Favorite restaurant? / Best food experience of your life (thus far)?

[usb_chord]

Answer which ever question you wish!

Best food experience is tough. I will say a top contender happened when I was 15 years old and staying at my best friend's place for the weekend. His family and I went to his grandmother's house on a hot (and humid!!) sunday afternoon (back home in TN, of course). I had overheard the elders say on several occasions that she was a gifted cook, but nothing could prepare me for just how gifted. 13 years later those are still the best green beans, mashed potatoes and whatever the heck kinda meat that was that has ever happened to me. Holy (I can only presume..) cow!

I'll answer the favorite restaurant question a little later (with pictures! ). Looking forward to hearing about your favorites! Let's give these great eateries some good PR!

[YamaYairi]

It depends on what you like or what your expectations are. My best food experience has been aboard a cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean line. I have never had food in any restaurant or person's home as good as that. And every single dinner was a standout.
In a restaurant, it depends on the type of food.
Best vegetarian food I ever had was in The Red Radish, in Kent Ohio, sadly long gone now. The dishes were unusual, showed a lot of creativity had gone into creating them, the seasoning was perfect.
Best Chinese food I have had is at Chef Chu's 1067 N San Antonio Rd, Los Altos, CA. Check them out sometime if you're there. Lots of unusual dishes, expertly prepared and seasoned. Fresh vegetables, giant, succulent shrimp. Yum!
Best pizza I have had anywhere was at Guppy's in Bemus Point, NY, near Chautauqua. Nice thick, buttery crust, fresh, thick toppings, and their Italian dishes are wonderful. A must stop, if you are in the area. Also check out Rich and Maragaret's in Dewittville for breakfast, their pancakes are wonderful.

[MisterZeus]

Commander's Palace.
New Orleans.
Every time. Out of this world!

[Glennwillow]

My wife of 44 years now is the best cook I have ever experienced. Every dinner we have is wonderful. She hasn't worked for quite a while so she has had plenty of time to become a gourmet chef and she is very good at it. It is, however, tough to avoid putting on weight when she makes amazing meals like this.

I have had some very good meals at restaurants over the years, in particular at a local Italian restaurant now closed. But my wife is such a good cook, most of the restaurant outings tend to be a disappointment. Perhaps the best meal I've had outside of my home was at a sales conference my company ran in Belgium in about 1992 where the cook was trained in France. We had some fabulous meals there.

Most of my family members like very plain food, what they call "home cooking." Their idea of "home cooking" is not close at all to what I think of as my "home cooking," though when they visit me and sample my wife's cooking, they are stunned at how wonderful it all is.

But I do need to lose about 10 more lbs...

- Glenn

[Larry Pattis]

I've had some pretty-great food over the years.

One of the absolute finest meals I have ever had came while on-tour in California w/my buddy Peter Janson this past January.

We had a gig at the Hauté Enchilada in Moss Landing, CA, but were too pressed for time that night to enjoy the food. Later on in the tour my wife joined us, and Karla and I managed to swing-by there (with friends Alisa Fineman & Kimball Hurd), and WOW, were my socks knocked of!

Superb.

Anyone in the Santa Cruz to Monterey area (or traveling through) should make a point to have a meal there.

[JCave]

We discovered "Local Ocean" on the waterfront in New Port, Oregon. Finest seafood on the planet most of which comes from local waters. They have been discovered so there is always a wait...

[fazool]

Been so many places....Tea on Thames, Cappuccino on the Eiffel Tower, Belgium, Spain, Commander's in N.O., etc.

But the best ever :

My wife and kids all study French. I got windowside reservations at the French restaurant in Epcot watching the fireworks. For those who haven't been - its not a gimmick. Its the real deal and they only hire employees from France. Simply the best dinner ever.

[Bingoccc]

Too many to mention. I must however, give a shout out to NYC deli's sandwiches. The best there is. http://www.carnegiedeli.com/menu.php

[piper_guitarist]

Favorite restaurant? Hands down a local Chinese place called SzeChuan. If you ever come to Abilene you have got to stop by, no questions asked. One of the top 100 Chinese restaurants in the US.

Best dining experience? Wow, that's hard. I love sushi and I've had many a great hand-prepared sushi by various individuals (including my great-grandmother; her sushi was TO. DIE. FOR.)

[rmyAddison]

Le Bec Fin -Philadelphia. Now closed.

When Georges Perrier still owned it, up to 2010 I believe, it was by far the best restaurant I ever ate at, and the only place I ever spent $1000 on a dinner (major major occasion).

Honorable mention -The French Laundry Yountville/Napa.

Not the kind of places you eat at or can afford regularly, but the OP question was the "best", these are mine.........

[Mbroady]

I have been working in kitchens most of my life.
Everything from dinners to white table cloth establishment

3 Stand out as the best both in regards to working and eating.
1) Chez Pannisse - San Francisco (Chef Alice Waters)
2) Stars - San Francesco (Chef Jeremiah Towers)
3) Abigail Kirsch - NYC (Catering)
Fantastic Food, atmosphere, and service (The whole Package - Gistalt)

There was a place in Boulder Colorado I ate once. Don’t remember the name of the place.
Best Breakfast. Pecan Banana Pancakes to die for.

[Clydeslide]

http://www.threechimneys.co.uk/


Just flick through the pictures...

[Shoreline Music]

Far too many to name.

The one my whole family still points to was when we were staying in La Roque-Gageac in the south of France a few years back. On the last night of our week-long stay, we hired a local chef, Dmitri, to cook us the meal of a lifetime. We had already drunk the best wine of our lives (Chateau Combrillac) eaten the best cheese (Cabecou), and while these both figured into the menu that night, bacon-wrapping the Cabecou was a revelation, the duck melted in our mouths, and the desserts he spent 3 hours preparing were worth every savory second.

My son cried out in the middle of the meal, "I don't deserve food this good!".

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

Le Bec Fin -Philadelphia. Now closed.

When Georges Perrier still owned it, up to 2010 I believe, it was by far the best restaurant I ever ate at, and the only place I ever spent $1000 on a dinner (major major occasion).

Honorable mention -The French Laundry Yountville/Napa.

Not the kind of places you eat at or can afford regularly, but the OP question was the "best", these are mine.........

Hey rmyAddision
Fantastic, 2 of my favorite Chefs
I had a buddy of mine who interned at the french Laundry (Chef Thomas Keller)
He said that the kitchen was carpated and if you make a mess your in for it.
He does tell fish tales so I don't know how true it is.

[clintj]

Best Mexican was a place in Albuquerque, NM close to the interstate. Best chicken enchiladas ever. Screaming hot chile sauce on top, but still great flavor.

Best Thai is Keo's in Waikiki. Almost every other oriental place has been a disappointment after that.

But the best eating experience ever was at my grandmother's. Nothing fancy, but everything she cooked was out of this world. Plain old fashioned southern farm cooking at its best.