a pistachio sauce.
It sounds weird right? Pistachios in pasta? I thought it was strange but it was recommended to me by locals. I like to try lots of different types of foods and always like to explore so I was like let’s do it.
I can’t explain how good it was, it was a cream and pistachio sauce with crumbled up pistachios ontop too.
The pasta was also a little buttery because of the pistachios natural oils.
Wow it was amazing
South America has good food. If you're a meat eater, Argentina has great beef steaks. Everyone tells me that real Mexican food is a lot better than fake Mexican food like Taco Bell. The spices, the sauces, everything tastes much better when it's made from literally scratch and it's really cheap too. Nothing is processed, only authentic mouth-watering delicious food. If you're a foodie like me, send me a DM, I can share with you some recipes.
Atera in nyc. Also had the best steak of my life at some restaurant in the W hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Was down there for an interview and was not expecting that quality.
Unless it's steak or fish, best meals are always hole in the wall places. Best burger, italian, BBQ, and Indian I've ever had were small, family owned spots in the middle of nowhere.
Da Dong in Beijing....best Peking duck I've ever had in my life. I've dreamt about it for ages....
Nakazawa NYC
How was it? Thinking of going to the DC one
I like it a lot. Love the finger lime on the botan shrimp piece when I went. Recommend sitting at the bar since the sushi tastes best when its immediately made.
La Mirande - Avignon France, eating outside in the garden with view of the Palace - 5 course meal with local wine pairings
fogo de chão is rubbish lol
Been to plenty of great fancy places but would literally pay a $1,000 for a plate of grandma's cooking. Unfortunately, that's a transaction I can no longer make.
Hard to say.
When I was 6, MCD happy meal.
When I was 18, Olive Garden.
When I was 22, some Brazilian steakhouse near DC.
Late 20s, brisket from a Texas Smokehouse.
Now, probably the fresh caught fish cleaned by Captain Wade in Key West.
Tonga room in the Fairmont SF - best short ribs I will ever have. Can’t remember what was on them but I know they were cooked for 28ish hours so the meat was practically falling off the bone
Double stuffed Oreos dumped in whole milk, consumed with a spoon. That will be my final meal before execution.
L'Atelier du Raffort outside Meribel, France...duck breast and ambiance were incredible.
There's plenty of fine dining moments that come to mind, but the first time I had fresh roasted coffee in Central America was really memorable. There's dimensions to the taste of fresh coffee that you don't experience vividly with high quality coffee bought in the US.
Singapore Airlines business class food (deadass)
Roasted mushrooms and eggplant
The French Laundry (Yountville, CA)
Rich Table (San Francisco, CA)
Uchi (Austin, TX)
Comedor (Austin, TX)
La Tavola di Guido (Chianti, IT)
La Taverna Del Leone (Positano, IT)
Ever (Chicago, IL)
Oriole (Chicago, IL)
NEXT (Chicago, IL) (Menu dependent)
Roister (Chicago, IL) (When Andrew Brochu was the chef)
Lucali (NYC)
Momofuku Ko (NYC)
Henrietta Red (Nashville)
Stubborn Seed (Miami, FL)
Guessing from your list you’re from Chicago - did you ever try Blackbird before it closed?
Unfortunately didn't get to try Blackbird. Would say that we've spent time living in various large cities in the states, and currently spending a good bit of time in Chicago.
I really wanted to like Ever, but I walked away disappointed. In Chicago, Oriole (as you pointed out) and Smyth are much more creative and delicious options with better service.
Slightly different tastes between us I think because we overlap on Oriole (awesome), but I've come away disappointed by Smyth (dined there 3x) and was very pleased by Ever (dined once thus far).
what did you get from rich table/what would you recommend?
Some ex-US restaurants:
Frantzen
The Alchemist
Noma
Asador Etxebarri
Disfrutar
El Celler de Can Roca
Sushi Sho - Tokyo
Kanesaka - Tokyo
Narisawa - Tokyo
Savoy - Tokyo
The Modern - NYC
Boutary - Paris
Savarin le Table - Paris
Mario's Peruvian - Los Angeles
Tokyo easily has the best food scene in the world
Joe Beef - Montreal. Easily one of the best menu's and experiences.
I'm so jealous, I didn't get to go when I was up there. I bet it was an incredible experience. What did you have?
The beef, rabbit, oysters, fois gras, tourchion. Mushrooms. And a load of other food. The mushroom dish blew me away. It all blew me away. The service was 10/10, food 11/10, price was $$-$$$.
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