What's the best meal (or meals) you've ever had?

[icedoverfire]

Aside from my mom's cooking, two of the best meals I've ever had were both Cuban breakfasts ha ha.

1. Pan y cafe: buttered cuban bread with a shot of cuban coffee (strong cuban espresso + sweetened condensed milk). I was with a group and we hadn't gotten much sleep for the last couple of nights.... Such a lifeline!
2. Cuban breakfast sandwich: Was with my family on vacation in Puerto Rico and we didn't want to pay the hotel's exorbitant brunch prices so we found this little mom-and-pop place down the road from the hotel... You could taste the work the cook put into his food.

others?

[82R100]

Rijsttafel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijsttafel) in Amsterdam on vacation with my family many years ago.

[icon]

Hard to say, but I'm convinced that good company is more important than what you are eating :001_smile

[mikromicke]

I remember having a Beef tenderloin flambéed in cognac with a morel sauce and Idaho potatoes that were first baked and then shortly deep fried. This with a nice glass of red wine (and my girlfriend, later my wife, as company) stands out as one of many very nice meals :001_smile

[TacoBell]

Most recently was this delight. Sweetbreads....Taillevent just last month...had an extraordinary white burgundy...too bad I can't remember which :001_smile

[johnnytruant]

Not strictly a meal, but the best thing I've ever put in my mouth are couture ganaches from Artisan du Chocolat (http://www.artisanduchocolat.com/ArtisanduChocolatSite/category/Couture+collection/)

TV's Gordon Ramsey described them as "the Bentley of chocolates", which is a reasonable description. Stupidly expensive, but worth every penny.

[michiganlover]

Chicken Pad Thai purchased from a little hole in the wall Thai food restaurant (called The Rice Paddy) located in Marquette, Michigan (in the Upper Peninsular for all of you non-Michiganders) of all places.

The restaurant is a tiny little place with seating for two people, and not much bigger than the kitchen overall. It also looked like it had seen no updates since the early 1970's.

2nd place would go to Crabmeat Ragoons made with real crab meat that I found in Maine. It was packed full of crabmeat too, not just the usual small specs.

[SliceOfLife]

Usually I am very inebriated when I find places that serve awe inspiring food... then when I sober up, I only have a vague notion of where and what it was.

Ever see Beer-fest? It's like that.

[Luc]

Cochinita Pibil or any Italian dish with fresh pasta

[barracudamagoo]

1. Biscuits and gravy.
2. Pinapple curry from the Thai joint down the road.

[professorchaos]

Too many to pick just one! A few contenders are the Roast Veal Marrow at St. John's in London, the Chili Glazed Pork Belly at Herbsaint in New Orleans or the Pot au Feu at Campton Place in San Francisco (when it was run by Todd Humphries).

[airplanedoc]

Man, its tough to choose my top 3

Prime Rib with Cottage Cheese and Scotch with my dad once or twice a year when my mom would be gone to something.

Crawfish Etoffee, bananas foster, and ice cold beers from a little hole in the wall cajun place right on the Mississippi, humid August night with my college roommate and our 2 girlfriends

Roast loin of black forest wild boar, gravy, potatoes in a little brau haus looking over Bodensee near where the hindenburgh and graf zepplin were built.

[Stubblefield]

Pretty much any meal involving Marinated Tri-Tip.

[Clockwork John]

My top two would have to be the carne asada tacos I had in Ensenada, and sauteed mushroom something-or-other in wine sauce I had at a French street market in Edinburgh, Scotland.

[elalan]

I like a lot of my own cooking, basic soft tacos to more complicated fish soups. For purposes of this thread...

1. Best non-overated, exceeded expectations meal: Roast duck at NOLA (Emeril Lagasse's New Orleans restaurant (pre-Katrina))

2. Best and most unique (for me at least): Warthog loin at Monsoon's in Accra, Ghana (great restaurant!)

[RazorPete]

The best meal I can recently remember was a multiple course meal consisting of a variety of fugu (blowfish) dishes at a traditional style restaurant in Fukuoka Japan last December. Fugu sashimi, fugu tempura, fugu testicles, liver of some deep sea fish from deep in the Mariana trench, uni(sea urchin) all washed down with warm sake infused with fugu fins. It was quite good and a memorable experience. On another dayinFukuoka I had dome Haraka Ramen on member Jim's recommendation and that was excellent too.

[danparker77]

Place in Champaign, IL (U of I) Called Merry Ann's. Go there get a "diner stack"! Eggs any way, bacon, sausage, biscuits, hash browns, all smotherd in gravy. MMMM So hungry!

[DFrancis]

Recently it would have to be the lamb I did up last week. A giant de-boned leg with a fat-cap that just melted into it. Rubbed with an olive oil/garlic/rosemary/thyme mixture. Roasted up alongside spuds and carrots.

[CCMphysician]

In order of preference (I am not even remotely kidding):

http://food.cjonline.com/files/food/popeyes.jpg

http://jaszgroup.com/images/0105zaxby2.jpg

http://www.poi-factory.com/files/img/bojangles-building.jpg

-CCM

[johnmrson]

My wife and I had a meal at a little restaurant in Bayeux, France when we were their a couple of years ago visiting the D-Day beaches that was truely stunning. Started with snails in garlic and herb butter. Followed by a bowl of bouillabaisse that was fantastic. Next was lamb noisette and we finished with a cheese and fruit platter. The French cheese is just heaven, especially their soft cheeses. Each course came with a matched glass of wine. The cheese platter came with glass of Normandy Calvados which is a local apple brandy. Wow. I think I managed to finish off most of the bottle. The restaurant was called Le Rapier. It was a combination of location, food and company that made it such a special meal.

[Arctic]

The two that come to mind are the fried chicken from the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth MI, and the bluegill from the Weathervane in Charlevoix MI.

[Dharion]

It'd be everything I cook myself. I cannot really cook well nor do I have enormous talent. But wow do even the shabbiest meal taste nice.

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

One of the more outstanding meals I remember was more about circumstances.

We were out doing engineering inspection on a day one March, in weather that started at about -15 (5 F) with a wet, stiff wind and evolved into a highly successful blizzard with the temp dropping to around -30 (-22 F).

After six hours of these indisputably fun times, we went to a local pub and grabbed the table by the (wood) fire.

Cobb salad (with one draft Guinness)
Bacon cheeseburger
Onion Rings with mustard
(one draft Strongbow)
Apple pie with extra old cheddar
(fresh black coffee)
(one more Guinness)

The rest of the afternoon went by in a nice fluffy haze . . .

Sigh.

Regards,

- John

[icedoverfire]

John - not gonna lie, that sounds like heaven considering your experience!

[eto]

Literally cooked it my self for the family,

Pan seared Halibut with saute of winter veggies.

But I have many other meals cooked by other cooks as well.

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

John - not gonna lie, that sounds like heaven considering your experience!

Not nearly as heavenly as looking at some of the replies you're getting :biggrin:

[Duamuteffe]

I've been lucky enough to have too many wonderful meals to keep track of them all. But a few standouts:

Venison tenderloin off a deer shot perhaps three hours prior, fried in butter in a cast-iron skillet, along with mashed potatoes and milk gravy made with the fond. It only happens once a year, which makes it even more special.

After hiking six or seven miles on the Isle of Man, in late November and in steady rain, we hit the coast and found what appeared to be the only open restaurant in Peel. Luckily they let us in, even though we looked like drowned rats (they hid us back by the bar, though #laughs#) and we ordered lunch. I had an amazing local specialty; bacon, mushrooms, and these tiny little scallops called "queenies, " all ingredients smoked and cooked and mixed up in a hot dish, and a side of perfect fries.

On the same trip, after another long day of hiking in the rain, we went to the museum in Douglas and their cafe was serving home made beef soup, home made bread and butter, and pots of strong tea. Plain, I know, but oh so good. The soup could have sat beside my either of my grandmothers' and have had no cause to be ashamed.

Speaking of, my maternal grandmother's pot roast, and my paternal grandmother's (gods rest her soul) chicken and biscuits. Both are legendary in our family. I strive to be half their equal in the kitchen.

[BobS]

Rijsttafel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijsttafel) in Amsterdam on vacation with my family many years ago.

+1 on the Rijsttafel and I also had it in Amsterdam.

Even that is not entirely honest, because there have just been too many great meals with too many great friends.

I agree that being with good friends -- especially those that also enjoy food -- makes a meal special.

There are only two meals that really stand out, when I was eating alone - the first was eating jamon serrano, in the Casa Real del Jamon in Oviedo, Spain and the second was my first introduction to Belgian beer and mussles in Taipei, Taiwan, of all places.

[Alacrity59]

My mother's Shepard's pie. There would be left over lamb chops from a previous meal and other meat that she would grind in a grinder that she clamped onto the kitchen table. Grated/chopped onion, A layer of corn and topped with mashed potato. I wish I had her recipe. I had a newspaper route that was about a mile away from my home and the newspaper depot. Many a cold winter evening I came home to a truly heart warming meal.

Most of my favourite meals are peasant food. Meat loaf, oven roasted root veg, chicken and dumplings, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding. In the summer lightly cooked garden fresh green beans, corn on the cob BBQed in the husk, BLT sandwich made with my own tomato.

Man my tummy is growling. The right company also makes the meal. Fortunately for me this is my wife and dog most nights but I'm lucky enough to have relatives I really like drop by from time to time.

[moshulu]

One of the more outstanding meals I remember was more about circumstances.

We were out doing engineering inspection on a day one March, in weather that started at about -15 (5 F) with a wet, stiff wind and evolved into a highly successful blizzard with the temp dropping to around -30 (-22 F).

After six hours of these indisputably fun times, we went to a local pub and grabbed the table by the (wood) fire.


John, I'm with you. I'm a sailor and I've had a few close shaves (and I don't mean in front of the mirror) on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Sudden storms, huge waves, freezing rain, ripped sails, sick crew, etc. Really thought I might buy it. Then, somehow, making it into port and, as happens in France, ending the nightmarish day in a simple local bistrot, eating plain well-cooked food, drinking ordinary wine. Nothing ever tastes that good, no matter how many Michelin stars it gets.

[Mycon]

Easily, a Sea Bass in white truffle sauce dinner at The Lighthouse Restaurant (http://lighthouse.ky) in Grand Cayman. If anyone takes a trip out there I highly recommend that place. It is quite pricey however.

The second would have to be my brother's wedding reception at The Ahwahnee
Hotel in Yosemite. It was the most delicious fillet minion I have ever had.

[Fnord5]

Aside from the family recipes (pasties, potato sausage, sauerbratten) I only have a few that stick out in my memory.

Steak from Jacks Bar and Grill in Redding California, the best steak I have ever had.

Traditional Japanese breakfast from the Kabuki Hotel in San Francisco
http://www.lessonlinks.org/japan/fb_Images/breakfast.jpg

A Kobe Beef Foie Gras burger from Burger Bar in San Francisco
Kobe beef patty, half inch thick slice of foie, and about 2 truffles worth of truffle shavings.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3628/3514567987_faffa58a0f.jpg

And, perhaps the most simple of lunches known to man, a country style french baguette, a block of cheese, and bottle of Beaujolais nouveau, in a park overlooking the Sacramento River.

[icedoverfire]

A really good meal I had yesterday:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Capellini-with-Shrimp-and-Creamy-Tomato-Sauce-241995

Super simple to make and very tasty too. Highly recommended!

-ice

[Churchill]

My grandmother's beef and noodles followed by my Great-Grandmother's currant cake. I miss all four of them...

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

John, I'm with you. I'm a sailor and I've had a few close shaves (and I don't mean in front of the mirror) on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Sudden storms, huge waves, freezing rain, ripped sails, sick crew, etc. Really thought I might buy it. Then, somehow, making it into port and, as happens in France, ending the nightmarish day in a simple local bistrot, eating plain well-cooked food, drinking ordinary wine. Nothing ever tastes that good, no matter how many Michelin stars it gets.

Nothing quite like the feeling that you really earned that meal. I had a terrific supper at a place in Marseille one November night but I had not been sailing, only walking in driving autumn rain . . .

Are you a sport sailor, commercial, navy?

[moshulu]

Nothing quite like the feeling that you really earned that meal. I had a terrific supper at a place in Marseille one November night but I had not been sailing, only walking in driving autumn rain . . .

Are you a sport sailor, commercial, navy?

I've never had much luck eating in Marseille, not sure why.

I sail for fun, and I've found that even simple food tastes especially good on a boat. Couple of summers ago, I did a circumnavigation of Spitsbergen with two friends on a 34-footer. Dodging ice only a few hundred miles from the North Pole, and not seeing another human being for three weeks. We were cold ALL the time, and ate ravenously every day, mostly out of cans. I probably wouldn't even touch that food at home. But there, anchored at the foot of a glacier, hearing the peculiar heavy breathing of walruses in the distance, it tasted like the finest three-star fare. I can't explain it, but there it was. Strange thing, I lost twenty pounds.

[ricardo9505]

in mexico 10 years ago. a hole in the wall gem serving Oaxaca regional cuisine. Yucatan style. best red snapper or fish in my life. seriously. and the chef let me watch as he prepared a fish for grilling. simple and great.

Spain. I love their passion for great simple quality food (spent a year there).
my mom's monthly "sancocho" when lots of uncles and aunts and cousins swing by my moms and we all feast on a Caribbean stew- 3-5 kinds of meat, plantains, potatoes, very hearty and definitely comfort food but very good for you. usually with a side of rice and avocado- Caribbean,, not haas

[oc_in_fw]

Polish Boy in a dive on W117th near Lorain in Cleveland. That was about 20 years ago- I really miss those things.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

As a Chef...I couldn't say. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-merv/thinking.gif

I've had so many great meals (either at restaurants and/or cooked at home), but us Chefs do have a saying..."You're only as good as the last meal you cooked". :thumbsup:

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv211/twangerstudios/smiley_cooking.gif "Cooking is the art of adjustment". Chef Jacques Pépin

[Mike H]

Smok-y links sausage and scambled eggs cooked in a cast iron pan over the fire, 40 years ago, camping with my dad.