ncounty

One of my top dining experiences was the tasting menu at Astrid y Gaston in Lima, Peru last April... ten courses over 3-4 hours, $50. It was sublime and so creative.

Other great memories:
-also on Capri, along my hike... a simple spaghetti a la marinara but it was the most delicious spaghetti I can recall and the sauce screamed with flavor.

-fish and chips in Boston at Olives when they first opened... the fish was cod? cheeks and the chips looked like french fries but were garbanzo beans based.

-being invited to an Italian family's home near Naples with an Italian mama's home cooking, truly amazing. I did not even recognize their buffalo mozzarella, tasted nothing like what we get here.

-yes, also a spaghetti a la vongole fan. My first was in Southern Switzerland. Also love spaghetti Carbonara and we have ordered it throughout Rome; surprisingly, a place in Salt Lake City, utah called Trios offers a version that can compete with anyone's.

-trout amandine(?) at a restaurant that is reputed to be the oldest in Paris, extremely well done.

-goat curry burrito in St. Maarten.

-Parmesan rissotto at a restaurant in Paris on the Ile st. louis called Sorza.

cynthia_booker

Mosca's across the river from New Orleans. Had a memorial dinner with my brother, now deceased. No matter how good a meal, he could recommend some improvement. But Mosca's satisfied him, and me, completely.
It is family owned, and the patriarch died last year, so it might not be the same.

cynthia_booker

Just noticed this is in the Europe forum.
From the title, I thought the OP meant anywhere in the world.
If this thread were posted in the Lounge, there certainly would be a few Asian restaurants mentioned.

HG001London

wow, so many good response...mouth watering now.. Have to say the cornish crab salad if very very good...off to cornwall in a month so need to remember to have it again. Cornish pasties are also great. In Uk we have a chain called the Cornish Pasty Co so we are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy them up and down the country. In London i have to admit, i some times have a late night pasty on the train...on the the way back from a night out. They are always boiling hot and a challenge to try and wait till they cool a little as you just want to get stuck in!!

Cynthia, thanks i completely overlooked the fact i posted in Europe-opps (although have to admit i wasn't aware of the Lounge too),

annhig

but OT to annhig: Zagat's recently published a ten best places to eat list that included my home and yours>

Carolyn - all the places listed in tat article are very good, but le cinq they ain't.

off to cornwall in a month so need to remember to have it again. Cornish pasties are also great. In Uk we have a chain called the Cornish Pasty Co so we are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy them up and down the country.>>

That's great, HG. be sure to have a "proper" cornish pasty while you're here though - i think that you'll find they aren't quite the same as the ones you get in london. you might also like to try our "heava cake" and saffron loaf [which makes a terrific bread and butter pudding].

HG001London

thanks ann, yeah no i know that are not quite as good (on our last trip to cornwall we spend hours driving to this tiny pub which apparently did great proper pasties, in faat i think that was all they sold- they were in deed fab"

i do think the Pasty Co does a good job thought, maybe too heavy on the crust!

thanks for the tip re heava cake...will seek it out

denisea

Stay tuned....we are confirmed at La Pergola in Rome.

The Chowhound and Trip Advisor reviews were great (mostly) so we decided to do it since we are staying in the hotel where it is located.

Is our best meal ever ahead of us? I hope so, even if it is not La Pergola, it could be in Rome. I am sure that we will have many memorable meals there.

LSky

denisea, you probably will have many memorable meals in Rome. We went to Rome on our first and last tour. I had read that "you can't get a bad meal in Italy."
The author of that little tidbit had never been on a tour in Italy.
There was great food when we broke free of the pack Enjoy

HG001London

Denisea....you prompted me to try and find a place we had a wonderful meal about 4 years ago in Rome, i have looked for it before but never actually managed to find it. This time i was determined and found it!!! i didn't have a name and could only remember it was somewhere "near" campo di Fiori

Anyway here it is finally!!! (this is also for my ref as i have tried to find this places on a map so many times)

http://www.ristoranteditirambo.it/

the most amazing pasta i ahve ever had-a little pricey than the norm but not at all formal...really lovely. I think the pasta was a taglioni type (a wider form of spagetti), in a creamy sauce.

uhoh_busted

This is impossible for me to answer. We live in a " Foodie" town and have had some extraordinary meals right here. The best experiences come when the setting is unique, the service is perfect and the food interesting and delicious, and representative of the location.

We've dined on trout pulled straight out of rivers in Provence and the Dordogne; amazingly intricate and formally structured menus in Orvieto, Bellagio, and Montpellier; super fresh pasta in Rome, ostritch and kudu in a torch-lit boma in Botswana, hamburgers in Uzes, hot shepherds pie with a tall pint of stout on a dreary rainy day in Cambridge....maybe I could choose the best meal in given year, but the best in my life? Impossible.

The easy availability of wonderful recipes have made it possible to serve fantastic meals at home to friends and family, along with inspirations from the trips all over the world we've been able to take. Perhaps decades ago one could look back and say " that was the best ever..." but I don't think I could ever chose one experience as the ultimate.

HG001London

Uhoh...that's a really interesting thought line...i think you are probably right...maybe what i really mean is "what is one of the most memorable meals of your life" or best meal of 2012??

Amy

I've had wonderful meals at exquisite restaurants (most memorably Le Bec Fin back in its prime, the Fountain for two) but there are a few experiences that I remember most vividly:

At The Fish Catering Complex in Leshan, in the Big Buddha area, I had the most exquisite $2 meal ever. The amazingly fresh fish and vegetables were prepared very simply on a kitchen stove that looked to be 50 years old, at least, but oh, the flavor. Amazing.

And then there was Tio Willie's in Santiago, Chile's, Mercado Centrale: a cheese and shrimp empanada with a crust like I've never had before or since, and congria--conger eel. Oh myyyyyy.

avalon

The Daover sole at Montepeliano in London, very simply prepared but perfectly fresh. Went back last year and not nearly as good as when the previous owners had the place. They also had on of our favoritw desserts, Crepes Montpeliano. A light crepe filled with mascarpone and doused in hazelnut liquor!

Pepper_von_snoot

The Fountain Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia in the summer of 1999.

My friend and I were extras in the film "The Sixth Sense." The VERY nasty director kept yelling at us (Bruce Willis was a darling and had dinner with me and work associates a few days later) so we left and had dinner at The Fountain.

I had terrine of foie gras, saddle of lamb, and chocolate souffle. I will never forget that meal.

I never really liked Le Bec Fin that much and once sent something back (snails in champagne butter) which, of course, caused ripples throughout the social scene in Philadelphia. I heard Mr. Perrier was beside himself and apolgised (with lots of hand wringing) to Cousin Muffy's father when he dined there a few days later. This was a major mistake because Muffy's father does not like people who grovel and can't see why anyone would get upset over a plate of food and confirmed his suspicions that the French are over-emotional.

Tschuss,
Pepper

HG001London

what a cool story....not sure if i'm more envious of the delicious food u describe of Bruce Willis ;-)

loooovee souffles when they work, especilly when they come out with the top bit as big as the bit in the jar.

Amy

Pepper! How are you doing? (in a more than society fashion, so to speak.) Are you and Uncle Muffy's Father responsible for the beginning of Le Bec's long slide?

The Philadelphia connection reminds me of another memorable meal, again of humble origin: a prosciutto and sharp provolone sandwich on a Sarcone's style roll with roasted peppers and a drizzle of olive oil from Datillo's, one of the oases of good food in the cultural wasteland of the Northeast.