Best appetizers Dalí - Somerville, MA (all of them! esp. the garlicky chicken, the baked goat cheese, the octopus vinaigrette, the roast duck in berry sauce)
Best entree Osteria Pepò - Florence, Italy (rabbit stewed in red wine with olives)
Best dessert Ruth’s Chris - New Orleans, LA (a very light French-style cheese cake with an equally light blueberry sauce - perfect after a heavy steak)
Best drinks Boston Beer Works - Boston, MA (Centennial Alt! Centennial Alt! Centennial Alt!)
Best service Vivere - Chicago, IL
Best atmosphere Victoria - London, England (some mediocre pics here - we spent a few evenings sitting by the fire drinking Fuller’s and eating food with gravy on it)
Most expensive - Morton’s - Boston, MA (spent a little under $300 for two, but that included wine)
NEW CATEGORY Best Overall Experience House of Nanking - San Francisco, CA (a friend took us there, told the waitress we eat everything & to bring us whatever. We had some of the most amazing Chinese food I’ve ever had - and I have no idea what some of it was. There were unfamiliar vegetables and unfamiliar meats throughout. Great time!)
Heh. At first I thought you said House of Wanking. Sounds like fun but I don’t think I’d eat there.
That’s a hard category but I’d have to call it a tie between Maison Robert and Lola’s. The primary difference being “Bon appetite!” and “Bon appetite, y’all!”
And I should make special mention of the two best places in the world to get fried chicken. The Florida House in Jacksonville, FL and The Brookville House in KS.
Best appetizers: Potato puffs at Antoine’s in New Orleans, Oysters Bienville at Parrain’s in Baton Rouge, or Cheddar Fries at Snuffers in Dallas (if it has over 4,000 calories is it still an appetizer?)
Best entree: The Daily Grill on Rhode Island in Washington, DC had lobster pot pie as a chef’s special one night. Haven’t seen it on the board since, but it was wonderful.
Best Dessert: Chocolate soup at the Palace Arms in the Brown Palace in Denver. Bananas Foster at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. El Diablo at Tango in Seattle (dark chocolate with cayenne and caramel…)
Best Drinks: Strongbow cider at any decent pub in London. Margaritas at the Blue Goose in Dallas.
Best Service: Antoine’s in New Orleans, hands down. Ask for Charles.
Best Atmosphere: Canlis in Seattle. Pat O’Brien’s courtyard at night on a quiet night (yes, there is such a thing). The Aerie on Vancouver Island. High tea at the Empress in Victoria.
Most Expensive: I try not to think about the bill after I’ve paid it. There are some doozies on this list, but none stands out from the crowd.
there’s a liitle Mexican place near where I work - they have the most marvelous eggplant appy - it’s almost like a rotini, but lighter, and with a kick
Best entree
the Palm Court in the Omni Hotel in Cincinnati - it was veal medallions in some wonderful sauce - it was rapturous (but since I live in NY, it’s not likely I’ll make a special trip for that again)
Best dessert
Applebee’s has a warm fugdy brownie that makes my eyes roll back into my head
Best drinks
Applebee’s - especially their ice cream based drinks
Best service
some italian place in Greenwich Village I went to years ago (I cannot remember the name) each server had only two tables so “attentive” was an understatement. IIRC we tipped 30% that night
Best atmosphere
if the lighting isn’t too subdued, if the music isn’t too loud, and if parents keep their rugrats in check, I’m happy
Most expensive
Mareno’s Steak House - before figuring in drinks and dessert, we were at $50 each - but it was well worth it
I have been fortunate enough to each at The French Laundry in California’s wine country and Masa’s in San Francisco - both were exquisite from start to finish. Their reputations are richly deserved. And I got to expense one of them!!
I also ate at a place in Provence in France that has a similar “best ever” reputation, but the name escapes me. Oueste something? It was meh.
Ah. There are a few restaurants tucked into tiny corners around there. Somewhere on Newbury Street there’s a boarded-up crackhouse door, behind which is the hugest and bestest Italian food you’ve ever had.
My brother’s recording studio used to be there - top floor of one of those brownstones - closer to exeter IIRC
that restaurant name sounds familiar - how long has it been in existance?
In terms of pure enjoyment: Battista’s Hole In The Wall, in Las Vegas. So delicious you’ll slap your momma. Everything there was soooo good, and the espresso they give you after your meal is superb. Compared to Battista’s, the Olive Garden is like Spaghetti-Os.
Best dessert was probably that slice of cheesecake I bought at Dee’s Cheesecake Factory in Albuquerque. My wife tasted hers first, and started making “oh my god”-type orgasm noises. “It can’t be THAT good,” I said. Oh, but yes it was. Try the almond amaretto.
Most expensive in recent memory was Fulton’s Crab House in Downtown Disney. We ate there about a month and a half ago. The bill for my wife and myself was $184, and we didn’t drink any alcohol. That was for a meal of: appetizer of grilled scallops, main course of filet mignon with Alaskan king crab claws, and some sort of killer chocolate cake and cheesecake for dessert.
Number one in each of those categories for me would be the French Room at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas. The food, serivce, atmosphere, food, and the food are all out of this world (with a bill to match).
Funny story that happened the last time Mrs. Nrd and I were there. We we’re enjoying one of the little palette cleansers they bring out between each course (probably a lemon ice) and I was saying something about them, but I couldn’t remember the right word. So I was fumbling along trying to describe the course that came between two of the other courses, you know, “the intercourse!”
Pretty funny at the time, although I don’t think any of the other tables heard me.
Hmm…what’s funny is that while I’ve eaten in a number of remarkably good restaurants, but damn if I remember much about 'em. So my list is short.
[New Category] Best Salad: Cafe Rosemary in Bend, Oregon. They only make one salad, and it’s part of the cost of the meal. But it’s by far the best salad I’ve ever eaten.
Best Appetizer: Obaeur in Werfen, Austria. Trout Strudel
Best Atmosphere: Princeville Hotel in Princeville, Kauai. Forget which restaurant it was there, but we sat outdoors as the sun set at the edge of the verandah next to a lipless pool, overlooking Hanalei Bay.
Pacific Northwest: Anthony’s. It’s a chain, but the one where I’ve eaten, in Bellingham, has just about the best sourdough bread, the Alder Planked Salmon is incredibly good, and the Wild Mountain Blackberry Cobbler is the best dessert I’ve ever eaten. The first time I ate it I almost cried because I was too full to eat it all.
San Francisco Bay Area: Skates On the Bay, in the Berkeley Marina. Great view, great food, great drinks, great everything. I’ve eaten a lot of different dishes there, ranging from fish to pasta to steaks. It’s all been excellent. I love their Bloody Marys, too.
Los Angeles: Dar Maghreb Moroccan food. Beautiful decor and fantastic dishes, especially the chicken and the signature dish, B’stilla. As if it eating excellent food until you’re about to pop wasn’t enough, they have belly dancers.
New York: Artie’s Delicatessen. OK, so it isn’t a foodie paradise, and probably on no one’s top 50 New York restaurant list. I can’t help it. I ate six different things, including my favorite, the corned beef and pastrami, cole slaw and russian dressing sandwich, and I fell in love.
Best Salad John Harvard’s - Cambridge, MA. The sadly departed Catch of the Day Salad. A piece of grilled fish on top of greens with fresh sweet corn, roasted red pepper, some other stuff, and a fantastic vinaigrette. It hasn’t been on the menu the last few times I’ve gone, so I’m worried it’s gone for good.
[Best Salad] Dont’ Yell at me but i really like MacDonald’s California Cobb with grilled chicken and Newman’s Own dressing - I have that at least twice a week