What was the best restaurant you ever ate at?

[RollyInRaleigh]

Generally, I'm not one to go for the famous and expensive. I prefer regional or "home" cooking, like Mama Dips in Chapel Hill, or any of the zillions of places that serve pulled pork down there. Those places are different, obviously, from the high end, chef driven restaurants, but my satisfaction with a finely made low country shrimp and grits down in Charleston or a perfectly seasoned fried chicken dinner from St. Peter's out near Brookville, or a bucket of crawdads down Lafayette way is no different.

[*BaseClogger*]

Never been to a fancy restaurant, but the chicken dinners at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, MI is really good...

[westofyou]

Never been to a fancy restaurant, but the chicken dinners at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, MI is really good...

So were the Frogs Legs I had there.

[bucksfan2]

The two best seafood dishes I ate were in Maui. One was at Kimo's and the other was at Hula Grill. One was Opah and the other was ono.

As for meat I like Morton's but it can get a little pricey.

If I am going out around town two of my favorites are Zips and Bangkok Bistro.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Cut
Its a steak house in the Beverly Regent Wilshire in LA (there is also one in the Venetian in Las Vegas)

It is crazy expensive but its so much better than any other food I have ever eaten its worth it.

[AtomicDumpling]

I used to love Chester's in Montgomery. They were owned by the same people that owned the Maisonette and the Golden Lamb. They had great food but it was not a pretentious place (at least at lunchtime, which is when I usually went there.) They had souped-up versions of normal food like roast beef, baked chicken, grilled shrimp etc. Too bad they closed up a few years ago.

In Dayton's Oregon District (5th street) there is a place called Cafe Boulevard. It is small and cozy. It is pretty fancy. I suggest going before the dinner rush and you will have a more relaxed, more enjoyable visit. They are best known for their crepes, which are the best I have ever had. They have great entrees and soups with lots of unusual flavors. The last time we went there was about 1:30pm and we were the only two customers in the place. About halfway through our meal a group of four women came in to eat -- Sheryl Crow and her backup singers! Boy is she a tiny little person.

We also like Abuelo's on Mason-Montgomery for Mexican food.

BBQ Revue on Madison in Oakley is fantastic if you like a spicy sauce.

PF Chang's is great Asian food with some unusual dishes you won't find anywhere else -- not your normal junk Chinese food. It is a chain with locations in West Chester and Hyde Park.

[BuckeyeRed27]

PF Chang's is great Asian food with some unusual dishes you won't find anywhere else -- not your normal junk Chinese food. It is a chain with locations in West Chester and Hyde Park.

It's also where the Chinese are planning their invasion of America.

[westofyou]

It's also where the Chinese are planning their invasion of America.

By having white kids as waiters who tell you that "Soy Sauce.. that's like Salt to the Chinese" as I was told.

[15fan]

In Rome with my wife & mother-in-law about 7 years ago, we were wandering up & down some side streets, away from the throngs of tourists. It was about 4:00 in the afternoon. We were thirsty, so we stopped at a restaurant to see if we could get something to drink. It was closed, but someone was opening the door with a set of keys.

Through a mixture of broken Italian, English, and hand gestures, we learned that the man opening the door worked in the kitchen. He told us to come back at 8 and he'd have a table for us for dinner. We asked about the menu, and he said he didn't know what it was - he was going to the market to see what looked good and that's what would determine what they would be serving that night.

My wife, mother-in-law, and I returned at 8. We were seated at one of the 5 tables in the restaurant. There were no printed menus. The waiter told us about the 2-3 options for each course, and we ordered.

Now I'm not a very adventurous guy when it comes to food. Think meat & potatoes. My wife and mother-in-law have far more refined tastes with respect to food. Furthermore, my mother-in-law has restaurant grade appliances in her kitchen and knows how to use 'em. These days, most folks have them for show. Not my mother-in-law. She sets foot in her kitchen, and it's all business. It's like watching Monet with a paint brush or listening to Vin Scully call a baseball game. I'd put her cooking up against anyone, anywhere, any time.

For dinner that night, I had a ravioli with ginger sauce. Can't remember what the ladies had. After 2-ish hours of food, drink, and being entertained by the 80 year old mother who was ordering around her 50-ish year old sons in the kitchen, we each concluded that we had never had a better meal. Ever. And it cost us about what we would have paid to go to someplace like Outback Steakhouse for dinner here in the US.

I wish I could remember the name of the place. But I can't. That's alright, tho, because the details aren't important. What's important is that for those couple hours, we each experienced perfection, nirvana, or whatever else you want to call it with respect to the most perfect meal in the history of the universe.

[SunDeck]

Randy,
Ever been here?



It's a little hole in the wall on the dock at the yacht basin in Southport, NC.
Best shrimp I've ever had and the beer used to be self serve. Don't know if you can do that anymore, but it's probably the place I miss most down along the coast.

http://www.provisioncompany.com/

[M2]

There's lots of hidden gems out there in the world. There's an Indian place I adore in San Francisco (Mehfil), a Moroccan restaurant in Montreal, a tapas joint near me in Boston, a goulash house in Danbury, CT. I could go on all day.

Yet the absolute best meal I've ever had is a five-star restaurant in Boston - L'Espalier. I've been there twice and everything I've ever had there has been exquisite (including the butter and I never eat butter). It's beyond expensive, but you oddly come out thinking you got a bargain. You can get a seven-course meal and you're never full and you're drinking the finest wines and liquors and the service is superior and it blows your mind.

My reaction the first time I was there was that America is the greatest nation ever conceived because my ancestors came over starving and in poverty and now I literally have gotten to eat like a king.

[freestyle55]

Fogo de Chão in Houston....meat heaven...

El Rincon Argentino in Mexico City...cielo de carne parte II

[redsmetz]

I've eaten at some famous places in the US, but hands down nothing compared to the Maisonette. It's a shame the place is gone.

A guy that used to share my office told the story about the one time he ate at the Maisonette. In the early 70's, he worked in the traffic department for Kenner Products and his boss called him and another co-worker into his office. The boss told them to call their wives and tell them they wouldn't be home for dinner. They were all going to dinner with the sales rep from a large ocean carrier serving Puerto Rico. The boss didn't care for him and decided he'd run up such a high bill that the rep would never call on him again. They spent over $600 for dinner (remember this was in the early 70's), the guy didn't bat an eye, pulled out his credit card and paid. Plan foiled, but a fine meal was had.

[SunDeck]

A guy that used to share my office told the story about the one time he ate at the Maisonette. In the early 70's, he worked in the traffic department for Kenner Products and his boss called him and another co-worker into his office. The boss told them to call their wives and tell them they wouldn't be home for dinner. They were all going to dinner with the sales rep from a large ocean carrier serving Puerto Rico. The boss didn't care for him and decided he'd run up such a high bill that the rep would never call on him again. They spent over $600 for dinner (remember this was in the early 70's), the guy didn't bat an eye, pulled out his credit card and paid. Plan foiled, but a fine meal was had.

That must have been something. In my one visit to the Maisonette, I was amazed not just at the food, but at the service. At one point my wife asked me if I had noticed that the butter dish kept getting refilled. Somehow, the guy kept sneaking up and putting down a fresh one without us seeing him. But the most impressive thing was the fact that the waiter was as nice to us as he was to the group sitting next to us, with Carl Lindner at the head of the table.
His regular table, at that.

[Hoosier Red]

If you're ever in Indy, I recommend R Bistro. It is the best consistently excellent and unique food I've ever had.