Sometimes its a place, a person of just good scram that makes that perfect meal.

Here in London after becoming a celebrated Gastronomic centre for many cuisines as voted by that top US mag Restaurant, any you dont have to pay lots. We have loads of great places to eat from the super trendy to the fabulously elegant.

Mines Nobu in London, mainly great company, partly lashings of Veuve Clicquot, left the choice of the menu up to the waitor (not something I usually do but helps on an area of food you dont know much about) which was excellent and fantastic wonderful food.

And yet In Europe a wonderful place which sold very simple, rustic food in a cellar in Florence called Brunello's was my favorite. All candles, scrubbed tables, and wonderful company.

Whats your and why? Oh yes the difficult questions are here!!!!

There is no doubt that the "finest" dining I ever did was a number of years ago at Le Chanticleer at the Negresco Hotel in Nice. From the food, to the setting, to the service, every detail was literally "perfect".

Yet, I'm not sure that would rate as my "favorite" meal. I have been just as overwhelmed and perhaps in an even more exciting way at places like:

Le Fornil in Bonnieux, France -- the place I'd cut the picture out of Gourmet or Bon Appetite and carried with me. Lunch inside the "cave" interior was simply wonderful.

Eating under the stars at Villa Athena in Agrigento with the temple ruins lit in the background. How was the food? I'm not sure I remember. Who cares?

Eating various parts of reindeer as we sat on little stools inside an "underground hut" around an open fire in Karasjok, Norway -- Samiland.

Bodrum, Turkey at our little Antika Teatro Hotel where we were the only guests that night for dinner. They set us up next to the pool overlooking the twinkling village below us. The smell of citrus blossoms, the inobtrusive servers waiting discreetly, the wonderful food -- all with private candlelit dining under the stars. What could be finer?

The bread from a local bakery, wine from a local grower, and cheese from the market while we sat on a Tuscan hillside during our hike across the countryside.

I could go on for pages. These will suffice for now!

Too many to choose.

But, I guess if I have to pick a favorite I'd say Christmas Eve 2003 at L'Avant Gout in Paris. My mother, sister and I were taking a last "our little nuclear family" trip before my sis got married.

Delicious food and just a very special-yet-casual atmosphere. Plus dessert was chocolate 5 (or 6?) ways. A wonderful Christmas.

So far there is a night that stands out in my mind.

Barge trip up the Canal du Central...to a little town named Chagny.
The one restaurant certainly did not expect 8 tired, thirsty and hungry Americans to stumble in. The owner and his wife did an incredible job.
First course a huge platter of all kinds of charcuterie...extraordinary, fresh, smooth and delicious.
Plat - a huge and I mean big old bread bowl size of the most savory, melt-in-your-mouth beouf bourginon. An equally huge bowl of fresh, burn your fingers frites.
Baskets of bread. And then a platter of cheese to end.
THe host sat down with us, he had said he didn't speak English, but he has joined us as we finish off about 5 bottles of wine.
Well, at one point, he leans over to Philip (Mr. Lets-keep-going-and-see-what's-around-this-bend), and the one of us who captained the boat and said, "So? Would you like me to run electricity and water out to your boat?" What a laugh we all had. He could pretend not to speak or understand us and eaves-drop.
Later, he openned a bottle of his home made stuff...sort of an herbal liquer. YIKES!! Strong stuff!
The other boat travelling with us caught up and sat down to our left overs and they were delighted. And they also bought about 5 mores bottles of wine.
The host then asked if we would be in in the morning for breakfast if he promised us a typical American breakfast.
14 to serve...his restaurant didn't have enough cups and saucers so they used bowls... brought out pitchers of strong coffee, local cream, and the most delicious hot chocolate. No toast, but broken up FRESH baquettes...and two sunny-side up eggs on a plate. Those who eat eggs tried...
then they removed those plates and came back with slices of ham.
He was trying so hard and was kind and generous. Then he offered to drive us, 3 at time over to Santanay.
We declined with lots of hugs and kisses. The walk was going to be lovely.
What a guy! So its the Le Saint Vincent, 71150 Corchanu, Chagny (03-85-87-23-55).
Nobody has given it any stars, no food elitists have rated it, but its a gem.
Hospitality at its finest.

Sorry... my last post was a virtual tome... and now, I'm making it worse.

I was overwhelmed with everything at the Auberge of Marc Veyrat at Lac Annecy.

Patrick, if you ever need a sherpa for one of your trips, please email me.

patrick, the Fournil is a yearly lunch stop for us.

If not my favorite, this one was certainly memorable, for the company at least as much as the food:

We went to Parma for a medical conference (my husband was a speaker, and they sprang for my airfare, too). The physician who invited us took us to a restaurant named Villa Camilla, or some such.

At one end of the table sat Dr. M., the generous Italian physician, and my husband, and Dr. F., who interpreted between them. I was at the Italian-speaking end of the table with Dr. M's wife and Dr. F.'s husband. They spoke no English, so I had to push my rudimentary Italian, and even revert to my high-school French, to communicate.
Dr. F., fluent in both Italian and English, was the only one who really understood most of the conversation that night.
And yet, it was great fun! The food kept coming: the Parma ham, the risotto, some sort of pork with balsamic vinegar,the cheese and fruit, and most of all the strong red wine, and more wine. At some point it just all felt very gemutlich--what we were sharing kind of halfway in words, we were all sharing in enjoyment of the meal.

That whole trip was great.

SusieC felt that she had written a tome -- well, I have three great meals to describe so mine may be even longer.

The first meal was in the late 60's when I spent a couple of months in Egypt as a "visiting expert" for the U.N. I lost 25 pounds because much of the food was so poor. I just could not choke down the sliced mutton (mostly fat)sandwiches.

When I returned to Vienna to report in, I had my first afternoon free. I asked the Concierge, "If you were really hungry, and able to only eat one lunch in Vienna, and price was no object, where would you go?"

His face lit up and he directed me to what was obviously a very up-scale businessman's restaurant where they ate on expense accounts. I told the waiter that I was literally famished, and with his help I simply gorged on a procession of wonderful dishes. When the desert cart arrived - can you imagine a desert cart in Vienna? - I told the waiter I wanted one of everything. He looked doubtful, and suggested caution, so I only ordered six. I was hard pressed to even tale a bite of each, but I managed.

Then I waddled back to the hotel for a nap.

The second meal was some years later in Greece. My family, (Wife and four small children), were cruising on our sailboat and pulled into a tiny port on the mainland opposite Corfu. Small port with adifficult entrance, with only a quai and a small village. I think they almost never had yachts call. We went ashore to get groceries and a meal. Met a guy with some English who's cousin lived in Pittsburg. He walked us to a tiny Taverna that also (sometimes) served food. They sat us at a table outside and started servng us food that we suspected was originally destined to be their lunch.

As the food began arriving, so did the villagers. They, keeping a respectful distance at first, arranged chairs in a semi-circle around us and watched us eat. Must have been the biggest event in some time, as they would all comment when one of our kids would do anything remarkable, like use a napkin. They were especially fascinated with our twin blonde five year old daughters; chattering away as each mouthfull was put away. The kids, of course, played to the gallery.

Feeling a bit awkward at the attention, I bought a couple of bottles of Retsina for the onlookers. Thus encouraged, someone brought out an accordian, and another a mandolin. We all got into the singing and dancing that developed. A couple bottles of Ouzo helped stretch the party into the evening, and when we went back to the boat, we were followed by the musicians who sat on the seawall and played until we drifted off to sleep.

They were there again, waving goodbye, when we left the next morning.

Third memorable meal came a couple of years later in Rome. The "practice wife" had jumped ship in Cyprus with the kids and I was bringing the boat back to northern Europe to sell. I had done most of the voyage back on my own, but the boat was getting to be a bit much to handle single handed, so I stopped in Rome (Fumichino) to pick up a crew. I, by now very, very, broke, took the train into Rome and sat on the Spanish Steps with a home-made sign advertizing for a "volunteer, share expenses" crew.

Tired and hungry, I went looking for a restaurant. Found a place that was, literally, a hole in the wall. It had a curtain that drew across the opening. I went in, and with my Italian phrase book , told the owner that I only had so much money. I put the Lira on the table, and asked him to feed me.

It turned out to be a memorable meal. The food, all delicious, kept coming, and coming. The owner and his wife sat with me between customers and then brought in their cousin who was a fisherman with some English, and we talked boats.

I'm glad that someone posted this topic, as it has brought back sweet memories.

Ristorante Umbria in Todi. Etruscan, soup, wild boar with pasta, and on and on and on......

....the "practice wife" had jumped ship in Cyprus with the kids....

Nukesafe, is that the one before the "trophy wife"?

LynFrance:

Yes, everyone is entitled to at least one "Practice Wife", (also sometimes known as the "Starter Wife". And yes, my "Practice/Starter Wife" definately preceeded the current or "Trophy Wife".

(I make this quite clear as She might see this sometime?)

It's tough to follow your stories, nukesafe, but since this is a subject near and dear, I'm compelled to post. Actually, I'm looking for a possible answer to a question that plagues my mind from time to time...

As a student/backpacker a few years ago, my two traveling companions and I rolled into a foggy Siena after sunset one night. We found lodging and then ventured out for dinner. I found our restaurant in a tour book, and I want to say it was my Fodor's... But we wandered into the basement of a 13th (or 14th - sorry, memory as foggy as the evening) century tower, now a restaurant. At the time (unfortunately), my palate was not as extensively developed as it is now. So, examining the menu, I started to panic, afraid I'd find nothing to eat. Our waiter spoke little English but was very helpful nonetheless. At a loss, I ordered an asparagus ravioli (reluctantly, since I'd never liked asparagus), and we ordered a bottle of house wine. Best meal I had in Italy.

We were seated at one end of a huge wooden table, and at the other end were three or four Italian men, smoking cigars and drinking what seemed like the more expensive half of the wine cellar. The bottles were coated with dust and from what I could gather, some of the older and better wines in the restaurant. Towards the end of our meals, they started having the waiter pour out to us as well... The really shameful part is that I have no idea what wine I had that night and I'll probably never have any like it again!

My question is: by any miracle, does anyone have any idea what this restaurant might be? I know that's a silly question, but it was pretty distinctive... And for some very vague directions, if you were to start out at the center of the fan-shaped piazza, at the base of the tower, the restaurant would be at about the two o'clock position, somewhere about midway between the piazza and the edge of town...

Sorry for the length!

Well, I answered my own question, and I'm so excited! I should have done this months ago. All I had to do was check the Fodor's guide for Tuscany/Siena, and there it was, under the ridiculously appropriate heading "restaurants". Imagine that. So it WAS my Fodor's guide that led me to this place - hurray Fodor's! The restaurant to which I'm referring is Enoteca I Terzi. Although it was the only restaurant at which I ate in Siena, I recommend it anyway.

I think its marvelous that some of the reports aren't Tailevant, Arpege, any of Bocuse'...

Gosh Nuke, you made me all misty-eyed

Most favorite meal - Les Crayeres in Reims. Everything about our evening there was magical, right down to meeting the master himself!
Second, I'm with Patrick - Chanticleer in Nice. The champagne was magnificent!

So many meals , so many happy times which makes the meal a favorite regardless of price or taste ..
I will just go to the most recent, in Paris this past March.
Having dinner with my husband ( the Keeper) and my son, whom we had not seen for a year.
A small Italian restaurant in the 7th, the owner/waiter singing Opera to himself and us as he worked behind the bar, the food was perfect as was the company.
Farther back in time- London, my birthday, meeting friends at Hilliard in So Kensington for dinner.
I cannot remember what we ate, but it was very good.. but I do remember how much fun it was and how happy we all were to see each other..