Dani

Do Fodorites, like armies, travel on their stomachs? How much of your itinerary in any given country is built around *must-visit* restaurants? Do you splurge as much as you can on once-in-a-lifetime meals? And have you ever taken a vacation on which a meal stands out as one of the highlights of your trip?

Rex

My travel journals are much more about food than about anything else. And I have had the good fortune to have eaten in dozens of the world's truly "great" restaurants in both Europe and in the US. <BR> <BR>In the US, I feel very jaded that I seem to never really like restaurant dining UNLESS it is one of those "elite", upper, upper, top-shelf restaurants that gets all the attention in the guidebooks, etc. Way too often, I feel like I can "do better than this" - - cooking at home! <BR> <BR>But in Europe, I almost never feel that way. One of the fantastic things is how rarely you run across ANY mediocre meals, even at restaurants you can't find in any guidebook, on any internet source - - never even run into any who ever heard of the place. <BR> <BR>I have eaten at *must-visit* restaurants in numerous destinations across Europe, I can rattle off a few names if you insist (Traube-Tonbach in the Black Forest, Vivendo in Rome, Jules Verne in Paris, Chateaux d'Artigny and d'Esclimont in France) and I am glad that I have - - but to answer your question about "a vacation on which a meal stands out as one of the highlights" - - I would say that on most of my trips to Europe, there are "standout meals" for 50% of the nights or more, everywhere I have been. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

elvira

I patiently make lists of restaurants for every trip; I hit one restaurant every 5 trips.... <BR> <BR>I've never done the Riverside Cafe/Tour d'Argent/Four Seasons meal on my own dime, and I doubt I ever will. I like food so much that anything well-prepared is wonderful (a perfect cassoulet is as good as the best filet). <BR> <BR>Three meals above all else, all by accident: <BR>1) In Les Eyzies, at Les Glycines, where my sister and I trudged after trying to find a gite (looong story); we had course after course of divine food (a standout - zucchinis, stuffed with garlic, cut into medallions); my sister had opted for the prix fixe meal that came with THREE desserts. Out comes the dessert cart with trifle, floating islands, peach mousse, fruit tarts, etc. etc. A couple bottles of wine, coffee - all for about $35 each. <BR> <BR>2) Northern Ireland, can't remember the town or the restaurant - *the* best lamb chops and trout we've ever had. <BR> <BR>3) Northern Ireland, Bushmills Inn -extraordinary food; this salmon napoleon thing that was melt-in-your-mouth. <BR> <BR>In all of the above cases, it was the food, the company, the ambience and the circumstances that combined to make the meal memorable. <BR> <BR>Oh, and the tuna and tomato sandwiches my sister and I ate while sitting on the steps in a small square in the vieux ville of Nice.

StCirq

I rarely actually plan a trip around food or restaurants; nonetheless, food is a huge and ever-present theme in my travels. I can't get enough of outdoor markets, and I love sampling truly local dishes. Most of the really memorable meals I've had were not at palces where I anticipated having one, and some of the tastes that linger from my travels are really simple: spaghetti alle vonghole from a port-side restaurant in Anzio, made with the most succulent clams I've ever encountered, deboned quail stuffed with foie gras from the artisanal shop in Les Eyzies (well, that's not so simple, but it was outstanding), huge shrimp with hot garlic butter in Sevilla, and a goat cheese panini from a stall in Angers....Most of the things I bring back from my trips are foodstuffs, too. I just brought back some wine vinegar flavored with figs and hazlenuts on my recent trip, along with two black truffles, one of which was sliced, stuffed between the skin and meat of a plump roasted chicken, and consumed in a near-ecstatic state this past Quatorze Juillet.

YS

British food, by far, is the best. Famous McDonald's restaurant is famous all over the world <BR> <BR>Persoanlly, I prefer sightseeing to restaurants...

Bob Brown

I am with Rex. The city I visit most is Atlanta. There, I am hard pressed to find good food in a place that is not louder than sin, jammed to the doors, expensive as the devil, <BR>full of drunks, or some egregious combination of all of the above. <BR>Paying $30 for a meal that is barely edible, or better not eaten, is all too common. <BR>[Having a drink before dinner is one thing. Being inebriated to the extent that the imbiber fall off of the bar stool or careens into the walls getting to the men's room is something else. Must be an extension of road rage.]

Book Chick

I can assure you on my last trip to Europe, food (good or otherwise) was absolutely the LAST thing on my mind. (While there I lost about 30 lbs. & also had a gastic surgery performed upon return to the states.) <BR> <BR>Having said that, I simply cannot choose between the perfect ambrosia of bread (not "staff of life", more like "food of the gods"!) in France & the spinach ravioli I consumed in Italy. <BR>Bon Appetit! <BR>BC

topper

top <BR>

Cathy

I consider myself a foodie wannabe. I am a faithful Zagat reader and do pick the best restaurants in any city I vist. Paris - Taillevent, Tour d'Argent, NYC - Lespinasse, Le Bernadin, Chantarelle, ETC. However, I have learned that these are not always the most memorable meals. My favorite meal ever was on my honeymoon in Greece, on a cliffside restaurant (OK - it was a trailer - typical of the hotdog stands in NYC). My husband and I shared a sandwich and a bottle of beer high on the cliff top overlooking the tiny greek village below on the water - peace and silence surrounded us. That is one experience that can't be beat. Second would be when visting Paris, despite all the best restaurants that we visited, the night we relied on our concierge's recommendations (where no Americans were by the way), we had the best French meal of my life at what I consider American prices (and for those of you who have eaten in Paris - you know what I mean). <BR> <BR>I guess the bottom line is that not always does the meal make the memory . . . <BR>

Peg

Bob Brown, You gave a perfect description of dining in Atlanta! I won't go out to dinner here, but turn me loose in Paris and that's a different story! Just the salads there are so totally different and wonderful, not to mention the pastries, breads, etc. It's not a matter of unavailable ingredients in Atlanta, it's a matter of what people will accept. If I see another salad of wilted iceberg lettuce with red cabbage and shredded carrots, topped with a couple of pieces of tomato and served with a plastic package of dressing, I'll scream! Why do folks accept such drek???

Myriam

Could it be that none of you have ever been in Belgium? It's there that the best food is served! The French *think* they have the best but the Belgians *do* have the best.

Jean Valjean

Belgium has to be one of the most underrated countries in the Europe. <BR> <BR>Everyone talks about Swiss chocolate. Nothing in Switzerland can beat Belgian chocolates. <BR> <BR>Everyone talks about German beer. No beer in Germany beats a Belgian beer. <BR> <BR>No one ever talks about Belgian lace. <BR> <BR>Or Mussels. <BR> <BR>Or Belgian frites (leaps and bounds over French frites), with the best mayo in the world! <BR> <BR>Ah... the memories...

Austin

<BR>PEG: <BR> <BR>The correct spelling of "drek" is dreck. <BR> <BR>AH

How Pedantic

Austin -- If you want to get all show-offy, the "correct" spelling is neither drek nor dreck. This is a Yiddish word, and its correct spelling is in Hebrew characters. The others are transliterations, and as with many transliterations, either can be considered acceptable depending upon which convention is being used. <BR> <BR>P.S. I vote for Belgium and Italy.

Austin

<BR>As my late mother would say--you can spell it drek or you can spell it dreck--but not matter how you spell it dreck is dreck. <BR>

Robin

I love great food, but I very seldom make it much of a priority when traveling. My best food/travel experiences have been serendipitous, because I can't seem to be bothered to plan ahead or make reservations. but I do drool when I hear about others' food experiences-- maybe I'll reform someday!