I can certainly afford it now but unfortunately i’m boycotting the state of Florida.
Best meal: (this was years ago!) - king crab legs, tiny boiled white potatoes, sweet corn on the cob. Caesar salad. French bread. Dishes of melted butter and lemon wedges . We ate ourselves into a food coma, muttering ‘this is so good, this is so good…’ Today, I can find king crab (fishing has been shut down this year) they are $50 for maybe two, and we can’t ingest all that butter any more. But my word, that was the best seafood meal ever.
My first encounter with Seafood that Good, or Crustaceans, at least…was when my Mom and Dad took me and my exchange student on a quick Spring Break trip to the New England States, with Bar Harbor as the final destination. So many little roadside "Lobstershacks’ where the fisherman were running a side hustle with potatoes, corn, and and a whole 2lb Lobster boiled in seawater, with giant kettles and propane. $6.95. That’s where I learned to clean and shell a lobster down to the swimmerettes, and even mix the tomally with butter and lemon as a dip.
I guess a first meal, where you learn a technique, or skill, or “inside” knowledge always “hits different”. Like when I learned the intimate secrets to lobster, or the many times I use chopsticks, or how to clean fish (cleaned hundreds).
I find this topic interesting. In my opinion, restaurants
have access to superior cuts of meat, a level above the prime I can buy at Sam’s Club. They have industrial grills that can seat at a high heat BUT, this is huge… they are cooking different meals for many people and most restaurants don’t take the time that I do. I may only prepare one main dish but I never overcook it and I do simple things like cut my veal or chicken into smaller filets so that you get more sauce, coating etc per piece. I hate to tell you but “FAT IS FLAVOR!” So I look for well marbled meat and use white and dark chicken in dishes . I tenderize my breasts and use MSG (Accent). I can make anything a restaurant can but 10x better and I’m not culinarily trained. I love to eat food and so I make it the way I would like it. Full on fat in my sour cream, real butter, heavy cream, salt and no low fat or sugar free. I don’t air fry, yep, I deep fry. I’m not saying that eating healthy isn’t noble but put some thought into this…. Humans are living longer than ever. To be honest , life is expensive so many can’t afford to live longer. I would rather run out of breath than cash. So, you decide. I would rather eat well and enjoy life than live past 100 eating kale. Even breaded and fried! Haha
False dichotomy when your friends are chefs.
We have a mid-year feast tradition (started as Christmas in July but now more general) every year where each of 7-9 couples makes a dish+drink pairing to theme. 3-4 of those couples include a trained chef (As in - has run an haute cuisine restaurant chef ). The rest of us are at least talented amateurs.
Best of both worlds, indeed.
I would say no if the fabulous meal at the restaurant is at a table chaired by people you love. Other than that, I’d say a definite yes.