I think dinner at Kruger National Park has to top the list for me.
Lots of great dinners in France, Italy, Greece etc… But of the traditional restaurant dinners only one makes the list. The Chef’s table at Commanders Palace while Jamie Shannon was Exec. Chef. From the food to the service to watching it all come together… it was magical.
ETA: Forgot to add that during the meal Miss Ella walked by and coyly asked us “How did you get this table?” with a wry grin.
Dinner at my friend’s house right on the coast of rural Nova Scotia, at an outdoor table on a deck overlooking the ocean, seated across from Ethan Hawke who just happened to stop by. The sun was setting and the light had a beautiful golden glow.
I can only think of one. My husband and I were driving home from visiting my family and we hit a blizzard, so what should have been a 10-hour drive turned into a 24-hour drive. Yes, we should have stopped somewhere, but we plugged on. By the time we decided we had to stop, there was nowhere to stop except the side of the road and we couldn’t see what was on the side of the road, so we didn’t stop. We were doing good to see the road. We were switching drivers every 30 minutes or so because it was TENSE driving, and also because our wipers weren’t really up to the job and we had to clear things off.
ABout the time the blizzard cleared we came upon Lamar, Colorado. There was at least one establishment still open and we stopped for hamburgers and coffee, and they were the best, most delicious hamburgers and the best coffee. Also they made some fresh coffee for our thermos, for the rest of the journey.
On our honeymoon Madame P. and I had a couple of dinners we still reminisce about:
One at the Blue Bayou restaurant in Disneyland, with the Geist (sp?) projector creating the illusion of a New Orleans outdoor restaurant (and very good boeuf bourguignon), and one at a restaurant in Los Angeles (name long forgotten, but I remember they went out of business) where the steak I ordered was served on a 12-inch platter and both ends of the steak hung off the platter, enormous loaves of fresh-baked bread (with orange and/or lemon butter), and a massive cube of sharp cheddar cheese (over a foot tall), where you were encouraged to go and carve yourself off a slab.
A three-course meal at a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. It was attached to my hotel; I happened by and noticed the clientele was almost entirely Japanese. The food was amazing and they were impressed that I ate it with chopsticks.
I don’t eat out all that much, as I prefer to cook. One memorable meal was with my brother in a restaurant in Budapest. I’d been there a week to case the city and he joined me for a boys’ weekend. We started the Saturday in a shooting alley, spending hours shooting various semi-automatic and revolver handguns, rifles and shotguns.
After showering at the boutique hotel (it got very hot in the shooting alley) we were a bit late for the reservation at the restaurant, so we ran through Budapest and were quite late as it was hidden in a small backstreet, but they put out another table near the entrance. I’d been recommended the place (and other activities) by another British guy who’d lived in the city for several years. We were the only foreigners in there although it was packed with locals - a good sign. The food was absolutely delicious, incredible, and cheap, although we’d probably built up decent appetites and not noticed with the adrenaline.
After the meal we went to a bar where we were met by a local guide I’d hired, to take us round the best nightspots in town. She took us to a few bars, a nightclub, and finished the night in a more ‘exotic’ bar that had sporadic shows. Lots of fun was had by all, and we still talk about repeating the japes in a different location.
There was the night with my (now ex) wife in Vegas; limo, helicopter, speed boat, Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, etc. but I have no memory of what we ate.
Edit: I forgot, we got married that night too. Oops.
My most iconic meal happened pretty recently. In September I spent a week in Paris with some friends, and one night we had dinner at Café de la Paix because it was walking distance from our hotel and my friends said it was famous. I’m really not a foodie: my main course was simply steak and potatoes, but it was truly one of the best meals I’ve ever had. The entire experience was amazing, but the food was exquisite. I never knew steak and potatoes could be so exciting! I also had a memorable meal at La Poule au Pot a few nights later (frankly, *all *of the food in Paris was wonderful), but I think Café de la Paix will be at the top of my list for a long time to come.
Roast Duck at Quanjude in Beijing, China. I ate there three times while I lived in China and would give quite a bit to go again.
One of the few meals that fully lives up to its hype. We once sat in the section of the restaurant from the 1800’s(they moved the entire thing at one point).
It’s amazing. You get soup at the end made from the duck(s) you order. It really is out of this world and I am surprised we don’t see more places like it in the US.
Another terrific meal I had was in about 1974 in northern Japan, in the small city of Misawa. It was a place called Kishiro’s (approx spelling) that had seating for about eight people. Tiny little dive of a place. I wanted to treat a married couple who had been good to me while I was there, and they immediately said that’s where they wanted to go. So off we went. They ordered six different dishes and I was nervous about the cost, as I didn’t have much back then. I’d never had food that bright and fresh. In particular was just a simple dish of thinly sliced beef with grilled peppers. We sat on cushions and ate with chopsticks and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I braced myself for the bill; it came to about the equivalent of $15.
Butter and baguette at some cheap-ass hotel in Paris. I haven’t the faintest clue what the name of this place was, but I spent one day in Paris back in 1996 (I’ve been back since) and ended up at the hotel after getting picked (against my better judgment) up by some driver hawking the accommodation at the train station. Turned out the place was fine. Cheap as shit, but had my own shower, next to the Metro, and came with continental breakfast.
I’ve never been excited by a continental breakfast, so when I woke up the next day to fresh baguettes and butter, I had zero expectations. But when that bread and butter hit my tongue–holy shit. I never thought something as simple as bread and butter could taste so good. I literally think of that day as being an epiphany in terms of my attitude towards food and simplicity. I was interested in food before, but that day I started to understand food and ingredients in a way I hadn’t before.
Chicken pörkölt (stew) somewhere in Zala county in southwest Hungary. My friend and I were down there working on a story for the paper, and he had some extended family down there with a farm. Once again, this was an exercise in simplicity: just a stew made with freshly killed chicken, paprika, onions, and little else (salt, pepper), served with crusty Hungarian white bread and a chilled red wine, Kadarka. I’ve never had a chicken stew as good before or since. Rich, chicken-y, with that paprika-red onion “gravy” to sop with my bread and chase with a gulp of Kardarka.
Piri-piri pretty much everywhere I’ve had in South Africa, but particularly at a restaurant a friend of a friend took me to in Johannesburg. Before my visit to South Africa, I had never even heard of piri-piri, and ended up ordering it just because it looked like something spicy I would like. I pretty much ordered it every one of the ten days we spent there (Cape Town, Port Elisabeth, and Johannesburg.)
Vada Pav from a street vendor in Mumbai. I had been warned not to eat the street food by my Indian friends while visiting there for work. I resolved not to eat any street food until the work I was there for was done, but on the second day, I just couldn’t resist the smells and I broke down. I settled on vada pav, a deep-fried, spiced potato patty served in a soft bun, topped with chutneys and fried hot green chiles on the side. That may have been the most delicious vegetarian thing I’ve ever eaten. Just an explosion of flavors and textures and heat. I’ve since had versions here in the US, but none have even come close to that one.
Pulled pork sandwich at Morris Grocery in Eads, TN. The pulled pork to end all pulled porks. I normally do my pork sandwiches fairly unadorned (just pork and maybe a bit of vinegar sauce and touch of coleslaw), but I let the pitmaster do it his way, sloppy with sauce and creamy coleslaw. Mouthgasm ensued. I’ve long since entertained the idea of making the 8 hour drive out there just for lunch just for that sandwich, but never got around to it. Unfortunately, the pitmaster, Laddie Morris, passed away last year, so that one perfect memory will have to suffice.
Meuniere amandine at Irene’s in New Orleans. It’s a freaking delicious dish on any day (like Julia Child, it was my come-to-Jesus moment with food) but that night the fish was puppy drum, which has a mild lemony flavor of its own. AMAZING.
Also in New Orleans, beignets and chicory coffee for breakfast at the Cafe du Monde.
A mixed seafood grill in an open-air, waterfront restaurant on Venice’s lagoon. Langostines, sole, other things I’ve forgotten. The waiter deboned and plated tableside. We drank wine. It was gorgeous.
Lamb curry at La Coupole on Paris’s left bank.
Dungeness crab and blackberry cobbler on my back porch, in the Puget Sound area.
Driving from Joliet, IL, to Minneapolis, MN, along old US 12 at the end of winter vacation 1964–65. Late afternoon on a freakin’ dark and cold day, my dad, brother, and I stopped at a pizzeria on the main street of some small Wisconsin town. We were all half-frozen with growling stomachs. Had some of the best pizza ever, topped with gobs of homemade Italian sausage and served with baskets of warm garlic bread dripping with real butter.
Having pretty much the same at The Leaning Tower of Pizza in Minneapolis after seeing Goldfinger with my dad and brother in the spring of 1965.
Tasting lobster for the first time at the age of ten (1965) while on summer vacation with my dad in Joliet, IL.
Tasting Welsh rarebit for the first time at the age of 13 (1968) while on summer vacation with my dad in Flint, MI.
Having a “hot dog” for breakfast at a bistro in Paris my first time abroad (summer 1975). Four wieners (count 'em, four!) inside a baguette topped with toasted cheese, all for just four francs (back then, USD $1). I made the mistake of slathering it with French mustard and taking a big bite, which sent me running to the counter to buy a bottle of Coke. A French family at a different table had been watching the whole time and found great amusement in my burning agony.
Having a Continental breakfast at my hotel in Paris the next day. That basket of French rolls, served with sweet butter and jam, OJ, and hot coffee and tea … yum!
A six- or seven-course dinner at the Uzbekistan Restaurant in Moscow later that month. Gigantic lamb dumplings in spicy broth … OMG, sooooooo good!
Finally, a farewell dinner with my group’s Georgian guide in Tbilisi, just before returning to the States. Had khachapuri for the first time—layered pastry, stuffed with goat’s cheese. To die for!
Oh, yeah: stopping at McDonald’s for the first time in the winter of 1960 or '61, in a station wagon filled with other screaming kids. McD’s was strictly a takeout place back then, and their opening in Minneapolis was a big deal. They hadn’t sold even a billion yet, but I remember the taste of that first burger, mmmmmmmmmmmmm! :o
I just remembered a pizza we had in Wisconsin, of all places. We stopped in the tiny town of Stockholm to buy a fruit pie from the pie shop there. I was chatting with the counter person, who asked “Are you going up for a pizza today?” I had no idea what she was talking about and told her so. She tells us that there is a farm in the hills nearby where they grow all their own ingredients and make their own dough, baking the pizza in a wood fired oven in a shack on the farm. People come from all over, bringing chairs or blankets to sit on. They only made them on certain days, and when it was sold out, that was it.
So we got directions from her and drove up into the hills to find the place. There was a line, but it wasn’t bad yet, placed our order and waited. Damn, that was one fine pizza. We sat out on the grass under the shade of a mature tree and scarfed that bad boy down.
There was a nice little restaurant tucked away in a very run-down section of Joliet back in 1965 or '66. We’re talking bombed-out London here, which was appropriate because the restaurant was an English-style pub. Absolutely the best char-grilled hamburgers I’ve ever had, served in baskets with french fries (sorry, chips) that must have been cooked in lard, since nothing else tastes quite like that.
The only other place that’s ever come close on both counts was an obscure bar on the fringe of downtown Minneapolis a year or two later. The same lovely clinging film of grease coating my mouth after I was finished. :o
We ate at a place like that in Idaho, right off of I-15. The “town” is Spencer, ID and the restaurant is the Opal Country Cafe. Spencer has a last-known population of 37, and we stopped there because they have a tiny RV camp with power hookups strung along a hitching rail. Spencer is also one of the largest opal mining areas in the world.
We were tired and hungry and tromped back up the road to the cafe/gift shop, which is one of about three or four buildings in the town. We weren’t expecting much, and man what a surprise! Best burger I’ve ever eaten, and believe me I’ve had hundreds. Fresh ground beef for starters, and whatever else they put on that thing still makes my mouth water nine years later. Also, freshly cut fries and onion rings.
This. In South Africa, quite a few years ago. The main course was springbok. Or some sort of gazelle-like animal. Plenty of excellent South African wine, too.
And lunch at a restaurant on the shore of the Black Sea (in Turkey). We went in and were told we’d have to wait for the boat to come in with the catch before we could order. The menu was just whatever the catch was that day. Amazing fish, amazing meal, beautiful location.
There are plenty of others, but these are the two that pop into my head right now.
