[jimdgoulding]

VERY NICE, gents.  Especially the longer descriptions which had me salivating.  Another best dish for me and at a hip small restaurant was the tournedos bearnaise at The Grape in Dallas.  The second time wasn't as good but part of the reason why may have been that on my first visit I ate at the small bar in a charming and better lit separate room with a few tables, also.  The barkeep heated my brandy just right and the conversation was good with a chap sitting next to me.   

[woodsyi]

I don't know what would be the greatest.  I have been lucky enough to try some famous places from Cabaña las Lilas in Buenos Aires, La Tour d'Argent‎ in Paris, usual spots in NYC and DC to local favorites, Inn at little Washington and L'Auberge Chez Francois.  All famous, expensive and great stuff but not the best value.  But I enjoy all kinds of food.  I have fond memories of a ham and cheese baguette (with honey mustard and basil) from a sidewalk display in Latin Quarters,  sizzling souvlaki off oil drum cooker on Athens street, "rotisserie" pollo in Cuzco, Impala steak in Nairobi and local stuff everywhere I visit.  I enjoy a Wendy's burger now and then too.

The greatest would have to be the time that I arranged a 5 course dinner at Hillbrook Inn for a weekend stay at their best suite.  I had worked it out so that they poured from a 1990 Cristal for a Champagne toast before dinner but after my wife had accepted my marriage proposal.   I may have different feelings about that wine if the answer was no...

[rpf]

Wow, Woodsyi. Incredible variety of great venues.

I haven't eaten in too many top notch restaurants, maybe a half dozen to a dozen total over the years. But the culinary experience that most stands out was at a friend's house over twenty years ago. He had studied cooking in Paris one year and was a superb chef. I no longer have the menu he printed out or remember what the courses (7) were (aside from a shrimp appetizer  ) but the wines were something else.

The party was made up of a group of friends who had met at Goldstar Wines in Forest Hills, Queens including the owner and some employees. Goldstar was a very fine wine shop at that time and had the finest selection of Italian wines in the country. The owner was the first to import and introduce some of the greatest Italian producers.

Anyway, everyone was assigned a course to select a wine for and to bring two bottles. As it was a French dinner, all of the wines, of course, were French. Although I don't remember all of the wines or their vintages, this was a serious group and the selections reflected that. So, we started with Champagne, went to a Premier Cru Chablis (that I brought) and went on to an entirely Bordeaux assortment, including Ducru Beaucaillou, a Margaux (don't remember which), Haut Brion, Mouton Rothschild, Latour and D'Yquem. The group, excelling in not knowing when to stop, finished with a rare Italian dessert wine brought by Goldstar's owner, whose name sadly escapes me at the moment. Even more sadly, he was killed in a car accident in Italy a short while later.

There were some other memorable dinners with all or parts of this group, particularly with one friend (who already then had been in the wine business for well over twenty years) who lived in Long Beach and had an excellent garden and cellar. We'd go over for lunch on his deck in the summer, stay through dinner, and well into the night; eating, drinking, talking... and doing it all over again... and again.   

It was a lot of fun but I eventually had to stop drinking entirely for a good ten years (sulfite and yeast allergies) and now am limited to an occasional glass or two.

[ctviggen]

Drink scotch or bourbon or rye whiskey -- no sulfites or yeast.

If we want to broaden this to what are the meals you remember, I remember getting some type of spicy hot chicken dish in Singapore, where the chicken had basically been hacked with a clever.  Very tasty, but watch for bone pieces.  I also remember the wide variety of strange fruit they had.

I remember being out to sea and getting fruits from Australia and other places, like Kiwi and strange melons.  The Kiwi was fantastic and the stuff we get here is terrible in comparison.

I remember being in South Korea and going to a local eatery where they brought kimchee and the like in these carts and you just ordered whatever you wanted.  We had no idea what half the stuff was, but it was all pretty tasty. 

Finally, when I graduated from college, my brother took me to where he was executive chef.  Not only was the food great, but the Sommelier was leaving and charged us house wine prices for wines that were easily $200/bottle.  That wine was fantastic, and I can't remember having wine that tasted as good. 

[TheChairGuy]

Regardless of how good I thought it was, having a complement like that was simply the "greatest culinary experience ever".

Bob

Did it getcha' any tho, Bob-o? 

John

[BobM]

Oh man, there's been a few, and not all in a restaurant.

Mark Josephs Steak House in downtown Manhattan, with slab bacon and huge dry aged steaks, with a $500 magnum of Italian Brunello de Montepulciano. All on expense account, of course.

La Bernardin for my 40th birthday, but I had a wee bit too much wine beforehand, so my memory is a little dim on that one. What I do remember clearly was fantastic. The funniest part was seeing all these old monied socialite guys with younger blonds dressed in leopard skin clothing. They all kept looking at my wife and me wondering who the hell we were to invade their little club, and how the hell we got reservations to begin with.

I've been to quite a few great places in Manhattan back in my trading days, on expense account. Which usually means there was too much alcohol and not enough savoring of the dishes I tasted. I'm sure I would enjoy them more today at a more sober level.

My wife is also a magnificent cook and makes some very fine dishes:
- pan seared sushi grade tuna coated with sesame seeds and chopped pistachio nuts over baby greens and a wasabi dream sauce
- spicy pan fried shrimp over basmati rice
- her gumbo is tres delicious also, she makes a good roux base
- boneless lamb stuffed with goat cheese and herbs

... and many others too. It's a wonder I'm not severly overweight.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Did it getcha' any tho, Bob-o? 

John

Fact #1: I "got some" two days in a row.
Fact #2: I'll be fixing the same entrée tonight.

I swear. 

[rpf]

Drink scotch or bourbon or rye whiskey -- no sulfites or yeast.

I've never been able to develop a taste for any hard liquor. Actually, all alcohol has sulfites unfortunately. Sulfur is used to clean the tanks or casks it's made and aged in.

[TheChairGuy]

Fact #1: I "got some" two days in a row.
Fact #2: I'll be fixing the same entrée tonight.

I swear. 

I believe both facts....you are well known for your unerring honesty, Bob

Oysters, schmoysters....blackened tilapia is the new aphrodisiac seafood.

I'm loading up on it now

John

[Bob in St. Louis]

John, go >> HERE << for the Tilapia recipe (I use less cayenne and more EVOO).
Be sure to stock up on your Viagra. 

Bob

[werd]

Very memorable meal i had at TJ's in the Vegas Hilton. Huge cut of prime rib 24oz i think, with a masterfully cooked lobster tail (it was nice). Served with a martini, all very memorable.

chek it out....

[jimdgoulding]

Almost forgot one.  Bayona's in New Orleans had only been open a couple of months at the time.  Had a rack of lamb in a recovery sauce but they had pulled the bones out, sliced the meat into bite size pieces and stuffed the holes with goat cheese.  Don't remember the side dish but I do remember saying to my associate "imagine how much lettuce they discarded so every leaf in our salad could be this perfect".   Creme Brulee for dessert.  Every bite that evening rocked my world.  A couple years later went back and this dish had been bastardized into something less good and the quality of lettuce wasn't the same.  Hate it when that happens!

[JDUBS]

NYC has been pretty weak relative to Chicago, ime, for exceptional culinary experiences.  Alinea, the 23-course tasting, was amazing.

-Jim

[jimdgoulding]

Speaking of Chicago, went to a restaurant in the Gold Coast part of town that was hard to find cause there wasn't any signage (which struck me as kinda hipper than thou) just a door (red?).  Had it's own elevator tho which went up one floor and opened onto the room where we were met and shown a booth in the corner.  Had a veal steak as simply presented as about anything I had ever scene (this was during the days of nouvelle cuisine) and it was delicious.  But, what was so memorable was the wine.  An '74 Silver Oaks cab.  Yep, I scooped up 8 bottles and a few more later when we got home.  Next to us were a couple and the lady was pretty sloshed.  At a long table directly in front of her were about ten suits who at the end of their dinner whipped out some celebratory (it seemed) and enormous cigars.  After they all had lit up, this lady, and brothers and sisters, she was NOT mincing words, made them all put them out. 

Any natives here know this restaurant?  Thanks.

[Hoosierdaddy]

I will second Alinea.  Amazing 23 course experience along with the wine flight.  Also in Chicago: Everest, Blackbird, Sola, Naha are all excellent.  Tru, Charlie Trotter, L20 and Graham Elliott on my short list to get to.

[wje]

I don't know what would be the greatest.  I have been lucky enough to try some famous places from Cabaña las Lilas in Buenos Aires, La Tour d'Argent‎ in Paris, usual spots in NYC and DC to local favorites, Inn at little Washington and L'Auberge Chez Francois.  All famous, expensive and great stuff but not the best value.

Being from the area, I've been to these two restaurants, too.  Both were quite special occasions that the family was celebrating.  24 years ago, we also dined at the Hay Adams hotel in DC on Thanksgiving - our first Thanksgiving in the area.  My mother-in-law was along.  Quite a dining experience there.  Pheasant dumpling soup, etc.  "$45 prix fixe" at the time.  Not sure how much it runs today, though.

[groovybassist]

Canlis - Seattle.

Wagyu Beef Tenderloin is amazing; everything cooked to perfection and top tier service.  Pricey, but worth it.

[JDUBS]

I will second Alinea.  Amazing 23 course experience along with the wine flight.  Also in Chicago: Everest, Blackbird, Sola, Naha are all excellent.  Tru, Charlie Trotter, L20 and Graham Elliott on my short list to get to.

I've been to Blackbird, Tru, Charlie Trotter's....Alinea topped them all, imo.  Another good Chicago spot is Moto.

-Jim

[K Shep]

I married a european gal who likes to travel home once every few years.  We've eaten in Paris, London, Rome, Amsterdam and Latvia, Riga.  In my opinion, the restaurants in the US have been the best I've experienced.  Dining is another one of my hobby's.  I love to cook too, but I can't hold a candle to some of the dining rooms I've eaten in.  Here are my favorites in no particular order.

Los Angeles- Patina
                  Matsuhisa
                  Bazaar
New York-    Restaurant Daniel
                  Le Bernardin
Yountville-    French Laundry
                  Bouchon
S.F.-           The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton
                  Gary Danko
                  Michael Mina

[PhilNYC]

Can't really narrow it down!  But here are the ones that are most memorable to me:

- Kobe beef sampler at Craftsteak at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas
- Tilapia ceviche at a side-of-the-road restaurant in Guanacaste, Costa Rica
- Prime rib at Metropolitan Grill in Seattle
- Steamed lobster at side-of-the-road lobster shack near Portland, Maine
- "live" lobster sashimi in Japanese restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan
- Yakitori dinner at famous yakitori "bar" in Ginza(Tokyo), Japan (13 chicken skewers, each from a different part of a chicken)
- Fish stew on a scuba dive boat off the western coast of Thailand