Favorite restaurant is in Taneytown, Maryland--Antrim 1844 Country Inn. Fairly expensive for this area and excellent.

They do a six-course meal for $65 pp.

Hand passed hors d'oeuvres and pre-dinner drinks while you explore the old house and the grounds, amuse bouche, choice of three appetizers, salad, intermezzo, choice of four entrées (in American English usage), and an assortment of desserts (you get the assortment, you don't have to choose just one).

The smoked salmon cheesecake is my favorite appetizer. And the duck--oooooooooo.

It's nice to be out on the grounds exploring a secluded area and have one of the servers quietly appear with a tray of appetizers and a fresh drink.

Starts at 7 PM, usually ends up around 10 or 10:30.

Every guest is treated with the utmost courtesy and respect. No supercilious head waiter or the opposite extreme "Hi, my name is Heather what's yours let's be best buddies" familiarity here.

They handle everything smoothly and without a hint of pretentiousness, so it's a very relaxed and enjoyable (and delicious) evening.

London, UK...

...and I'm going to let the cat out of the bag with this one as it's off the tourist trail and is a little gem. It's called... (pens at the ready)...

Champor Champor

It's near London Bridge/Borough Market on the south side of the river, down a non-descript little street, and serves, quite simply, the most imaginative malaysian inspired food in the most quirky surroundings by the most gloriously friendly staff.

What's more, it's not expensive - about £25 for 3 courses (exc. drink).

Here's a sample of their menu:

Roast pigeon breast stuffed with pickled cucumber; panfried sweetbreads; vegetable lodeh; pandan rice

Beef sirloin masak kichap; pear & pumpkin seed salad; coconut rice

Crocodile tail fillet; sweet basil; tamarind and shrimp reduction; nasi goreng kampong

Curry leaf-crusted panfried Mekong catfish fillet;
pesto rice; mango and ginger puree

King prawns and wild ginger flower broth; vermicelli kerabu; parsnip som tam

Ostrich fillet satay; Malay peanut sauce; pulut panggang.

See what I mean? Like nothing you've ever heard of. Make a note, then keep it to yourselves...

www.champor-champor.com

New Orleans, LA USA

Upscale..Cuvee anything on the menu

Casual.. Magazine Po-Boy oyster po-boy dressed

Cape Cod, MA
Upscale- Is there upscale on Cape Cod??

We're a regular at two restaurants-
Amari's Italian Ristorante- The calamari is fantastic! With hot cherry peppers, diced tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and served with a roasted garlic tartar sauce.
and
The Dolphin- Main St, Barnstable- I usually order the Braised Atlantic Salmon served with a lobster roasted corn salsa.

Very casual- Fried clams anywhere on the Cape!

Gainesville, Florida

Upscale -- not much around here, though I suppose Ichiban Japanese restaurant would qualify. The dessert roll, with avocado, banana, mango, cream cheese, rice and honey/bbq sauce.... yum... oh, and make sure to have some Black Raspberry Sake Wine with it!

downscale -- Conestoga's burger place, with 2 pound burgers, with cheese and fresh sauteed mushrooms, surrounded by thin shoestring fries and a real home-made dill pickle. They have home-made fudge for dessert, too.

PBProvence; that sounds amazing! And for 50 pp sounds reasonable too. Will make a note of that restaurant.

Tulips... and anyone else traveling to the Arles area that is interested

L'atelier
7 rue des Carmes
Arles

tel: 04 90 91 07 69
email: [email protected]

reservations are a must....

I live in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. There is a village not to far away called New Glasgow that Serves the best Lobster dinners around.

For $25CAD you get a 1.5lb lobster, all you can eat homemade chowder, fresh rolls, and all you can eat homemade pie for dessert.

What a deal and your stuffed at the end of the night.

Chalford, Gloucestershire, UK
(1/2 hour means about a 20 mile radius so...) any number of great village pubs with yummy food...
I try something different everytime so there is no particular favourite...yet!

Glen Carbon, Illinois, USA (near St. Louis)

My favorite restaurant is Zia's, on The Hill, in St. Louis

My favorite meal: a house salad with their wonderful dressing, chicken parmesan with a side of pasta in a garlic sauce, and a nice liter of sangria to split with my favorite dinner date, my hubby.

Tracy

San Francisco, Ca---

Bocci Cafe, Green Street---the choose your own pasta and sauce option for 6.95. Also comes with warm french bread and foccacia and balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dipping as well as butter.
I like the penna pasta with bolognese meat sauce. Yum! Also add a glass of house red wine and you have a great filling dinner for under 12 bucks!

I live in the town of Batavia, about 40 miles from Chicago (well over a half-hour away).

If I had to choose one favorite restaurant in our area, it would probably be Meson Sabika in Naperville.
www.mesonsabika.com

It's an old, stately mansion that has become a splendid tapas restaurant. Comfortable atmosphere, great service, wonderful wine selection...and mouth-watering tapas!

Favorite dish there: either the grilled calamari, or the sea scallops with cous-cous.

Charlotte - Elizabeth neighborhood, actually I can walk to both of these. The Fig (upscale) - the ostrich & The Penquin (the polar opposite of upscale) - a burger (the Full Blown Hemi) & a beer.

SAnParis-I live in charlotte, nc too by way of NYC. I saw this post but was not able to apply b/c I don't have any favorite restaurants here. I think there are some good ethnic places (the King and I and Dim Sum on Central and Taqueria Mexico on South) but the upscale places are just ok and too expensive for the quality of the meal.
AAAh, Paris. We are back 2 1/2 weeks and I am still longing for my dinners there...

I live in Wilmington, Delaware.

Upscale-Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia.
George Perrier's little place, two seatings a night, prix fixe (I heard its now $130 per) ... sigh

Casual - Charcoal Pit on Concord Pike.
This was our "hang out" in the 60's... and still makes a great cheese steak or burger with fries and real milk shakes whizzed up in a metal cup (and then you pour it in a glass with your straw and most of it fall out and around the glass onto the table...)..remember them?

Sorry I forgot to add my upscale choice...

I am sooo not a fan of the bougie types of restaurants here in San Fran, I much prefer the down to earth places.

But for a special occasion, I do like House of Prime Rib and The Palace Hotel (I really wish they still called it the Sheridan Palace Hotel....sigh). Both are greatly inviting and the prime rib is to die for, and the desserts and breads alone at the Palace are delicious!

ttt

It's almost dinner time...

I am so glad that I was already eating lunch when I found this thread!!!

Prague, Czech Republic

Upscale: Hergetova Cihelna
DH's favorite--Svickova (beef tenderloin; traditional Czech)
My favorite--virtually everything. I have tried something different every time I've been and never been disappointed.

Down-market: Mozaika
What do we love? The hamburger. Laugh if you like, but I'm from TX and this is still the most delicious burger I've ever tasted. Period. AND, it's big enough to split! Toasted spinach bun, melted cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms, some kind of delectable sauce [I don't know what's in it because we always finish it too quickly!]....superb. Now, if we could just get a great milkshake.... ;)

Note: H.C. is already in the tourist track and most people don't go on vacation for a burger, so I'm not terribly concerned about the word getting out, but still, I must agree with Kate; please keep this under wraps! ;)

And laclaire, I must say, your post did, indeed, make my mouth water--I miss those Dallas restaurants! We've actually found some reasonably authentic Tex-Mex here, but there's just something about chips and salsa and a goooood margarita.

Thank goodness we are going home for Christmas!!