What's the best restaurant where you've eaten?

Cafe Society
21

Best appetizers
I know it’s ubiquitous but I like the Bloomin’ Onion at Outback Steakhouse.

Best Salad
The Ceasar at Pizzaria Uno’s in Arlington, VA (Ballson - no longer there).

Best entree
The Sesame Chicken at Charlie Chang’s in Arlington, VA (Shirlington).

Best dessert
The Old Dixie Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce at King Street Blues in Arlington, VA (Crystal City).

Best drinks
Margaritas at Ninfa’s in Houston.

Best service
Romano’s Macaroni Grill in Arlington, VA (Ballston Common).

Best atmosphere
Toss up between Tom Sarris’ Olreans House in Arlington, VA (Rosslyn) with their wrought iron balcony & riverboat saladbar, the Phillips Flagship in DC with their view of the DC waterfront, and the Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans which probably isn’t as nice now.

Most expensive
Phillips Flagship in DC. $120 for three.

Best Overall Experience
Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans.

22

The Bloomin’ Onion is one of my guilty pleasures. That also gives me wicked heartburn.

23

Best appetizers - I’m gonna be flexible here and count soup as an appetizer and state that the lobster bisque at Ruth’s Chris is unimaginably good

Best entrée – believe it or not, the steak au poivre at the original Field’s in the Wisconsin Dells

Best dessert – Portillo’s chocolate cake :smiley:

Best service – Ambria in Chicago

Best atmosphere - Ambria in Chicago

Most expensive - Ambria in Chicago ($320 for two people to have the 12 course degustation with wine)

24

Daniel’s Broiler near Seattle has some of the best atmosphere as well as some damn fine meat. And it’s not too cheap.

25

Appetizer would have to be at Topolobampo in Chicago. Best freakin’ guacamole I’ve ever had in my life.

All the other categories can easily be awarded to The Oakroom at the Seelbach hotel in Louisville. Just a fabulous place. And if it’s good enough for Al Capone it ought to be good enough for anyone, yes?

26

Best appetizers
Best entree
Best dessert
Best drinks
Best service
Best atmosphere
Most expensive

I don’t know the name of the place, but I worked on a boating video in Ohio awhile ago and the producers took us out to dinner. I had escargot in mushroom caps and garlic butter for appitizer and roast duck for entree. Probably the best for both of those.

Don’t drink or eat desserts.

Not sure about the ohers.

27

Bearing in mind that I am SO not an appreciater of fine food…

Best Salad: At La Fondue in Saratoga, CA. It’s just the house salad, or whatever.

Best Appetizer: Israeli Cigars at Zibbibo in Palo Alto, CA (they’re cigar-shaped potato dumplings of some sort. Heavenly.)

Best Dim Sum: I’ve had Dim Sum at supposedly the best places in LA’s and San Francisco’s china towns, and the best I’ve ever had was at the chinese restaurant in Bellagio in Las Vegas

Best Atmosphere: Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, at one of the fancy hotels in Maui. The eating area is built right over a little inlet with fish swimming right under you, and ocean/sunset as far as the eye can see. Plus, the one and only time I was there was taking my parents for their wedding anniversary, so it was a special occasion

Best hit-the-spot food: Shredded BBQ pork sandwich from a roadside stand on the north shore of Maui after driving and hiking around and being exhausted and hungry and thirsty. Runner-up: This pizza I had in New Jersey this one time after a long and miserable plane flight.

Best dessert: Chocolate Fondue at La Fondue

Best Overall Restaurant Experience: The buffet at the top of Hotel Granvia in Kyoto. Probably the best meal I’ve ever had. A bewildering variety of foods, ranging from the basic (big hunks of meat being cut up) to exotic (octopus thingies), all of them fantastic, all-you-can-eat, great view of Kyoto, great service, AND only like $35 per person if you’re staying at the hotel.

28

The best Hit the Spot food has to be a mighty dog with ketchup, pickles, grilled and raw onions from Red Hot Lovers in Ann Arbor Michigan.

Practically lived off of em in college and every once in a while I gotta go back and get one.

Lived in Chicago for 3 years and never found a Chicago style dog as good as the ones in Ann Arbor.

29

My wife and I loved that stuff. We’ve even tried to get it here in Texas.

Best appetizers- Crawfish Bread at Copeland’s in Mobile, Alabama. It’s like a pizza with Crawfish and cream sauce! YUM!

Best Salad- I can’t help it. I gotta credit the Olive Garden! (Screw you, in advance!). If the Olive Garden is not accepted, then I offer the Ceasar Salad at the Red Lion Hotel in Portland, Oregon.

Best entree- The Tour of Italy at Olive…just kidding…

Best dessert- Turtle Fondue at the Melting Pot in Houston.

Best drinks- Margaritas at Papasitos.

Best service- The Bahamian Club at the Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas.

Best atmosphere- Hooters. Heh, I mean The Rainbow Room in New York.

Most expensive- Hell, the exchange rate was so bad when I went to London, Burger King could be near the top in this category. Seriously, it was probably the Rainbow Room. I think my bill was like $400 for two people. I have eaten at more expensive restaurants, but I had to pick up the check for that one.

Best Overall Restaurant Experience: The Rainbow Room. It had a great band, a great view, excellent food. Plus, it was my first anniversary.
A few other categories:

Best BBQ: Other than my dad’s backyard, I’ll go with Good Company BBQ in Houston. The answer may differ, but if it isn’t in Texas, it is not the best. That’s right. I’m looking at YOU, Kansas City!

Best Sushi- I’m still looking. I’ve had some great stuff, but nothing to distinguish itslef as the best.

Best Buffet- Marketplace at the Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas (breakfast).

Best Seafood- Pappa’s Seafood in Houston.

30

Best Entree Pepperoni and cheese pizza at The Pizza Factory
Most expensive Louis IV in the South of France, $1000 per person :eek:

31

Best appetizers Black Angus, love their potato skins.

Best Salad Spuds Pizza Parlor in Tacoma. Homemade dressings and a big pile of mozzarella on top.

Best entree Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. 16 ounce porterhouse please.

Best dessert A restaurant near the entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park. Huckleberry pie with homemade ice cream.

Best drinks I don’t do alcohol, anyplace with decent iced tea.

Best service Salty’s at Redondo.

Best atmosphere The Space Needle. Too bad the food was terrible.

Most expensive Spirit of Washington Dinner Train.

Best Overall Restaurant Experience Duke’s Lake Union Chowder House. It was just me and my twin granddaughters. Anita made the meal a treat despite the lousy weather outside.
How about worst experience. I nominate Bubba Gump’s at Pier 39 in San Francisco. I was served farm raised Atlantic salmon at a restaurant within view of the Pacific Ocean.

32

For me, in all categories it was the Goose’s Nest (Ganzneste?) in Rijsweig(?) in Holland.

33

It sort of is, Morton’s is underneath offices and my old job’s training facility. You can see a front for Morton’s, but you have to go into the revolving doors that don’t look like the enterance for a restaurant.

Also, it is the restaurant I thought of when I read the OP. Both the most expensive (about $250 for two of us, including wine), and the best. steaks. ever.

34

I agree. Better than the other two high-end steak houses I’ve visited (not a huge sample, I’ll admit!).