Years ago I was at a conference in Anaheim. Everything around was chain restaurants and I just couldn’t take it. So I ventured (at the recommendation of the hotel desk clerk) just a very short distance away to Thuyen Vien https://hongphucpy.wixsite.com/thuyenvien/menu2 .
I almost gave it a pass, because I’m not vegan or vegetarian, but I was so hungry for anything with actual flavor that I went in anyway (and I have a personal rule that Asian restaurants in strip malls are almost always worth a try).
It was amazing! Big portions, delicious dishes, perfectly seasoned, and everything came out hot and fresh and quickly. Definitely no-frills decor, but so friendly and reasonably priced. I think the best dish, and the most surprising, was the Banana Flower Tacos. Yum.
Since then, on the rare occasions I’ve been in Anaheim or even passing through (I live on the opposite coast), I always make a point of stopping there.
I have had some amazing meals at the now sadly closed Country Club at Wynn Las Vegas. The entrees were always superb, but the true highlight of many a meal there was always the amuse-bouche. Truly creative chefs can make one bite feel like an experience. You never knew what you were going to get, but it was always exceptional.
One: Belgium - after a cold and rainy morning being dragged round Military Cemeteries in rural Belgium by Mrs T, we found ourselves, chilled and hungry, in a small, nondescript town with a single cafe - an easy choice of where to get lunch, then. They had a pot of homemade soup - just what you need when you’re soggy and cold - but… it’s cauliflower. Cauliflower?? Oh, go on then.
It was marvelous. It sounds real simple, but I have never been able to recreate it, or even get close.
Two: Belgium - Gent. You should visit, and you should go to Amadeus in Plotersgracht and get yourself a Gentse waterzooi. Somewhere between a soup and a stew and so rich that your arteries don’t even want to think about it.
Three: Italy - Parma. Got taken to a restaurant by workmates. Eating starters, one colleague said “You didn’t have the pumpkin ravioli? Here, try one.” Anger and bitter regret swept through me. God, why didn’t you tell me, guys?
Four: France - Quiberon. Years ago we went to Le Corsaire for dinner. I love sardines, and these were just to die for. (Oh, and Five: I insisted we went back the next night so I could have the exact same thing again.)
Once driving from L.A. to Eureka, I stopped for breakfast (this was the second day of the trip for those of you who know CA geography) at the Blue Bird Cafe in Hopland. I ordered my go-to omelet – Swiss cheese and Ortega chiles. It was so good. I couldn’t quite figure out why it was so awesome with that number of limited ingredients. Then, I remembered Santa Rosa was just down the road, and it was most likely the freshest eggs I’d ever eaten.
As for best meal ever, hands down, it was Providence in WeHo. Every course was spectacular, but the hamache was probably the best fish I ever ate or ever will eat.
So… I do like fancy food. And one of the best dishes i ever had was an appetizer at a really fancy restaurant. There were two items on a little plate. One was a fig stuffed with foie grad, and the other was a lump of fois gras with a bit of fig lurking inside. There was a nice sauce, with fig and balsamic vinegar and no doubt other stuff. And some toast. But it was both delicious and humorous, and it was just delightful. Another really memorable fish was in a Michelin 1 star restaurant in France. It was dessert, and it was just a large bowl of perfect wild strawberries with whipped cream.
But I’ve had excellent non-fancy food, too. My kids still rave about the roast chicken my husband bought from a food truck in St. Petersburg. So rich and chicken-y. And i used to go to a Peruvian roast chicken place in Manhattan that had excellent chicken and really wonderful fried plantains. And i loved the pork souvlaki i bought on the street in Athens, for about a dollar a stick.
There was some media (I don’t know if it was a TV spot, Internet, or print) that was something like “The single best bite you ever had.” They interviewed chefs and food critics. My wife saw it, and one person mentioned Ippudo Ramen in NYC, and we decided to try it. It was a cold and rainy day, and we had to wait in line, but I will agree that it was some of the most delicious Ramen I’ve ever had, and it’s a fact that Ramen is food of the gods.
There’s a little hole in the wall basement tavern with dining salon near us, on Lake Michigan’s western shore in Port Washington. It’s called “The Steerage” and it bills itself as “3rd class on the 3rd coast”. We’ve been there 5 times now and every single time we’ve raved about the food. They rotate their specials menu every 2 weeks or so, featuring a different ethnic cuisine as a featured entree along with occasional soup/side along with their usual menu.
Tonight I had their cioppino for the first time and it was tied for the best I’d ever had. Full of cod, shrimp, mussels, clam juice etc it was top notch, right up there with a cioppino I’d been served at a restaurant where the chef had been nominated for a James Beard award.
In addition, their hungarian mushroom soup has blown us away; their goulash was astounding, their flemish stew, made with Belgian ale was also worth raving about, as was their german Käsespaetzle with ham.
We’ve taken a good half dozen or more people there to try the place, and they all have raved about it too, and we’ve even competed with them to sop up all the juices from the appetizers of ale steamed mussels and shrimp Sebastian with their wondrous garlic bread.
We’ve yet to dine there and NOT felt that we’d just enjoyed one of the best restaurant dishes we’ve even encountered. We regularly check with them to find out what their special entrees of the week will be.
It’s becoming our favorite restaurant, competing with the James Beard nominee place!
There used to be a Hungarian restaurant in the bay area named Paprika’s Fono (and their sister restaurant Bravo Fono) that served an delicious appetizer - Langos bread.. It would come out of the oil at incendiary temperature, and be served with a clove of peeled garlic, which you would rub on the piping-hot bread. It was truly addictive.
I’m bringing this up because I railed (twice) against soup in the thread that spawned this one.
Years back, there was this little French bakery that had amazing bread, pastry and other tasty treats. They also had limited breakfast and lunch service, mostly fresh fruit, a little light fondue, some quiche, and other things that leaned into supporting the amazing bread.
But my absolute favorite was that they’d take any unsold boules the next day and sell a truly divine French onion soup bread bowl. Now, don’t get me wrong, the soup was good, but not the best I’ve ever had. But watching them take the boules which were prehollowed, rub a scant handful of good butter over the interior and toss into the salamander to quickly melt the butter, warm the boule, and add a touch of crisp? You could have served Campbell’s in the boule and I’d probably be happy. But it was a good solid soup as well, with well caramelized onions and a distinct wine sub-taste, with a touch of rosemary.
Sadly, they ended up over-expanding a few years later and fell apart into 3 different locations (of which only one is left) different places, none of which served the dish anymore.
Although I’ve eaten in quite a few upscale restaurants, the most memorable meals have usually been Japanese. This place does fantastic multi-course tasting menus that go on and on (and they really do look like the gallery at the link). There is another place I love that does a beautiful sushi + sashimi omakase along the same lines. This is where I learned that sashimi doesn’t mean “sushi without the rice”, but rather represents a broad range of beautifully presented delicacies, many of which are not fish at all.
Anyway, expensive high-end stuff isn’t usually the most interesting to talk about, it’s the unexpected low-end surprises that are often the most intriguing. My example of this is in a small village on the shores of Georgian Bay near a stunningly gorgeous provincial park, the kind where you get around via canoe and all the campgrounds are far from each other and in pristeen isolation.
In this village there is a repurposed old school bus up on blocks that was turned into a fish and chips stand. The first unusual thing one notices is that during the summer tourist season there is always a long lineup in front of it. The reason becomes evident once you get your order. They produce the world’s best fish and chips. Part of the reason is that the fish is brought in daily by fishing boats that are docked right there. It doesn’t get any fresher than that. But beyond that I have no idea what their secret is. But enjoying their fish and chips on a warm summer day, on the shores of Georgian Bay and among natural beauty so stunning that it’s rightfully called God’s country, is truly one of life’s pleasures.
Was in NOLA for a friend’s wedding and stayed a few extra days just to check the place out more. One day we stopped at a place called New Orleans Creole Cookery and I had the best red beans and rice I’ve ever had. Of all the amazing food we had that weekend, this was still the most memorable thing I ate on that trip. Our hotel room didn’t have a refrigerator and the portion was humongous, but I would have dumped the leftovers into an envelope and mailed it home if I thought it would make it, it was so good.
I have had wonderful meals in all sorts of places. But the thing I’ve ever taken in was not in a restaurant.
While in Basic Training at Ft. Jackson, SC we went on a long tramp, in August. I was feeling pretty wiped out but our drill sergeant had arranged, unbeknownst to us, for ice tea about two thirds of a way along the march. A little lemon and well sweetened. Of anything I;ve ever consumed that was the best thing. This was in 1974, forty-eight years ago, and I still remember it.Back when Facebook became a thing I got on with the sole goal of finding my drill sergeant, to tell her I remember that, and her.
I’ve had some fantastic food in New Orleans. Unfortunately it was long ago and I’ve forgotten many of the details and certainly forgotten which specific restaurants I visited, but that city is famous for food and atmosphere.
Thanks for the tip. It’s been ages since I’ve been to Yellowknife, but I’d like to get there again sometime. Last time, I was underwhelmed by the Wildcat Cafe; it would be nice to try a bit of local flavour that’s better.
My contribution: Pizza. I’ve eaten a lot of it in my life, but none better than Bitondo’s, a Mom-and-Pop place in Toronto’s Little Italy. It’s the kind of place you’d never consider unless you knew about it–maybe three tables, one of which was always occupied by Mama, and the tables and chairs were plastic patio furniture. Anyway, you don’t ask for “extra cheese” or “double cheese” on your pizza, since about four inches of cheese go on it before it goes into the oven anyway. The place mostly did take-out, but since they did have a small seating area, I think it qualifies as a restaurant.
OMG, thought I’d died and gone to food heaven in NOLA. The Court of the Two Sisters was one particularly memorable place. Their turtle soup was so delicious.
