zebec, as long as you either took the Road to Morocco or the Marrakesh Express, you're good.

Let's keep 'em coming.

Nelson ... "Restaurant Carmen de Aben Humeya, Granada, Spain."

Oh my, how we loved that restaurant with the billion dollar view! So happy you enjoyed it. Credit where credit is due ... friends Kim & Mary found this one when out on a stroll.

Oh gosh, I would never ask that question. This goes under the category of questions you don't really want to hear the answer to. Obviously you are a more adventurous eater than I.

Signed, the picky eater.

Yo TW, that question that I quoted above in brackets was imaginary. My NY buddy and then travel partner, Kev, and I never asked. The meal was in the perched village Marvao (years later, we learned that the stew was a goat stew with wine, called 'chanfana'). A week later on Madeira, we got so sick after eating, that a doctor had to be summoned.
I am done. The bill.

Restaurant Elkano in Getaria, Spain. I can eat the turbot, the crab dish and their cheese ice cream every week
I love Pottoka for their simple but always satisfying food.

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud. It was our very first overseas trip. We stayed at the Merrion Hotel, complete with top hatted doorman. Previous day we had tea in the library of the hotel, fireplace roaring (it was November).

Then dinner at PG. This has been almost 18 years ago and I still remember the perfect scallops and the attentive and friendly service. Our sommelier was in training and was so sweet.

The best meal was at a local's favorite Rome restaurant. It was called something like The Lighthouse. My introduction to pasta carbonara and introduction to digestifs.

La Chassagnette in the Camarge......incredible introduction to small plates/dishes.....at least 10, likely a few more. Our own "interpreter" who explained what and how we were eating....first three courses in the casual great room of the mas, then, on to the main dining room for three more courses, and last, in to the garden for the desserts. He was wonderful and kind and patient with us and helped us not to miss one nuance. It was a dream......

cafegoddess ... where is Pottoka?

rncheryl - Trying to find your "Lighthouse" restaurant in Rome. Wish I could do it in person

Traviata - sounds like a wonderful experience

maitaitom...it was. I couldn't even tell you what we ate, but can say it was all beyond delicious, and served in the most lovely way. Each bite was better than the last and when we were done, we just sat for many minutes and tried to impress the whole experience on our minds so we wouldn't forget...thanks for bringing it up and having me relive it again.

This one has a special place in our heart and trust me my friends, to visit the Cycladic isle of Folegandros and to miss this meal would be cruel and unusual masochism.

I refer to the Anemomilos hotel's restaurant. First of all, staying there at the actual hotel is a no-brainer. Its a fantastic place full of 'opoli rayo' photogenic qualities. World-class cliff scenery, great service, friendly, family-owned, quiet, easy proximity to what is considered one of Greece's prettiest horas, a public transit bus (rare for such a small isle) plus a newish taxi, real agricultural cultural across the isle, various worthy cafes, VG beaches, a worthy church hike and connected to Santorini.

Back in March '92, I saw the architect owner and his workers starting to build this beautiful property. The hotel's cafe-restaurant is perched along the cliffside and thus has spectacular views. Whether for drinks, dessert brunch or dinner, it would be hard to beat Anemomilos. We were there for 5 days and every single meal was something to get excited about.
Endahksi.

I am done. The fresh seafood plus.

Montefalco, Umbria: L'Alchemista enoteca. *maybe try for a Saturday brunch in order to experience the added-value of the weekly flower market. Happy to suggest specific menu orders. The town is known as The Balcony of Umbria for its excellent views. Betcha our RussinLA ate there on his current trip.

Patmos isle: Loza Cafe up in the Old Town Hora. Fantastic meals, be they breakfast, lunch or dinner. Excellent views, fantastic salads and friendly family-owned service. Owner Rigas doubles as the go-between for the stylish Archontariki B&B's neighbouring annex-house rental 'Spitaki'. The waiter informed us without prompt that Bono had brought his adult sons to eat @Loza the week before. During our October stay at Spitaki, we were also informed the actor John Malkovitch had rented the same house a few months earlier. I usually refrain from shameless name-dropping but my point here is: if folks with researcher staff like these 2 celebrities are told that a place is special, then why not check it out? Not at all stuffy or exclusive, just 'everyday people' vibe---our kinda' place.

Matera, Basilicata: 'Area8' cafe/restaurant/performance space/must-visit. This cave-like location with its funky-boho furniture is a combo hip/happening/unique and special in every sense of the word. Fantastic food (we nearly ordered doubles again!) and the best wine we drank on that trip. Essential.

Belcastel, Aveyron: hotel-restaurant Vieux du Pont. As described in our recent TR photo essay here ('En Pays Villefranchois'), this is one the higlights of a visit in that part of France. *This is your french food fantasy mes amis. Not cheap, but worth every penny. Buy some souvenir jam and one of their custom Laguoile cheese knives. World-class views by the bridge (see name) and afterwards, an easy stroll across a tiny picturesque French village wonderland. Best to stay at the restaurant owner family's nice hotel just across the bridge.

Bevagna, Umbria: Assu cafe. A tiny place run by a local eccentric woman whose adult daughter runs their larger, more-upscale restaurant further down the same street. Assu makes FANTASTC salads. She must've thought that we were rabbits or something!

Bonus (for gelato addicts)
We have PHD's in this area. "We only stop for the best...'' (Rush)

Noto, Sicily--Corado Constanza slays the nearby, Bourdain-endorsed frontrunner.
Polignano a Mare, Puglia (2 essential shops, ones that were far superior to the competition) Note that Polignano ranks as one of Europe's Gelato Centers.

a) modern shop Bella Blu-their chewy award-winning flavour 'Torta Sorrento' is worth crossing an ocean for.
b) an older more traditional shop, Il Super Mago del Gelo at 22 pza. Garibaldi (some confusion with nearby shop with nearly-identical name); this old family fave is the sole place where one may order 'gelsi neri', a unique mulbery granite ice.
*Tip: when in Polignano, consider visiting tiny nearby St. Vito, a harbour/hamlet on the outskirts with a picturesque abandoned monastery plus one or two chilled-out cafes.

Hope this helps, folks. Enjoy.
I am done. The Menu.

Too many in Paris to choose just one. Definitely my favorite city to eat in.

But when I saw this post the first thing that came to mind was AL VELUU in the hills above Tremezzo, Italy
overlooking Lake Como. Ahhhh! The view, the food, the friendly service. So good we dined there twice.

cafegoddess ... where is Pottoka?

Paris, on the 7th, their razor clams and grilled baby octopus are excellent!

cafegoddess, when do you leave for Croatia?

Update about Venice's 'Zucca': do try their trademark pumpkin/squash (i.e. zucca) dish, which is a tasty cross between a souffle and pumpkin pie.
I am done. The finger-into-the-cheek gesture.

grillmarkadurinn in Iceland. The food and drinks in Iceland were eye watering expensive but this was only slightly more pricey than the basic restaurants there and was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.

The husband ate steak made from the cute Icelandic horses we had petted earlier in the day. He said it was excellent but I couldn’t bring myself to taste it... we had a starter with a trio of Icelandic crab, delicious. The daughter and I had “normal” steaks with their famous sauce. To die for. And then a dessert sharing platter which cost the same as a meal for 3 in Spain but was well worth it, a taste of all the different desserts on the menu.

At one point the daughter ordered a mocktail. The waiter asked what she would like and she said “surprise me”. He brought an amazing berry drink and I thought oh no, the surprise will be when we get the bill for this concoction, but it was surprisingly reasonable.

Lots of lovely touches with flavoured Icelandic salts on the butter and overall this restaurant has a real sense of place. It’s not traditional, it is modern Icelandic food with fabulous fres

The surprise
h local ingredients. The architecture of the restaurant matches perfectly with walls made of slate, birch wood so you feel nature alive and around you even in a basement room in Reykjavik.





the other best meal of my life was the risotto in antica bottega del vino in Verona. A vaulted wine cellar with relaxed service where they happily made faces at our small baby as we tucked into a risotto with I swear a whole bottle of Barolo in it. That was 14 years ago and I can still taste it...

thanks for asking Tom. Great question

Forgot--Spello: Enoteca Properzio. It is a truly world-class wine experience and there are many bottles for sale at their adjoining shop, some more affordable than others.
But OP MT has asked us all to post about meals here. The food here is fantastic! We opted for a simple salad lunch while ordering glasses of some Sagrantino, some passito and finally (sound of trumpets) **the finest Pinot Noir either my wife or I have ever tasted: Fendi from Valfabbrico, up near Perugia. Who knew?! No Burgundy Pinot Noir in our experience has ever tasted as good. We splurged on buying a bottle to take with us.

Our salad and also the chocolate biscotti that came with the passito dessert wine (Ruggeri) were both outstanding A+! Owner Roberto Angelini and his adult daughter continued their family tradition of operating a welcoming enoteca. Btw, check out their remarkable dining table out in their back patio, all orange marble and Afghan lapis lazuli. Weighs a ton and may be the loveliest such table that your eyes will ever set on. Ladies will appreciate that 77 year old Roberto takes flirting seriously! Husbands may as well be invisible.

If you visit and dine here, then the whole experience will probably rank as a very good memory.
I am done. The end.

*PS five years ago when I posted a review about this cafe over on Lonely Planet's forum, all hell broke loose. A snide and snarky TWG (third-world groupie), probably with his ponytail tied too tight, responded then that Americans were poor judges of true high-quality wines. His anti-American bashing soon went too far, so I confronted him. Sides were taken, the traveler-than-thou crowd joining that smug asshole on one side, the remainder with me. Much verbal clashing did result. Oh my.

zebec, I never thought I'd find anyone who loved both Olivier LeFlaive AND Anemomilos Hotel!

Judy, the newly-updated website for Anemomilos features some rather slick photography, images that make it look, I dunno, a bit too chi-chi for my taste. Seems that they now have jacuzzis--this is news to us. I liked their old site photos better, as they seemed to me to be more down to earth and less like something one might see in Conde Nast. Anyway, I still regard that hotel as a slam-dunk for all the above reasons. I recall their various freshly-squeezed juices as being some of the best ever. If newlyweds ever were to ask my opinion about great honeymoon spots, this hotel would leap to mind. Back in '92 while construction had begun, I saw the owner and his crew sleeping in tents onsite.

As for LeFlaive, it was a one-off for us, merely a way to experience their chief cultural expression (wine) in some of its best versions. There's a nice rural road that connects Meursault (our base) with the town of Puligny-Montrachet. Just prior to entering Puligny, there is also a fine 'aire de pique-nique' spot, with if memory serves, a table or two for would-be picnicers seeking their outdoors French food n' wine fantasy. Almost as sympa a setting as the equivalent one just outside Beaune.

I am done. The discerning cochon.

We were at Anemomilos last year. They have updated some rooms but it still retained its original charm (to us, anyway) We've been 3 times and look forward to going again sometime.

Our visit to LeFlaive was several years ago and, like you, went for the wine rather than the meal. Olivier came by during our lunch and stopped to speak to every table.

We really loved a meal at l'Oustalet in Gigondas. It has since been awarded a michelin star. We had a winery tour scheduled at Chateau Beaucastel following lunch so the chef prepared a tasting menu for us featuring the Perrin family wines.

Not as sophisticated, in Paris we always go to l'Ange 20.