I was just reminiscing about the ice cream at the University of Maryland. When I was a kid, it was a huge treat for my folks to take us up to the university (we lived five or so miles down University Blvd.) and get an ice cream. The dairy was part of the Ag school, and the ice cream was almost criminally rich and creamy. Turns out, they are still open, but I have no idea if the ice cream is still astonishing.
I mostly buy these for my wife, and a few friends who have their own favorite animal or totem, but if I ever find myself with spare funds to spend, I’m getting an octopus!
I’m not a particularly huge fan of seafood, generally speaking, yet I love sushi. Sushi made with otoro tuna belly – the very best, melt-in-your-mouth fatty part of the tuna – is to die for.
Oddly enough, seafood also figures in some of my other “best of” experiences. In a small lakeside community on Georgian Bay, there is (or used to be) a converted school bus turned into a lakeside fish & chips stand that served the world’s best fish & chips, supplied by local fishing boats tied up alongside. They also somehow contrived to serve the world’s best french fries. During the summer, the tourist lineups were huge.
Also on one of those same cruises up and down Georgian Bay and the North Channel, my friend and I docked at a small town and went to a local restaurant where I had pan-fried trout. OMG what a treat that was, probably fished out of the lake mere hours before, and fried in hot butter!
The best Mac & Cheese in this universe is at Steffens Restaurant on US17 in Kingsland, Georgia. It’s baked with a little bit of crust on the top and they would never tell me what cheese they used. (“Proprietary Cheese”? = band name)
The best mustard in the world is Bertman’s Ballpark Mustard, from right here in Cleveland. It’s God’s gift to sausages, and quite good on a lot of other things, too.
I live in Meat Pie Country. Australia and New Zealand favour the meat pie much more so than other countries, who tend to have all sorts of other fillings in their pies. The best meat pie in the Universe is the McGregor’s Mutton Pie.
The best sabich* in the universe is Oved’s Sabich, in Givatayim, Israel, right around the corner from my apartment. That’s actually their motto: “The Best Sabich in the Universe” - and they’re not lying. Oved’s been known to be the best for decades.
[*] (A type of egg sandwich that’s only really sold in the greater Tel Aviv area).
I bet my aforementioned fish & chips stand operating out of a converted school bus on the shores of Georgian Bay would be stiff competition even for those guys!
Maybe so, but again, around here, stiff competition from The Pie Commission – a small outfit started by a couple of guys making homemade meat pies that now has a moderately wide retail distribution.
My local supermarket used to carry them but unfortunately no longer does, I presume because customers were put off by the relatively high price. But I just found out that they’re available relatively nearby – I just have to drive a little farther. Imma stockin’ up again!
When I lived in Toronto, a couple of friends of mine moved to and lived in the Canadian Arctic. Cambridge Bay NWT, as it was known then, to be precise. (He got a great-paying job there.) They’d return to Toronto from time, and when they did, he’d go out fishing the day before they left. They’d pack his catch of Arctic char on ice in a cooler, and less than a day later, they’d be back in Toronto, and they’d divvy up the proceeds among their friends.
Yep, I got fresh Arctic char about 24-36 hours after it was swimming in the Arctic Ocean. And man-oh-man, was it ever delicious! They brought back the whole fish, of course, but I and my Dad knew how to clean it and my Dad knew how to prepare it, and we feasted on it. Gosh, if you ever get the chance, take it.
As for me: pizza from Bitondo’s. A tiny Mom-n-Pop place in Toronto’s Little Italy. Several steps above your average pizza chain, Bitondo’s featured pizza that went into the oven with about four inches of cheese. And they dictated what you got, you didn’t get to choose. Do you want pepperoni or deluxe? None of this selecting from among toppings; you get what we offer. They laughed when people tried to order extra cheese, because their pizzas already went into the oven covered with four inches of cheese..
The decor was 1960s patio. Three plastic tables, plastic patio chairs, a cooler full of soft drinks that you helped yourself from. Mama presiding over it all from one of the tables, and if one of her sons or nephews needed yelling at, she yelled. It did mostly takeout, but if you absolutely insisted, there’s a table. Clean up after yourself; there’s a trash bin in the corner. Leave your trash behind, and Mama would yell at you.
But the pizza? Ohmigosh, it’s the best I’ve ever had.
If I’m ever in a decent restaurant that offers Arctic char, I’ll try it – thanks for the tip!
And yes, the only really great pizzas come from individual independent pizzerias, sometimes from good independent sit-down restaurants. When the ex-wife and I lived in Toronto, we used to go to a great Italian restaurant so often that the waiters would bring us complimentary after-dinner drinks.
Sadly, the place went downhill in subsequent years, and though they still make fantastic takeout pizza, it’s not even on the menu in the actual restaurant. Fits my general conception of the world getting enshittified. I no longer live in the area anyway, or I’d still order their great takeout pizzas!
The best sunglass lenses in the universe are Maui Rose.
Due to the cost I’ve acquired various cheaper brands with “rose” lenses for backup but none of them have measured up. (Ray-ban’s rose/pink “chromance” lenses were close but they’ve been discontinued, and they were just as expensive as Maui Jims)
The best Oklahoma Onion Burger is from El Reno, OK. The original place, Hamburger Inn closed, but the taste and tradition carry on in 3 other downtown shops.
I understand beowulff’s POV about the “ag school” ice cream completely. It may not be well-known to some people that this is very, very common. For example, here in Raleigh, NC State has Howling Cow ice cream, made from milk and cream from the NC State Dairy Farm. In the past 20 years, I’ve probably had ice cream from over a dozen university dairy farms in as many states. It’s all outstanding. Can’t pick a favorite, though.
Relevant reply section: Going back to one of my favorite topics, the Bennigan’s Monte Cristo sandwich, when properly prepared, was the best MC in the universe, Sadly, that universe has dwindled.
