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-   -   Where Can I Find the BEST... (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/where-can-i-find-the-best-1088246/)

PalenQ Feb 29th, 2016 11:25 AM

Where Can I Find the BEST...
 
Pizza in Italy?
Fondue in Switzerland?
Croissant in Paris?
Wine in France?
Cheese in France?
Chocolate and french fries in Belgium?
Pretzels in Germany?
Flower bulbs in The Netherlands?
Danish Pastry in Denmark?
Kolache in Prague?
Fado in Portugal?
Tapas in Spain?
Irish cream in Ireland?
Wursts in Germany?
Coffee in Austria?
Goulash in Poland?

And I only WANT THE BEST OF THE BEST - Not 2nd best - not really good - not what locals usually eat - just the VERY best - VERY VERY best?

Thanks in advance for your culinary expertise!

hetismij2 Feb 29th, 2016 11:28 AM

I don't where you can get good Goulash in Poland but in Hungary wow!

Golompke is polish ;).

Dukey1 Feb 29th, 2016 11:29 AM

The goulash in Prague was good IMO.

Pepper_von_snoot Feb 29th, 2016 11:44 AM

There is no best Fado in Portugal since Amalia Rodrigues died.

Try Tasco do Chico in Lisboa. It is within walking distance of Atelier Fatima Lopes.

Thin

quokka Feb 29th, 2016 11:45 AM

We don't serve "Wursts" in Germany but "Würste";-)

My all-time favourite: 6 auf Kraut at Historische Wurstküche in Regensburg. Six tiny grilled sausages (the Regensburg ones are about the size of a middle finger, just slightly larger than those in Nürnberg) served on Sauerkraut, together with a dark roll and a local rye beer. All this at a restaurant that claims to be 850 years old, sitting out in the sun on the river bank next to the medieval bridge.

PalenQ Feb 29th, 2016 11:53 AM

Quokka - does not Nurnberg have the best small Weursts in Germany?

Of course I know diddly about Wurstes.

Where is the BEST mustard in Dijon?

Ingo Feb 29th, 2016 12:31 PM

What kind of Wurst, Pal?

BritishCaicos Feb 29th, 2016 01:07 PM

Lovers : In Scotland.

Under a kilt , no underwear to get in the way.

BritishCaicos Feb 29th, 2016 01:18 PM

Oh I see, culinary Pal.

How tame.

Ok, ensaïmada crema from Mallorca. Incredible pastries.

Tuna from Zahara de Los Atunes in Andalucia.

Haggis from Castle Douglas, best in the world.

Hot Chocolate from Milano e Baretti in Turin.

Brunello do Montalcino best red in the world.

Salt Marsh lamb from the Welsh estuaries.

PalenQ Feb 29th, 2016 01:18 PM

What kind of Wurst, Pal?

BEST of any kind of Wurst - Bartwurst - Currywurst, Worst Wurst?
Or any of these Wursts:


Where can I find the BEST fried Mars Bars in Glasgow?

The BEST French kiss in France?

The BEST fresh whale meat in Norway?

The BEST cannabis in Amsterdamned?

The BEST tea in England?

The BEST bangers and mash in the English Midlands?

The BEST spah bol in Manchester?

The BEST mousaka in Greece?

The BEST Cornish Pasty in Cornwall?

The BEST food in Europe?

The BEST waffles in Belgium?

The BEST chewing gum in Europe?

ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY BEST OF BEST THEY ARE HUNGERING FOR?

PalenQ Feb 29th, 2016 01:20 PM

BEST of any kind of Wurst - Bartwurst - Currywurst, Worst Wurst?
Or any of these Wursts:

https://www.google.com/search?q=germ...HSDbDR0QsAQIGw

quokka Feb 29th, 2016 01:22 PM

>Bartwurst

Never seen a Wurst with a beard... thank you for the laugh! ;-)

thursdaysd Feb 29th, 2016 01:22 PM

The best fish and chips in England.

The best Indian restaurant in London.

The best "afternoon tea" in England - although I'd settle for the best scone and clotted cream.

The best barbecue in the US (that should start a fight - I vote for eastern North Carolinian).

BritishCaicos Feb 29th, 2016 01:23 PM

White truffles from Alba

Sardinian roasted pig.

Nothing from Greece (they burn everything)

Weiss Beer from Erding, Munich.

Talisker single malt, tons of peat, taste of Skye.

Proper Cornish pasties.

PalenQ Feb 29th, 2016 01:24 PM

Oh I see, culinary Pal.>

No like Fado in my first post here - Lovers was great!

Like the very BEST Ballroom in Blackpool?

The best rock in England (food)?

The BEST train spotting venue in the UK (after Clapham Junction)?

The BEST .......... in ......... fill in the blanks?

Again I only want THE BEST - not 2nd best!

RM67 Feb 29th, 2016 01:25 PM

Best croissants are not in Paris at all, but the mascarpone filled ones at Hofmann in Barcelona

Best hot chocolate is Paul A Young, Camden Passage, London (sorry BC!).

Best comte is from Neals Yard Diary.

BritishCaicos Feb 29th, 2016 01:25 PM

"The best barbecue in the US (that should start a fight - I vote for eastern North Carolinian).

South Carolina wins that war.

PalenQ Feb 29th, 2016 01:26 PM

Never seen a Wurst with a beard... thank you for the laugh!>

Me too now that I get it!

Whathello Feb 29th, 2016 01:27 PM

Home

Best wife. Best children. Best cats. Best dog. etc.

French fries will not be found in Belgium - if you want fries (note that we are humble enough to call those 'fries' not belgian fries) you must have been drunk whilst student.

Having done that, I can tell you the best fries in Belgium are 'chez Billy' close if not on the grand place of Mons.

Fun thread PQ !

PalenQ Feb 29th, 2016 01:29 PM

The BEST red-light district in Belgium?

I should have said frenched fries!

Dave_Ohio Feb 29th, 2016 02:08 PM

Pizza in Pisa: Zero Zero

Whathello Feb 29th, 2016 02:12 PM

Well it WAS fun, PQ - didn't you say sometime ago that I should refrain from stirring the pot ? ;-)

IMDonehere Feb 29th, 2016 02:42 PM

Pete BEST-Liverpool

StCirq Feb 29th, 2016 03:26 PM

The best foie gras in the Périgord - Amélie d'Envège, sold at Julien de Savignac. To die for.

traveller1959 Mar 1st, 2016 12:53 AM

Such a question can only come from an American.

Americans: masters of simplicist thinking and ranking lists that seem to bring order into a complex world.

There is nothing like "the BEST red wine". Is Chateau Latour the best or Gevrey-Chambertin? - Both are equal, it is a matter of personal taste, mood and food which one you prefer in a certain situation.

The BEST wurst - ridiculous. We have thousands of kinds of wurst and you can neither compare apples with oranges nor Ahle Wurscht with Dürrenbühler (both are WAY better than anything you find in Rick Steves books).

Europe is complex. Diverse. Colourful. You find the BEST everywhere. In every town, every village. Just look. And forget ranking lists.

fourfortravel Mar 1st, 2016 01:14 AM

traveller1959, you and I should hang out. Ever since that ridiculous Mercer survey crowned Vienna once again the "best" city to live in last week, all of my American friends are running around patting themselves on the back for landing a gig here rather than Baghdad (which came in at "worst"). There is no such thing as a BEST city, but they don't get that. :)

traveller1959 Mar 1st, 2016 02:11 AM

As a student, I learned to make such ranking lists and to manipulate them (select criteria and change measurement methods and weights so long until EXCEL sheet displays the desired result).

It sad that so much money is involved. Parker makes prices with his ridiculous points for wines. And a Guide Michelin star is worth a fortune (albeit I admit that the Guide Michelin is much more reliable than Parker).

kerouac Mar 1st, 2016 03:31 AM

The important thing is to cross the entire city or maybe even go to the suburbs to get the very best.

Regarding french fries. Indeed, they have nothing to do with France... or Belgium, at least in terms of the name. The verb "to french" means to slice thinly (<i>"julienne"</i>), which is what you do with certain potatoes before frying them.

Technically, they should be called "frenched fries" but we have lost the "d" on a lot of comestibles, such as iced cream and iced tea.

brubenow Mar 1st, 2016 05:16 AM

Can you please refrain from the persistent American bashing? The OP only asked for opinions. What's so terrible about that?

For some reason, some of you think it's part of your condescending "wit" to make rude remarks about Americans. I think my kids have better manners.

fourfortravel Mar 1st, 2016 05:32 AM

brubenow, I am only expressing my opinion. I am an American, and feel perfectly within my right (not "wit") to criticize the poor behaviors of my fellow citizens in my overseas, adopted home (that extend well beyond their silly reliance on lists, truth be known). Our children have better manners than do some of those with whom I required to engage.

traveller1959 Mar 1st, 2016 05:39 AM

Asking for the BEST is not terrible. It is sad. Because it shows that you do not understand Europe.

But the consequences of asking for the BEST are terrible. Because it leads to masses of tourists focussing on single points, corrupting them while other equally good spots are neglected.

Take Èze. The Côte d'Azur has dozens of picturesque hilltop villages. But sometimes someone wrote "Èze is the BEST hilltop village" and now it is spoilt by cruise ship excursion buses and their offspring, tacky souvenir shops and other tourist traps.

Take Gengenbach. Sometimes someone wrote "Gengenbach is the BEST town in the Black Forest" and now EVERY Fodorite wants to go to Gengenbach, even stay there, although there are more beautiful places in the Black Forest and Gengenbach is not even a Black Forest town.

Take Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Sometimes someone wrote "Rothenburg is the BEST historical town in Germany" and, again, this town is flooded, while there are at least hundred historical towns in Germany which are equally picturesque.

It gets even worse when it comes to the BEST baguette in Paris, the BEST pizza in Napoli and the BEST weißwurst in Bavaria. And as soon as these places are commmunicated they are not the BEST anymore because they are overrun and lose quality.

Now, you appear to be a bit sensible when it comes to your home country. Aren't ranking lists a significant part of American or, to be exact, U.S. culture? Don't you rank anything - the BEST wine, the BEST book, the BEST guitar player, the BEST beach, the BEST lingerie shop?

It is a simplification of the world's complexity which can have dangerous consequences. But I won't get political here.

brubenow Mar 1st, 2016 05:46 AM

It's understood that asking for "the best" is equivalent to asking for one's opinion or favorite.

And your point can be made just as well without singling out Americans as the cause of all things bad in the world.

BritishCaicos Mar 1st, 2016 05:58 AM

Sorry for your sanity Pal.

There seems to be a few numpties who took this seriously.

fourfortravel Mar 1st, 2016 06:18 AM

brubenow, I am not singling out Americans; I am expressing my opinion on the group of fellow citizens that I can best relate to. Americans are not the cause of all things bad in the world; just, perhaps, "Best of" lists. ;)

traveller1959, my fellow Americans (and others) can make and enjoy lists with respect to their home countries, of course, and to their heart's content. I would never dream to make a list of "Best of Vienna," though I love my adopted city and country, but such a list is not for me to make. I would never do the same for America, either.

I will share a couple of funny anecdotes from my week in NYC last month (half-term school break) with DD and her BF, a European citizen who had never been to the US before (both 14). The first: BF was FaceTiming with her mom on President's Day, describing how being able to shop (the girls wiped Macy's clean) on a holiday was, "The BEST." The second: the girl's SnapChat photos of a rat in the NYC subway was responded to by friends with, "Jealous! NYC is "The Best."

"Best," like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, not lists. :)

thursdaysd Mar 1st, 2016 07:05 AM

If declaring somewhere the "best" results in all the tour groups and cruise ship outings congregating there, it leaves everywhere else for the rest of us.

PalenQ Mar 1st, 2016 07:10 AM

The BEST Sacher Tortes in Vienna?

MarthaT Mar 1st, 2016 07:37 AM

The BEST beaches
The BEST mountain scenery
The BEST places only locals go

willit Mar 1st, 2016 08:09 AM

"The BEST places only locals go" - How would we know? I'm certainly not telling :-)

PalenQ Mar 1st, 2016 09:28 AM

The BEST jellied eels in London's East End?

The BEST Yorkshire Pud in Yorkshire?

The BEST place to shop in London?

Only the best - not second best - I'm American and we are becoming great again and yes we do want only the BEST!

tuscanlifeedit Mar 1st, 2016 09:36 AM

What is spah bol? I'll be passing through Manchester and want to know. But only the BEST, please.

-------------

Today I was looking for a restaurant and clicked on my name in an old thread. Someone took me to task for mentioning a restaurant I like, with low prices, good food, and an inconvenient location.

They wanted to know how I could possibly know that my rec would please someone else. I don't. That's why is was specific in my answer.

Numpty.


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