Kosher, South West France And Spanish Wine On This Monday

Kosher, South West France And Spanish Wine On This Monday – Episode #362

December 3, 2007

Gary has 3 wines that he has promised to taste so on this glorious Monday after a huge Jets win and a great weekend with the Vayniacs at Crushpad he tastes away! Also a Huge Contest announcement!

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“QOTD: Texas Longhorn in Stockholm. Ribs, corn, slaw and some fries tha…” by richardvinifera
“QOTD: At this little restaurant near me called Cafe Juanita. I go th…” by Dessert Wine Nerd
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Wines tasted in this episode:

2003 Yarden Cabernet SauvignonIsraeli Kosher Wine
2004 Castano SolaneraOther Spanish Red Wine
2003 Saint Jean Du Barroux L’oligoceneVentoux/Luberon/Nimes

Links mentioned in todays episode.

787 Responses

December 3, 2007

waibeans
1st
December 3, 2007

Dave Canada
2nd…….
December 3, 2007

AndrewB
3rd
December 3, 2007

Susan
3rd????????????????
December 3, 2007

Susan
4th?????????
December 3, 2007

Susan
6th?????????
December 3, 2007

Rajiv A
Thanks gary! You rock!
December 3, 2007

PASO WINO
Top TEN
December 3, 2007

E
It’s gotta be said – the old Solanera label was AWFUL. Much, much improved. And yes, the wine wasn’t too bad either.
December 3, 2007

KenP
top ten
December 3, 2007

Susan
Gary – Another SUPER Ep!!!!!!!!!
December 3, 2007

pforty
top 12!!
December 3, 2007

pforty
okay that was weak on my part!
December 3, 2007

wtvLurker
the italian peppers you thought of on the solanera nose are called pepperoncini.
December 3, 2007

randyshakes
643rd??? Does it matter? Another great episode, thanks for doing what you do so well. Congrats on the Jets win.
December 3, 2007

Susan
Gary-Congrats on the Jets win!!!!
December 3, 2007

KAHUNA
QOTD: In Italy in the town of Pacentro a hill town in Abruzzi- we ate at a restaurant that served us for about 4 or 5 hours- it was in an arched ceiling old stone basement
December 3, 2007

Iowa Dan
Greatest Meal…I spent a cold and snowy October day with a couple friends splitting wood at cabin in Northern Minnesota. We finished late in the day around a roaring bonfire drinking Leinenkugel and eating Ham and Bean soup that had been simmering on the stove all day.
December 3, 2007

J.R. Young
QOTD: The French Laundry for my 30th birthday. Oysters tapioca, selection of cheeses, duck sausage, quince, beef tenderloin, numerous chocolates it was so over the top I can’t even remember many of the details.

It was great meeting you on Saturday, a great event all together.
December 3, 2007

Totte
G.V

Great ep. I like these long ones.

QOTD : Per Se, NYC, lunch 2:e Sep -05 amazing. Had a nice 3 course dinner in paris with 60 people in a small art gallery.

Stay true !

Swedish T
December 3, 2007

portland guy
Nice episode. QOTD – A couple. In house, Beef Wellington prepared by my wife that was incredible. And, in San Sebastian, Spain, an amazing selection of tapas at several tapas bars, all taken in during a 2 hour food fest (repeated daily for a week).
December 3, 2007

Dave Canada
QOTD – Greatest meal actually just happened 3 weeks ago. I was out with my wife and another couple to Scaramouche in Toronto. Another restaurant owner had gotten us the best table in the house with a great view of the Toronto skyline. I had venison that was SO DAMN GOOD!!! We had a great 2000 Silvio Grasso Barolo and a 1996 Pichon Baron and closed the place down……such a great night!!!!
December 3, 2007

cgf
G-man-

good ep. I want that masseto.

are we allowed to post multiple times, or with different handles?

QOTD: My greatest meal was june 2004 in sicily with my now-wife. We were only asked by the waiter if we would like meat or fish, and red or white. Then for the next 3 hours we were fed dish after dish. They would bring out bottle after bottle and just leave it on the table for us to help ourselves. It was unbelievable.
December 3, 2007

Trey
Greatest Meal-steamed sea bass Hong Kong style.
December 3, 2007

dank
QOTD: one amazing t-bone in France when my family and I were there for vacation and it fell on my birthday. even before i could drink wine! it was great because of the location, the people (the fam) and the steak.. mmmmmmmmmmm.. steak……

Getting ready for Hanukkah, gotta get the K-dog wine (kosher) out there..
December 3, 2007

garyv
If you post more then once it’s ok but we will only be using your name once!
December 3, 2007

Dave
QOTD: The NFL tailgate party for the Jacksonville superbowl that I got to go to a few years ago was a pretty cool meal. The meal was more of a highlight than the game, that’s for sure.
December 3, 2007

garyv
my latest GV.com post is up
http://garyvaynerchuk.com/2007/12/03/my-120-6-apart-sells-live-journaldigg-photos-and-the-bcs/
December 3, 2007

Dr T from N. Carolina
QOTD Mama Rosa’s in the French Quarter — the place needed a renovation, but the food was great, the prices were moderate, the Chinai was good, and it was my honeymoon. what more could I ask for?

“T”
December 3, 2007

Pete V
GV

Best meal was this October at Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdburg, CA. My wife and I shared a bottle of De La Montanya Christines Vinyeard Pinot Noir. (Won Best Best of Show at the Somoma County wine and vine Fest this year)Superb!

PV
December 3, 2007

Ahock
QOTD- best meal I ever had was my grandma’s chicken soup and boiled chicken, it’s not what you eat, but the love that goes into the meal.
December 3, 2007

KC
Best meal? I would have to say a gorgonzola stuffed ribeye with a port reduction that I made for my gal’s b-day a few years back. Decadence.
December 3, 2007

AndrewB
The greatest meal I’ve ever had was probably my 1st time eating at a Mongolian Barbecue Restaurant about 4 years ago, which is funny because that consisted of a bunch of meats and I am a vegetarian now, but it was darn good.
December 3, 2007

chitown_wino
QOTD- My wife and I were at a restaurant on Tortola on the British Virgin Islands called Brandywine. Pasta course of Tortolini stuffed with some kind of meat filling, I had a Mediterranean sea bass, she had lamb chops and we drank a lagerin (sp? Italian red wine)- perfect.

More recently though I had BBQ Bison short ribs at Ted’s Montana Grill that I am definitely going back for in the near future!
December 3, 2007

Caroline
MMmmmmm…………..Masseto
December 3, 2007

waibeans
Great show GV.. thx for pushing another wine on me that I didn’t need

QOD: The term meal is intangible, tastes can change, when I think of the best meal I don’t even try to think of what I ate.. it was the experience as a whole that makes it memorable. So, my best meal was on my honeymoon with my wife, her oldest friend, and her fiance. Her oldest friend was her pen-pal from Normandy, yet they have only met in person a handful of times. To welcome us to their hearts they took us to a country farmhouse restaurant in the middle of the day and we ate and talked for hours. Learned alot about both of them that day and that’s why its my best.. hands down!
December 3, 2007

Rob P
David Paul’s restaurant in Lahaina, Maui was hands down the best meal I’ve ever eaten. Mahi Mahi in some sort of rich cream sauce with a cheesy risotto. Amazing.
December 3, 2007

Smith MBA
Was this a taped episode? No mention of the JETS stomping the Fins. Montana steaks, is there any difference between them and the other gourmet steak sellers? I will gladly participate in their contest.

QOTD:
The greatest meal I ever had was at Maestro in D.C. Fabio Trabacchi’s restaurant. He is now at Fiamma in NY. It was a tasting menu paired around a 2000 Pio Cesare Barolo. Everything from Crudo (with aperitifs) to desseert was outstanding.
December 3, 2007

jason
QOTD: There are so many components that can fracture into a question like that. Is it time and place, the conversation, the food, the WINE! maybe you forgot about the person and the place and you just remember the wine. Oh well, I will have to dig back. I might have to be a meal I had in NY at Prune. I was with my future gallery dealers, good friends from different parts of my life, and we had a case of wine with us ( it as right before they got their liqueur license). Everything was so good, the fried olives, esoteric aps and a well chosen mixed case. It was a night that was engraved into our collected memory for a long time to come.
December 3, 2007

Neil
QOTD: Greatest meal I’ve ever had…..it was at our house with the whole family during the holidays. I served a foie gras au torchon appetizer with Brioche (French Laundry style), followed with a mixed green/pears/candied pecans/blue cheese/citrus vinaigrette salad, followed by a Standing Rib Roast Au Jus with Yorkshire Pudding & Creamed Spinach. Served with 2002 St. Clement Orroppas. Everyone was happy and healthy and in good spirits. Can’t beat times like that…now about that $500.00 bottle of vino…………………
December 3, 2007

drydrew
G thanx! Gary your the man!
December 3, 2007

DHerbie
The Lurkers cometh.
QOTD: How to gauge? Given the experience, the best meal I have ever had was on my honeymoon at Don Alfonso 1980 on the Amalfi Coast. The food was great but the service and the reason for being there made it the best meal in my entire life.
December 3, 2007

randyshakes
the greatest meal I ever had was in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, Russia in 1989. We had some reindeer steak, borscht, and Beluga caviar. I don’t remember what wines we drank with the meal, but they were perfectly matched with the courses that were served.
December 3, 2007

DHerbie
arrgggh! 1890 not 1980… is there an edit button that I can’t see?
December 3, 2007

cma82
Nice..I gotta pick me up some of those Ventoux, I love anything CdPish. Can’t say I love screwcaps though, I just like the nostalgia of corks. Although, if everyone went to screwcaps, my corkscrew collection might go up in value!

QOTD:
Best meal I’ve eaten has got to be at Daniel last summer. Was there for like 7 hours, pretty hard to beat.
December 3, 2007

KNode
QOTD: The best meal I’ve had was at The Grape in Dallas; Baked Brie for an appetizer, Scallops over Couscous for the main course, and a chocolate molton cake for dessert. This was also the night that my husband and I got engaged, so I might be biased.
December 3, 2007

Ryan
QOTD: The best meal that I have ever had was a home cooked true Italian meal while visiting my godparents in Alba, Italy. I have to say that I am a huge fan of Italian cooking and a full course meal can’t even compare to anything we have in the U.S. The courses just keep comming, the Tiramisu desert is my favorite. The meal was complimented by a wonderful 1979 Barolo from the Piedmonte region of Italy.
December 3, 2007

Marc
QOTD: The greatest meal was the one I ate on board the Concorde from JFK to Paris. Not because the food and wine were fabulous (though they were), but because of the overall experience. As they say…it’s 3 hours of great meals, and then you land! Too bad it’s gone.
December 3, 2007

Gus
QOTD,

Dinner with my dad in Chamonix, FR (2001). It was a menu of duck breast salad, grilled duck/pork/beef, and an evil lemon Armagnac sorbet – house wine in a carafe. We ate outside as the sun set over the French Alps, Mt. Blanc in the distance.

Sincerely,
Gus

ps – Gary, sorry about the email. There really was no comments link earlier but it popped up on my reload.

pps – I am a lurker no more!
December 3, 2007

Colin
GV – Thanks for continuing to highlight Ventoux/Luberon/Nimes. QOTD – Best meal? Two – Pakistani in Barcelona and Fried Chicken out of a paper boat sitting on a curb during a festival in Central Square, Cambridge MA. 2nd best meals? Anytime my lady cooks…
December 3, 2007

PASO WINO
QOTD: I would have to say Hoppes in Cambria. Six course chef’s special and wine pairing. Elk chop, alabone, foie gras, cheese plate, dessert, and other num nums. Good wine…great food… and great company… with my girlfriend. That is why I love food and wine because I never forget event like that. And many more amazing times to come. Thanks Gary!!! Good show!!!
December 3, 2007

Justin
I want that wine!!

QOTD: Charleston Grill in SC – cow tongue, sweetbreads, tuna tartar and a 2003 Bordeaux.
December 3, 2007

Social Project Brian
QOTD: Greatest meal I ever had was at Toscana, a restaurant that no longer exists in Encino, CA. It was preview night, before they opened, and they invited my family to come test the menu. We got to try everything, every appetizer, every entree, coffee, wine, every dessert. We must have tried 50 things, and each one was amazing! And the bill: $0.00. Seriously, how can you beat that?
December 3, 2007

HungryChuck
Yo, Best meal had to be as a teenager…. my Grandma’s bean soup (with salt pork) followed by homemade pierogi stuffed with potato and cheese…tossed in brown butter and carmalized onion… my grandparents were from easter Czech. so … Gary, I’m sure you can relate………
December 3, 2007

Dave
Best meal I’ve ever had… bacon wrapped BBQ shrimp followed by a 48oz Porterhouse Steak with some Caymus Special Selection. People tried to talk to me at the dinner table, but I couldn’t hear them…I was all the way in heaven.
December 3, 2007

caleb
Great episode! Greatest meal ive had was at a small trattoria under the tower in barbaresco. Simply pasta bolognese! It beat my experience at the french laundry! What an atmosphere.
December 3, 2007

Jang-Woo Park
great show Gary. it is always fun to watch you spilling wine~

QOTD: I visited Korea a couple of years ago after I had been staying here at the state for 6 years. The dinner that I had with my parents on the day I arrived there was a just simple but the greatest meal that I’ve ever had.
December 3, 2007

Kelly In South Dakota
Filet Mignon, Chairman Reserve aged 30 days and grilled at home.
December 3, 2007

E
I love it when you love a wine like that. I wonder if it’ll be gone by midnight.

QOD: dinner and a Pichon-Longueville vertical hosted by Mme Lencquesaing. Partially the food, partially the wine, partially the company.
December 3, 2007

Hinrgman
QOTD – Grilled T-Bone at Dill’s in Willmington
December 3, 2007

Billr
Again, a great show. I don’t know how you can keep bringing the THUNDER day after day like you do but Iam enjoying the heck out of it.

QOTD: My Texas size family (Mom, Dad, sisters and brothers) took a dream vacation this summer together on an Alaskan Cruise with Regents Cruise Lines. We had what I thought was going to be a very simple western steak meal one evening that turned out to be the most breath taking steak I have ever had. It was called a “Cowboy Steak Dinner” but the meat was to die for. In my 50 plus years of life and travel I have never had anything that tasteful in my mouth before. The new potatoes and the baked green beans wrapped in bacon just finished the whole thing off just grand. I don’t even remember what wines we had but there was a few bottles of those too throughout the coarse……..
December 3, 2007

Mitch T
Greatest meal I ever had, is going to be with a $500 dollar bottle of wine. But my mother made an amazing sweet potato pecan casserole this Thanks Giving and I was never a fan of those casseroles before it before, and some how it made the top of my list for meals. P.S. I just bought the Saint Jean Du Barroux. Cheers
December 3, 2007

Tim Vining
Greatest meal — My father’s crayfish etouffee when growing up in South Louisiana. Would love to try it with a great glass of wine, now that I am becoming a Vayniac and out of the wine closet.
December 3, 2007

Shug
QOTD – It was a gorgonzola-stuffed angus beef tenderloin with asparagus at a local Italian place.
December 3, 2007

Bret
Another great Ep Gary!

QOTD: Filet Mignon and Lobster @ Pappas Bros. in Dallas sometime last year.
December 3, 2007

jesseeley
QOTD: I feel lucky that I still (hopefully) have several decades of good-food/wine experiences, but recently my husband and I went to Boulder, CO and had some awesome locally-raised rack of lamb. However, I can also braise a mean oxtail (raised on our farm) a la julia child.

Thanks! Hope I WIN!
December 3, 2007

Large Format Fever
The night I asked my inlaws if I could marry their daughter was BY FAR the best dinner of my life. I had them over to my one bedroom apt in college and served some amazing blue fin, caprese salad, and other goodies. They brought left over cake because they just thought that it was going to be beer and burgers!!!! Classic… It went down in history. I will never forget it…
December 3, 2007

chris afzzal
i was vegetarian for 15 years when i broke it at Pacific Dining Car with surf and turf. by far, the best meal of my life.
December 3, 2007

mark
so i have to be from europe to leave a serious serious email…
December 3, 2007

BCWinesAreIn
QOTD: That would be at Le Crocodile restaurant in Vancouver. Started off with the Foie Gras appetizer paired with the Pffaffenheim Grand Cru Steinert Gerwurz. Then had oysters on the half shell with the Allan Scott Pinot Noir. Main course was a caribou tenderloin with the Carpenito Farnito Cabernet Sauvignon. Dessert was a fantastic Grand Marnier souffle. If you live in Vancouver or ever visit Vancouver you gotta go there.
December 3, 2007

Chris G
Really hard question BUT eat a meal in Venice in the ghetto area and had to sit in the ‘garden’ as it was ful of full of Venetians. Not so bad but it was November and cold and the only people out there were us and 5 other tourists. Amazing seafood and genuine atmosphere, so cheap it’s embarassing. Feel like a fraud commenting just for a nice bottle of wine! Have posted plenty in the past however so I’m thinking if I didn’t comment for this I’d be crazy!!!
As always, thanks for a great show, it is almost always the highlight of my day!
Chris
December 3, 2007

Craig MacDonald
The greatest meal I ever had was brochette of beef at the Carnelian Room in San Fransisco. Outstanding meal, much of it prepared at our table, with an absolutely incredible view of the city (it’s on the 52nd floor of a bank building)from daylight, through dusk, to darkness with the city all lit up. We were the guests of some special people – the only way we could ever eat at a place like that – and it was a meal I’ll never forget!
December 3, 2007

purplejuicebruce
QOTD…A medium rare N.Y. strip steak, portabella and asparagus risotto, steamed spinach with butter and vine ripened tomatoes with olive oil and red wine vinegar and a bottle of Justin Savant
December 3, 2007

Rajiv A
QOTD: A dinner at Devi Restaurant in NYC. Having grown up on Indian food, each dish spoke to my earliest memories of smells and tastes, yet each had a twist, a paradigm shift. Some dishes seemed to frame familiar flavors in a new light, some pulled the rug out from under me. That was the first dinner where the food gave me more thought than the conversation. In fact, my friends and I ate largely in silence, and when we spoke… well it was about the food.
December 3, 2007

Cabdrinker
The greatest meal I ever had was the second date with my wife. We started our evening off with drinks at the Ritz Carlton in Dana Point, Ca. and then headed up the Pacific Coast Highway to Laguna Beach and had this fabulous Greek dinner at this little place called Aegean Cafe. I had a seafood dish and the prawns were as big as my arm, my wife had this incredible I believe it was Moussaka. The wines and the atmosphere were top notch.
December 3, 2007

Nick Aguilar
My best meal ever was in Rome (my first night ever in Europe) at L’Atro Mastai for my girlfriend’s birthday.
December 3, 2007

mark
shut up and taste it already
December 3, 2007

Erica37
QOTD: I spent two weeks in American Samoa and didn’t eat much while I was there. When I got home, I got to eat delicious Taco Bell chalupas in the airport. Best meal I’ve ever tasted.
December 3, 2007

Luke B
Great episode, and awesome competition idea.
I wonder how many people are going to say they made the best meal they’ve ever had.

QOTD: Honestly, nothing stands out as a whole meal, i can think of starters that stand out, main courses that stand out, and desserts that stand out. But if i had to settle with 1 meal. It would possibly be the meal i had this year for my 22nd.
I went to a little village in the middle of nowhere over here in the UK.
I had a huge piece of plaice in some buttery sauce, with fries AND garlic mash, and loads of vegetables and all that stuff. And for dessert was something called “Mrs G’s toffee meringue”, it was incredible.
December 3, 2007

Ned
A five course meal prepared by my friends Nate and Alicia at their house, back in college; i don’t remember everything we had but it was all very good and we were a small select group invited to this dinner and it was a very lovely time.
December 3, 2007

Sean
Best meal I’ve ever had was crunchy chicken cooked by a friend’s mother. Basically, it is chicken with corn flakes all over it. Why was it so good? I have no clue.
December 3, 2007

Harley Stan
QOTD- The greatest meal I ever had, my girlfried had made me a complete meal in the crock pot while I was at work, I was suprised when I arrived home from a long day at work to have a complete meal waiting for me. I don’t remember what the meal was but we have been married for seven years now.
December 3, 2007

Linderelli
not lurkin’ today. . . .

I love to eat and one of my closest friend’s husband is a chef. As much as I love eating at their restaurant, the best meal I have had was at their home. Homemade Fettucine noodles in a Pasta Fagiole – we had all just moved to Walla Walla to open Saffron, and the month leading up to the opening saw a lot of meals at their home for my boyfriend and I. She is Vietnamese and he is Italian and when she cooks it’s also a treat. I love her Banh xeo and Pho! 2nd best meal has to be the Pho we made after a long day on the slopes.
December 3, 2007

Fred
Great show Chuck….keep bringing the thunder!!

QOTH…Best meal ever….was recently in Chicago at Harry Caray’s resturant (HOLY COW!!)..I had a bone in ribeye which was amazing with a Fransican Merlot…perfect…and I got to meet Harry’s widow as I finished dinner…she was great…
December 3, 2007

Stacy B.
QOTD: An arabic wrap from the KartoffelLord in Dortmund, Germany. Marinated chunks of soy protein in a spicy sauce with fresh veggies and hummus… Amazing!
December 3, 2007

Lebork
I would have to say asado is the best meal on earth, you’ve been to argentina, so you know what i’m talking about.
December 3, 2007

b
the best meal was a fillet so tender you could cut it with a spoon in argentina with chimmicurri and a roasted corn salsa.
December 3, 2007

dannykam
Lobster Pot Pie @ Michael Mina’s Las Vegas
December 3, 2007

mikey lennon
The best meal I have ever enjoyed was after a long semester and finals my mom made me my favorite meal of hers, mashed potatoes with venison. It was winter and she had lefse made as well. Definitely not the most elegant meal or most flavorful but it was the exact right meal that the right time that made it really stick out for me.
December 3, 2007

Terri
Well, Gary, you got me out of lurkdom with this one. The best meal I’ve ever had was at Joel Rubochon in Vegas.
December 3, 2007

Dano
fun show as always, looking forward to the widget drawing…

QOTD: my grandma’s roast turkey dinners that i used to have during lunch period at school way back when… this is an english meal so it includes roast potatoes, peas, yorkshire puddings (the best!!) and lots and lots of gravy *sighs happily*
December 3, 2007

Andrew
Hey Gary

Good show – interesting discussion about the screwtops. I buy a bit of medium priced Australian wine to cellar and one of the main considerations whether I buy it or not is if it’s sealed with a stelvin; if it is I may buy it if it isn’t I normally don’t bother. Screwtops are the future.

QOTD: good meals are all about the people and for me the best meal every would be my 22nd birthday – a Viking feast were about fifty people dressed as Viking sat along one huge table and ate spite roasted meat with their hands and drunk beer straight from the keg – absolutely barbaric, but great fun!

Andrew
December 3, 2007

Phil Mck
7 course french meal in Japan of all places…
December 3, 2007

Jason S.
QOTD: Marinus at the Bernadus Lodge in Carmel Valley on my honeymoon.
December 3, 2007

Matty H
QOTD: My Dad’s home cooking- Sesame Salmon, Roasted Tomatoes, and Reggiano Risotto.

Hey Gary, also, I was wondering have you’ve seen that kids’ movie Ratatouille? I thought it was pretty cool, and it deals with those issues of food/wine snobs in an interesting way- the villain is a snobby critic who has the power to make or break the restaurant and when he tastes the food his own memories and tastes become help him to appreciate the food not for who made it or how it was made, but how much he personally enjoys it. Seems to be what you’re all about. Pretty cool.
December 3, 2007

Ben Franco
The greatest meal i ever had, in retrospect would have to be every time my mother would cook something just for me. My mother 8 years passed would cook 2 dinners many a time because what she was making my father I would not like. My favorite dish would have to be Arancini they are: baked rice balls, filled usually with meat sauce, mozzarella, peas, and other things. On the outside bread crumbed and deep fried.
December 3, 2007

Alex Diaz
Best meal i have had had to be in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. In a restaraunt my family owns. It is a Brazilian stlye meat house and the meat were amazing. Man that Wine falls right up my alley. Why you might ask? Because i am having an affair and her Name Super Tuscan… hehe i dont think its an affair anymore i kicked the aussie wines out of my house for now…
December 3, 2007

j carey
The greatest meal I have ever had was a giant lunch at Au Biche au Bois in Paris France 2 years ago.. It was so fun
because of the decadence of eating and drinking such a rich meal in the Afternoon.. Another great one was the Elaborate Choucroute Garni meal I made last Xmas served with the finest Rieslngs and Pinot Gris’.
jason carey.
December 3, 2007

Jon Ward
The best meal I’ve ever had was a Terragon-Riesling Leg of Lamb that I personally cooked myself. With it, I served fried sweet potato fries and portabello mushrooms sauteed in butter and soy sauce. The wine we had with it was the same wine I used in the recipe. It was the Relax Riesling made by Schmitt-Sohne. It was the first Riesling that I had tried and enjoyed it quite a bit, not to mention it went great with the meal!
December 3, 2007

Matthew L
Gary…did you drop an F-bomb at the end of the show? Funny.

Sorry to hear your review of the Castano Solanera. I just picked up a bottle before Thanksgiving (for 15 bones $&%#@Q@#). I will be interested, though, to see if your review matches up to my impressions when I open the bottle. That’s the great thing about wine. This bottle may be the Schwarzenegger of wine. “The critics hate me, but the people love me.” We’ll see.

QOTD: I had a number of great meals with my family, but the best meal in my life, so far, was at the Inn at Little Washington earlier this year. My wife and I went there for our 1st wedding annivesary. GREAT food!

Cheers!
December 3, 2007

DaveyDonut
Gary, quit bottle shocking my bottle of wine by shaking it around! That 2003 Saint Jean Du Barroux Lâ€™oligocene sounds great… I hope it’s one of the top 50 wines on Wednesday.

QOTD: Dinner at Grolla in NE Portland with my girlfriend, who at the time had a very sensitive diet. They do a “Chef’s Taster” menu that is incredible… the owner of the restaurant comes out and interviews you with what you like and don’t like, any allergies, anything you’re in the mood for, whatever… with that knowledge, they go back and develop a five-six course meal around what YOU like, and you have no idea what’s coming… you don’t really “order,” they just decide what they think you’ll like, describing what it is when it arrives, and man did they nail it for both of us! And our courses were all totally different, so we really got to try 12 things. And for each course they paired a different wine, and each time it was such a perfect pairing. This meal wasn’t really for a special occasion (other than her leaving for a week), but it’s the meal that made it a special occasion that we both will always remember. It lead to one of the best nights ever! I’m almost afraid to go back because it may not be as good…

David
December 3, 2007

Dr. Dan
Great silent finish today, Gary. Oh, so clever. QOTD: I guess that my favorite dinner was at Commander’s Palace in the Garden District in New Orleans. Every mouthful of food was divine.
December 3, 2007

Wine Rep Lurker-MR. T
You pulled me out, finally. I’m a wine rep in Washington State and enjoy the show for bringing the excitment back to me to help convey to my customers.
Favorite meal: Dinner with my wife at Inn at Ship Bay on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. Mount Eden winemaker dinner with Jeffrey Patterson.
T
December 3, 2007

Sonnenuhr
Gary – Great show, loved the Triennes Saint Auguste (an absolute steal). I’m in for 6 bottles of the Saint Jean Du Barroux L’oligocene. Funny you mentioned winebid.com – spent entirely too much money upgrading my collection of Italians this weekend; although no $500 bottles…

QOTD – I’ve eaten in fine restaurants all over this planet (Tokyo to Rio, Paris to Hong Kong) and my top 10 meals have all been in Italy. Very, very hard to pick a favorite, but I would have to say it was at a tiny place in Cinque Terre. No, I will not divulge the name. I’m an only child and I do not like to share
December 3, 2007

Itamar
A little Osteria near Ponte di Rialto in Venice. I hope to go back there with my ladyfriend soon (preferably with a 90′ Masseto). That said, I’m heading to French Laundry tomorrow for my b-day so needless to say the Osteria has some serious competition. Good show today – keep it rolling…
December 3, 2007

Kevin Grove
QOTD: A small local New Orleans style restaurant has a blackened catfish po’ boy with lettuce, tomato, and spicy mayonnaise. I love fish, I love spicy food, and this is the perfect combination of the two. They also have the best wine and beer selection of any place in town, so every Friday night when we go out for dinner I get it along with a new wine to try.
December 3, 2007

James Poole
QOTD: The best meal I ever had was the Ribeye at the Great Oak, inside the Pechanga casino. My wife and I each had a steak and asked the sommelier to pair it with any wine from their cellar. The wine was so far the best we’ve ever had, but the steak eclipsed even that!
December 3, 2007

Chris C
QOTD: One of the greatest meals that I have ever had was when I was in Napa about 5 years ago. A group of 4 of us dined at Greystone, the Culinary Institute of America’s training center. I can’t remember exactly all the courses involved in the meal but each one, with the wine and company around the table, was outstanding!!!

Thanks for bringing the wines of Southern France to our attention. I will have to start trying them.
December 3, 2007

TerenceF
My sharp-eyed aunt brought that very same du Barroux to thanksgiving dinner – boy did that bottle go quickly. QOTD – 1776 Steakhouse, brilliant steakhouse right near my house in little old Rehoboth Beach delaware, last year. 12 oz. New York Strip, dry-rubbed with cardamon, pepper, cinnamon, and Kona coffee, then white truffle oil + parmesan mashers, and a nice vintage port afterwards. I’ve since tried to replicate that dry rub and I just can’t get it as perfect as it was that night.
December 3, 2007

keelegl
Nice ep. Gary. Iâ€™m going to search out the St. Jean Du Barroux.

Best meal: If I had to pick one, I would say Stonehill Tavern in Dana Point, CA. Started off with a trio of lobster, main course was Berkshire pig with a black truffle jus. Paired with the 05 Kosta Browne RR Valley. It was an awesome night.
December 3, 2007

Sue Z.
QOD – My friend cooked a traditional Italian dinner at his home complete with hot & cold anti-pasta, a first course lobster ravioli with his interpretation of fresh calabrese tomatoe sauce, salad, and entrees including squid ink pasta, hunter’s stew, gnocchi with pesto, and shrimp scampi a la Brian. The food was paired with lovely Poggio al Sole and delicious Amarone. Dessert? Absolutely no room:-(
December 3, 2007

Betsy
QOTD: Wow, this is a toughie…but I’ll have to say the tasting Menu at Daniel, NYC for my 30th birthday!
December 3, 2007

kevin D
My best meal of all time would be a filet mignon from Angus Barn in raleigh NC, with a great cabernet enjoying it with my great family and friends, and in my opinion the best salad in the whole world. They also have an award winning wine celler.
December 3, 2007

The Adam Bomb
QOTD: Last year’s Christmas dinner. I, a holiday feast rookie, cooked for my skeptical grandparent’s a standing rib roast. A perfect medium-rare gained their trust for many dinners to come. But it wasn’t the beef that made it the best meal ever, it was their reaction.
December 3, 2007

Mike T
You’ve brought me out of the lurker status with this one….

The greatest meal I’ve ever had was at Blue Point Seafood, in San Diego. We enjoyed a wonderful 8 course meal accompanied by an even more amazing bottle of 1997 Chateau Figeac. I have rather high standards and am hard to impress due to the fact that I serve in a fine dining steakhouse. I really couldn’t find anything wrong with the service and quality of food… this rarely happens

Love the show
December 3, 2007

Kipp Bodnar
QOTD: hmmmmmm I would say Fried Soft Shell Crabs from Crooks Corner in Chapel Hill, NC

great show today….
December 3, 2007

Kristen
Great episode today GV! I’m gonna try and seek out that Cotes de Ventoux wine! And can I say, what a week for the Vayniacs- widget contest on Wednesday, $500 bottle of wine tomorrow! I love it!

QOTD: My favorite meal was in Florence at a restaurant called the Academia. We went there twice because it was so good! I had a chicken breast baked with sausage and other stuff inside and this beautiful white table wine from Tuscany that was petillant.
December 3, 2007

AmaroneMonster
Great episode!

Best meal – I would hesitate to choose one great meal, but a couple weekends ago I had eight people over. We prepared a 9 course meal and took down 12 bottles of wine over the course of 7 hours.

What’s better than eating and drinking with people you love?
December 3, 2007

Dale Cruse
A phenomenal meal I had was freshly killed venison roast with potato gnocchi and Cuvee du Vatican Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Sixtine 2003. Reviewed it on Cork’d, too! http://corkd.com/wine/view/15005-Cuvee_du_Vatican_Chateauneuf_du_Pape_Reserve_Sixtine
December 3, 2007

Jennifer
QOTD: The BEST ever? Hmmm… My Mom’s spaghetti & meatballs on any night I was really really hungry. Nothing better.
December 3, 2007

HawkeyeOeno
QOTD: Meal I most enjoyed….Camping out with my best friends family and his buddies from Chicago for Halloween on the Mississippi River. His brother cooked about 15 of us whole carmalized onions, baked potatoes,and the best chicken breasts still on the bone that anybody had ever had, most of us thought it was better than any restaurant. To top it off there were two huge cast iron dutch ovens filled with homemade peach and cherry cobbler.
December 3, 2007

Htownboots
QOTD: It is a toss-up between tasting menus at the French Laundry and Cyrus in northern CA.
December 3, 2007

Wes
best meal: @ gary danko’s a year ago, though it had more to do with the company I had with me.
December 3, 2007

e.fremont
QOTD Liver special@ Bouchon in Yountville,CA. Another great episode. Always something new too learn. Thanks!
December 3, 2007

HuskerJamie
QOTD Best meal I’ve came at Corsa Cuccina at the Wynn Casino. My wife’s cousin works there and he hooked my family up with an incredible family style meal of their best apps, salads, and entrees. Their knowledgeable staff also helped by bringing us bottle after bottle of superb wine that went perfectly with the tremendous food. The grilled pizette with mushroom puree, robiola cheese, and white truffle oil was probably the highlight.
December 3, 2007

zeppo55
The Post Hotel in Lake Louise Canada. Just a incredible rustic/romantic setting. Had the Game plate with Elk. Was not a wino
like I am now so can’t wait to go back there as they have an amazing cellar.
December 3, 2007

Corvette Tony
QOTD: The best meal ever? Tough one but I would say, wild mushroom soup followed by filet of beef at the Saddle River Inn.
December 3, 2007

pforty
WOW!!! Fantastic Ep!

QOTD: My wife and I ate at the kitchen table at Grant Achatz restaurant Trio in Chicago. 29 courses and 13 different wines. We drove an hour in some of the worst chicago weather to get there! It was absolute magic. In the presence of a true artist!!
December 3, 2007

billyg
At David Paul’s in Maui after my wedding in February I had my best meal ever. Many courses, many wines, a great time.
December 3, 2007

Kev and Ams
QOTD: This summer I went to Italy and I had one of the most delicious steaks I have ever had. It was on the island of Ischia, the last restaurant on the port. This was clearly a seafood restaurant, but they made me a delicious steak and the wine was flowing. It was a great time.
December 3, 2007

Robin C
I like it that I’m never completely sure if it’s your mother or Chris Mott.
We ordered a bottle of the St. Jean; it sounded very exciting.
QOTD: Favorite meal: at the Taos Winter Wine Festival – De La Tierra in the resort El Monte Sagrado: a Robert Mondavi Wine Dinner with Soup of Duck confit and Spanish Chorizo, Paillard of Turbot, Doding of Napa Cabbage (this course impressed us most as it was served with Pinot Noir), Mustard Crusted Rack of Elk, and Raspberry and Coconut Cream Pineapple Ravioli. The Chef, Ruben
Tanuz had left the restaurant by the next year, and we still haven’t figured out where he relocated, but we are willing to follow him.
December 3, 2007

Juicy Jesse
QOTD: Pork Tenderloin Churrasco, with Aji Amarillo (Peruvian chile)- Pineapple Sauce. From Bon Appetit 09/2003. WOW!! Funny, it was a red wine (I don’t remember which one, specifically) but it was the meal AND the company (family & friends)which stole the show this time. Go figure!
December 3, 2007

plutoburn
QOTD: Tasting menu with wine pairing @ Canoe, in Toronto
December 3, 2007

crank
QOTD – Inn at Little Washington outside D.C. Ridiculous!!!
December 3, 2007

Eric S.
QOTD: A small restaurant in San Francisco (Cafe Mozart). A great cut of fillet mignon with sweet Bearnaise sause. It was easily the best dinner (food, atmosphere, etc) that I can remember.
December 3, 2007

Kev and Ams
QOTD: Also, Game-Hens with roasted potato.
December 3, 2007

Dominus
Great, great show and thank goodness, the Barroux isn’t sold out yet. Just placed my order.

QOTD: Les Crayeres (Chateau Boyer) in Reims, France otherwise know as Chateau Pommery. Unbelievable dinner with the little woman. I also remember having a Chardonnay by Laurent-Perrier that I had to have and though it “did not travel” I ended up contacting the winery and they were gracious and accommodated my request.

Cheers!

P.S. Go Ravens! Beat the Cheats!
December 3, 2007

KVolk
Qotd: Christmas 3 years ago we had an 8 rib standing rib roast with yorkshire pudding and plenty of wine and all the family. Awesome fun and awesome company…..the $500 bottle did pull this lurker out now back to the shadows.
December 3, 2007

RDaneel
QOTD – Best meal at a restaraunt: small bistro along a canal in Bruges, Belgium with the wonderful woman who is now my wife. Totally great for the setting, the experience, and the food (which was amazing). Finished with the best chocolate mousse I’ve ever tasted.

Best meal that’s home cooked (which is the overall best): Beach condo during vacation, fresh tomatoes off the vine and great mozzarella baked into a fantastic tomato tart enjoyed with my family.
December 3, 2007

Yiannys
Question of the Day: I come from a very, very big Greek family so I have had many amazing meals when the family comes over for the holidays(and I know how much Gary loves the family “togetherness”). We pull out some lambs on the spit. Steaks on the grill, souvlakia, salads etc…I love the family get-togethers. One of the best mixtures – food, family, and wine.

I’d also like to recommend trying some Greek Wines.
December 3, 2007

Scott Finney
QOTD: Strip Steak with grilled asparagus at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, WY. Forget the name, but it was at the Four Seasons Resort. Most amazing steak I have ever had. Wish I could remember the wine I was drinking, but it was few years ago. Oh well.

Great episode Gary, I will have to keep my eyes peeled for the St. Jean.
December 3, 2007

K MAN
Gary did you get the Mp3?
December 3, 2007

kevin
QOTD>>> really tough question…I’d have to say at Knickerbockers in Manhattan. Blue Cheese Truffle oil fries and French Onion Soup, and a Brouilly.. and ofcourse many loved ones to share with..
December 3, 2007

VinoPhilosopher
Without a doubt the best meal that I ever had was at FogÃ²n St-Julien in Paris while traveling with my then girlfriend and now wife, when we became engaged. It was a Spanish restaurant that basically served tapas and paella–we order the tapas. The menu just said that we would receive 7 (or so) tapas, without any description of what was being served. We asked what the tapas were and the waiter said “whatever the chef has prepared today.” So we left everything up to the chef which resulted in the most amazing 8 individual plates that I’ve ever had–the pork belly was my favorite.

Cheers
December 3, 2007

Loweeel
The dry-aged porterhouse and 2004 Caymus that I had after passing the NY Bar exam. The sweet taste of success!
December 3, 2007

AmandaM
QOTD: When my Mom and I went to Ireland, we stayed in a really nice mannor/hotel and we had a really delicious dinner there. Breakfast was pretty eh, but dinner was fantastic. I remember there was this melon sorbet that was so creamy and rich. It was great.
December 3, 2007

BYB
Charleston Restaurant. Baltimore, MD.
December 3, 2007

Barry
Great great episode! Double great!

QOTD: My favorite meal was at my 21st birthday a couple years ago. My family and I got together at Maggiano’s Little Italy and had an amazing family style dinner of different pastas, chicken, and veal. My mother brought with a bottle of Champagne that was given to her when I was born and we popped it open and enjoyed it with my family over a lovely dinner.
December 3, 2007

JimmyC
QOTD: The best meal I have ever had was at a Steak House in Dallas Texas Called Chamberlain’s. Amazing steak and amazing wine selection!
December 3, 2007

Mike L
QOTD – Tuff call. I’m going with this crazy chicken + potato + carrots and ranch thing that my buddy wrapped up in tin foil and cooked in a camp fire… Yep I think thats it. Sounds elementary but man it was stupid good.
December 3, 2007

K.M.
QOTD : The best meal I have ever had was my graduation dinner from law school at Ken Stewart’s Grill in Akron, OH. Very high class dining, and I got a Rolex Submariner as a graduation gift to boot!
December 3, 2007

careyd
The greatest meal I ever had? Boy, there’ve been some great ones, but it was probably a home-cooked Christmas dinner by my wife and mother-in-law. Wow, oh wow, when they really want to, they can really cook like a dream…and…you can taste the love.

Runner up would be CafÃ© Opera in Paris, 3rd would be Le Petite Marmite in Nice (Franco-Egyptian, circa 1999).
December 3, 2007

Tina
Best meal: salmon with maple glaze, with fresh asparagus.
December 3, 2007

Brandon T.
QOTD: a tough question… usually I remember the wine and company more than great food. So, a couple memories: Santa Barbara with Caymus S.S., my love, and good food (I felt like I was on psychedelics)… another… Sacramento with Seasmoke Pinot, my chica, lamb and a lobster pasta… oh, damn, too many
December 3, 2007

JackHammer
QOTD Lupas, Sea Bass Ravioli with black truffle sauce.

peace
December 3, 2007

Kojip
QOTD: I’ve traveled, not much in the US, but over much of Europe. My greatest meal has been, believe it or not, on the West Coast US in a small restaurant in a San Francisco suburb called Walnut Creek: Ephesus. They have an assortment of cold appetizers served with pita bread that will blow your mind. For the first 2 or 3 times you will do nothing but order off the cold appetizer menu. Unfortunately I have to recommend you skip the warm appetizers but the meat entrees are equally good. One of the few times I’ve asked for rare tenderloin kebabs and was actually served rare meat. These guys trust and know the quality of their food and it shines in through the taste. In the unlikely event this comment is drawn, please give them a shout out as I love their food and service. They’re half of what makes me want to go home and visit my parents.
December 3, 2007

Andy
Greatest meal hands down was a meal with my family at Frontera Grill in Chicago!! Highlights were the Black Angus Ribeye with spicy red chille, Tacos al Carbon, Blue Agave margaritas, and chocolate pecan pie… makes me hungry just thinking about it.
December 3, 2007

BWicked
Gary,
Thanks for the great show.
QOTD: Great meals at Gary Danko finished by a
visit from the (stinky) cheese cart.
December 3, 2007

SS Chris
At the last Vayniac offline, we went back to ANTHONY & DAVIDS in Hoboken (for Vayniac historians, A&D was the location of the first Vayniac offline). Had the Truffle Risotto entree made into an appetizer…..UNBELIEVABLE…especially w/ the wines. Then, per grape_ape’s recommendation, had the Veal Tenderloin for the entree…..OH MY GOD…so good!!!!
December 3, 2007

Robert Howells
My favorite meal was in Florida at Downtown Disney. Wolfgang Pucks thin crust pizza.
December 3, 2007

mattlock
QOTD: It would have to be this grilled tilapia with butter cream sauce and capers. It also came with fresh homemade mashed potatoes and giant grilled asparagus basted in butter.
December 3, 2007

DannInNH
QOTD…My grandmother’s brisket
December 3, 2007

Michael Goldfine
The best meal I have ever had was a Duck salad with walnuts and pear paired with a Cantillion Fou Fou, an apricot lambic from the best and most Authentic brewery in the world located in Belgium. I had it at Monks Cafe in Philadelphia.
December 3, 2007

J M
1984 Thanksgiving meal – starts with potato salad w beets, hard boiled eggs, corn, a hint of mayo. Brown rice and beans, corn on the cob (love corn), roasted turkey, steamed cabbage & carrots, stuffing, jam, yams, plantains, got so full I forget the rest
December 3, 2007

John Farrin
You’re killing me with these 95 pointers for $24. I’m well aware I have a collecting problem and you’re not helping

QOTD: A 3-course pre-fixe meal at Hunters Hotel in County Wicklow, Ireland in 1985. Everything fresh from the ocean and garden and simply prepared so as to not get in the way of the ingredients. Superb!
December 3, 2007

Bill H
QOTD: home-cooked filet mignon and shrimp on the grill with roasted potatoes

pepperoncinis?
December 3, 2007

KW
QOTD: I have had some great great Peking Duck in Beijing. The duck melts in your mouth and is well complemented with a number of different dishes. Too bad they didn’t carry great wines – you have to drink the local stuff like Mao-tai or some Tsingtao beer! I had the beer.
December 3, 2007

wfdeac
QOTD: Hard to narrow it down, but I’d say one of many I had at the Hussar Grill in Rondebosch, South Africa. A great local place with excellent steaks as well as more exotic meats like zebra, kudu, and warthog.
December 3, 2007

sonnybobiche
Best meal ever:

On father’s day, I braised some GIGANTIC short ribs for 4.5 hours, mashed up some garlic+blue cheese potatoes with a miniscule amount of shaved white truffle (it was all I could afford), and served it a half ear of corn with chive butter, and a kendall-jackson cabernet (I didn’t know any better.) My dad was mildly impressed.
December 3, 2007

JeffWalnuts
Hey Gary, great meeting you on Saturday, I’m gonna buy some of that Saint Jean Du Barroux L’oligocene 2003 next, QOTD Tiritas on the beach at Zihuatanejo…….for me, it was Life changing. You rock!
December 3, 2007

Tom T.
I’ve had so many good meals that it’s hard to recall which is the “best”. What sticks out in my mind right now is a dish called Italian Pork served at Harry Caray’s in Chicago back in 1991. Outrageous.
If I ever get to Chi-town again you bet I will be there again to order it.
December 3, 2007

Reeve
QOTD: The best meals I’ve had are usually a reflection on the people I’m with and not the food, but since it’s a food sponsored QOTD, I guess I’ll go back to the time I was lucky enough to eat at The French Laundry. Good friends, good food, good wine… and amazing pacing… the whole meal took 5 hours and we all had such a blast. That’s what meals should be all about.
December 3, 2007

the mazzzz
GV, best meal was at Le Bec Fin Philadelphia,great company Wife,son and two bottles of very good
wine…
December 3, 2007

CyberTLH
QOTD: That’s easy!!! La Toque! Last year my wife and I did a 50th Bday tour of Napa/Sonoma. Ken Frank sliced truffles on my raviolis… Wine pairing, cigar in the courtyard with port, awesome!!
December 3, 2007

dk22
QOTD: best seafood dinner ever (this coming from a meat lover), Caruso’s, Sorrento, Italy. Absolutely sublime.
December 3, 2007

Aaron J
Saint Jean Du Barroux brought the thunder! Nice.

AOTD: Great meals have not only great food, but great atmosphere. For my best meal, I’d say the alder grilled Chinook dinner from Ivar’s Salmon House in Seattle. A great experience!
December 3, 2007

Jeff
QOTD- Best ever meal… One time my Mom made crock-pot spaghetti (sauce is simmered for 6-10 hours) for my wife and I when we visited her a few years ago. After being away from home for several years, this meal absolutely rocked! My only regret… I wasn’t into wine then, so this meal would have been awesome with even a cheap-ass wine! I sense another trip to visit is overdue just for the homecooked meal alone (with family and friends)!
December 3, 2007

Plminer
Great episode Gary, I’ve gotta try Saint Jean out, nice.
QOTD: A few tied for 1st best, Delmonicos, Mimosa and Louques, all amazing next level meals and all paired with amazing next level wines. At Delmonicos I had a 95′ Opus One, Mimosa a 96′ Grand Puy Lacoste and Louques I had a 98′ Cheval Blanc. Yeah that’s right, next level shnizzy!
December 3, 2007

Russell Savige
Most people can’t remember what they ate for lunch yesterday, let a year ago, or even 10 years ago for that matter… but when he asked the question, I immediately thought of the curry I had on a banana leaf in Malaysia 36 years ago in an Indian restaurant in Malaysia when I was bumming around the world It was in 1971 and I was just 25 years old, doing the ‘Hippie’ thing in Asia.

The meal was served on a Banana leaf, not on plates… the piece of banana leaf was about a 12″ wide and 18″ long I guess. The waiters brought out pots of food and condiments and scooped them directly onto the banana leaf. No plates, bowls or utensils of any sort… you eat it with your fingers. It was just plopped onto the leaf in front of me. Amazing, I’d never seen anything like this before.

The rice was placed in the center of the leaf with the Fish and Vegetable curries plopped onto the leaf around it. The Dahls and Sambhars were arranged around the rice last. This is Southern Indian cuisine at its best. Lastly they served up Dosa’sAppam and Idli which is great for soaking up the Sambhah’s.

After hitch-hiking throughout Malaysia and Thailand I traveled across Northern India, trekked in Nepal, then bussed it through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey then on into Europe. I’m now 60 years old and I can honestly say that the Banana Leaf Rice meal I ate that day in Malaysia almost 37 years ago was the greatest meal I’ve ever eaten in my life.
December 3, 2007

Rhonda
QOTD: I went to a beer pairing dinner for the anniversary of a local brew pub. The dinner was prepared by Chef Charles Wiley and had multiple courses paired with the local brew pub’s beers. The course that stands out in my mind was the lamb cheeks that had a delicious cherry sauce. It is by far the best thing I have ever had in my life.

Rhonda
December 3, 2007

Scott McNealus
About twenty years ago at friends Scott/Louise wedding reception on a perfectly blue summer day in the backyard of a Kennebunkport, Maine restaurant on a point jutting into the Atlantic.

First off, an eight ft long cart with two sloped sides packed with shaved ice. Covered top to bottom with oysters, mussels, clams, crab legs, lobster tail rounds etc. Where the sides met at the top was a HUGE bowl of cocktail sauce and lemon wedges that cascaded down onto the seafood.

Then herb-crusted salmon and cut to order melt-in-your-mouth beef tenderloin. Fresh veggies and potatoes Lyonaisse. I know there was wine, but I can’t remember what. Hey, I’ve got an excuse here!

I’ve had some great dinners since then, but not as great and memorable at the same time.

PS. They’re still married.
December 3, 2007

Trevor
Greatest meal ever: Last holiday season we had some roasted eggplant parmesan at the dinner table. On the side, there were fresh green beans, roasted vegetables, and pesto on some baguette. It was absolutely mouthwatering and delicious.

P.S. I’m no longer a lurker!
December 3, 2007

GopherM
QOTD: Perfectly crisp duck breast in a black cherry sauce. Some of the cherries were mixed in with the mashed potatoes and all was served with fresh crisp green beans with almond slivers. All was enjoyed with a very nice cabernet sauvignon. The wine was perfect with the slightly tart cherry sauce.
December 3, 2007

DianneWalnuts
Great show today! By the way, we couldn’t figure out how to put the widgit on the website… we will try again now! QOTD best meal EVER consists of the most recent steak and shoestring fries meal I have… it updates to be the BEST EVER each time!
December 3, 2007

sonnybobiche
P.S. I saw you on uReport on Fox just after finishing this episode, complaining about gaudy Christmas decorations. I, with a little bit of you, will be changing the TV world soon!
December 3, 2007

Skol
Lutece when Andre Soltner was still the chef.
Great food with fantastic Raspberry Souffle that I still remember the flavors till today.
This was when I was still in High School and saved to go with a like-minded friend.

Great Episode, so many styles of wine in the far corners of France!
December 3, 2007

tyson
Thanks Gary for the show and I believe you are 100% correct: the best part about drinking wine is the people we share it with and the experiences we have while drinking wine.

QOTD:
The meal that was most memorable for me was the one me and my wife shared on our wedding day. Texas style steak and potatoes, together with Franciscan Cab.
December 3, 2007

diego de la p...
QOTD: best meal ever i think its a teriyaki goie grass wraped in some strange lettu
great show today gary!! good question of the day!!
December 3, 2007

Monrovino
QOD: Mother’s Day dinner at Cyrus in Healdsburg, Russian River Valley, CA

We had heard that this place has been considered a rival of the French Laundry in Napa so we decided to give it a try. It’s very close to the Plaza in the center of town and we were able to enjoy strolling there from our hotel.

We brought a bottle of wine with us and were ready to pay the $35 corkage when Mrs Monrovino suggested we be gastronomically daring, break free of the yoke of fiscal responsibility and go for the Chef’s Tasting Menu and Grand Tasting Wine Pairing. They corked up our bottle, put it in a nice to go bag and brought us the following:

Canapes
(Accompanied by the Caviar and Champagne cart)
~

Amuse Bouche
(4 spicy little 1/2 inch meatballs with different sauces)
~

Course One
“Steak and Eggs”, Wagyu Steak and Lobster Tartare with Horseradish Creme Fraiche, and Caviar
Champagne Krug “Grand Cuvee”, Reims, France
~

Course Two
Chorizo Crusted Scallop, Mirepoix and Manila Clams
Puligny-Montrachet, Henri Boillet “1ER Cru Caillerets”, France 2003
~

Course Three
Rabbit Loin with Spring Onions and Porcini Mushrooms, Stuffed Baby Artichoke, Sherry Jus
ChÃ¢teauneuf-du-Pape, Chateau Beaucastel, France 1996
~

Course Four
Foie Gras with Braised Duck Cannelloni and Green Garlic Moscato Sauce
Rioja Gran Reserva, Muga “Prado Enea”, Spain 1998
~

Course Five
Veal with Morel Mushrooms, White Asparagus and Crispy Sweetbreads
Pinot Noir, Williams Selyem, Russian River Valley 2005
~

Course Six
A Selection of Artisanal and Farmhouse Cheeses with Complementing Breads and Fruits
(The “cheese tease” came by with her cart overflowing with a couple dozen delectable cheeses for us to gather onto our plates. My particular favorite is called “Minuet”, made by a little cheesemaker in Petaluma)
~

Course Seven
Rice Cream Sandwich with Yamamomo Gelee, Tapioca, and Hibiscus Chips
Sauternes, ChÃ¢teau d’Yquem, Bordeaux France 1997
&
Caramel Soup with Kettle Corn Sorbet and Chocolate Filigree
Boal Madeira, D’Oliveiras 1968
~

Mignardises (little chocolates. Much like in Monty Python’s “Meaning of Life” if you catch my drift)

Although we may never revisit some of these delicacies, we savored the experience, got to expand our horizons and try some heavenly wines that we must now acquire.

Cyrus’ regular menu http://www.cyrusrestaurant.com/menu_dinner.pdf is also full of fantastic food that we saw paraded by our table throughout the evening.

We will definitely return!
December 3, 2007

amy
QOTD: I unintentionally invited myself to my friend’s birthday dinner at a family owned Italian restaurant where I had the best Bruschetta I’ve ever had, and ravioli san remo, followed by tiramisu. mmmmm….
December 3, 2007

Sharon
QOTD: Well, this is a bit weird and sounds tacky but I remember about 8 years ago having a spectacular meal at the French restaurant in the Epcot Pavilion at Disneyworld! Les Chefs de France I guess… magnifique… the creme brulee for dessert was ridiculous, with raspberries and chocolate. I would have had a Sauternes to go with if I had known better at the time too. Some day will actually go to France .
December 3, 2007

Leaf Greene
Great show W L TV rocks
December 3, 2007

maggiej
Hey, even if my palate is a little different, 24 dollars for a 95 point wine, I have to try it.

QOTD: Overall experience, my husband and I had a blast and could not stop raving about the food and wine at the Artichoke Cafe in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is not the fancist place in town, but we loved it. As for ambiance, a privet room in the Shamish Lodge overlooking Snoqualmie Falls in Washington was great, though the food was not quite as amazing. Also, highly recommend the Culianary Institute of America in Newbough, NY, especially the Italian restrauant, for great value gourmet. Ooops, that’s three
December 3, 2007

Travis
QOTD: Craftsteak in Vegas – kobe beef tasting menu – out of this world!
December 3, 2007

Taylor
Wow 95 points and 24 bones that sounds like a deal to me great finish on the show, much like the Saint Jean Du Barroux had 2-3 minute finish.
QOTD The best meal i had was monday August 20th 2007, It was at L’etoile in Edgartown MA, I had the chef’s tasting menu we had 7 courses we throughly enjoyed the ambiance and food for probably 4 or 5 hours. The highlights would be the spice crusted foie gras, beat salad, etuvee of lobster and the duck breast!!!
December 3, 2007

Patrick
QOTD: Seared butterfish with the St. Supery Virtu Sauvignon Blanc-Semmilon meritage at Papaya in Buffalo NY
December 3, 2007

caleb
QOTD: Duck Confit with Leatherwood honey glaze at Passionfish in Pacific Grove CA. Fabulous restaurant – great food and no corkage fee.
December 3, 2007

jcprice
QOTD: Tough to pick just one, but I’d have to say a filet mignon stuffed with blue cheese alongside garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus all cooked to perfection.
December 3, 2007

amgryger
QOTD: Jan 17, 2006, my friends and I arrived in Rome, both deliriously tired and giddy with excitement, where we would be living for the next six months. After dropping off our stuff at our Trastevere apartment, we went out and found a grocery store and bought pasta, vegetables, sausage, cheese, bread, prosciutto, and a lot of wine. Returning home, all of us worked together and made an amazing meal.
December 3, 2007

Michael D
QOTD… Mid-summer seafood orgy with steamers, shrimp, and crab legs, with a cheap-ass California Sauvignon Blanc…
December 3, 2007

Jay Curtis
CastaÃ±o
Pronounced castanYo

any time you see the Ã± (n with the squiggle above it) it turn the sound from a regular n to nY

Monastrell. NOT monTastrell.
December 3, 2007

UES Chris
QTOD: Dinner at the Waterside Inn.

Thinly sliced veal kidney sautÃ©ed â€œÃ la minuteâ€ with mustard, served in puff pastry

A large selection of French and English unpasteurised farm cheeses

Roasted Challandais duck glazed with spices, confit kumquats, gnocchi seasoned with horseradish, Cabernet Sauvignon sauce

Classic apple tarte Tatin with a cinnamon ice-cream

yum

(just don’t ask about the bill)
December 3, 2007

KJlost
You know, I think it’s about first time I’ve seen GV score that high on red. It’s been a while at least. I’ve got to try that.

QOTD: Believe it or not, it was a BigMac set someone bought for me after spending 5~6 hours lost in Poconos in February a few years ago. A long-winded story about a stupid teenager, but I’ll tell you that the woods really get scary when the sun sets.
December 3, 2007

Leo Brancazio
The best meal I every had was Christmas Eve dinner 2 years ago. We celebrated the “Feast of the Seven Fishes” with friends. Right before we ate, the power went out. We had a true feast by needed candlelight. Everyone had a wonderful time.
Leo Brancazio
December 3, 2007

CindyW
QOTD: best meals are tough, since I’ve had many great ones. My most memorable usually come from the occasions more than the food itself — like turkey dinners at my grandma & grandpa’s farm when I was a kid, or an awesome dinner of french bread with spaghettios cooked over the campstove when backpacking at 11,000 feet.

Putting aside my grandma’s cooking for the moment (cuz she wins hands-down every time), I think my favorite has to be the lobster tail with a side of cole slaw & rice-beans, eaten on an island beach in Belize. My sister and I were sipping daiquiris to celebrate her having beaten cancer, and we toasted the sunset while the waves lapped at our toes. Perfect memory. Perfect meal.
December 3, 2007

Dustin M. Jussila
The best meal I have ever had would be the meal I had the first time I could order wine. I was playing a percussion concert in Indianapolis and we went to some fine dinning place nearby.. I was amazing. Perfectly prepared Filet with asparagus and risotto. I know it was an Italian wine but I cannot remember which.
December 3, 2007

TGatesman
QOTD: The best food I every had has to be the Calamari in some bar I ended up in Venice, Italy….Awesome!! The wine there wasn’t bad either.
December 3, 2007

TH
QOTD: The most memorable meal I ever had was a meal with my wife during our honeymoon in Florida in 1991. It was at a central Florida restaurant called ‘Chalet Suzanne’. The atmosphere was a bit quirky and very romantic. We were pretty young and hadn’t eaten at many fine restaurants and I remember being enthralled with the offerings. I don’t think I had eaten any of them previously. Things like foie gras on grapefruit stick in my mind. Of course it WAS a ‘cost is no object’ meal, so we expected a lot. And it WAS our honeymoon. So, yeah, I guess I’m romanticizing this in my mind a bit (ok, a lot). But you can’t have a great meal if you’re not in the mood to enjoy it! (Lurker officially outed – thanks Gary!)
December 3, 2007

Pastafari Pirate
QOTD: Dinner at a seafood restaurant in Houston TX last summer, with the woman who would later become my girlfriend. It was a seafood combo of lobster, grilled scallops, blackened fish (can’t remember the species), crab cake…. The food was superb; the setting, more romantic than any of the other dozen or so times she & I had gone out. Though we had gone out a half dozen times before that evening, we had never been more than merely casual friends. Later that evening — perhaps inebriated the stupendous flavors of our dinners? — we suddenly became more than just casual friends, for the first time… and it evolved into something truly magical. Blame it on the seafood.
December 3, 2007

Howie K
THE BEST MEAL, ONE I REFERRED BACK TO FOR 23 YEARS WAS STEAK AT JACKS STEAKHOUSE IN ALBANY. I STILL REFER BACK TO IT AT THE AGE OF 43 AND I HAD IT WHEN I WAS ABOUT 19-20.
December 3, 2007

Michelle R
Great episode! I’m dying to try that last wine you reviewed.
QOTD: Best cooked meal was one that dad made, he is the king of grilling steaks. I remember a few years ago he cooked an amazing NY Steak in some fabulous marinade that he created. Along with that we had some cedar planked salmon, my grandma’s famous rice (it’s so delicious!), pear salad and a few other sides. Most of all, I got to share the meal with many people from my extended family. You definitely can’t beat that!
December 3, 2007

mikeyD
best meal: cinnamon barbeque burritos.. mmmmmmmm
December 3, 2007

Bernardo M
QOTD: The meal I cooked for my birthday this year. I made some scrambled eggs with beluga caviar on top as a starter. Than as a fish course it was a perfectly cooked chilean sea bass with some lemon grass foam on top of an oven dried tomato. After those two, I made a duck breast and foie gras with blackberry sauce over some barley risotto. As dessert it was crispy banana cappeleti with passion fruit sauce and lime sorbet. The whole meal was spot on. We matched it with Catena Alta chardonnay and Don Melchor 00.
December 3, 2007

Justin G
QOTD: best meal evar? It would have to be when I traveled to New York. We stayed in a hotel that had a small restaurant called “Teddy’s Corner”. I had scallops on a rice pilaf and with some kind of amazing sauce on it; with chocolate cake for dessert. It sounds rather simple, but it was such an amazing example of Quality over Quantity that it just turned my world upside down.
December 3, 2007

Marc Sunday
QOTD – Greatest meal would had to have been prime rib and lobster with my parents for Christmas a couple of years ago. Not only the meal but the company made it special. I can taste the vino already!
December 3, 2007

Evil Homer
Great show Gary as always.

QOTD: The greatest meal I have ever had was at Villa Del Lupo in Vancouver. Seared Ahi Tuna that melted in your mouth, garlic mashed potatoes to die for and an unbelievable cheesecake to top it off. All of it was accompanied by a 2001 Dead Arm. Was a wonderful evening.
December 3, 2007

KyleLikesTies
I *love* the big-ass glass … if anyone knows where I can get one, hooks it up … I remember that episode when you poured the *whole bottle* in, and that totally won me over.

QoTD: Well, for me, it’s all about the whole experience: Good food, something nice to drink, beautiful place. Normally, I’d also include good company, but I’m starting to think I actually prefer just me and the food (conversation distracts from the gourmandise). So, I’ll have to say that my favourite meal was the first time I ate stewed rabbit with a Hopleaf beer, as I watched the sun setting over the Mediterranean. The rabbit was cooked perfectly, the beer was just the right thing for the warm evening, and the sunset lasted *forever*. Good times.
December 3, 2007

JonE
QOTD: Dozza, Italy outside of Bologna, I was 17. The sun was setting in Emilia Romagna, there were peacocks below the terrace. Prosecco was poured before we even sat down. Amazing polenta with porcini and truffles, and strozzapreti with a sheeps milk gorgonzola crema. The check arrived on a frozen plate with chocolate covered bon-bons of pannacotta. We looked at the Miro fresco and fell asleep in the back of a Renault on the way back to Pioppe de Salvaro through the hills outside Sasso Marconi. Someday I hope I can do it again…
December 3, 2007

Tim Morea
QOTD: I made a braised Moroccan lamb shank dish with just plain couscous a few months ago, and I’d have to say that was my favorite meal I can remember!
December 3, 2007

Hugh
QOD-prob the greatest meal would have been a simple steak dinner with my family and a magnum of ‘61 Latour…circa 1995…
December 3, 2007

Adam
love screw tops!!

Best meal…1st date with my wife in my college dorm
December 3, 2007

trevor corso
QOTD: The one I had for supper tonight. Blanquette de veau with a bottle of Cassis. Probably tomorrow night’s meal will make me forget this one.
December 3, 2007

Rock n Roll Andy
Greatest meal!! Start with west coast Oysters( Hamma Hamma, and Pickering Pass) And a Gruner. Then a Maki Sushi combo, with a kabinett Riesling. Then we ate these King Crab bites that were awesome. For my entree I ate a combo meal that had an 8 oz. Filet with Griddled garlic shrimp , and Bay of Fundy Sea Scallops. We were drinking ‘04 Domaine Droughin Pinot Noir. Followed that with a FLAMING Bananas Fosters. Then I went home and felt like I was going to die and slept for 9 hours. It was the BEST!!!!!!
December 3, 2007

E-Rock
QOTD = Last year when My Dad and I went to Wolfgang’s for Steaks, and I was able to reciprocate on all the steak dinners he has ever taken me to.
December 3, 2007

Robert F
QOTD: Best meal I ever had was in Dijon. I had amazing salmon at this terrific seafood restaurant across the street from the covered farmers market after a day of driving along the route des grands crus with my girlfriend. The food itself was probably not the best I’ve ever had, but it’s certainly one of the best food related memories.
December 3, 2007

Leftcoast
QOTD: The best meal I can remember was at The French Laundry when I proposed to my wife. The food, service and wine were all amazing. A night to remember for ever.
December 3, 2007

swamper
QOTD: a tie between a seafood crepe I had at a fancy shmancy restaurant and hibachi shrimp with vegetables (served with wonderful, wonderful ginger and mustard sauces that I poured all over my rice after the shrimp and veggies were gone… none must go to waste!).
December 3, 2007

prplhaze
QOTD: This is going to sound like nothing special but here goes.

When I was about 14 we were staying at the cottage that my grandparents owned. It was supposed to just be for the day, and that would be it. Well, one thing lead to another and we all ended up staying late. It was my mom, dad, brother, grandmother, grandfather, and myself, and because this cottage was just a weekend getaway, there was no real food there to eat for dinner. Just a lot of canned food that was brought in by my grandparents to have there for lunches and such.

The entire meal may have come from a can, but I can tell you, that the amazing time spent gathered around the table, talking.. laughing.. sharing was the best part of that meal. Magical days at the cottage, and a meal I will never forget.
December 3, 2007

Tjostolf
The Wife and I had a seven course meal in a restaurante in Taormina Sicily, that we spoke about for the entire year,
with a 1997 Masseto,
FAB !!!
December 3, 2007

Mandy Trilck
QOTD: I guess my favorite is the first time I tried making butternut squash raviolis with a butter and sage sauce. It was bomb. Unfortunately the second time, not so much
December 3, 2007

Brandon Rodriguez
QOTD: The jambalaya my mother cooked on my 17th birthday.
December 3, 2007

mjzenz
QOTD: Ka Ree (a Yellow Curry) and an appetizer of Lumpia (a rice shell filled with delicious potatoes and vegetables) at a local Thai restaurant….I had never tasted some of those flavors!
December 3, 2007

Andy
Great Ep G …. Sounds like the St. Jean Du Barroux L’oligocene strikes the thunder Need to seek it out… Qotd—- Pacific fresh coho Salmon in Seattle w/ a Great Oregon Pinot noir (grilled of course)
December 3, 2007

DaveJ
QOTD: An incredible meal at Gary Danko’s restaurant in San Francisco while on vacation with my family.
December 3, 2007

Keith Brown
As a wet-behind-the-ears Air Force aircrewman in 1984, I made my first tour through Europe. We spent the night in Madrid, and as a crew, 6 of us made our way to Sobrino de Botin for dinner at 10 PM. I had the baby eels, and plenty of wine. It was a fantastic experience, and since then, I’ve learned the history of that place and how it has been a setting for Hemingway as well as a scene in an espionage novel I read years later.
December 3, 2007

Pauly
The greatest meal I ever had was my mom’s (and grandmother’s, her mom’s) Italian cooking! Their meatloaf with gravy and bacon, lasagna with their meat sauce, manicotti, stuffed peppers, stuffed mushrooms and brocolli rabe and polish it all off with a nice chianti riserva.

I would eat that meal any day over almost ANY restaurant in the world. Sorry, but they blow away all of the Italian restaurants around where we live. And we have some really good Italian places here on Long Island.

#2: Would be my family’s stew recipe!!
December 3, 2007

earl
best meal ever…. I love to cook outside and surprise my wife (my redhead) and she likes to educate me on wine..so I would say
its when I’m grilling seaford pizza Maryland Style is my favorite
December 3, 2007

Kale
QOTD: The best meal I have had was at home when I grilled up a coupe rare filet mignons on the grill and enjoyed a wonderful bottle of 2003 Bennett Lane at home with my wife.
December 3, 2007

Cameron Ghazzagh
The best meal I’ve ever had was veal with mashed potatoes and white wine on my trip in Vienna. I had it with my wife at a classical evening concert and dinner which was also attended by the chancellor of Austria, Alfred Gusenbauer.
December 3, 2007

Andre
QOTD: A seven course meal that my Mother prepared, and we enjoyed with company on the back deck of her house. It featured stuffed quail and quail eggs. I’d never had either before, and it was an evening I’ll never forget.
December 3, 2007

Dave-from-Katonah
Gary – Long time no comment. Great show! Great energy! Great tasting note quips tonight! I love Rhone and now I must try that Ventoux! Turned on another friend from Katonah to WLTV and he has a big new cellar to fill up!
QOTD – It would have to be Windows on the World 1978 with my entire family as a 19 year old kid. My oldest brother ordered a St Emilion which accompanied my filet mignon perfectly. I think this was my first memorable meal perfectly paired with a terrific wine, naturally a Bordeau, at a wonderful venue, unfortunately made even more memorable through the horrible catastrophe of 911.
December 3, 2007

Rob
The best meal of my life was a new years eve we decided to stay in. I’m not sure what we ate actually, but it was with my 12 best friends and lots of wine.
December 3, 2007

Darlene O.
Great, great episode, Gary!!! QOD: Best meal I’ve ever had was on the Left Bank in Paris. We were having lunch by the Pont Neuf, and I ordered a Salad Nicoise with the restaurant’s house merlot. The food, the wine, the atmosphere, the city…it was ridonculous!!!
December 3, 2007

aheadwithwings
Great show as always.

QOTD: Had dinner in Toronto at the CN Tower. Wonderful atmosphere and great food. I had a NY Strip with the fixins on the side. But what mad it the best was I spent it with my girlfriend of 8 years on our vacation.

I want that Wine! haha
December 3, 2007

Benji
Like the sound of wine #3, what a great QPR selection!

QOTD:

Greatest meal I’ve ever had is the home-cooked Thanksgiving meal that I recently had with my family. We did the meal in courses instead of the ‘Pass the Platter’ format and my grandmother made what I believe to be the best pie I’ve ever had.
December 3, 2007

Matt E
QOTD…I’ve had many a good meals in my day, but the best would have to this past Thanksgivings. My sister made herb crusted turkey stuffed with a homemade italian stuffing and chicken and ciauscolo infused mashed potatoes.
December 3, 2007

glassrunnethempty
QOTD: Unquestionably the best meal I ever had was dinner.
December 3, 2007

Mike Diz
I have been loving the SW french Wines.
QOTD: Best Meals. My brother is in the Army. I promised him I would take him to Peter Luger when he got back from Iraq. No steak ever tasted better.
December 3, 2007

JamesN.
GV. QOTD;The best meal was a wine dinner put on by Colonial beverage, There were 5 or 6 courses.. lobster crepes with a super rich cream sauce, fillet mignon with a burgundy sauce, some gormet smoked salmon with salmon cavier, a sauteed scallop dish, a nice bitter greens salad, I think the potato dish was a mixture of yukon & sweet potatoes, There was a very rich orange pudding type of dessert, served with the WS 100 point sauternes, there was a top wine served with every dish. I was in heaven. Usually the wine is picked to match the food, in this dinner it felt like the dishes were designed to match the wines. WOW!
December 3, 2007

Cookiedds
The best meal of my life??? That is almost an impossible question to answer. Family, Friends, conversation, location, mood, wine, life events, weather….these are all factors influencing my perception of an incredible meal. I’ve had many excellent meals, most recently at cafe Artemis in Helena Montana(where I am attending a French food and wine pairing this Wednesday). But the best meal of my life was probably prepared in my house. Every other year our group of friends get together and have a 30-40 something yard sale. We collect everything from mountain bikes and ski equipment to computers and collectables and have a 5 hour sale on a Saturday morning. We split the total sale dollars in half giving half to an agreed upon charity and taking the other half and preparing an incredible meal with wine pairings. My restaurant owner friend and myself put together a menu, shop for ingredients, select and purchase the wine and prepare the meal(all by midnight of the day of the sale). The idea is to sell, purchase, prepare and consume on the same day…it’s crazy fun. We get a ridiculous budget for food and wine from free (yard sale) money and feel great about giving to a charity….it’s win win. Our last meal consisted of a lightly smoked lobster tail and micro-greens/herb salad, a duet of carmelized carrot bisque and roasted red pepper soups, Steak au Poivre with a truffled celery root and potato puree and a dessert of a Montana Huckleberry/ Tahitian vanilla pots de creme. Each course was paired with wine and we finished with a vintage port. The menu wasn’t real original or elaborate but the time crunch limits what you can get done by midnight.
December 3, 2007

WeisGuy
QOTD: Best meal ever was with my fiance about two months ago celebrating my acceptance of a job offer. It was at Vin Rouge, a French bistro in Durham. Pork rilletes and mussels for apps and hanger steak frites and mustard crusted salmon with lentils for entrees. Delicious! Close runners-up were our meals at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Yountville and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena this summer after a day of tasting great wine.
December 3, 2007

chrisb
Thanks for the great show.
Best meal was a Colorado lamb chop at Del Frisco’s in Ft. Worth, TX.
December 3, 2007

Kelly
I’ve never had a greatest meal, a good recent meal with an Italian wine was a 98 Bertani Amarone with Steak, Mashed and Creamed Spinach followed by a Vieux Telepraph CDP and a bottle of 99 Dolce Late Harvest.
December 3, 2007

Stanvh
QOTD: I can think of several memorable dinners – Babbo for our anniversary with tripe and a wonderful Langhe, a campfire supper with beer along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, a hanger steak at a bistro in Paris with a wonderful Burgundy, but the greatest meal I’ve ever had was on a canal boat (French Country Waterways) along the Burgundy Canal in France several summers ago – 3 courses with each topping the last, with each course accompanied by two bottles of some of the finest white and red Burgundy I’ve ever tasted.
December 3, 2007

Robert Rittenhouse
GREAT SHOW AS USUAL GARY!!
QOTD:This is a hard choice but I’m going to have to say my mothers potato soup is the best tasting “meal” I’ve ever had in the WORLD!

I agree with you gary — family is VERY important to me and you should cherish every moment you have with them. Family > EVERYTHING.

Theres nothing better than getting together and having a great meal amongst the family. I’m actually trying to incorporate wine into the family meals for the adults. Maybe someday we can all sit down and watch WLTV!!
December 3, 2007

Joel M
Gary! You always bring it every show. Well done. The best meal I ever had was on Thanksgiving Day in Assisi, Italy some twenty years ago. As I was making my way through the vineyards, I decided to visit the place of one of my favorite saints. A small out of the way cafe made me two small chicken sandwiches, to help me celebrate the day back in the States. Twenty years on and that moment always reminds me, it’s the people more than the food makes a meal special. Joel M
December 3, 2007

Gene Davis
An excellent dinner at McCormick & Schmick’s in Columbus, Ohio starting with Puget Sound oysters on the half shell followed by grilled scallops. All with an excellent Pinot Grigio.
Good eats!
December 3, 2007

AdamK
QOTD – Octoberfest Brats and Beer cheese soup, every fall!
December 3, 2007

Lou Testa
My best dinner occurred this past summer for our wedding anniversary dinner (33rd) at Ristorante Bacco in Southfield Michigan. It is one of the best Italian restaurants (and very expensive)in the midwest. My entree was a steak fillet in an Amorone sauce. The wine was from the Morellino di Scansano from Tuscany.
Lou Testa
December 3, 2007

Nick
The best meal I’ve ever had was a roast suckling pig at El Botin in Madrid
December 3, 2007

Drewine
qotd: A brunch buffet at a great interior Mexican restaurant in Austin, TX. The next 10 meals on my list probably involved wine but this one did not.

Please don’t pull my name. I don’t want people to hate me when I win the NY trip too.
December 3, 2007

John Witherspoon (J DUB)
Hey Gary
Fun episode – $24 bigidee bones for a 95GV wine. I know ratings mean nothing – but on paper thats a wiener.

QOTD: Best meal ever – 5 course Vegetarian Tasting Menu at Fleur de Lys in Las Vegas, WOW!! Food was fabulous and inventive, service kicked ass, just AWESOME. Second – anything on the menu at Millennium in San Fran

J DUB
December 3, 2007

Baumgartner Ranch
Best meal? It definitely was not one I made myself… The best meal I ever had occurred at the end of a 5 day hiking / camping adventure on Catalina Island in 1985. Although this meal was not extravagant by any means, it was priceless and forever memorable. I was 25 yoa, single and no other cares. The trip started off in San Pedro, CA on an hour and a half boat ride to Catalina Island. The first stop was the Isthmus. I had plenty of dried food for an army. After three days of fishing, hiking, and seeing the sights I started having dreams about Hand-burgers and Milk. I would wake up perplexed, “what strange dreams”. Then as the days went I would see Buffalo and wild Boar and I would think “Man, I bet they would taste good BBQ’d. Finally on the 7th day I gave in to desires and nearly jagged for 10 miles to Avalon. In Avalon on the Pier was a chicken stand (Lick-A-Chick). Well one chicken on a stick was OK but I needed the real thing… Oh yes, a big juicy burger and a cold glass of whole milk was in my future and nothing was going to stop me. In town was another small whole in the wall burger joint (no idea of the name, it did not matter). “Double cheeseburger with everything and your largest glass of milk!” was all they were to get out of me. I was in Heaven, nothing else in the world made any difference. I was a love affair, me and my milk & burger…

Needles to say I learned my lesson, no more dried food and next time I’m camping at the Holiday Inn.
December 3, 2007

BobM
Nice episode, Gary. I appreciate what you do more every day, and it was great to see you Saturday.

QOTD: Scandia, in L.A., which is now closed, unfortunately. I had leg of lamb, en croute, and my wife had holiday goose, with a 1972 Domaine Dujac Eschezaux. Damn that was good. Even though my wife I have since split up, we still talk about that meal.
December 3, 2007

aronowm2
QOTD: Italy. Roasted boar right off a spit. shaved off shwarma style. FEttucinni pasta. local chianti wine. Farm in the middle of the chianti region. best meal ever.
December 3, 2007

Golfer Gary
The best meal I ever had was five years ago at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Lahaina, Maui. I was with my wife and kids. My 15 year old daughter had just gotten through with Chemotherapy and we were celebrating. Between the food, the ambiance, and the celebration, it was the best. Ever.
December 3, 2007

Dave Lighton
Listen GV don’t pay attention to what anyone else says.

I am heavy into italian wines and italian food. Go to Il Buco in NoLita and you will be in some kind of gastronomic paradiso. Best meal was a bowl of incredible bread, tomato, and mozzarella soup, followed by a hybrid pork chop with hazlenuts and aged balsamic. Finally, for dessert I had the best panna cotta of all time. Oh….and we had wine–1998 Remo Farina “Corte Conti Cavalli” seek it out. It is amazing!!!
December 3, 2007

Mary Poppins
QOTD: Poblano cheeseburgers at Hula Hut in Austin – October 2007

The breeze was blowing across the lake, the sun was long past setting, and he was looking into my eyes as he caressed my hand with his thumb. At some point during that meal, we both realized that our friendship had crossed a boundary into something much deeper. The setting was amazingly beautiful, we were surrounded by some of the best offerings of nature: water, sultry breezes with just a promise of fall, singing frogs, and creamy jalapeno dip. Even the waiter seemed part of a greater nature conspiracy!

I have had more expensive meals, white glove wait service, and amazing wines. The magic of that meal, however, is burned forever into my memory – the spiciness of those poblano burgers truly presaged what lay ahead. Was it the setting, the peppers, or something else? I may never know – but every time I think of that meal, I grin.

Wait, was this supposed to be about food?
December 3, 2007

Mike Miller
QOTD: The best meal I ever had was at a restaurant called the Foothills Milling Company near Smokey Mountain National Park. It was what they called French-Southern fusion, and the amuse bouche was something I’ll never forget. It was a shrimp fried in cornmeal and served with a corn relish. It was a delicious start to an awesome meal.
December 3, 2007

Tejash Patel
My favorite meal ever was when I took a ferry boat downriver from Dresden,Germany with my girlfriend to visit some waterfalls. The small village near the falls was filled with Doner shops and restaurants packed with pretzels, beer and, schnitzel. We decided to take a risk on the one tiny Chinese restaurant tucked away in a back ally. To this day, the most suckulent duck and meats I have tasted with the most authentic fresh earthy flavors. The unexpected is quite delicious!
December 3, 2007

Jenny C
QOTD: The best meal is always a crawfish boil down in Louisiana.
December 3, 2007

William Bedard
QOTD: Wow, tough call. High on the list would be a family sit-down with my half-brother’s family a number of years ago. We were having perfectly cooked beef fillet’s and all the fixin’s with a nice bottle of Beaujolais. It was the end of a great day, it was a great meal, a great bottle of wine and great conversation around the table.

G-V-N-C: Nice show, Gary. Try not to be such a “lurker-hater.” While true that some people may not “care” as much as you’d like, others just have very different personalities than you do. The idea of “getting involved” in such a casual way as the ba-jillion social networking sites allow and encourage is just foreign to some people. That’s even more true when you expect it to occur on a regular basis – as I know that some do. I know you need some occasional encouragement for all the hard work you do and you certainly deserve it. Just try not to beat up too badly on your fan base…we really are changing the wine world, whether they like it or not!
December 3, 2007

Naomi Miller
Best meal I ever had was at the Ryland Inn in New Jersey. 28 day aged cote de boeuf, all organic grown food, amazing wine, dessert, and company.
December 3, 2007

Josh S
QOTD: My favorite meal all time is when my wife makes her families paella and clam soup. It warms the tummy and makes me smile. It’s even better when everyone it home together to share it.

Great show! Keep up the great work!

Josh S
December 3, 2007

Cosmo108
QOTD: The best meal(s) of my life have been my mother’s special birthday meals. Marinated London Broil, blue-cheese garlic twiced baked mashed potatoes, lightly steamed green beans and a chocolate sheet cake for dessert.
December 3, 2007

Seo
Great episode Gary. The Castano just went onto my cellartracker wishlist.
QOTD: Great meal I ever had was in a tiny town in Chianti called Lamole. Rented a moped and rode up the mountain side in the cool evening to be served a 5 course stellar meal while overlooking the vineyards in Chianti. Just a total post card scene with food and wine to match. The drive down the dark, freezing night was not as fun but added to the memoery.
December 3, 2007

laposte
QOTD:
Since my father’s heritage is English we have plum pudding every Christmas. 2005 was our 30 wedding anniversary we ate the pudding with a 1975 Rieussec…fat and sweet, good as it gets.
December 3, 2007

scc
QOTD: I think it may have been on Valentine’s Day during my fourth year of college. I went with two friends to a tapas place we’d all been wanting to try. For one night we pretended we weren’t broke students and splurged on (probably too much) delicious food and sangria. It was probably the best meal as much for the company as the quality of food.
December 3, 2007

Jeff D.
As usual, great show. Keep it up!

QOTD: that’s tough, but I would probably say that it was a dinner at a little place in Covina, CA called Citrus Grill. It was clam chowder, one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, and creme brule for dessert. I wasn’t old enough to have wine yet, but that meal was pretty much amazing.
December 3, 2007

orion
QoTD: My greatest meal was last v-day. I took the fiancÃ© to the best restaurant in town and had some steak tartare, a rare prime cut and a lavish dark chocolate mousse with cherry syrup. Might have to go back again this year.
December 3, 2007

Jeff Selman
QOTD: The best meal I’ve had was at Daniel in the city on my 27th birthday. An eight course tasting menu with wine pairings. IT ROCKED!
December 3, 2007

Nancy A
QOTD:

You might wonder whether a meal that costs over $200 could possibly be worth it and I would have to answer, yes, if it is a meal at The French Laundry in Napa.
December 3, 2007

AdamT
QOTD: My Mother’s Thanksgiving meal is probably the best in any given year for me. Thanksgiving was only two weeks ago, and I am already looking forward to next year.
December 3, 2007

Wendy Abrams
On St. Maarten, my favorite place to vacation, I had the most amazing Lobster dinner, prepared fresh from a restaurant in Grand Case called L’Hibiscus. The restaurant seats all of 10 people and is hidden by a trellis of ivy and other vines. The dessert was a Chocolate Experience, which had to be ordered 45 minutes before serving. The best meal of my life……
December 3, 2007

JoeD.
QOTD: Best Meal I ever had would probably have to be at NOBU. The Chilean Sea Bass is a must have!
December 3, 2007

ike6116
QoTD: Best meal I’ve ever had was actually at a wedding, it was fillet mignon that was so soft and so delicious they didn’t even give you a knife because you didn’t need one. They didn’t give you any sides because you didn’t need them. I don’t know what was done to this piece of meat but it was amazing.
December 3, 2007

Nathan L
The meal was at AIRES in Houston. They closed down but it was an AMAZING restaurant. It also was the first time I ever tried a Sancerre. It was paired with a mushroom soup and is also the best food wine pairing I’ve ever had.
December 3, 2007

Rick Fischer
At the Grandhotel SchÃ¶negg, Zermatt Switzerland, my wife and I on our honeymoon, had a wonderful 7 course meal. My favorite course, has lasted in my memory 10 years. The Lobster Bisque, was bar none the best soup I have ever tasted.

Rick
December 3, 2007

Sim
QotD:

For those of us who live in wine country (Sonoma county, that is), Cyrus in Healdsburg is the place to go for the best meal ever.
December 3, 2007

Admo
Best Meal?

Pez. Cherry flavored Pez. No question about it.
December 3, 2007

lenny
OOTD

The best meal I remember tonight would be one of 3:

1. Garlic Shrimp in a restaurant across the lake from Maricabo, Venezuela in the late 70’s
2. Langostino con la mayonesa in a restaurant in Villahermosa, Mexico in 1976 or so.
3. Lobster in a restaurant in Nova Scotia around 2003.
December 3, 2007

tarheel17
QOTD: The best meal of my life was Hannukah (I don’t remember which night) 2000. My mother cooked latkes and homemade applesauce, and I had all my friends over to experience the Jewish holiday….afterwards, we all watched Seinfeld in the livingroom. It was great to have my family there with my friends (all from highschool, though we had long since graduated). It was a reunion of sorts, since my friends and I had all gone our separate ways…The most important people in my life were all under one roof, and the communal feeling of companionship was inescapable. To my memory, wine was not involved.
December 3, 2007

Deb
Best meal ever was at Freddy Girardet in Switzerland, but he’s long retired. Best meal from a working chef was at Landhaus Baur, outside Frankfurt in a small town called Schloss Lichtenstein. The chef is a genius.
December 3, 2007

BobMac
Greatest meal had to be the first night my wife cooked us a meal as husband and wife.
December 3, 2007

DanielJ
QOTD: Last Feb with my girlfriend after a day of wine tasting in the central coast area of CA we went to Jocko’s steakhouse,brought our own bottle of pinot and had the best steak dinner to complete a perfect day.
December 3, 2007

Paul Abrams
The best meal of my life was served in January 1991 in Brooklyn, NY. I sat at the rough-hewn wooden table at Peter Luger Steakhouse with my mother and father and two brothers. We drank dark beers and vodka rocks and ate tomatoes and onions with Luger sauce and an iceberg wedge with blue cheese dressing. The onion rolls went to the fastest grabber while we had two porterhouses and a block of onion rings and creamed spinach. Dessert was, of course, pecan pie with homemade SCHLAG, or whipped cream. My dad was alive still, he had an appetite like a bear and I can remember him and my little brother going after the bone when the tender pieces were eaten. Before wives came along, before children came along….our family had this one memorable dinner together. The best of my life, because it was perfect, and I wish I could have more even just one more just like it.
December 3, 2007

Steven Wyatt
OK Gary, you win. Ive come out of lurkdom, but not just for the crazy expensive bottle of wine, but for YOU.

Best meal ever: a restaurant called Craft in NYC.
December 3, 2007

GottaGoDrink
Gary- You got me on the Saint Jean. Thanks!

QOTD- The greatest meal I ever had was three years ago when my kids took me out for my birthday in May and I had soft shell crabs sauteed in garlic, steamed broccoli, rice and ice cold beer, sitting by the open window in a storefront joint in Chicago. Magic!
December 3, 2007

Dan B
About 5 years ago, after I graduated with a MS in Business, my wife made me a steak, baked potato, roasted corn on the cob, and chocolate cake and a great bottle of red. This was while we were camping at a beautiful national park. The combination of time, place,and food made this the best meal I’ve ever had.
December 3, 2007

vange
I like the Solanera more than you did, although I have other favs at $12. Really great stuff on the St Jean, cant wait to try it, its on my WL wishlist!
December 3, 2007

Roberto
QOTD-
Low Country Boil with Finger Lakes Mile’s Wine Cellar’s 2004 Cabernet Franc with German Chocolate cake and Hermann Wiemer 2003 port for dessert. – At a local ski lodge with many friends.
December 3, 2007

Jose "FUBAR" Sanchez
Man, this show is so MONEY!
I love it! It was great to meet you Gary this past weekend at Crushpad and then afterwards at the Wine Bar! Good times!
And since this is for the EPIC $500 bottle of Vino, my answer, to the Question of the Day is
The Greatest meal i’ve ever had was a fantastic Seared Ahi from the Cuban place in So Cal!
It’s barely surpasses my mom’s home made lasagna! But its fantastic!

TDHS
December 3, 2007

Rick E
QOTD – Either French Laundry in Napa or March in NYC. They were similar in that they were both tasting menus of lots of small dishes, each paired with a wine. They were also similar in that they both required a mortgage payment in exchange.

Thanks for the Saint Jean find…
December 3, 2007

Bob
QOTD: My Mom’s Thanksgiving this year. First time I’d been home for Thanksgiving in several years – she absolutely nailed it. Unbelievable.
December 3, 2007

Tom Cameron
Best meal ever- Hands down this would have to be dinner in Las Vegas with my girlfriend. Five course meal, each course coming with a wine. Desert came with port. Courses ranged from fish to buffalo, and were all completely unbelievable. Certainly my first major wine experience in a 5-star atmosphere, and it really turned me on to the idea of wine.
December 3, 2007

KenP
Great show, GV.

QOTD:I had been a confirmed vegetarian for many years. From Montana myself, there are few ‘conditions’ stranger! Went with my family to see my uncle Jim, his wife and kids, then living in a 40′ trailer in Denton, MT. He’d saved up from his school custodian wages to buy steaks for us. Did I play high and mighty? Hell, no! We ate the very finest meal.
December 3, 2007

vange
I have had many greatest meals, but here is my most recent. I just recently went to Catherine Lombardi’s in New Brunswick and ordered the stuffed veal chop medium rare! WOW, what flavor and tenderness! Paired it with an Owen Roe Yakima red 2005. Beautiful combo!
December 3, 2007

Rice
QOTD: Greatest meal was a few years ago here at home, had all the family here for Thanksgiving, from all over. The wine and food was pretty good, but the family aspect made it “the best.”
December 3, 2007

Casey Shaffer
I think the best meal I have ever had was when I was when i was still in high school(not a school meal though). My favorite food in the entire world is Stromboli, and the day after a long wrestling season that required me to cut a lot of weight, my Mom made me the best Stromboli in the world. Nothing quite like Mama’s home cookin’.
December 3, 2007

Agnes
QOTD: Crab Boil , my brother-in-law and I cooked this summer on Pender Island BC, with crabs straight from the boat mmmmmmm
December 3, 2007

Stu
QOTD: My Mom’s Pepper Steak she would make on my birthday. Unless my wife sees this, then it was tonight’s dinner.
December 3, 2007

RonC
Great show. Lot’s of comments today. I wonder why. I’ll bet if you even gave a %50 bottle of wine after each show, you’d see 400 – 500 comments each day.

QOTD: The best meal I had was a steak dinner while on a business trip to Minneapolis way back in the early 70’s.
December 3, 2007

Ray and Joanne
The best meal that I have ever had is a homemade linguine and white clam sauce. This meal was prepared by me for my father-in-law’s 80th birthday. Along with it, we had some good crusty Italian bread and wonderful Italian wine. The recipe is one that my father got from his father.(I can send the recipe to you, if you would like it.) Ray
December 3, 2007

NathanN
Wow the lurkers are out! Cool show! Bummer about the Solanera but the St. Jean sounds Radool!
QOTD: Beano’s Cabin @ Beaver Creek CO. Had venison some mussels and a killer brunello! Enjoyed a wonderful meal with my wife and brother.
December 3, 2007

Nancy A
QOTD:

You might wonder whether a meal that costs over $200 is worth it and I would have to answer, yes, if it is a meal at The French Laundry in Yountville (Napa county).
December 3, 2007

AndrewP
QOTD: The best meal I’ve ever had was the last one with my mother before she passed from cancer earler this year. The food didn’t matter much, I think I had some of her hospital jello, and obviously there was no wine, but the time we spent together will stay with me forever. Family>everything else is more than just a saying, and I think you get that too Gary.
December 3, 2007

GaryP
QOTD – Breakfast of fresh rainbow trout and potatoes backpacking in Bob Marshall Wilderness Area of MT.
December 3, 2007

Joel Smith
QOTD: I love pizza and I got the pleasure to visit italy and taste some wonderful pizza there and I would say that really any pizza you get over there be it Rome or Venice or Tuscany makes a fantastic little meal during the day when you been tired from touring and doing tourist things
December 3, 2007

Christopher J
When I was watching this episode I was wondering why there were so many comments. You had better believe I will be leaving one today.

QOTD: Filet Mignon at a steakhouse in Chicago (I think it was called the Charhouse or something like that, I think it is closed now) with garlic potatoes, vegtables, and of course: great wine (Chimney Rock Cabernet, really paired nicely).
December 3, 2007

Toke-Dawg
QOTD: I’d have to limit this to home cooked meals since those are my favorite anyway. I’d have to go with a Pan-Seared Coffee and Ancho Chile Rubbed Duck Breast with a Wild Cherry Sauce that I made two years back together with Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes.
December 3, 2007

Dan B
QOTD – Victory dinner at Capitol Grille in March 2006. Food was, as usual, very good. Best meal, however, because it was my victory dinner! Let you guess on the victory…..
December 3, 2007

GalvezGuy
QOTD: Most memorable meal of my life was at a little seafood place in Sacramento. They messed up my order and it came out after everyone else’s. To make up for it they gave me a glass of Pinot Noir. I had never heard of red wine with seafood before that I was a fairly conventional wine drinker (red with beef, white with chicken and fish). The combination was amazing and I was started on this hobbby turned obsession.
December 3, 2007

flavasauce
QOTD:Last fall at Defina restaraunt SF. Tagliatelle with shaved white truffls and a half bottle of 2001 Barolo.
December 3, 2007

Bob Sikorski
My best meal was when my mother made duck soup with potato noodles.
December 3, 2007

Alex
QOTD: The best dinner i have ever had was was at a local restaurant called chops. I ordered a steak with sauted mushrooms and veggies. I cant even describe how good it was.
December 3, 2007

Lawrence
Gary, You have done a great job. I like WLTV.

QOTD: Best Meal I have ever had would be at Parkway Grill on my parent’s anniversary this year.
December 3, 2007

David Dickinson
The best meal I’ve ever had? How can I narrow it down to just one? If I must:
Steak at Roy’s in Scottsdale, AZ. http://www.roysrestaurant.com/

It had a grilled duck liver on top that was delicious. After I ate it, I asked the waitress what it was. She informed it was duck live. Had she told me that before, I don’t know if I would have ate it. It was great!
December 3, 2007

Brandon M.
The best meal I can remember was when my company hired a professional chef to do a cooking demo at our store on a Big Green Egg charcoal grill. He slow cooked a London Broil that I can only assume had been marinated by God Himself. I’ve never seen so much juice come flowing out of a slab of meat as what I saw that day!
December 3, 2007

Johana
QOTD:

I’d have to put my money on Picasso at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
December 3, 2007

Stevo
Easy one: Bones in Atlanta with my wife for our one year wedding anniversary. I had a filet, she had lobster, sick chocolate lava cake dessert, and of course some good wine: Rombauer Cab (I forget the year…it was before I was into wine).

I hope I win!
December 3, 2007

familydoc
Great show, I’m not above getting my name entered in the drawing:

QOTD: Best meal I ever had- A picnic, believe it or not- a beautiful day sitting outside with my wife, parents at my favorite Idaho winery Koenig drinking their dynamite 2003 Cuvee Alden bordeaux blend with crab salad sandwiches. Best meal ever because of family that I love, perfect weather, delicious food, amazing wine and really the meal that kicked off my real love for wine. Man that was awsome. If I won the $500 bottle of wine, I’d be drinking it with the same crew too…so pick me for them, Gary, I’ve never had a three figure wine!
December 3, 2007

MagnumGourmet
My greatest meal was the first time I ate at Herbfarm. The theme of the evening was “Super Cattle in Seattle”. Most of the dishes incorporated Wagyu beef in one form or another. Got to the restaurant at 6 and left just before midnight. A total of nine courses and six wines were served. Can still remember the taste of the tenderloin poached in olive oil paired with an ‘02 Delille Cellars D2. It started a tradition of my wife and I going to Herbfarm once a year to try to hit each theme (26 in all).
December 3, 2007

Kathryn
Living in New Orleans, the QOTD is pretty hard to answer since almost EVERY meal is fantastic. I would have to say that the best meal was an annual occurrence (before I became vegetarian): I would wake up every Friday-after-Thanksgiving to the smell of my dad boiling down the turkey carcass to make stock, spend the whole day shopping with my mother, and then come home to his turkey and sausage gumbo with file, not okra!

Two questions for you: 1-What in the world kind of wine would you consider pairing with gumbo? and 2-Now that I’m vegetarian, I’m curious to your opinions on vegetarian wines. Does the omission of isinglass make much of a difference to you?
December 3, 2007

FTBoomer
QOTD: Bern’s Steakhouse with the fellow Vayniacs (TS, Kahuna & TimF)> Great food, great conversation and even better wine.
December 3, 2007

Nick
QOTD: A Seafood bake on a beach in Mauritius! The sunset is beautiful down there…
December 3, 2007

Leif Bahl
QOTD: Of course the greatest meal is any meal my sweetheart.
December 3, 2007

paul
2005 I ate at Jean George. The best Duck, Foie Gras and Pastry in Town!
December 3, 2007

Jeff Faust
QOTD: Maison Akira 20 year anniversary fixed menu with wine pairing. Japanese/French cuisine. Shared with my then fiance who is now my wife.
December 3, 2007

Corey
French Laundry during our honeymoon in wine country. Letting the chef make the best choices for you meal plus the impeccable made for a memorable experience.
December 3, 2007

Tom Harris
The greatest meal I ever had was chicken thighs braised in a coconut cashew sauce, dried currant rice pilaf, red onions marinated in paprika and lemon juice, kashmiri walnut chutney, and parathas. I washed it down with a bottle of Harpoon IPA.
December 3, 2007

David
QOTD: My greatest meal ever franks and beans after being food poisoned and not being able to eat for over 24 hours.
December 3, 2007

John Watson
It’s hard to pick a best meal, since I’ve had a lot of great ones. They almost all involve friends, family and alcohol of some sort. Since it’s hard to pick, I’ll pick out my best wine-related meal. My wife and I got a bottle of Lafitte (1992, I think?) for our wedding from a family friend. We knew nothing at all about wine, so took it to a restaurant for our 2nd anniversary and enjoyed it without having any idea what it was. It was fantastic. When I got home, I looked it up on the internet and we were embarrassed about not knowing what we were drinking. It was amazing, though!!!
December 3, 2007

Matt M
QOTD: My favorite meal (which I can no longer enjoy) was was when we would go to my ex-girlfriends beach house and go crabbing for dungeness crab. Boil the water right there on the beach, and eat till we could eat no more, and then eat some more, no butter needed, just the natural sea salt. That was heaven on Earth in my minds eye. Wow, Washington’s San Juan Islands…..look em’ up! BEAUTIFUL!!!
December 3, 2007

mefez
First time I ever saw your show! Great job!
A year ago my mother, best friend (visiting), sister and I ate at Cafe Des Amis in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. I honestly don’t remember what wine we had(!), but it certainly kept up our already merriest of spirits and made us really funny. I ate the most amazing roasted duck in my life. IT WAS AMAZING!!!! Juicy and fruity, tender, perfect. Also had crawfish cornbread and then rum bread pudding for dessert. yum.
December 3, 2007

Robin Andrews
My most memorable dining experience was at Tre Fratelli Italian restaurant in Pensacola, Florida. Set in the historic Seville Square District the restaurant was established in a beautiful old two story home. The romantic dining rooms were dimly lit by candle light and glowing antique chandeliers. My favorite menu item was Bruschettaâ€¦a plate of fresh pasta covered with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh herbs, with mozzarella and feta cheeses. I have traveled to Italy and have found that it would be hard to equal the evenings I’ve enjoyed at Tre Fratelli.
December 3, 2007

Fevernova
QOTD: Last year at Beacon in NYC. Went in for the spring tasting menu and was treated to a comped wine pairing.
December 3, 2007

David Crothers
QOTD: About 10 years ago I took a long weekend in New Orleans. Every meal I had there was absolutely fabulous. From the beignets for breakfast to the late night crawfish boils and all the red beans and rice between, I couldn’t imagine a better meal.
December 3, 2007

stevek1510
QOTD….That’s an easy one…..3/20/07, cold pizza around 4:00am at home by myself…it was the night my son was born and I just got home from the hospital relieved that my wife and newborn son were ok…
December 3, 2007

Dan
QOTD: when i cooked dinner for my girlfriend for her birthday not long after we met asiago pesto crusted salmon with wild mushroom risotto
December 3, 2007

SteveW
Great Episode, I’m going to have to try the Saint Jean Du Barroux L’oligocene 2003.
QOTD: Thanksgiving this year: Great food and wine with family.
December 3, 2007

Doug Sibley
No doubt, a Brazilian Steakhouse in my area. Hit up some Sausage, Lamb, just a bang up meal.
December 3, 2007

Grapedigger
Great episode G. My best meal with a Sushi variety plate at the Kaizen Japanese restaurant in Montreal, matched with a Grand Crus red burgundy. Cheers.
December 3, 2007

angryphoton
QOTD: Gary Danko’s with my wife on our first year anniversary

AP
December 3, 2007

darkarchives
A Brazilian steakhouse in my area is complete gold. It is just unbeatable in terms of quality and price. You gotta hit some Lamb, Sausage, Pork, all the good stuff.
December 3, 2007

Tony
The greatest meal I have ever had was at the Green Zebra in Chicago. It’s a mostly vegetarian restaurant that I took my girlfriend to for our anniversary.

I don’t remember much of the meal as we were chugging some sauvignon blanc during the meal, but what really stood out to me was the starter – a parsnip panna cotta. The mix of the salty herbaceous flavors with the dessert like custard was just astonishing. Not the tastiest thing I have ever eaten, but it stood out to me for sure.

Also, my birthday is a week for tomorrow. If you want to make a future 32 year old happy during his early mid-life crisis, you’ll draw my name.
December 3, 2007

Ernest_G
QOTD: My Uncle Salvador has been cooking for as long as I’ve been alive. He would cater for any of my family’s special days (birthday, wedding, etc). The first time I could remember, during his daughter’s (my cousin) birthday, he busted out with best of his talents. Notably, the brisket was to die for. He’d slave for hours onto hours to insure he brought out everything needed to make them perfect. As he grows older, he continues to supply us with the best feasts a family could ask for.

Great show, GV.
December 3, 2007

Ryan
Lets take care of a few things I have been meaning to comment about.

First you asked about your sign on a few episodes ago. I know it makes me want to kick you in the teeth, but you have been greeting viewers that way for long enough that I see no reason to change. I may even find myself missing the urge to kick something if you did.

Second scores. Maybe I beating a dead horse, but I think scores do more detriment for wine drinkers than you admit. I expect few of your listeners sit down to comparatively judge wine when they drink it. More often it is a part of a meal or social gatherings. Giving a wine a rating on its complexity looses the 80+ point wine that is perfectly good has no flaws but lacks complexity; that wine when paired with pizza or pasta and garlicky red sauce, combines with the food to be something majestic. I am thinking of one of my favorite bottles of montepulciano from le Marche right now, and salivating for it… I’m fairly sure it wouldn’t rate over 84 yet I can’t think of anything I would rather have with a bowl of pasta.

Third QOTD: Christmas Eve two years ago my parents made rare beef tenderloin, with green beans and roast potatoes. We paired it with a bottle of 1980 Sebastiani vinters reserve zinfindal.

Well I guess I don’t count as a lurker anymore. Bummer
December 3, 2007

Julie
Without a doubt, the best meal I ever had was in Florence. My flatmates and I frequented a small tabaccheria down the street from our apartment–usually two, sometimes three times daily. Needless to say, the owner and staff became well acquainted with us. One night, near the end of our semester abroad, we stopped in the tabaccheria for an espresso just as they were closing. Surprisingly, they welcomed us in (all six of us!) and invited us to join them as they ate dinner. The food itself was nothing spectacular, just some cheese and salami, fruit, a baked pasta dish, and cheap Chianti. But, the conversation and camaraderie that emerged from the sharing of food elevated this experience to one of the best that I had in my four months in Italy.
December 3, 2007

Gersh
The best meal I’ve ever had was the brunch at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans LA. Turtle soup topped with sherry to start and then rich meats, all washed down with a beautiful Pim’s Cup. There was absolutely nothing better on a hot summer day in the Crescent City.
December 3, 2007

H-Why
As usual, another great episode of WLTV. I especially like your point about how your palette changes over time.

QOTD: Best meal that I’ve ever had was when my good friend from high school who had just graduated from the Culinary Institute of America made a special dinner for my then fiancee (now wife of almost 13 years) and me. Just an amazing meal. Second best was recently at a restaurant called Fork in Philadelphia. Simply fabulous.
December 3, 2007

burton
PlumpJack and screw caps!!! I was recently at Plumpjack and they said the screwcaps hadn’t evolved anywhere near the corks.
December 3, 2007

Mike
Hmm, best meal of all timeâ€¦
It was a prime rib dinner that was prepared by a relative’s personal chef.
It was amazing AND we popped a bunch of their Pinot Noir from their own vineyards to go with the meal!?!? It makes my mouth water just thinking about itâ€¦
December 3, 2007

Kirk
QOTD: The greatest meal I have ever had was in Newhall, California. It was at a very small family owned restaurant called “The Pasta Grill” and was a Chicken dijon with a 2001 German Riesling. Absolutely phenominal…Simple, basic flavors that made it such a wonderful memory. Good luck to all who enter….
December 3, 2007

Mike S.
hmmmm…

A difficult question. Not sure if it was my favorite, but one that I recently had that was great was at a local Italian BYOB restaurant.

To start I had calamari tossed with hot cherry peppers, gaeta olives, capers, garlic, and balsamic vinegar, over fresh greens.

For the main course, I had Saffron risotto with Brazilian lobster tail, jumbo shrimp and Spanish chorizo.

I’m making myself hungry thinking about it. Love the show Gary.
December 3, 2007

johnmaki
pepperoncini are put on Italian salads
QOD: I had a really nice 7 course dinner with wines at Masa’s in San Francisco several months ago
sponsored by VISA Signature card and Hanna Winery and all for $100. If it sounds interesting you can view my 3 minute slide presentation by going to Photodex.com (they provide software for making this kind of video) and going to “sharing” (tab at the top), “browse member” (in submenu of ‘online sharing’, or at the bottom right of the sharing page) and entering “johnmaki”. you will get a menu of 9 shows, the title of which is obvious. You may have to download a viewer but it’s free and easy & the quality is way better than utube. If you view it, drop me a note -
johnmaki@prodigy.net
December 3, 2007

MattyO
awesome show, loved the ending. i feel like crap cause i have such a limited accessability to wine in my area, so i’m just watching others have fun and being jealous. hopefully i can find that third wine. well done gary!

QOTD:ok i hope no one will laugh, but the best meal i ever had was just recently at a red lobster. yea, you betcha! i had scallops for the first time, with lobster tail, rice and jumbo shrimp. sorry, i’m a simple guy. gary, appreciate the contest for the $500 bottle, even if i don’t win, much appreciated. you rock. this show rocks. keep it rockin.
December 3, 2007

Eric
QOTD: Not Fair! There have been so many.

The best meal that I can remember was spent with my lovely girlfriend Dash and our friends. I braised lamb shanks in a tomato fennel broth, we drank good wine, shared amazing conversation and enjoyed the bond that we had created. We have eaten some excellent food since then, but the award goes to this fantastic, home-cooked meal, complete with friends.
December 3, 2007

Kevin
QOTD: Hm. Dordogne, France, 2001. First over-the-top French haute cuisine experience in the countryside. Slabs of foie gras on toast, cod in cream sauce with asparagus [we looked upon an asparagus farm], beef tenderloin, selection of cheeses, wine, sweet dessert. With my wife. Does it get much better than that? Although there is a lot to be said for catching a large spring salmon, eating sashimi off the dock, and then doing grilled boneless salmon steaks and a salad with a 2000 Domaine Pavelot La Dominode. Or maybe something as simple as the best gnocchi ever in Pienza with a butter sauce? Or maybe it’s going to be the tenderloin of fresh calf moose that I butchered today that’s in my fridge…
December 3, 2007

RH
25 years ago I got married and we moved to Piedmonte for several years. We would eat quite often at this small family owned and run restaurant in the hills outside the town we lived in. Last fall for out 25th anniversary, we made a trip back and the restaurant still exists and our server was the daughter of the server we knew 25 years ago. Wonderful evening. We drank a local wine called “Carema” if anyone knows what that is.
December 3, 2007

Jon A.
QOTD: The best meal I’ve had was Thanksgiving of last year (2006). I had just finished two killer term papers and the whole family drove from Ohio up to the west coast of Michigan so that my older brother could be with us for Thanksgiving. The weather was cold and snowed heavily; driving conditions made us pull into a rest-stop for a few hours until the van started to freeze over, but we eventually arrived safe and sound after a nigh epic adventure. After unpacking and starting to cook Thanksgiving dinner we realized that we were missing the potatoes and cranberry relish, so we had to drive 45 minutes each way to the nearest open grocery to pick them up (since he was living in a cottage located in a summer vacation town). It was amazing to be with family in a small cottage, completely removed from daily life/worries, and share a big meal and many laughs together.
December 3, 2007

Saftig
QOTD: Before I left for bootcamp my Mom made me the dinner that I always requested for my birthday ever since I was little; chicken and rice. To this day those memories of all of us around the table wishing me well, tears and laughter have stayed with me. I’m verklempt just thinking about it.
December 3, 2007

SmokeyUST
QOTD: Would definitely have to be the day after Thanksgiving this year. It was me, my dad, and grandma and grandpa. Grandpa’s health has been tough this year and I was extremely happy to be able to go to Chicago, prepare a meal, and have our whole family there.

Seems like you are back in the saddle GV, no more sleepy, tired, travel bug or what?!
December 3, 2007

Tom (vtjones)
QOTD: My best meal ever is a seared medium-rare to rare ribeye steak with sweet potatoes,salad and a good bottle of red wine shared with my wife.
December 3, 2007

Fernandob23
The best meal I have ever had was in Thailand with my wife before we were married. We are fresh fish and prawns cooked the way we wanted and we ate the meal over looking the beach. We have had great meals since but the scenery we had and the fact that we were half way around the world made it special. Thanks for dropping all the knowledge Gary. Winelibrary has been awesome!
December 3, 2007

LeeInSC
~~~LURKER ALERT~~~

QOTD: Prime Rib and mashed potatoes at “The Steakhouse” at City Place in West Palm Beach, FL this past summer. Had a bottle of 2004 FAIVELEY Bourgogne that was excellent and NOT expensive.

Lee in SC
December 3, 2007

HandsomeReg
Favorite Meal: A big thick grilled T-Bone steak from a grain feed Beefmaster, grilled onions, grilled potato, and a big bold Zin.
December 3, 2007

RodneyM
A grand buffet served on the beach on a warm Jamaican night in Ocho Rios with my wife on our 25th wedding anniversary.
December 3, 2007

Dan NYC
QOTD:Aquavit in the old space, just amazing!
December 3, 2007

StockJockey
QOTD

December 31, 1999

1988 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill Champagne with caviar, toast points and creme freche, 1996 Sonoma Cutrer Les Pierres with Oysters, 1996 Bryant Family with Kobe Beef, 1983 Lafite Rothschild with Lamb and a half bottle of 1988 d’Yquem to mop up.

Later , a ‘90 Dom at midnight.

Great company made it even more memorable.
December 3, 2007

monkuwino
Hey don’t shake that $500 bottle of wine like that! Does it have a cork or screw-top, haha. QOTD: the best meal: Ristorante Chianti on Melrose in Los Angeles (no longer there). Wonderful Italian food, excellent service, everything was perfect.
December 3, 2007

Rico
QOTD: Best meal had to be Thanksgiving of 2000 beside the food was great I think it was the last Thanksgiving a spent with my Grandmother and the family was thogether before I left to the army in 2001
December 3, 2007

cobbpa
QOTD: Last year for Christmas Eve, I had a huge hand preparing dinner for my family–about 30 people in all. Not exactly the best food I’ve ever had, but considering how many dishes I made, how great it all was, how many people were pleased by it, and how much fun the evening was, I’ll call it my best meal.
December 3, 2007

Geoff
QOTD: The best meal I have had was just this past weekend. The food was just a little above average but the conversation / wine / drinks were great. As much as I enjoy good food, it’s the company that really makes a great meal for me.
December 3, 2007

Dash
QOTD: It is easier to mention the best meal eaten at restaurant since my boyfriend has cooked so many great meals at home ~ So hard to choose ~ So the best meal for me was eaten a couple of months after we moved to SF and we FINALLY had enough money to go out and splurge. We went to Rue St. Jaques in the city. We were one of three tables there on a wednesday night, and had excellent service. I had the best Lamb Chops in a long time (now my bf cooks lamb chops more often:) We really had a good time dining out for a change, and it was worth every penny.
December 3, 2007

Snkypete
Great epsiode and an excellent Ask Gary question!

My best meal ever was New Year’s Eve, 2001 – Islamorada, Florida Keys. Bentley’s Restaurant, surf ‘n turf with the biggest crab legs I have ever seen and an amazing NY Strip.

Thank you for introducing me to the world of wine!
December 3, 2007

Joey Livingston
QOTD: Call me blue collar, but we have the best pizza joint in the world here in Pensacola, FL. The name of the place is Georgio’s, and on the front of their menu, they brag about being the most expensive pizza place in town, because the don’t cut corners on the quality or the amount of toppings on your pies. The cheeses are thick and rich, the bread is moist and garlicky, the smells are hypnotic, the flavors are intense, and the textures are unbelievable. Pizza has always been my favorite dish, and Georgio’s is the king of them all.
December 3, 2007

cgatesman
Thanks so much for the shout out and answering my question on the show!

QOTD: To be honest, it’s very simple. A fresh, thick cut of filet mignon simply salted and peppered and grilled to rare to medium rare. “Ignorance is bliss…”

P.S. – You can just send me one of those Saint Jean Du Barroux Lâ€™oligocene instead of the $50,000 gift certificate.
December 3, 2007

3robins
QOTD: A smoked steak with fresh bread and a baked sweet potato

Great show…as always.

Hasn’t someone out there done research on screw caps vs. cork?
December 3, 2007

gabe
tripe in tomato sauce at peasants in the city with some italian beer i cant remember
December 3, 2007

Lisa
QOTD–Steak fondue with homemade bÃ©arnaise sauce. My friend, Trish and I sat for hours chick-chatting while we skewered meat, cooked it, and dipped it into that amazing sauce. We went through two bottles of wine that night!
December 3, 2007

Vinsant
QOTD; Wedding dinner in Maui, seafood & steak overlooking pools, beach, and the ocean. Had a ‘96 Mondavi Cab. Will never forget it for so many reasons!
December 3, 2007

bfrankphoto
Yes, the Jets wonâ€¦against the Dolphins. Does that count as a full win?

QOTD: My wife and I had only started dating a few months before Valentine’s day, but I was really taken by her, and wanted to do something special. We went to a wonderful little bistro, and had a wonderful meal (I can’t remember what I had, except I tried pate for the first time). While this was going on, there was a huge snow storm raging (yes, raging snow storm) outside. By the time dinner was over, over a foot of snow had fallen, and with the wind, there were massive drifts everywhere. I went to go brush the car off, and let it warm up, but she refused to let me go outside by myself. If I was going to get cold and snowy, she was going to get cold and snowy right there with me. I haven’t been able to get rid of her since.

What would I do with a $500 bottle of wine? Beats me. I like wine, but that’s just about all I know about it.
December 3, 2007

Donna Zukowski
Hi! I am not a wine drinker but I am interested in learning and you make it darn entertaining!
QOTD: What was my best meal? It’s not always WHAT you eat, but WHO you eat it with that counts. My husband and I had the best meal ever at a little casino here in Arizona on Thanksgiving Day of this year. Every dish tasted fantastic, but the day was just phenomenal from start to finish. We had all of the usual dishes, including turkey, ham, green bean casserole, salmon, stuffing, yams, etc. For desert, various pies were served.
December 3, 2007

Susan
Gary- The peppers on an Italian sub are banana peppers(pepperochini’s). If you are ever going to find them in the store, you will have to use the real name, banana peppers. They are a mild pepper. If you want serious peppers, buy scotch bonnet peppers.
December 3, 2007

Bill Turner
Ironically, the best meal I ever had was at Peller Estate Winery in Niagara Falls. I had actually stopped by to visit the wine shop, which was closed, but seeing as we hadn’t had lunch we decided to try the restaurant. Like wine, I think food is as much about ambience and company. I was with a friend I have had since grade 2. It was a sunny spring day, the food was excellent as were the wines. What was especially memorable is that one of the waitresses overheard me explaining ice wines to my friend, who is not a wine geek. She brought over a glass of icewine (gratius) from the estates private selection for us to try with the creme brulee we were having . A perfect finish to a a wonderful day.
December 3, 2007

HO
Love the show
Best meal had to be last Friday night at an LA restaurant called Providence which is in the old Patina Building (Patina is a famous LA restaurant that just merged with Smith and Wolinski’s) where my brother, dad and I had a 14 course meal with wine parings that took over 4 hours, oh did I mentioned we also drank a 1997 ChÃ¢teau Lafite Rothschild. Other the top experience. The group next to us had 20 plus courses along with over 20 wines including some as old as 1957 (it was the guy’s 57th birthday)
Scott
December 3, 2007

Dorothy
QOTD:

Two come to mind: The first time I can remember really appreciating a wine was last summer with my husband and his parents at Koenig Winery in Idaho. We had a picnic on their lawn and sipped their Cuvee Alden. It was a perfect summer day and we were relaxed and happy.

The second: was the first time I really appreciated sushi. I was with my now husband on our third date and he took me to this place in Seattle. He did all the ordering and when it came out I was intimidated to use chop sticks in front of him, but he made me feel so comfortable that I used them with ease and loved the sushi. We had a great time and needless to say things turned out well!
December 3, 2007

Glen
Sat in the corner under the tent at Daniel 5 years ago on valentines day and had the wine pairing dinner.

UNBELIEVABLE…….!!!

And that was on amature night!!!!
December 3, 2007

DirtWineKen
QOTD: the best meal I ever had was at my friend’s 26th birthday party. We started off with a 1969 Batard Montrachet and when we got to the main course (prime rib with yorkshire pudding) there were three reds: 1949 Gruaud Larose, 1947 Canon and 1947 Cheval Blanc. yikes I think i can still taste the finish! Yes, he was born in 1947. Oh, by the way, we had Chateau d’Yquem 1953 with dessert.
December 4, 2007

Marcus Mendelson
Best meal…tough one…I’m going with my last Thanksgiving at home. I cooked for three days for 12 people (most of whom were guests) and it turned out great. All the food was fantastic and it came together at the end from the help of all of the guests an incredible experience. Of course my father brought out some of his best wines to celebrate the effort. One of the best meals and fondest memories.
December 4, 2007

Bob Khazaeni
Best meal I ever had was at the French Laundry. Lives up to all the hype. And wines to match.
December 4, 2007

2thdr
QOTD: Several years ago a three hour feast at the French Laundry in Yountville,CA. Jerry the 2thdr
December 4, 2007

Fred Liu
Dear me…I just wondered for what there has been so many comments for today, when I began with this episode…and Now I understood…Hehe, so my part:

Answer to QOTD: A breakfast with my sister in a Taiwanese shop eating some Chinese fried bread and soybean milk. For me, it is the most pleasant thing to have a breakfast with someone I love, as I have beeng living on my own since I was very young. That is my precious treasure.

Thank you Gary, nice question and nice episode once more.
December 4, 2007

Todd
I just came from one of the diggnation podcasts and love your show. My favorite meal was overlooking the Niagara Falls at the Marriott Hotel eating Prime Rib with my fiance at the time. It was very romantic and wow, what a view! Just thinking about it makes me want to go back there… Anyways, I am glad I founf this site tonight and look forward to trying out some kickass wines.
December 4, 2007

chuck
QOTD: Ten years ago @the Metro, in SLC. They had uni flow in from Big Sur in late Oct. for a tasting menu. amazing! the chef there is now the chef du cuisine @charlie trotters.
December 4, 2007

Malphas
QotD: I would have to say that the best meal I had, I shared with my boys at a Japanese restaurant. We all had sizzling chicken teriyaki with rice and toasted ourselves to surviving another hard year of making our dreams a reality.
December 4, 2007

Adam J
Bringing out the big guns today. QOTD: My senior year of high school my French class took a trip to a 5 star French restaurant. I was with friends and family (my mom is the French teacher) and it was an incredible time.
December 4, 2007

Chris
QOTD: My best meal ever was a steak tenderloin cooked medium rare served at the top of the tallest building in Shanghai
December 4, 2007

SacramentoKrista
QOTD: Dinner at Crush29 in Roseville, CA…. Snap Crackle Salmon sented with lavender!
(it was like a massage and a vacation at the same time!)
December 4, 2007

Outerupt
QOTD: Locke Ober in Boston… Lobster Stew, Foie Gras with a glass of ‘90 Y’quem, Vol au Vent of Sweetbreads, Roast Lamb, ‘90 Gruaud Larose and a beautiful date… all paid for by somebody else. Couldn’t have been much better.
December 4, 2007

brorjace
QOTD: I have a friend who made a little 10 course sampler meal for the final four when Illinois went a couple of years ago. Among the hits, 2 different Mussel courses, Moroccan Chicken, and a Celery Root soup.

I agree with the Solanera score, it was passable, but nothing really to write home about.
December 4, 2007

Johnny
Gary first let me just say, You rock man! Love the show, i currently live in Tx but will be returning to Hyde Park, NY for school and I am most definably planning a trip to the Wine Library in the near future.

QOTD: I’d say the best meal i’ve ever had was when I was in Hyde Park with a bunch of my classmates, I had octopus tentacles braised in a red wine sauce with garlic bread and i also got to try the BEST rack of lamb i’ve ever had in my life

Keep up the amazing work gary
December 4, 2007

joeinla
Great Episode. I’m in for a case based on the look on your face alone over that last wine…

Best meal. In Montalcino in July….view of the entire valley from the patio. Tomato soup, homemade mushroom ravioli with truffle sauce, Florentine steak in rose petals…and a light chocolate gelato dessert.Oh yeah, the 2 bottles of 1990 Salvioni brunello.
December 4, 2007

Mikey K
QotD: My greatest meal was one for my High School Graduation. My family went to the Emeril restaurant in Orlando, Florida. I was with all of my family so maybe that’s what made the food taste amazing.
December 4, 2007

t_moderne
QOTD:

Two slices of Famous Ray’s Pizza and a Coke. (While I was in the hospital).
Yum.
December 4, 2007

Timothy McBreen
QOTD: It’s a tossup: 1) Lunch at the French Laundry with my niece. Started with a glass of Schramsburg champagne. Then a half bottle of a white burgundy and a half bottle of a red Bordeaux.

2) On a beautiful San Franciscan day, we took a boat to Sausalito and walked back to San Francisco across the Golden Gate. Then we stopped in a small neighborhood grocery and bought some apples, cheese and some juice. Truly it was a memorable meal.
December 4, 2007

t_moderne
QOTD: The best meal I ever had was a Montana Ledgend steak with a bottle of 1990 Masseto. I won it on Wine Library TV. Yeah!.
December 4, 2007

bill hartwick
Blackened filet mignon with cajun oyesters at the Bistro in Crescent City, CA
December 4, 2007

Rauri Donkin
Give me Burgundy and duck any day.. this was a memorable meal from two highly acclaimed chefs, Sam and Zach Curnow, in Adelaide Australia, the restaurant was The Wine Underground:

Crisp skinned duck breast, braised leg, shallot & lotus root mille-feuille, bok choy, aromatic coffee sauce.
Awsome
December 4, 2007

Jon Kurey
The greatest was a home cooked meal, a Sunday dinner prepared by my mother with roast beef infused with fresh garlic and a simple salt and pepper rub. Roasted potatoes, carrots, and celery accompanied the meat. Of course we had a wonderful gravy made from the juice of the roast. I remember being fond of mashing the potatoes, and the other vegetables together and topping the mixture with the fragrant and rich gravy. Dipping a piece of buttered sweet French bread in the gravy added to the bliss of the experience.
December 4, 2007

SacramentoCharlie
QOTD: I’m sure you are going to pull BrandonM’s name but I’ll give it a try anyway

Let’s go with the dinner just last Saturday following the great Crushpad celebration and hanging out with Vayniacs at the wine bar..

Colorado grilled Rack of Lamb with rosmary fleur de sel from Chez Papa.
December 4, 2007

andrew
gary – it was great to meet you at the vayniac tasting on saturday. looking forward to another in march. qotd: i once had a fabulous meal at the greenbrier resort in white sulphur springs, wv.
December 4, 2007

Grape Expectations
QOTD: That’s a very hard question. I have been fortunate to eat many fine meals in my life. But what makes a meal memorable is as much the people you share it with as it is the food you eat. My most memorable meal not in a restaurant was a back yard Cajun-style crawfish boil in Plaquemines, Louisiana. (Can’t tell you how fantastic potato salad is when it’s made with potatoes left over from a crawfish boil!). As for restaurant meals it’s a toss up between a great meal with family at Star Canyon in Dallas and a great meal with friends at Border Grill in Los Angeles.
December 4, 2007

Jim
Best meal to date: Kevin Restaurant in Chicago with the boys from Rusden Winery in the Barossa. Fantastic company, profound food and wine. A waterfall of Gruner Veltliner, Volnay and Barolo. Tres ridiculous. Kudos to all involved!

Gary,

Thanks for the tip on the Cotes du Ventoux, after that glowing review, let’s hope you have the inventory on this gem to fill the orders!

Cheers,

Jim
December 4, 2007

Carmen
La lanterna in riomaggiore. insalata di mare, seafood linguini, and an amazing view!
December 4, 2007

zak
The best meal I ever had was in Guadalajara Jalisco for a wedding and popped into Cocina 88 where the chef personally showed me to the kitchen and explained all of the meats. At first I was worried as I basically only eat chicken but then I saw the most amazing sight of my life. I had a fresh Argentinian steak wrapped in bacon and a forgettable merlot. The bill was ~80$. I found out that Bono had been there the week before me. Surreal.
December 4, 2007

BW
QOTD: In 2004, In Chablis, France, while following the Tour de France around with about a dozen of our friends on Marty Jemison Cycling tours, we had a 6 course meal with at least 6 different Chablis wines. Unbelievable food & superb wines. Gave a whole new meaning to what Chardonay can be.

Great show today – the Saint Jean du Barroux has a lot going for it (listed below), so we had to get a few bottles:
1) A great review by GV at an incredible price
2) Cotes du Ventoux – on the slopes of Mt. Ventoux – one of the most fierce & revered climbs in cycling. A perfect wine for a cyclist like myself.
3) L’oligocene – a reference to the geologic age of the soils . As a geologist also, how could I resist?
See link : http://www.cotes-ventoux.com/media/fck/File/presse-cotes-du-ventoux/CotesduVentoux@DP_%20GB_2007.pdf

GV – thanks for the review!
December 4, 2007

Jamie
Last summer, we drove to Dry Creek and bought a half dozens different zins had ribs, chicken ,brisket, corn and cole slaw. Desert was a couple of ice wines. It was an amazing night.
December 4, 2007

tnfdude
QOTD: tough to pick just one, but for fine dining i’d say about 5 years ago at Lumiere in Vancouver; or for an everyday-type meal it was last spring in a small izakaya place in Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan (mmm…black pork!).
December 4, 2007

Dave Dieter
QOTD **Lurker outed** Frank Zappa sang: “Goin back home to the Village of the Sun. Down in Palmdale where the turkey farmers run.” Palmdale, CA has a little sushi joint called Big Tuna. Three classic, loud, chattering Japanese sushi chefs behind the bar will fix you up whatever roll you ask for at the all-you-can-eat sushi bar. THe combination of the atmosphere, phenomenal sushi, presentation, and “all you can eatness” made this meal the best ever. The best sushi roll? “The Palmdale.” (Imagine conversing with your bud when a loud Japanese man shouts “PALMDALE!!” 2 feet away from your head to indicate that your order is ready).
December 4, 2007

Paula from Only Cookware
The best meal I ever had was in Milan, Italy. We arrived late and thought we would just go upstairs to the hotel restaurant for a meal. They could only fit us in if we ate the ‘leftovers’ from some of the other tables. So the waiter would serve them first and then head on over to us to give us what was left on their serving trays. The food was just heavenly and we got a bit of everything.
December 4, 2007

Candace
Kosher wine can be very interesting. I’ve had the Yarden red blend. It was surprisingly good, and Mevushal i believe. The flash-pasteurization can really take a decent wine south in a hurry. They’ve got it figured out I guess.

QOTD: I can’t think of one meal, only parts of various meals. Appetizer: fois grois in Salon-de-Provence; Soup: sweet creamy onion soup at The Inn at Langley, Whidbey Island, WA; Salad: The Canlis Salad at Canlis, Seattle, WA; waygu rib-eye (oh yeah baby:) at Canlis, Seattle,WA ; dessert: my husband’s homemade chocolate cinnamon ice-cream; wine………….1983 Petrus, watching the sunset over the Olympic mountains in WA.

Looking forward to your next show. Waiting for my lurker friends to jump in!
December 4, 2007

flippy
QOTD: Was in Monterey/Paso Robles/Santa Barbara County in June and had a chance to go to the Hitching Post. It’s OLD SCHOOL steakhouse to the max, and it was PACKED on a Monday (thank you, Sideways), but I was with some wine writin’ folk and we got sat at a big table, shared a lot of starters, then had a big-ass steak with the fixin’s (including crackers in plastic packets instead of baskets of bread). Frank Ostini just kept bringing the Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Pinot Noirs, as well as a few other wines from the area and a couple preliminary/barrel samples.

The ambiance was ’70s, the meal was sort of ’70s, but all in all it was phenomenal.
December 4, 2007

Jon
Keep up the good work!

QOTD: Prime Steakhouse in Las Vegas overlooking the Bellagio Fountains, eating Filet Mignon, and sipping on a Groth Cabernet.
December 4, 2007

TheThriller
QOTD: Ristorante Parizzi in Parma, Italy June 6th, 2007. Absolutely amazing! I’ll never forget it. Too many dishes to count, but the highlights were braised beef and lamb. And, of course, Parmigiano Reggiano!!
December 4, 2007

Nelson Bryant
Dick’s deluxe, fries, and a coke.
December 4, 2007

Dean D.
WOW! I’ve had Chateau Beaucastel before it was popular, and this EP makes me want to source this wine in Canada! Great EP Gary!

QOTD: Best meal…we had porterhouse steaks on sale, and they NEVER go on sale, so I bought 2 of them, for about $15 bones each…I grilled them up, over very high heat, and served them with a spanish garancha (grenache), that was out of this world! Sadly, this was before I was keeping track of what I drank, and so the record of it is lost.
December 4, 2007

Todd
You, Gary, are awesome. I have never liked wine before this show, (partly due to the fact that I have a very inexperienced pallet) but the sheer enthusiasm that you put forth on the subject is infectious.
Great job at pulling somebody like me in, I say.

Now, the best meal I have ever had was at the Palomino in Seattle. Delicious steak and European-inspired regional American Cuisine. Absolutely a must.

Keep on, Gary, with the great work!
December 4, 2007

Flavio
QOTD: I’ve had many meals with food and wine that were out of this world, but this past August during a somewhat understated lunch at Restaurant L’Oustalet, in the village of Gigondas, I realized I was a very lucky guy. The food was incredibly honest (foie gras done two ways, rabbit risoto and a hazelnut/chocolate pot de creme) and the Sommelier’s suggestion was a beautiful surprise (1998 Gabriel Meffre Laurus Gigondas), but the awesome weather, magical scenery and the fact that I was sharing all that with my wife and kids were the determinant factors in making that moment one of the most memorable in my entire (albeit short, I’m 32) life.

(a lovely and long visit with Yves Gras at Domaine Santa Duc followed lunch to end that perfect day in another high note).

Gary – thanks for the episode and for showing us, once again, that the South of France (Provence, Southern Rhone) is one of God’s best gifts to us mortals…
December 4, 2007

tomfar
OK, so I’m a Napa honk. My wife and I were pretty awestruck at our little soiree on her birthday at The French Laundry (with due respect to my mom and her prime rib and Yorkshire pudding). Contrary to popular belief, we did not have to go to Mickey D’s afterwards, by the way.

Great show, Gary.
December 4, 2007

Brandon B
QOTD: This past summer at Restaurant La Caravelle in Bonifacio, Corsica, we had a fresh Sea Bass baked in salt that tasted perfect. I have never had seafood that has ever come within the same ballpark as the food at this restaurant. It was also my honeymoon which helps as well!
December 4, 2007

Jerry
Must post… uncontrollable urge when contest going on…

Actually, I want to first comment about your terrific show ending. You have such high energy that your pantomime still conveyed the message powerfully. I would say even more powerfully because there was the anticipation of hearing but just seeing.

QOTD: Since I’m still in grad school and far away from home, I generally haven’t been able to go home for Thanksgivings. Four years ago was the exception as I was attending a conference taking place just after Thanksgiving and near my home. Like you say, family is important and that Thanksgiving at home was great. Home cooking may not be fancy gourmet, but Mom always cooks with love which is priceless. Best meal in recent memory.
December 4, 2007

Achilleas
Gary

Best meal I ever had was the one I had 2 weeks ago …. here it is …

Reception

Fortant Premier Cuvee, Sauvignon Blanc 2007 White
Fortant Premier Cuvee, Syrah 2007 Rose
Fortant Premier Cuvee, Merlot 2007 Red

Menu

Fresh Alaska crab meat cake, poached crab legs, mango puree and Bottarga Mesolongi
Wine: Champagne Palmes D’Or Prestige Cuvee, Vintage 1997

Marble Terrine of Duck Foie Gras, Fritter of Duck Foie Gras, exotic fruit compte and Leeches Sorbet
Wine: Dopff & Irion, Gewurtraminer 2006

Chateau Margaux, Premier Grand Cru Classe 1997

Roasted Loin of Irish baby lamb with fresh herbs, grilled polenta, green pea puree and braised artichokes, lamb jus
Wine: Bosco Del Merlo, Vineargenti “Plessi” Magnum 1997

Pecorino Cheese (ages 12 months) with Orange Blossem Honey
Wine: Masi “Costasera” Amarone 1997

Pistachio Macaroon topped with Poached pear in port, Chocolate Mousse and Mozzart Gelato
Wine: Taylors 10 year old Tawny Port

Delamain X.O. Cognac

Coffee & Chocolates Feodora

It was something really special – the wine shop here in Cyprus that I buy most of my wines was having its 10 year anniversary and they wanted to do something really special.

Achilleas
December 4, 2007

Cody Betschart
QOTD: The Brewer’s Art in Baltimore wonderful food and ambience in March of this year.
December 4, 2007

Dwatson783
First off, I need to say that I just got into the podcast thing, and this show is the ONLY show that I have become religious about watching, great work, and keep the great episodes coming.

QOTD: Like you’ve said about the best wines being those special wines that you remember from special occasions, I think my favorite meals are more about who I was with and where it was than the actual meal. The two that came to mind was an amazing grilling night at home with my buddies before heading back off to school where we had some of the best marinated meats and vegetables that I’ve ever tasted. The only meal that really competes with that was from a place called Ristorante Fiore in the North End of Boston – amazing Italian restaurant where I took my girlfriend for our first real night out. If you’re in Boston and like Italian, try this place out, it won’t let you down.

Great work Gary, keep it up.
December 4, 2007

Roy Biran
Best Meal: It’s either sea bass cooked in a tandoori oven and served in a coconut curry sauce, from Tamarind in NYC OR any greasy fast food after a week of camping in the desert.
December 4, 2007

DavidB
Wow, great show, very crazy and had me wondering, at times, are you being drug tested? If not maybe Mott should consider it cuz brother you be crazy!
QOTD – excluding my mother’s cooking as that would not be fair – probably the best meal ever is a tie between a restaurant in NYTC I went to 15+ yrs ago I believe was called Michaels? (italian place) and a steak house in San Fransisco by the name of Harris.
December 4, 2007

wtvLurker
qotd: was skiing @ grand targhee a few years ago in driggs, idaho. went to a small restaurant south of town and had a great meal of duck consomme and a rack-o-lamb with the tastiest sauce ever that was made from the lamb drippings infused with major mint flavor.
December 4, 2007

CHATrBox
Nice show GVNC. Iâ€™ve been busy and havenâ€™t been around lately but it looks like I picked a good time to check in. 500 bucks for a bottle of wine! Damn! Those guys at Montana Legend sure know how to entice a comment

QOTD: I canâ€™t think of one single meal thatâ€™s truly been the greatest Iâ€™ve ever had. But when or if that meal ever comes Iâ€™m sure it will include family, friends, and wine.

FYI Mott, the link for Legend is misspelled.
December 4, 2007

mateo
Nice way to get me to stop lurking… although, I did post on your birthday.

QOTD: Best Meal… interesting choice of words — best “dinner” would be something very different — thus, my best meal would most likely be a night that my office mates and I had a potluck, good food (no wine though!), great conversation and awesome company — that would be one of my best meals.
December 4, 2007

Brian M
I am so tempted to get that last wine…

QOTD: I had the squab at Downey’s in Santa Barbara with a bottle of the 2004 Lafond, Lafond Vineyard pinot noir (Santa Rita Hills). It was cooked to perfection and that bottle is just plain awesome. However, the best part of the meal is that it was with my beautiful g/f.

P.S. She is the curly haired blond girl that interviewed you a month ago.
December 4, 2007

Drew
Gary, I am in graduate school at the University of Florida but my father lives in Manhattan. So, I had the opportunity to take my girlfriend to New York for the first time and we ate at an incredible restaurant called “Campagnola,” I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Almost all of the servers are from Italy and speak it flu ently and that added to the gorgeous, opulent, ambience that is Campagnola. Anyway, we started off with a couple glasses of Sangiovese at the bar. Then, for our appetizers we had Prosciutto di Parma e Melone and Gamberi Fantasia (shrimp sauteed with artichokes and mushrooms). Then for entrees I had the Veal Scallopine Alla Sorrentina topped with eggplant, prosciutto, tomato and white wine and my girlfriend ordered Zuppa di Pesce alla Livornese (Italian bouillabaisse with lobster). We both shared our meals so that we could get a little taste of the other’s food and it was absolutely amazing. It took us back to Italy. A nice bottle of wine from piemonte accompanied our dinner. An Italian dinner would not be complete without sambuca and espresso at the end. I have to say that the mini grand piano and the timeless wooden bar that was the center of the restaurant made us feel at home and reminiscent of old black-and-white mafia movies. If you have never been there, I suggest saving up some money for a spectacular dinner and a warm milieu.
=
December 4, 2007

Laika Rose
QOTD:

My favorite meal is the holiday meal our family has-it’s always the same, regardless of the holiday. What makes it special is the matzoh ball soup only my bubby knows how to make.
December 4, 2007

Daniel R
The best meal I’ve ever had (in recent memory) started off with an Acai Energy shake from Juice Generation which I brought to one of the better Indian places on the Upper West Side, bang for buck. $7 for a generous helping of Nine Veggie Curry. I chased that all down with a pint of Old Speckled Hen as I watched Green Bay fall to Dallas this past Thursday. The Nine Veggie Curry also pairs well with the Rivendell Reisling.

Just started watching your show yesterday. Good times. Keep up the good work.

Cheers,
Daniel

PS – The perfect blend of Paul McCartney and Jay-Z? I recommend http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grey_Album
December 4, 2007

vivaitalia
Wow, that’s crazy, i’ve always lusted after trying A Masseto. Great episode today but I have to think there was something wrong with that Solanera. I’ve had that wine at least five times and my notes are completely different from yours. There was nothing spanish about it but it pretty much tasted like a $50 california blend to me. QOTD: Greatest meal has to be when my fiance and I were in Philadelphia as high school students on vacation. We decided to go way over our heads and go to this restaurant pompeii. We ended up spending more money than we make in a week on dinner. But this is the greatest meal i’ve ever had ( a 20 0z porterhouse with a red wine demi glaze served on a bed of seasonal veggies) but this is when my love for wine started. The wine list was six pages long and we ended up deciding on the 1997 Monsanto chianti reserva. Although we were only 18, we had the most wonderful night talking over this delicious bottle. Even though the quality at this estate has lagged a little bit, it’s still my favorite because it always reminds me of this night.
December 4, 2007

kadair
Hey Gary,
My wife Elena and I had a great time meeting you this weekend. Best meal would have to be a few years ago when we celebrated my boss’s 60th birthday. He is a huge wine collector, and we had a wonderful food and wine pairing with some gems from his cellar at Uncle Yu’s in San Ramon, CA. Best pairing of the night was honey glazed walnut prawns with a Double Magnum of 1997 Sonoma Cutrer Founders Reserve Chard. What made it the best meal, was a combination of the wine, food and wonderful friends.
December 4, 2007

Ferrigno
What a great show!!! well let’s see
QOTD: SWORDFISH AT A 4 STAR RESTAURANT IN MEXICO CITY WITH 2 OF MY BEST FRIENDS!!!!!!

great show gary! oh god please let me win tomorrow’s and wednesday’s contest!!!! (and yes gary, im talking to you)
December 4, 2007

Cliff
Come on big money bottle, Come on big money bottle! QOTD – probably a grilled salmon dish at a local restaurant here in Norcal.
December 4, 2007

Elliot
QOTD:

My mom makes an Oreo Dirt Pudding that is off the chain.

– Elliot (CKC)
December 4, 2007

jahlove
QOTD for the Masetto: Dinner at La Siriola at Hotel Ciasa Solares in San Cassiano, Italy (the Dolomite Alps). It was a 3 plus hour affair. Just me and my wife. Treated to what seemed like an endless stream of beautiful courses coupled with spot on wine pairings. An unforgettable evening. Some of the dishes we had – suckling pig neck carpaccio, stuffed grilled calamari, risotto with baby octopus, fresh salad of wild alpine flowers.

Give me the Masetto.
December 4, 2007

The Celebrator
QOTD:
Osso Bucco with the Spaghetti GOP from DiGiulio Bros in Baton Rouge.
December 4, 2007

Alos Diallo
My mothers meat pie she makes if for me every year for my birthday! Great show today!
December 4, 2007

Yoni Rabkin
I was going to leave a comment anyway! For reals! But that competition… man.

Thanks for reviewing that Yarden, I should get behind some of my country’s wine more often.

QOTD: Coming home from school on a cold cold winter day after playing in the puddles and getting rained on, and then my mom getting me a large-ass bowl of steaming, think tomato soup with a slice of dark bread with butter. Best meal ever and I’ll never forget it.

Thanks for the show.
December 4, 2007

Tina
Love your show, stumbled upon it tonight looking for some wine info. Learned a lot! Thank you!
As for the best meal ever, it would have to be in Venice Italy, 7 years ago, in this quaint
resturant with an amazing 9 course meal…lunch, that seriously lasted 4 hours. A different
wine with each course, and the most delicious seafood ever. Forever planted firmly in my
memory banks. Fun Show, Thank you, Tina I.
December 4, 2007

Lare B
the bestest meal i had is a “double cut smoke pork chop that was smoked for about 8 hrs…at a place called WENTE VINEYARDS in Livermore!!!!

-Lare B

p.s
Checkout the Livermore Wines….
December 4, 2007

Clinton
As a poor grad student in NYC, an equally poor friend and I went to Tavern on the Green during dine-out NY in Winter 2002/2003. A tourist hotspot. Nonetheless, we justified it that night, and the lamb shank with tomatoes and chick peas remains one of the high points of my so-called foodie experience. I’ve eaten many more expensive meals since, taking clients to over-the-top restaurants in my new home metropolis. However, the weekday night at Tavern on the Green with an old friend during dine-out NY still beats them all.
December 4, 2007

ilikepopcorn
The best meal I have ever had was a chicken and cheese quesadilla at Cheddars restaurant after being rescued from inside of a cave about 5 years back. I went looking around in this cave with a friend of mine, got lost, and had to wait around 8 hours for the county High Angle Rescue Team to come in and find us. After my parents found out we were okay, I was hungry, so we went to dinner. That quesadilla was AMAZING. Also, don’t go into caves unless you know what you’re doing:)
December 4, 2007

Alex
Gary, just watched your show for the first time, and I gotta tell you it was quite refreshing. Keep up the great work, I’ll be checking in regularly.

Oh, before I forget, just wanted to also let you know that you forgot to rinse the wine glass with the Castano Solanera 2004 before sampling it. Although I’m not a fan of the Castano Solanera 2004, it still might have affected your score on it.
December 4, 2007

T. Holland
Really are getting me excited about a few of the Soutwest French wines I have in my collection. I will have to get more.

QOTD: Best meal ever was at La Giostra in Florence on my honeymoon. The Parmigiano Reggiano they served was unbelievable & I had the goat for my entree & it was so good I almost got my vegetarian wife to try some. We drank a great bottle of Chianti with dinner (don’t worry, Gary, it wasn’t Ruffino).

P.S. How ’bout them Patriots!!!
December 4, 2007

Jason Tuinstra
QOTD: The best meal: Every Christmas we have a rib roast, medium rare, with a rosemary/salt rub along with with roasted garlic mashed spuds. Love! Favorite meal of the year.
December 4, 2007

passthecab
QOTD: hmmm, i would have to say – anytime at grammas! gotta love the home cooking!
December 4, 2007

Withnail
QOTD: Sorry to be so unoriginal, but French Laundry, Chef’s Tasting Menu, June 4, 2000. AB’s 28th birthday. Thanks to Liz and Julia for being there and being so awesome.
December 4, 2007

Trevor
Trevor Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Hey Garyâ€¦ love the reviews. My first time watching you (after hearing you with Rich Schefren) and think I may have to be a wine conosseur (Iâ€™m pretty sure I butchered the spellingâ€¦ or made up a new word).

To tell you the truth, I love wineâ€¦ but never knew you could get all of these tastes out of the wine (horse poop and smoking batteries? lol) I better start paying more attention to the wine Iâ€™m drinking!

Hey man, keep up the excellent work and Iâ€™m sure Iâ€™ll catch you later.

Cheers,

Trevor M.
Oregon

P.O. – Ohâ€¦ by the way you east coast guys always butcher saying Oregon, lol
December 4, 2007

Chris Voigt
Best meal … that would have to be my parent’s Thanksgiving dinner, circa 1994.
December 4, 2007

Alan Hirsh
Dinner at Arun’s in Chicago with my son and my friend, four months ago. Gourmet Thai cuisine. Unique–flavors I have never tasted before, exciting, delicious, wonderful service and atmosphere, and worth every penny. And let me tell you, that was a lot of pennies!
December 4, 2007

Phil G
QOTD – I’m having a hard time remembering specific meals, and also trying to distinguish between the meal itself, the location, and the people who were there. So, the best meal that I can think of right now was last New Years – I had dinner with my girlfriend; a 4 course tasting menu with wine pairings at a great restaurant called the Iron Horse (in Pleasantville, New York).
December 4, 2007

David L
The best meal I have ever had was an awesome Rib Eye steak, cooked rare/medium rare with a great California Cabernet perfectly aged. I was starving and dove into this like a cave man. There had to have been something else on the plate but I havenâ€™t a clue what it was. I just hope my last meal is also a great steak with a seriously complex red wine.
December 4, 2007

Drew H.
QOTD: the first time my friends and i drove out to the naam (as far as i know, it’s the only 24 hour vegetarian restaurant in vancouver) for a late night feast
the food there’s always great and it’s always open! great times with great friends and great food
December 4, 2007

David Ngan
Hi Gary,

You had me at “steak” and “$500 bottle of wine”. I just wanted to say that I love your show and look forward to your daily videos.

To answer the question of the day, my favorite meal of all time has got to be with my friends and our 1st Annual Christmas Dinner 10 years ago at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in San Diego, CA. I had Lobster Bisque as an appetizer, Cowboy Ribeye Steak Medium Rare Oscar Sytle (w/ a lump of crab-meat w/ asparagus spears on top), and Potatoes Au Gratin. For desert, I had Creme Brulee along with an Irish Coffee.

I hope I win! Thanks!

David Ngan
San Diego, CA – USA
December 4, 2007

Zach
Good episode Gary. You seem all fired up recently. I like it.

QOTD: So hard! Had an incredible 8-course tasting menu dinner at Rover’s here in Seattle a couple of weekends ago. Might not be the best ever, but if not, it was damn close.
December 4, 2007

Ashley
Hey Gary, longtime lurker, second-time poster. Love the fauxhawk! Keep rocking it.

QOTD: One of any number of meals I’ve had at Nimbus in Bellingham, WA. If you’re ever on the west coast, it’s a must-visit.
December 4, 2007

David
QOTD: The first meal i ever had with my wife on our first date. Vietnamese noodles with very thinly sliced beef at a neighborhood restaurant in Alhambra California. We spent the whole day together and have never looked back. Many meals since that have come close as well. Thanks Gary!!
December 4, 2007

Evk24
Talk about a great way to bring out the lurkers, I couldn’t resist.

First I thought I would mention that I migrated over here from the wine.woot forums after you reviewed the Monkey Prize, if you recall that particular wine. I loved your style and energy then, and it continues to impress today.

Anyway, regarding my favorite meal, I would have to place it as a Christmas dinner when I was young (maybe eight?). Family from all around gathered to eat and converse.. as a child you really see this as something special and this leaves you with a somewhat lovingly distorted memory. Try as I might, I cannot think of anything to dislike about the food, the atmosphere, the friends.. but I can distinctly recall the creamyness of the deserts, the delicious turkey dark meat, cut from under the thigh, just as moist as you could ask for it. It’s rose tinted, yes, but it’s still very nice.
December 4, 2007

blobic
QOTD: It was probably spaghetti with instant tomato sauce, … when you’re hungry enough pretty much everything can become the best you’ve ever had
December 4, 2007

Evan
QOTD: My favorite meal ever has to be Thanksgiving, each year gets better than the one before, there is about 19 of us that get together and it turns into a huge production, 9 course meal, with wine pairings on each course. our family is not that wealthy and everyone lives well below there means, but on this one day, we celebrate the “gourmet” that lurks within. Its great food, great wine, and great company and something that gets better each year, a true parade of food and wine that makes the whole year worthwile, even if everything else went bad. Thanksgiving 2007 was the best meal ever.

p.s found your show last night for the first time, i was instantly hooked and watched like 20. and its a safe bet i am going to watch another 20 tonight, keep it up. THANK YOU
December 4, 2007

StÃ©phane
QOTD: Incredibly tough question. I’m racking through my brain trying to find the very best. I had an amazing steak in Roquefort and Rochefort 8 sauce at a Belgian restaurant between Brussels and Ghent that knocked my socks off. My mother, being an exceptional cook, has made some of the most fantastic meals of my life. Everything is so situational that it’s very tough to say.
December 4, 2007

Porter
Every Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with the family – favorite meal.
December 4, 2007

Panoca
QOTD: the greatest meal i had was a “cordero patagonico”, back in the days were i was in Argentina, in a little trip to Patagonia (Santa Cruz, Glaciar Perito Moreno). Is lamb, slowly cooked for hours, very tender and delicious.
December 4, 2007

downtnmark
Please don’t give me a $500 bottle of wine. I would be afraid to open it.

QOTD: Last month, for my birthday, I had a mushroom ravioli in a light sauce with sundried tomatoes – served with a 2005 Joseph Phelps Napa Cabernet (and choclate chips for dessert). It was a fantastic meal.
December 4, 2007

Lewy
OK, Candace. You (and the contest) have inspired me to emerge from deep lurkerdom. If I win the bottle of Masseto, we are bringing it to dinner at your house.

QOTD: Roast chicken, Jean-Georges-style, at Candaceâ€™s house with a bottle of 1990 Masseto. Most Memorable: Universal Grill (Greenwich Village) circa 1996. My wife took me there for my birthday soon after we first met. The Universal Grill had some serious birthday action and it didnâ€™t disappoint. The food was OK, but the fun was over the top. We laughed the whole way home up 8th Avenue. We still laugh about that night today.
December 4, 2007

Joe
Cubed round stake w/ grave over mashed potatoes and green beans hits the spot. I ate until it hurt. Now vegetarian. Unfortunate.
December 4, 2007

Tom Y
Gary, Fantastic Show!! Great incentive to bring our Lurkers like me!! Do it more often.

QOTD: The best meal session was 5 courses I had at the Michelin ONE Star restaurant in Fayence, FRANCE – Le Castellaras. Check it out next time you visit South of France!!
December 4, 2007

Hamid Z
QOTD: Kabob Kubideh while visiting family overseas when I was younger. My dad took us to a restaurant in Tehran and they really pulled the works for us, or atleast it seemed like it after eating airplane/airport food for 2 days. It was so much food, and it was defiantly “butter bandit-ed” up with super juicy meat and saffron all over the place.

Keep up the good work, I plan on using WLTV as a great resource for my Wine Appreciation class next semester.
December 4, 2007

Tyson
QOTD:I would have to say my own stir fry that I make myself every so often with nice cuts of beef lovely vegetables and nice steamed rice.
December 4, 2007

Sara L.
The best meal I’ve ever eaten was in Sonoma, Healdsburg, to be exact. It was at a restaurant called Cyrus. The fact that I got engaged that night has nothing to do with the fact that the food was so incredible, we were left speechless half the time. Yes, a meal there can cost as much as a small diamond. But my goodness was it worth it. For any vayniacs out there who actually *buy* $500 bottles of wine? I haven’t been to French Laundry but I’ve eaten at a lot of nice restaurants, and this, my friends…was the best darned meal I’ve ever eaten. Got the full tasting of course, ine if the highlights of which was a clear gazpacho. I have no idea. Just go. Go. Really, you MUST go.
December 4, 2007

John
QOTD: Gunclub with smell of gunpowder, dust, gravel, spring, sagebrush, cheap beer, tobacco, and powdered clay targets in the air. Dads BBQ pork ribs, fresh smoked steelhead, and other goodies. An incredible bottle of 1995 Kiona Cab that had been cooking behind the seat of the pickup and the cork had popped out a bit. This wine was like liquid Jolly Rancher candy. Yum!
December 4, 2007

Dave Grega
Greatest meal I have ever had….hmmmm….In Savannah GA there is a Caribbean American hybrid restaurant called the Conch House…Just imagine the most tender perfectly prepared strips of steak but with a crazy Caribbean twist…the flavor was out of this world…I have never had anything that pushed my pallet to the limit like that steak!!!
December 4, 2007

Garret Nagle
QOTD: It has to be a tie between a meal I had with my wife in Lucca, Italy on our honeymoon, or a meal we had on our engagement night in Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara: (Olio e Limone restaurant) Papardelle pasta in quail ragu, followed by roast quail – stuffed with sausage on a bed of Sicilian ratatouille. Lucca: (Ristorante Puccini) rabbit and porcini mushroom ravioli, followed by roasted pigeon on a bed of roasted leeks and roasted figs.
December 4, 2007

Matt Brehe (bray)
qotd: My answer is probably somewhat ironic considering the company that is sponsering it. I’m from Montana, and I’ve worked construction jobs with a lot of ranchers. I’ve done work on a few cattle ranches and “deer farms” up in northern Montana in the Lewistown area. But the best meal I have ever had is actually from the hippie-loving college town of Missoula Montana. There is a restaurant there called Hong Kong Chef that has the best tofu I have ever had in my life. I’m living in Seattle Washington right now, vegetarian central with plenty of Asian cuisine to boot, and I still crave Kung Pao Tofu from Missoula’s Hong Kong Chef. I hope all those Montana rachers find it in their hearts to forgive me, as this probably sounds like blasphemy.

-lurker
December 4, 2007

rambler
wow…what a prize…
qotd: the best meal i’ve ever eaten would have to be the one i ate with my dad and a big group of his friends in Alberta like 15 years ago for his birthday…We all grabbed shovles and dug a pitt early that moring, lined it with white hot rocks that had been smoldering all nigh long. Then laid down moist burlap sacks and filled the rest with tons of herbs, wrapped veggies and apple wood. We covered up that beautiful suckling pig and roasted it for like 6hrs. and i must say i was a little put off by the sight of this whole pig laid out on the table with all the home cookedcountry food you could emagine. I’m not sure if it was the setting dusty Alberta sun or the stories, or the riesling i was to young to be drinking… but that was and is still the best meal that’s ever pased by these lips… Not sure if thats good enough to win…but thanks anyways for letting me walk down memory lane for a bit…
keep up the great work Gary…
I’m gathering a small army of thunder show fans out here in BC Wine country
December 4, 2007

Craig Owen
QOTD: It was a banquet at a Thai-style restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia. It featured a big crispy-fried carp, all kinds of great noodle dishes, sides of durian (only for the brave!)… everything was just about perfect.
December 4, 2007

John S.
QOTD: This nice steak i had at one of our local restaurant it was so tender it was like it melted as you started chewing it oh man im picturing it now oh man now im hungry and drooling.
December 4, 2007

Peter E
QOTD: The best meal I’ve ever had is a toss up. Cebollin in San Salvador, El Salvador with my parents and some other family. Or Thanksgiving s few years ago when me and my Fiance made our first holiday dinner together.
December 4, 2007

Bocse Robert
hellooo
Still waiting for that show on romanian wines, heheee.
QOTD: My best meal ever was in high-school, i was living in a campus with friends, we previously spent all our money and was starving when one guy arrived from home with a whole grilled rabbit.
It was goood:)
December 4, 2007

Oregon Jim
It was a steak and a bottle of ‘84 Heitz Martha’s. Got me into wine. Not sure if there is a better meal. Sure add some salad, a baked potato, but it is all about the steak and the wine that brings the thunder.
December 4, 2007

Tim
Great Grandmothers cooking, anytime between 76-88. Bomb!
December 4, 2007

Brently Dunivant
QOTD: The best meal I ever had…well…uhm…probably Filet Carbonara from Carbonara’s in San Clemente. A filet mignon wrapped in italian bacon, covered in a cheesey sauce with mashed potatoes and green beans on the side. Soooo good. Also had a bottle of Villa Antinori Toscana ‘03 with the meal, which was a beautiful compliment even though I’m not a big Old World wine guy.
December 4, 2007

TheZanino
QOTD: Probably a dinner I had at Roy’s in La Jolla, California. I don’t even remember what I had but I don’t think I have ever had a better meal.
December 4, 2007

J.Rice
This is a mean question. About five meals are coming to mind so I’ll have to narrow it down. I think it’d have to be the magret de canard I had in Rocamadour, France, with a hand-crafted pate as the entree and locally-made Rocamadour cheese after the meal. I had Cahors with it as well, which was super. Plus, Rocamadour is a freaking gorgeous little village so maybe I was inspired by the scenery as well.
December 4, 2007

YoungDave
QOTD: I’ve worked at MANY a restaurant, the most recent of which has an amazing menu with constantly changing specials, nearly all of which I have LOVED. However, the best meal isn’t always about the specific foods and flavor combinations, and my favorite meal is my mom’s (Joan’s) famous homemade lasagna. Period. It is famous to anyone who has ever been privileged enough to experience it, and since it has become our traditional Christmas meal, I also associate it in my memory with the holidays and FAMILY, which is what it’s all about. Thanks again for the weekend festivities in San Fran, and best to you and YOUR fam.
December 4, 2007

Linda M. Ellwood
What is the greatest meal I ever had? One I cooked for myself after surgery for an unsual type cancer that happened to reside in my left lung. My daugther presented me with a cookbook called
“One Bite at a Time” for cancer survivors and their friends. It was her lemony chicken with capers and kalamata olives, and it was perfect. Now, I just need some Saint Jean Du Barroux L’oligcene (if I have that name right), but need to drink very sparingly. I am very content with every moment, now, as realization of our own mortality sends a quick message. I am a newcomer to your show and enjoyed it very much. Sincerely, Linda
December 4, 2007

Tom L
Broccoli Rabe pie
December 4, 2007

Richard LeBlanc
Great show, as always… . Did I miss the price on the St. Jean du Barroux, or was it not given? QoD..So many great meals under the bridge over the years, one that immediately comes to mind involved the humble pizza: a rosemary, roast potato, and Italian sausage pizza in a small place in Verona. I also remember a great osso bucco at “le continental” bistro in Montreal.
December 4, 2007

Lyndsay
QOTD:
My favorite meal was with my boyfriend when we went out for Valentines Day to a restaurant called Melting Pot (im sure you have heard of it). We ordered the Meal for Two and proceeded to stuff ourselves with course upon course of delicious fondue from a bread and cheese appetizer to a lobster dinner to the most amazing chocolate fondue I have ever had.
We were so full by the time we were done with the meal and a bottle of wine that it was three hours later and we could barely walk to the car.
December 4, 2007

Chippewamike
QOTD: My best meal was 14 years ago–newly married and had my family in for Thanksgiving. Went to a local wine store on Halsted in Chicago for wine. Met a wonderful lady who owned the store who sold us four bottles of wine based upon what we were eating. She was perfect with her selections and my wife was perfect in the preparation of the dinner. My family still talks about that Thanksgiving and it was the start of my interest in wine.
December 4, 2007

Avi
Gary – thanks for speaking truth about the excellent Israeli kosher and non-kosher wines. I’m a huge fan of Yarden and the Golan Heights Winery – the old boy of quality Israeli wine. With GHW, there’s always a good wine and winner. Reliable.

If anyone is interested in Israeli wine or to contribute (and Gary, look forward to a guest contribution and write up when you visit) check out my Israeli wine blog HaKerem: The Israeli Wine Blog – http://israelwine.wordpress.com.

QOTD: Many fine meals (sadly without wine – maybe next time) at top Jerusalem restaurants. But, who needs a fine meal when one can drink fine wine? Especially Israeli!
December 4, 2007

Angelo Pietrobon
Best mail 4 the wine- last weeks barbequed vegetable stack with tomato salsa

there
December 4, 2007

Justin
The best meal I’ve ever had was at Tomasso, Southboro MA. They make a polpette to die for!
December 4, 2007

Jens
Gary,

Funny that you mention Beaucastel in connection with Saint Jean du Barroux l’OligocÃ¨ne since Philippe Gimel, the owner, has been winemaker at….ChÃ¢teau Beaucastel!

BTW: My family and I stay each summer since 2002 in a cottage just behind the mountain ridge on the label of Jean du Barroux l’OligocÃ¨ne – only five minutes driving from the estate.

OFTD: Many years ago on the first time I went to Paris alone as a student, 20 years old, and had a marvellous lunch one sunny winter day close to l’Eglise Saint Sulpice including a perfectly roasted guinea fowl with Â½ a bottle of some Beaujolais Cru, Morgon, JuliÃ©nas, Brouilly or something like that and a large glass of eau de vie de Poire Williams along with the strong coffee.

Jens
from
Copenhagen
December 4, 2007

antony
The best meal..? Like you often say, the people, the place and the occasion plays such a big part in this. I could say Sunday lunch with my family, a cheese sandwich in a cheap Paris hotel room, street food in Saigon… I’m going to say a meal that I had with my friends Andy and Rick at Little Italy in Soho (London). I can’t remember what I ate but the look on the waiters face when Andy (my old boss) ordered a glass of every desert wine on the list to be lined up in a row for for us to sample. Friends and family.
December 4, 2007

Tribull
Mom’s chicken and dumplings!!!!!!
December 4, 2007

medo
Wohoo show Gary!
QOTD: I think it was the 10 courses menue at the Maintower restaurant September this year!
December 4, 2007

Baruch Brodersen
Best meal. Me, my Dad and brother. Hot dogs and coke at Candlestick, watching Koufax do a number on the Giants.
December 4, 2007

Diggles
QOTD: My wife and I went to Prague last fall. We didn’t see anything spectacular on the trip until we ate at a place called Peklo. We had a Chateaubriand meal for 2 and FANTASTIC Moravian wine. Finished it off with a Cream BrullÃ©e and a glass of port. A quiet dinner in a 12th century wine cellar with my wife, how can it get any better.
December 4, 2007

Paulo
QOTD: chicken fricassee in Avignon, France paired with a nice Rhone
December 4, 2007

sky
best meal ever at Richmond Hill Inn (Asheville NC) last fall at their 100 pt. wine dinner. Five one hundred pt wines and a course to go with each. When you walked in the door you were handed Veuve Cliquot 96 (only 99 pts) with orderves. The wines were Chave (what year?) white from Mt. hermitage, that goose liver stuff with 2000 D”yquem,the red chave hermitage with some mushroom action, some huge bordeux that i have forgotten with rack of lamb, and an austrailian desert wine with desert. talk about ausome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 4, 2007

TWalk
Arkansas barbecue from the side of the road…..just cant beat it!!!
December 4, 2007

Jeff
QOTD: greatest meal…anything from my mom!
December 4, 2007

sky
the bordeaux was 95 margaux and i think the d”yquem was 01
December 4, 2007

Gabe Miller
The best meal I ever had was made by my dad. Grilled filet mignon on top of a thick-cut slice of sourdough bread, topped with asparagus, goat cheese and hollandaise sauce. The steak was tender and juicy and perfectly medium-rare. And we paired it with the most expensive bottle of wine we’ve ever opened: a bottle of 1999 Penfold’s Bin 707 cabernet sauvignon.
December 4, 2007

Bill
Best Meal: first date with my wife at Ruth’s Chris – Rack of Lamb, great wine, great company and the beginning of an everlasting relationship.
December 4, 2007

Avi
To Candace — The Yarden Mount Hermon Red (a decent entry-level wine, I like it, but it’s a mass-market wine for profit) is not mevushal as NONE, NONE of the GHW wines are mevushal.
December 4, 2007

Snarf
QOTD: Cafe Bouchard in Newport RI. EVERYTHING from appetizer to entree to dessert, including wine was fabulous. Oh, and the filet mignon melted in your mouth!
December 4, 2007

Lars
Congrats on yer Jets victory, Wine Guy!

QOTD: Has to do with a combo of Family and Food. Christmas Eve prime rib dinners with Lars’ family can’t be beat. Family is first. Mom’s excellent cooking is just a bonus.

Lars
December 4, 2007

Daniel R
QotD: Oh man, but then there was that other time in Morocco a couple years ago. Some friends invited us over for the softest cous-cous ever, underneath fresh cooked veggies, underneath a whole chicken. A sweet raisin sauce was poured over all that. Chase it down with either leben or mint tea. I chose the mint tea. Delicious.

Cheers,
Daniel
December 4, 2007

Tzahi
First,
Gary, great great show, thanks.
We are waiting for you here in Israel, trust me – you are going to have the time of your life!!!

QOTD,
Tough one… I would say, and it’s going to sound silly,
Friday’s night dinner, Kabalat Shabbat (welcoming the Sabbath), with my family.
A few salads, chicken with potetoes or stakes on the grill with a great Flam Classico/ Barkan Merlo Reserve/ Dalton Reserve/ Ella Valley Cabernet Reserve.

look how lucky I am, every week I have the greatest dinner in the world all over again and again.

Tzahi
December 4, 2007

Capt M
Beautiful, successful episode. QOTD: Dinner at the Kansas City Steak House in Quincy Market, in Boston
December 4, 2007

DW
Because its the holidays I can only think of good holiday type meals. But I suppose the best dinner was the first Thanksgiving that I hosted. It was only my in-laws and our family but I made a Maple turkey and it was awesome. Even though my in-laws didnt like it I did. And it was the best Thanksgiving ever.
December 4, 2007

Hinrgman
QOTD – rib eye at the outback
December 4, 2007

Mike N.
Another great show Gary. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you enjoy a wine as much as that 2003 Saint Jean Du Barroux Lâ€™oligocene.

QOTD: 1996. My 28th birthday at Opus One in Detroit Michigan. Family, lamb chops with whipped garlic potatoes, and great wine. I still remember the bottle of Docle with the creme brule followed by cigars in the lounge to end the evening. Sure sugar fools us, but I was a happy fool.
December 4, 2007

Philip
I would have to say a dinner I had several years ago in San Francisco at Jeanty at Jacks. I remember starting with Martinis and escargot then moving onto osso buco with a cote de RhÃ´ne. My friend had the steak tartar that was so large the ladies from the next table kept starring at us if we were crazy; Ended with a cheese plate and sauterne. It wasn’t that the food was so wonderful (which it was) but being with a good friend in a city that you love. My friend by the way is part owner of 900 Grayson in Berkley, a great breakfast and lunch spot. Also, I have tried the Masseto; don’t know if it was a 1990 but my brother-in-law had several bottles and I can say it was probably the best red wine I have ever had. If I am correct, I believe it is 100% merlot (take that Sideways).
December 4, 2007

MB Dallas
QOTD: Dinner at a farmhouse/vineyard in Tuscany last September. They kept serving unnamed dishes that were some of the best food I’ve ever tasted. Fresh, simple fare. And the wine (from the property) kept coming out in carafes. It probably wouldn’t be the most critically acclaimed wine ever, but it was the romance of tasting the wine made from the grapes outside our bedroom window. I brought home several bottles of that table wine, and every time I taste it, it takes me back. Everything served family style, seated next to several other couples staying at the farmhouse. No one spoke the same language. It was a memorable experience that captures for me why I love food and wine (and Italy!).
December 4, 2007

Chris Davis
QOTD: Off the top of my mind i would have to say i cannot stop thinking about my visit to “The Mesa Grill” in NYC.
December 4, 2007

GenericGuy
QOTD: On a trip from Montreal to Athens, Greece I was served beef stroganoff and warm fresh bread. Who would ever expect airline food to be one of the best meals you’ve ever eaten?
December 4, 2007

Kyle Holts
Greatest meal ever:
Chicken wings from Earl’s in Chaffee NY
Corn on the cob
Pasta Salad
December 4, 2007

Jeffrey
I make a mean PB&J
December 4, 2007

Peggy
Best meal was a chef’s dinner at Arie’s in Houston. The restaurant is no longer there….but the food which was chosen by the chef and wine which was chosen by the sommelier for each course was fantastic. We had taken my son there to celebrate his graduation from college I believe. The food, wine and service were all fantastic. However, I think that enjoying the dinner with my son (who is a real vinophile) is the only thing that might have edged out my second favorite meal: sitting outside our vacation apartment in Tuscany looking out over the vineyards of Collo Lungo winery while feasting on the bread, cheese, salami, olives, and tomatoes. We had just bought all of the food at a street market and enjoyed it with a bottle of Brunello we had picked up at a winery visit on our way up from Montalcino. …..aahhh, that’s a meal!
December 4, 2007

jwhi
QOTD: when you are hungry enough, when you are REALLY REALLY hungry, there is no better meal than a massive Cheesesteak sub from South Philly (with fried onions of course)! After the indulgence is complete, you WILL sit back, tap on your stomach a few times, and swear you are in heaven!
December 4, 2007

scvarsity7
Alright here it is… It’s called Vicki’s favorite chicken from Food Network. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30472,00.html

It’s served with roasted asparagus, couscous, and for dessert a caramel covered apple.

The white wine I use is a Vintners Select Riesling from Sandhill Crane Winery in MI.
December 4, 2007

Bill fLEMING
The one that comes to mind is Chilean Sea Bass at a small Restaurante in San Juan Puerto Rico called CHAYOTE.
December 4, 2007

Marz
QOTD: Veal Christina at Paesano’s in San Antonio. Side of pasta with Butter and Garlic, House Salad, and their famous Garlic Bread. Usually paired with a Pinot Grigio, sometimes a Chard. Every time it’s outstanding.

Runner-up: Ziti Bolognese at Dublin’s Pub in Chicago. Ziti with a 3-meat sauce (beef, pork, veal), sliced Buffalo Mozzarela, and fresh basil. Paired with a Zin.
December 4, 2007

Anne
QOTD: Best meal ever was hot mickeys (russet potatoes rubbed with butter/olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt and cracked black pepper then wrapped in foil) cooked in a campfire with nicely seasoned, very slowed grilled huge hunks of beef short ribs over the same campfire. The meat was so tender and tasty, while the potatoes were quite literally, melt in your mouth delicious.. add some great conversation and a few glasses of wine…the best meal ever!
December 4, 2007

Daniel
QOTD: It was a restaurant near the Colosseum in Rome – a little north and up the hill. I can’t remember it’s name, but they spoke no English and were out-of-the-way.

I ate Tortellini alla Panna con Prosciutto Crudo (cheese tortellini in a cream sauce with chopped ham), and it was incredible. The bread tasted as if they had invented it. And afterwards, I tried real, honest-to-goodness cappuccino for the first time in my life – and was totally hooked.

I won’t ever forget that meal
December 4, 2007

italianwinelover
Great show!!!

QOTD: Was my 14 birthday when my mom and dad took me out to celebrate and told me I can order anything on the menu…surf & turf! And boy was it delicious! Not only because I felt special but because they were there to share it with me!!!
December 4, 2007

Heidi
Besides my mother’s pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, or turkey dinner or maybe chicken stoltzfus, when the moment is right, a Pittsburgh traditional Primanti Brothers sandwich, fries, fried egg and all…
December 4, 2007

Todd Smith
QOTD – Fresh Speckled Sea Trout I caught myself, pan-seared in butter with garlic roasted potatoes and corn. Simple, but oh so good.
December 4, 2007

Ken frost
I have just had the best meal of my life at The Strip House in Las Vegas. We had a private room in the wine cellar and the food and service was fabulous.

Also, I just popped a 2001 Massetto at my retirement party and it was also grand. I know I killed a baby but what a great wine to celebrate my getting out of jail. (my job)

I need the 1990 Massetto!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken
December 4, 2007

Darrell T.
The greatest meal I’ve had I prepared for my extended family for Christmas 2000.

My immediate family and i were celebrating our 1st Christmas in our new house, so we hosted Christmas. The menu consisted of A wonderful dry-aged standing Rib roast w/ a red wine sauce, roasted root vegetables, sauteed asparagas and wild rice, for dessert I baked a chocolate marble cheesecake. Everything was immensley enjoyed by all. The wines that accompanied the entire festive occasion where supplied by my brother-in-law, several cult cabernets from his wine cellar,in addition to a few chardonnays. Even the dogs got a treat of the rib bones.
December 4, 2007

Ralph-E
QOTD: Thick, grilled bone-in lamb chops served with a tart cherry veal reduction sauce over a bed of cream & garlic couscou along with a bottle of Neyers Zinfandel at the Glen Ellen Inn.
December 4, 2007

GregStefos
The best meal that my wife and I had was in November 2005 at Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian at Walt Disney World. Seven magical courses along with a great wine flight.
December 4, 2007

seiko
Best meal I had was a bowl of Pho Bo in Vietnam. It was fragrant and fresh like a spring morning. If I win the wine I’ll send you a photograph of the Pho! Thanks, Seiko.
December 4, 2007

piercarlo
tasting menu at le calandre outside padova, italy with my fiance.
after 4 hours of unbelievable food and wine it ended with a baby bottle each of warm rosemary tea.
December 4, 2007

gayle
The best meal I ever had was in Lyon,France with my cousin and family. It was in the old downtown area, tucked away. Great local wines and cheeses. Great group of people. A fantastic memory.
December 4, 2007

Scott
At 28 Atlantic on Chatham, MA (Cape Cod). I was on my honeymoon with my wife and had an amazing meal while we watched the sun set over the atlantic.
December 4, 2007

jasmurph
QOTD: Restaurant Le Jardin des Remparts in Beaune, lunch in the garden on my honeymoon: a perfect instance of everything coming together for a pure moment of not bliss, but joy.
December 4, 2007

Elizabeth Bosshard
The best meal I ever had was the tasting menu at Alinea in Chicago in March of 2006. I never knew how good food could be until I went there.
December 4, 2007

Brody McDonald
Best meal I ever had was a charity feast at Flemings Steakhouse. UNREAL!
December 4, 2007

chris pennell
Greatest meal ever: Mom’s Spaghetti Casserole. Can’t wait to go home next week to get some.
December 4, 2007

Reggie Tolbert
On March 11th of this year, which is my wedding anniversary. My wife and I had dinner at ‘Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse’. The steak basically melted as you cut and ate it. We also had some scalloped potatoes that were to die for.
December 4, 2007

Bryan D
Medium file mignon with mashed potatoes, steamed broccolis, a sweet Riesling, and a sweet potato topped with whip cream desert.
December 4, 2007

Fenton
QOTD: It’s a toss up between any of the times I’ve been to Osteria Papavero (http://www.osteriapapavero.com/). Papavero is consistently fantastic Italian. Very small (at most 10 tables) and a gorgeous bar with a fantastic selection of wine, which is reasonably priced, for the most part.
December 4, 2007

Paul
QOTD – a wonderful venison chop, grilled. Simple roasted redskin potatoes and grilled mixed veggies, all done on the grill in the backyard. With my parents, wife and a Le Roi 1937 Richebourg.
December 4, 2007

Soldaddy
Filet Med Rare with a blue cheese ravioli….steamed spinach….and 2000 lynch bages bordeaux…YUMMY
December 4, 2007

Linda Blakely
I’m very much a foodie, so I have had a lot of great meals. The most recent one I had was last month at Restaurant Medure in Ponte Vedra, Florida. It was a wine dinner for winemaker Allan Green of Greenwood Ridge winery.

We started off with the 2006 Greenwood Ridge Sauvignon Blanc, paired with a variety of hors d’oeuvres: Tuna Tartare and a variety of imported cheeses. The Sauvignon Blanc paired well with the hors d’oeuvres with its crisp and refreshing palate. It was tart, with good acidity and a well-balanced finish.

Next was the first course: Tempura Colossal Crab with Coconut Curry Broth paired with the 2006 Greenwood Ridge Riesling, Mendocino Ridge. The spiciness of the Curry Broth was a perfect match for the off-dry and fruity Riesling. Delicious!

The second course was just as good: Portobello Mushroom Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese, Pistachio and Cranberry Vinaigrette paired with the 2006 Greenwood Ridge Pinot Noir, Mendocino Ridge. Can I just say…WOW! The berry flavor of the Vinaigrette brought out the strawberry-ness of the Pinot Noir, and the pungent goat cheese brought out the smokiness.

Our entree was next: Dry Rubbed Long Island Duck Breast with Foie Gras, Carmelized Onion and Truffle Spaghetti Squash paired with the 2002 Greenwood Ridge Merlot, Mendocino Ridge. Absolutely fantastic! The duck was tender and smoky which was perfect with the Merlot’s woodsy balsam notes.

Last, but certainly not least, was the dessert. Ahhhh, the dessert: Open-Faced Apple Tart with Mascarpone Pastry Cream and Lavender Honey paired with the 2004 Greenwood Ridge Late Harvest White Riesling. Again, it was a great pairing. The wine was not too sweet or acidic and had wonderful melon and pear notes.

All in all it was a terrific meal. You could tell that the chef took some time to come up with the best courses to pair with these wines. Hubby and I both gave this wine dinner two enthusiastic thumbs up
December 4, 2007

Len C
QOTD A buffalo filet mignon in Colorado
December 4, 2007

Michael Zitzlaff
Bounty Hunter, Napa, Early December 2005, Post harvest wind down, The Rib Eye was the best piece of meat on the planet!!!
$1000 worth of wine might have helped though, but BOY IT WAS GOOD!!!
December 4, 2007

Wes
The best meal I have ever had was in Portofino, Italy in August of 2005 at La Terraza, the restaurant at Hotel Splendido. Local olive oils, tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella along with langoustines. An unbelievable experience!
December 4, 2007

chielr
QOTD:
Best meal was in france, we roasted a fine Bresse chicken on the BBQ for about 2,5 hours. with some fresh salad and potatoes.. Simple but damn good
December 4, 2007

Monstrose
QOTD: A dry aged porterhouse with blue cheese butter at the local chop house. Fantastic.
December 4, 2007

Big Nick
nice episode Gary………watched the JETS whip the dolphins on Sunday……great game.
I see you brought the majors out on this one…seems the numbers will be good for viewing this episode.
QOTD: There is this place here in Michigan called the English Inn (Eaton Rapids, MI) they serve a few meals that are worth writing home about, but I had a meal on Saturday that was a NY Strip served with Wild Mushroom Sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and vegetables cooked to perfection. I must say I have had many so so ny strips, but this was by far the best one I have ever had (and I was not really sure I wanted this meal to start due to my lack of good strips before).

P.S. They also serve a trio of beef fillet medalions that is to die for, and a lobster stuffed walleye that is fantastic as well. Must try the Duck sausage for app.
December 4, 2007

KingLurker
QOTD:I love food but I have to choose my favorite meal… After a long day of 4 wheelin with a couple of buddies, we stopped at In an Out burger and got a 4×4 burger and extra crispy fries.. Absolutley the best tasting meal I have ever had. Quite memorable
December 4, 2007

Sassodoro
QOTD. That’s a hard question. There have been so many great meals. But I would have to say the dinner that my wife and I had at Spiaggia in Chicago on January 31, 2004. Spiaggia was celebrating their 20th anniversary and so they ran an essay contest. Couples who were also celebrating their 20th anniversaries were to write about the role that food and wine had played in their relationship. We were the January winners. (A couple won for each month of the year.) They put us up in the Meridien Hotel downtown, where a gift basket was waiting with a bottle of Moscato and Piemontese chocolates. We dressed for dinner. (I wore the suit I was married in.) Then they took us to the restaurant in a limousine. Dinner was eight courses and nine wines, with visits from Chef Tony Mantuano and Sommelier Henry Bishop. The food was amazing. And the wines included a few that I’ll bet even Gary hasn’t had. Pasta with porcini mushrooms was served with wine from an obscure Piemontese grape, Pelaverga (specifically the 1999 Pelaverga from Castello di Verduno). Orange scented partridge breast wrapped in guanciale was served with 2002 Brachetto Secco “Anthos” from Matteo Correggia — dry, fully fermented, still wine, not the sweet, partially fermented, frizzante dessert wine that Brachetto is usually made into. It smelled like roses and strawberries. After dinner the limousine took us back to the Meridien. We ate the chocolates and decided to keep the Moscato for a later day, to remember the occasion.
December 4, 2007

pomace
QOTD: Tough one. I’m a total foodie, but the best meal is the big family holiday dinner – mom’s prime rib, 2x baked potatoes, corn pudding, etc…old skool.

Runners up: 1. Omekase @ Nobu
2. Prosciutto Pizza, Osso buca, etc @ Giogione
3. A dozen Malpeques and a lobster roll @ Mary’s Fish Camp
December 4, 2007

Bettina
QOTD – in Ascona, Italian side of the Swiss Alps. Aged boar salami and cheeses with a Tocai for appetizer, Osso Bucco braised for hours, served with risotto milanese and a bottle of 1990 Carato Reserva wine. lightning storm later in the evening, lit the skies and reflected on the lake. very romantic 1st evening in Ascona. unforgettable.
December 4, 2007

chuck fields
Hi Gary, my most enjoyable meal was back in 91 on Lamma Island which is about 3 hrs off the coast of Hong Kong. I was in a band performing in Kowloon which is across the bay from Hong Kong. The permoter took us to the island in his wooden sail boat. We enjoy some wonderful Champagne on the trip thank goodness I don’t have motion sickness. There were only about 10 houses on the island. The reaturants were on the ground level of the houses and the staff lived up stairs. As you walk into the house/resturant you see a fish tank that was about 8 to 10 ft long and 5 or 6 ft high. We pointed to the fish that we wanted to eat, talk about fresh.
The meal lasted about 3hrs. We all sat outside eatting and drinking German white wine while looking at the ocean.
Chuck
from Nashville,Tn
December 4, 2007

mike qz
El Gaucho in Seattle. 3 1/2 hours of pure decadence. The seafood tower, the peppercorn NY, lobster mashed potatoes…….had enough? I thought I had but then came dessert. Banana’s Foster was second only to Arnaud’s in New Orleans. Everything was perfect!
December 4, 2007

Larry The Wine Guy
The greatest meal I ever Had and I still go there every year on my Birthday was at Prime 112 In South Beach Miami. I have worked as a Beverage Manager/Sommelier at all top Steakhouse conecpts in South Florida and my dad was in the Meat Industry….but Prime 112 Is what I like to call Nouvelle Steakhouse. Besides serving USDA PRIME DRY AGED BEEF…their sides are not typical Morton, Palmesque Sides of Creamed Spinach Home Fries Etc….They Are Homemade Golf Ball Sized Tater Tots, Truffles And French Fries drizzled with White Truffle Oil no Ketchup… Roasted Beets And Gorgonzola not to mention they offer for a couple of bones (No Steakhouse Pun Intended) extra about a dozen Compund Butters to order on the side with your Dry Aged Beef to melt on top of your Steak. My Favorite is the Black Truffle Butter. To put the Icing Or Char on the whole experience on your table is a variety of Medditeranean Sea Salts Etc so you can see how different salts Enhance the flavor of your Steak. Their Wine List is Phenomenal… Prime 112 ….(No I never worked there) 112 Ocean Drive in Miami a former small Hotel Called The Browns Hotel Converted into a Steakhouse is and was and always will be the BEST DINING EXPERIENCE that I have had
December 4, 2007

Kent
I have had so many great meals there will never be a best. That is like asking me what is the best wine I have ever had. Both are long gone and I am looking forward to the next great meal, the next great wine. The next wine and food pairing. That question would be easier to answer. I think when a wine and food come together for a one of a kind experience, that that can be more memorable. But that wasn’t the question so I am not on the spot to answer that one.

Any meat that I roast or cook in my Gaggaenau oven is the best meal I have ever had. It is maid under my direct scrutiny. If there are any of you reading this, than I can tell you you are yet to have your best meal when you invest some time into your own menu, go to the shop select your food stuffs, take it home, and cook it with tender loving care…all the while pondering what wine you are going to have with it…..helps to stock your wine cellar or storage area first. I want to thank Gary and all the gang for teaching me and inspiring me on how to appreciate one of God’s great gifts to us humans, WINE. My best and favorite meal are still a head of me, it is the one I have in front of me when I eat next and have a glass of lovingly crafted wine with it.
December 4, 2007

grantda
QOTD: Small bistro that has since closed. We arrived late and they were out of all the specials, but the chef promised to make something else for us. It was fantastic.
December 4, 2007

wine-ot
Q.O.D. the best meal…was after a cator…working for a friend who was laocean and we just finished working at a boutique winee shop…they cave us the remainder of some upper level riesling and we corked them and went back to his families house for a 1030 pm dinner. we had beef tounge spicy green soup, rice from a basket and a chicken dish…all sooo spicy. he and i tried the spicyt sweet food pairing…both for our first time and i could of died!
December 4, 2007

Chris
QOTD – Best meal I ever had was the Omakasa at Morimoto’s in Philly. My wife (fiancee at the time) and I had a 7 course meal that was chosen by the sushi chef and I was drinking $9 glasses of sake. It was great!
December 4, 2007

Jay
I would have to say the best meal I have ever had was at the Sumo Lounge in Calgary Alberta. Great Sushi, great Saki, and most of all, great wasabi. You don’t find good wasabi all that often in Alberta, Canada.
December 4, 2007

Erich
Veritas in NYC for my father’s 65th BDay. Lamb and Burgundy. A match made in heaven.
December 4, 2007

Wednesday
I’d have to say chateaubriand followed by a chocolate souffle from l’auberge chez francois in greats fall, va. Great food but exceptional chefs.

Good variety show, Gary.
December 4, 2007

Mike P.
The best meal I ever had was at the Oceanaire in Washington, DC. Perfect meaty oysters, chowder, lobster, and some incredible side dishes all matched up with some great white wines and good company.
December 4, 2007

Iron Man
Two meals come to mind…first one was a long time ago visiting Northern Mexico about 10 miles from Saltillo, my aunt took us to a little home where the lady of the house made these enchiladas of fresh cheese, none of this tex-mex enchiladas, very fresh, clean, simple flavors. The palm sized tortillas were dipped in this bright orange-red chili sauce and filled with semi dry cow cheese, very pleasant and matched our day. Actually, I think that will be most memorable as it pales to second more hedonistic meal…
December 4, 2007

John Internet Marketing Speaker
One of the best meals… when it comes to steak was “Gotham” in Vancouver, BC. The portions were small and everything comes e la carte… but the steak itself was great! Yes the rest was fabulous too!

Worth checking out…

Cheers,
John
December 4, 2007

Brandon
Lucerne, Switzerland: Braised beef tips with veal demi-glace and herb whipped potatoes. Manly food with a classy Euro twist.
December 4, 2007

Brian Vanaski
Spicy sausage pasta with gorgonzola cheese.
December 4, 2007

hasbeen
QOTD: My wife, my son’s and one of my son’s best friends went to the Octagon Restaurant in Groton CT. The best crab cakes I have had anywhere. The steaks were perfect and the seafood was fresh. All the food was great, picked some very nice wines, the service was superb, you know, not a server insight until you think you might want something and then they appear next to you. It was a chance for us to be together and everyone had a fabulous time.
December 4, 2007

Carly
Aaa! I knew I should have watched yesterday. I hope I’m not too late. Great episode! This is the first time I’ve seen you rate anything about 93, and it got me all excited

QOTD: My boyfriend’s aunt is a fabulous (authentic) Italian chef, and each year she auctions off an authentic Italian feast in her home, complete with wines, for a church benefit. Last year, her husband secretly bid on the feast, and then, after winning, gave it as a gift to my boyfriend’s family. I am the luckiest girlfriend ever, because I got invited! It was fantastic…, the antipasti included wonderful olives and artisan cheeses…and the meal included the best veal scallopini I have ever had in my entire life. I wish I had the list of foods in front of me…but even if the food had been mediocre (which it wasn’t), the European pacing of the meal and the family fellowship would still have made it one of my favorite meals!
December 4, 2007

Kim
Nola-Fried green tomatos, blackened fish, traditional cesar salad.
Best meal ever!
December 4, 2007

Vincent
QOTD: Definitely in Pisa, a little place on a side street. It was wonderfully simple: caprese salad with tomato sauce on penne, accompanied by a glass of their house wine (which by the way was fantastic). It was out of this world.
December 4, 2007

Sarah T
My favorite meal…chicken tikka masala with basmati rice and royal naan, at India Quality in Boston.
December 4, 2007

Juska
Cheese-filled pan pizza with a large glass of cold white milk.
December 4, 2007

Phil G.
The Greatest meal I have ever had was just a few months ago. During a trip to the Piedmonte region in Italy for a week of wine tastings, I had dinner with a very famous Italian wine Maker at a wonderful little hidden restaurant in Monforte. They served us 5 courses of heavenly selections that the chef personally created for us. We had no say as to what he would bring out, so every course was a suprise. We enjoyed that dinner with a bottle of Elio Grasso Barolo 1998, that blew me away. What an experience….wow.
December 4, 2007

Abel
QOTD: The best meal I ever had was at a friends dinner party. We started with some nice hors d’oeurves and some Champagne. Then, we had a nice crisp salad and some New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. For the main course, we had grilled leg of lamb with some Chateau Smith Haut Lafite. We then had some nice creme brulee and a nice dessert wine. Wish I could remember what the dessert wine was. We also had some nice dessert cheeses. The thing that made the meal so special was that it was all homemade and with a group of special friends. It was certainly a memorable experience.

Great show Gary!

Abel
December 4, 2007

Sarah Thomson
Chicken Tikka Masala, basmati rice, and a royal nan from India Quality in Kenmore Square in Boston is consistently my favorite meal ever!
December 4, 2007

Gary Vaynerchuk on Yarden and Israeli wines « HaKerem: The Israeli Wine Blog
[...] watched the WLTV clip. Gary gives a shoutout to my favorite wine critic â€“ Daniel Rogov, the guru of Israeli wine and [...]
December 4, 2007

Martin
The best meal is always the next one!
Thank you for your consideration.
December 4, 2007

ItalianMichael300
The greatest meal i have ever had is my moms homemade manicotti. She makes it for me everyday March 1st which is my bday. Close second is her homemade lasagna which the family eats christmas day.

Side note, hey Gary for a lot Italian families its tradition to eat only seafood christmas eve. My mom has put me in charge of bringing wine for everyone this year because she thinks im a wine connaisseur in fact i just got into wine a few months ago and keep trying different stuff from trader joes, bev mo, and the local wine shops. I did place one order from your store but the 30$ shipping cost to the west coast can kill a college boys wallet (do i smell a distribution center on the west coast being planned?). Anyway to the point i know next to nothing about wine and would love you to do a early christmas, wine, and fish pairing show or suggest a few wines. Also what would go well with lasagna?

This is a first post for me so technically im not a lurker anymore, at least as a lurker i have gotten a lot of people to watch your show. I really appreciate everything you do and hopefully more people my age can get into wine and drink a tad bit less beer and popov vodka.

More $15 and under wine tasting please =)
December 4, 2007

ChrisR
QOTD: Grilled Swordfish. So simple and so fresh it was beautiful!!
December 4, 2007

Andy Cross
A Turkey on rye sandwich and broccoli cheese soup from the Morristown Memorial Hospital the night my son was born. I was starving after my wife’s 10 hours of labor, when we went to the hospital I brought with me a Pride Merlot, went real well with the cafeteria food. I was so happy with the birth of my son!!!! A meal I will never forget!!!!! I kept the bottle!!!!
December 4, 2007

GrapeStuff
QOTD: The greatest meal I ever had was the chef’s tasting menu and wine pairing at Aqua in San Francisco – I can still taste the foie gras and the crab soufle. Yumm.
December 4, 2007

Luke P.
QOTD: The greatest meal I’ve ever had was in Australia. 300 day grain feed cattle, ridiculously good Aussie beer (and Wine of course) at a little street cafe-restaurant on the Queen Street Mall in Brisbane. At the time the Aussie dollar was worth about 48 cents, which made the picking up the check at the end of the day even better.
December 4, 2007

JasonH
QOTD: The best meal was this last summer at Il Falconiere in Cortona Italy for our second wedding anniversary. Multi course meal, each paired with wine. Absolutely incredible!!

Another great show! Keep up the good work!
December 4, 2007

Paul M
QOTD: 8 course tasting menu with wine pairings at the Ryland Inn … this is also the meal that really turned me on to wine
December 4, 2007

David Dadekian
QOTD: This summer I had a chance to eat four or five different pizzas at Pizzeria Mozza in L.A. The place is NOT overrated. Wow.
December 4, 2007

joel delon
Let me think best meal i ever had a porcupine casserole when i was in tuscany years ago married with a deep brunello enjoy your meal ! remember gary the first quality of a south of france wine it’s always the right sensations linked with affordable prices !
December 4, 2007

Done Lurking
Fuck!! Been lurking since before 100. I was taking pride in that!! Oh well a shot a great bottle is worth it.
QOTD; I was racking my brain trying to come up with the meal that shut down all others and I found it…. My wife and I were at a Thai restaurant in Amsterdam (yes, we were. Very.). We ordered a couple of apps, a couple entrees, and by the time we were ordering our third dessert the server was laughing as much as we were.
WOTN (last night) Had a new Riesling from Washington State. Nodland Cellars Bebop 2005. Find it. Drink it.
December 4, 2007

Richard T
QOTD: Best meal was at Joel Robuchon’s place in Tokyo
December 4, 2007

Jake K
The best meal i have ever had was at Rutherford Grill in Rutherford California in Napa Valley. A great restaurant in california wine country, what more could u ask for?
December 4, 2007

Pete
Best meal I ever had was at Ben Benson’s in NYC. Ribeye – Medium Rare
December 4, 2007

salvatore
My best meal remembered was 41 years ago. Fryed Chicken at little unknown restaurant in Canada, on our honeymoon going to Sudbury. It was crispy, tender and delicious it had a honey pineapple sauce.

It was off the highway in a small village. Sorry I can not remember the town either.
December 4, 2007

JeffC
Big turn out on comments. I’m in. QOTD: Good o’l Italian dinner made by my late and great Nana. Home made sauce (or gravy as some call it), home made ravioli’s, need I go on? Food was made with love. No $500 wine, just basic jug red back then. All was good.

Another great show Gman. Thanks.
December 4, 2007

jonomck
best meal I ever had was leg of lamb cooked by my mother on my 13th birthday.
December 4, 2007

Chad_R
Chef’s Kobe Steak Selection at Chef Tom Colicchio’s restaurant Craftsteak. Some of the best steak I have ever had, great mushroom risotto, mix veggies, and this is the only place that could make 6 different ice creams work as dessert (but they did it)! When you go to Vegas Crafsteak is located in the MGM Grand. Give it a shot, but make sure you bring your checkbook, we dropped $750 for 4!
December 4, 2007

Jeff Josenhans
Best meal I ever had was New Year’s Eve dinner in Stockholm 2004. Our friends gave us money and left the rest up to me. You can make a pretty good dinner at home for $600!
December 4, 2007

Noontime
Love the ending! Really appreciate the review of the kosher wine; I live in S. Florida and that will make a great gift for some of my friends.
QOTD- Best meal I ever had…top of Stratosphere in Las Vegas (the fact that I asked my wife to marry me may bias the memory a little though). But still…the food was great, the service spectacular, and the view is fantastic.
December 4, 2007

Ryan Madigan
my favorite meal is chicken parm
December 4, 2007

Lev M.
QOTD- 1 month ago in Tomales Bay California. 20 oysters, 2 shrimp tacos, fresh sourdough bread, chardonnay wine, most beautiful girl in the world. It was the first time Ive actually enjoyed white wine since I barely drink any.
December 4, 2007

seth
great show gary… and a great offer to get the lurkers like myself to show themselves. best meal is a hard one… maybe that roast wild boar with the oh so incredibly flavorful yet mild habenero sauce at vincent’s on camelback while on that trip to phoenix… or maybe my risotto that i make at home (with shallots, various wild mushrooms, mint, and pecorino). yum!
December 4, 2007

Deano
Gary Great episode!!! Those steaks sound really good.

QOTD:
-Had a great meal in Napa CA at Fume Bistro it was steak, truffle potatoes and asparagus. Yummm
December 4, 2007

TommyBoBo of WI
QOTD:

29 day dry aged ribeye, grilled med rare, drizzled w/ truffle oil,, garlic/horseradish smashed potatoes, cremed spinach and a 2001 Ch. Pichon Lalande. YUMMMMMMMMMMMM-EEEEEEEEE
December 4, 2007

Frances
Best meal hands down, Tempest in Wolfville Nova Scotia Canada. Chef Michael Howell rocks!
December 4, 2007

Skippy
QOTD – Stone Road Grille in Niagara on the Lake here in Ontario, Canada (one of the best wine regions in the world, do a show!!). We had a great very casual meal Sunday night starting with oysters, and a Cave Springs cuvee. Next was a plate of house charcuterie with an awesome Stratus Wines 2005 White. We progressed to their chef’s version of poutine (fries, cheesy bechemel and fois gras) and then Lailey 2005 Impromptu PMS. We decided to end with a big chunk of Kobe beef and an 02 Nebbiolo from Ridgepoint. Unbelievable food, outstanding wine, amazing atmosphere, great service and beautiful conversation with a great friend of mine. Does life really get any better?
December 4, 2007

Eric A.
QOTD: About 5 years ago I organized a bachelor party in New Orleans for a friend of mine, and booked our group for dinner at K Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen. It was totally over the top, way too decadent and way too expensive, but we didn’t care. Was just a great group of people sharing really flavorful, fun food. We had so much fun and stayed out so late that I wound up going straight from the French Quarter to the airport to catch my flight home. Funny thing was, I wasn’t the only person on the flight who’d done exactly the same thing!

If you pull my name from the drawing, though, please pull another name and give the wine to that person! Super Tuscans are totally wasted on me.
December 4, 2007

john ripperger
The veal chop w/ mushrooms special at La Focaccia in Summit, NJ along w/ a bottle of 97 Gaja Costa Russi we brought was the best all around meal I have ever had. C’mon Masseto!
December 4, 2007

wayno da wino
Yooooooo GeeVee !!
Faaantaaastic Episode!! You had more Energy
than da local Power Plant!!!

QOTD: Many Home-cooked Thanksgiving, Christmas
and Easter Dinners by Mom (RIP).
December 4, 2007

chris from ny
My favorite meal was the last meal my mother cooked two days before she passed away in 1996. As she said her food was delicious because she cooked with love.
December 4, 2007

Redshirt
Best meal I have ever had was at the Black Bear Restaurant in Green Mountain Falls, CO. Kobe beef, black and white truffles, foie gras, etc and some excellent Italian wines.
December 4, 2007

Barbara
QOTD: My greatest meal in the recent past was when I was at the Rutherford Grill in Napa, CA. It was an ostrich fillet, soooo tasty, moist and meaty, like a good steak. Awesome brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes with horseradish and cabbage in it. I saved half for my next night’s meal since I was vacationing. YUM!
December 4, 2007

Jon B Lodi
QOTD: My wife and I had an excellent dinner at Gary Danko in SF back in 2001. It was our introduction to Hudson Valley Fois Gras. Perfectly seared to that wonderful butter-like consistency, matched with poached pear, and paired with the most-excellent 1990 Chateau d’Yquem! It doesn’t get any better than that!

Hey, how many cases do you have left of the 2003 Saint Jean Du Barroux Lâ€™oligocene?
December 4, 2007

Taylor
QOTD: My favorite meal would have to be eating $150 worth of lobster with my wife on our honeymoon in Maine.
December 4, 2007

Dan
korean bulgogi with kimchi broiled soup when i went to korea last year!! with korean shoju of course.
December 4, 2007

Snogging
QOTD: Aged Ribeye, grilled medium rare with asparagus, garlic mashed, and mushrooms!
December 4, 2007

Obama_Man
A six course tasting dinner at davidburke and donetella. As an amateur chef I tried to mimic their recipes and came awfully close!

Gary, going off of your favorite region, what other regions are generally sure bets for a solid bottle between 10-15 bones?
December 4, 2007

Joe W
Bambino’s Restaurant in Imperial, MO.
St. Louis Strip Steak w/ pasta and merlot, and I gaurantee you will get at least two meals out of what they serve you.
December 4, 2007

Eben
QOTD: Best meal I had was at Fleur de Sel. A great Austrian Riesling, artichoke and goat cheese ravioli for starters and venison with pureed potatoes. Though the best dessert I’ve ever tasted was a goat cheese and peach tart at Pacifico.
December 4, 2007

Rick Shannon
Gary: Check out Cru du Cadoulet

Chad: Read “To Cork or Not To Cork, Tradition, Romance, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle” by George M. Taber. Best book I’ve found regarding closures.

QOTD: Filet Mignon, potatoes, mixed greens, w/ a half bottle of brunello @ 14,000 feet, not the most elaborate, but with the best seats I’ve ever had! (Not to forget the effects of wine at high altitude)
December 4, 2007

Mike Brennan
Best Meal: You can’t beat a Chilean Sea Bass rapped in Prosciutto on the BBQ. Throw it back with a great pinot and you’re golden.
December 4, 2007

Ken
Recently did the tasting menu at Tabla restaurant in Manhattan. Wonderful varied menu with great wine pairings. Went with friends and four hours later we couldn’t please what an evening we had.
December 4, 2007

Dan H
The best meal I ever had… that’s a tough one because I feel like I’ve had a lot of good meals. I could say it was at Peter Luger’s but I think the best meal would have to be about more than just the food. I think the best meal would have to be one of the ones where we sat at the table for 3 hours talking and enjoying good food. That would probably be at Zum Schneider in NYC on my birthday 2 years ago.
December 4, 2007

Dave
Lamb loin and a 1996 Grange in October of 2006
December 4, 2007

LeatherPalate
Spiaggia May 17th 2002 the day after Amy and I got married we ate at Spiaggia nothing has compared since.
December 4, 2007

Marshall
QOTD: Swordfish and a fully loaded baked potatoe.

That 2005 Justin Cab was tatsy.
December 4, 2007

Julava
I have to agree with Dan here. When thinking of my best meal, I keep thinking of the people around me. Not sure what I had on my 21st birthday, but it was pretty amazing because of all the peeps that came down to Atlantic City! However, I am a sucker for a great steak or anything with crab meat.
December 4, 2007

Rafaela Giordano
Everything my mother cooks is really good. Unfotunatelly, I live miles away from her, since 1994. So, nowadays I like my own pasta, the one I cook with carrots. Don’t make this face! It’s really good. If you come to Brazil some day, I can cook for you and your wife. Regards. Rafaela
December 4, 2007

Tofferotti
Best meal was probably this year at thanksgiving. I don’t like most of the traditional food, so I encourage a little outside the box type of dinner. Roasted goose stuffed with apple and pear, cornbread and cranberry stuffing with a port/cream sauce, roasted butternut squash and brussel sprouts sauteed w/ pancetta and sour cream. Lots of pie, people brought 11 kinds of cheese and all washed down with great wine. The favorite wine of the day was the Leeuwin Artist Cabernet. Gary recommended it while I was shopping at the store the day before thanksgiving. Thanks a ton G. I was outstanding.

T
December 4, 2007

Ferrari1379
I just had the best steak of my life at Delmonicos in the Venetian in Las Vegas. Bone-in steak and I also had a bite of the filet which was just as silly.
December 4, 2007

jhollo77
QOTD: I have to agree with my husband (JasonH) — Best meal EVER was our 2nd anniversary dinner in Cortona, Italy. But he left out the details! We sat outside overlooking the valley and they served us an AMAZING 5-course meal with a mushroom theme. Each was paired with a different Italian wine and my favorite was the dessert course — several tiny pots of different desserts including a lavendar creme brulee, a chocolate pot de creme, and a vin santo to die for! All of this after a full day of wine tasting in Motepulciano, Montalcino, and Pienza. Does it get better than that?!?
December 4, 2007

ando
Had a great meal with my wife as Casa Mono. The duck egg with potatos and tuna loin is probably the best single dish i have ever tasted.
December 4, 2007

Rick Kroft
I’ve been watching your show for a month or two. I really enjoy it. I wonder at your palate. I’d like mine to be half as developed.
I had a great meal of a small brined and roasted chicken prepared for me and my wife, by the chef, at Isabellas in Cleveland, that was just outstanding. But on the other hand I once had side of wild salmon cooked on a plank over a fire while camping in the Maine Woods that was pretty damn good.
The best meal is the one that you eat with your family when everyone loves the food and each other.

Thanks for the show.
December 4, 2007

grace
The best meal I’ve ever had was at the French Laundry – 9 courses of flawlessly executed food. So much food that I could barely walk out of the place, and I kept threatening my dining companion that I was just going to lay out in the street because I couldn’t make it to the car. I believe we sat on a bench in the vegetable garden for about 2 hours before I was able drive.
December 4, 2007

michael jazayeri
Hi Gary,

Our favorite resturuant serves the best filet mignon I have ever had. Last October,we went to this resturant for my birthday. We always drink wine, but my wife said no. I didn’t think much of it, so I ordered a half-bottle. After a great meal, she gave me two presents. The first one was a very nice shirt. The second gift was baby’s clothing with the words “I love Daddy” on it. She was pregnant!

Needless to say, that was THE greatest meal and THE best birthday gift I have ever had.

Michael
December 4, 2007

Cliff
Best meal ever? A special tasting meal at the Inn at Perry Cabin in St Micheals, Maryland. The meal was prepared by Chef Mark Salter. The highlight, soft shell with Montelena Chardonay.
December 4, 2007

Michael Burlison
You’ve drawn out this long time lurker.

QOTD:
Half my family is Sicilian and my late Sicilian great grandmother loved to cook. The best meal that I’ve ever had, was her manicotti. She would start the sauce around 10am and it would cook for 7 to 8 hours. The entire house would smell like an Italian kitchen. I love Italian, but have yet to find manicotti as delicious as hers.
December 4, 2007

organicguy
The best meal ever was enjoyed at a restaurant on top of a mountain just outside of Radda in Chianti. For three hours we enjoyed the most sumptuous Italian cuisine after watching the sun go down from our table. A reserve Sangiovese from Centennoio(sp) accompanied our meal and after being attended by the chef and owner dessert arrived along with a complimentary dessert wine. It was an experience my wife and I will never forget. So stay healthy all vayniacs and get out to enjoy what life has to offer—–SOON—–
December 4, 2007

manic
So many great meals, so little time. Best ever? Has to be the
next sitdown shared with friends…I can see it now in my mind’s
eye…
December 4, 2007

SJ Jewett
Dry aged steaks and King Crab legs at Gallagers at the NYNY hotel/casino in Vegas!
December 4, 2007

Rafael
My best meal was on the employees canteen of a casino.
Sometimes you get the best meals in unexpected places
December 4, 2007

Arnie Cohen
The best meal I ever had was a, light as air, dish of Gnocchi in the Italian Lakes region. I wonder if it had something to do with the scenery?
December 4, 2007

Robert
Hello Gary. Number one lurker fan here.
Best meal had to be at a friend’s restaurant in the Ribera del Duero region in Spain. Asados Garci. Best lamb I’ve ever had, and chirizo sausages, cheese, the works, you know how they eat in Spain. Great local wine also.
Cheers fellow vayniacs.

Robert from Miami, FL
December 4, 2007

Mike Calmus
QOTD – Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago. The food is incredible, but the service, oh the service is absolutely amazing. Plus, unlike many high-end restaurants they have good, affordable wines to go with your meal. My meal was a tribute to corn (I had the veggie meal). Every course had corn in it from corn soup to a corn dessert. The menu changes daily based upon what’s in the market. Ask for a kitchen tour.
December 4, 2007

Ken
My best meal was and are the amazing baby back ribs which have been slow cooked over a mesquite /charcoal BBQ for 15hrs accompanied with a side of fresh from the garden BBQ Zucchini. All cooked and enjoyed with my father and a 1990 Masseto.
December 4, 2007

Svante Adermark
QOTD: I have had many great steak dinners, but the best have to be at Swedish fish restaurant (sorry, super nice contest arranging steak company) SjÃ¶magasinet, where I had the following:

Appetizer: Toast Skagen – Caviar and toast, with some onion preparation
Main course: Sole with salmon roe, and some potato side, probably just boiled potatoes.

No dessert. Although I don’t remember all parts of all dishes, that sole was the best prepared fish I have ever had, I can still taste it in my mind. Of course I had some delicious white wine to it, but I can’t remember which one.
December 4, 2007

pawncop
Hope I’m not too late. Best meal was at III Forks steak house in Dallas. T Bone with all the fixin’s
December 4, 2007

Joseph M. Kennedy
QOTD: Wow, that’s tough, because I love food. I think the greatest meal I have ever had was when I first tried Indian food with my sister at a little place in downtown Los Angeles. It was amazing. I love spicy food, and the whole thing was great. Plus, it was completely vegetarian because, well, she is one.
December 4, 2007

Greg A
The French Room at the Adolphus in Dallas, TX. I know the best answer is my mom’s cooking, but to be honest the food, atmosphere and service where some of the best I have experienced in my years of fine dining. However, mom does prepare a mean chicken fried steak.
December 4, 2007

mbannon
Shoot. Didn’t get a chance to watch the show yesterday and what happens? I miss out on a chance to win a (probably) great wine. Gr.

Well…regardless. QOD – Best meal I’ve ever had was my first “real” steak at a nearby steakhouse. Filet Mignon, cooked to perfection, with a pepper crust. Wow. I used to think I wasn’t really a steak kind of guy, but that night I learned better.
December 4, 2007

Michael
QOTD – A tasting course menu which included kobe beef, various sushi, sea bass w/ truffles.
December 4, 2007

Thomas Gaskill
The BEST meal that I ever had was in a small pub in Galway Ireland. A steak dinner with a pint and great music.

Love ya Gary!
December 4, 2007

brooklyni
the greatest meal i’ve ever had. once, while in zakapone, poland, i went skiing all day and was so stupid i didn’t eat breakfast. the skiing was so great and i was with my brother and we were having such a blast that i didn’t want to leave. i had no food on me so i was starving, but i was loving it. after skiing i took a shower and hit up this tiny little restaurant and had sausages, potatoes, salad and mulled wine. it was heaven. not just the food, but the whole experience.

hope i win!
December 4, 2007

Shane
Probably missed the contest cut off, but oh well. A $500 bottle of wine would probably be wasted on me anyway.

QOTD: Christmas Dinner, 1991. We lost the electricity from it snowing all day in southern New Mexico (which never happens). Had to cook everything on a wood grill. Spent all day with my family by fire light. Awesome day. Awesome meal.
December 4, 2007

portland guy
Pappa John’s pizza?? You allow someone at WL to order Pappa John’s pizza? And you allow it into WL? Bad, very bad.
December 4, 2007

Steven Roy
My favorite meal has always been Chicken Fricasse made in the style of the Cajuns. My grandmother lives in central Louisiana and is the best cook ever!!!! She made this dish for me last year, and I got to help out. The dish is made with a roux that is so brown that it barley holds the sauce together, so it is very thin but super flavorful (dark meat is the only way to go). Dished over some boiled white rice and 2 pieces of buttered white bread, this cant be beat. Viva La Cajuns!!!
pilot360@msn.com
December 4, 2007

Kero H
QOTD: The best meal I have ever had was the engagement meal I did with my wife-to-be to our families: Reindeer carpacio with whitewine from rhone, fillet mignon with portwinesauce, fried vegetables and steam peas and valpolicella redwine, to dessert we had pear-bluecheese-gingerbread-wallnut cake and portwine. But I suppose it is the best meal I have ever had because of the atmosphere and the people, because THAT IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT HERE IN THE WLTV…
December 4, 2007

Jayhitek
QOTD: Gonna say I made a turkey on my grill a month After Thanksgiving last year. Some how I pulled off spectacular fete. Added apple wood chips to the mix, the thing had a damn smoke ring on the breast! Even made the gravy with white wine. The whole thing was amazing.
Tried it again this year and it was good but not as good as last year. Not as much of the smoke ring going.. Something about that first experiment last year that blew me away.

But I have also had some amazing steaks at Grill 23 in Boston. Can’t take that away from them.
December 4, 2007

Shadowbird
QOTD: The best meal I’ve ever had was my grandmother’s cheese dumplings. I miss her…her food was the best because she always put all of her heart into it (figuratively speaking, of course).
December 4, 2007

candapete
QOTD. Best meal ever – On honeymoon in south of france at a tiny hotel (Mas Des Carassin) in small town (St Remy de Provence) sitting out in the courtyard on a mid-june afternoon. Every bite went down in my memory and some very nice local wine, of course too.
December 4, 2007

Jason B
QOTD: The best meal I ever had was in Pismo Beach about a year ago. It was at a sushi place called Yangai and oh my god if you ever go there get the lobster roll and thank me later. This is a lurker thats coming out of hiding!
December 4, 2007

Palmer
qotd: there have been so many great meals, but the one that sticks out is the day with some buddies after a round of golf, we grilled two big filet mignons each, baked huge potatoes and smothered them with butter and shredded cheese, and boiled up corn on the cob in beer and Old Bay seasoning – an inspired decision that I’ve now repeated many times. Never eaten so much in my life, and never did it taste so damn good.
December 4, 2007

BK
QOTD: Easily the best meal I have ever had as the tasting menu at Tru in Chicago. I have never had anything like it to date. Everything was superb.
December 4, 2007

Greg B.
Big G,Got me some of that Saint Jean so at least if I don’t win the 500 Dollar Bottle, it won’t be all bad for 25 Bones!

QOTD: Best Dinner I ever had, happened on two occasions. Once with my Dad when I was young and 2nd with my Mother-in-Law some time later. I’m sure the food was great, but The two people I mentioned are no longer with us and you can’t have a great dinner without great company.
December 4, 2007

Jack Bennett
Lawry’s, Dallas Texas, 1992

Rare Prime Rib, Garlic mashed potato, White Asparagus

It was the most satisfied feeling I can remember from a meal.

Jack Bennett
December 4, 2007

Jason L
QOTD: Best Meal Ever = Roy’s in Maui
December 4, 2007

Copper Man
QOTD: Duck confit and Burgundy in a little bistro in the the sixth arrondismant in Paris.
December 4, 2007

JohnnyC a.k.a. SmokinActuary
The best meal I had was in Grand Case, Saint Martin. With a beautiful water view, I started with a ‘Ti Punch. Appetizer was shark ceviche Entree was Devil Fish Creole with a Poilly Fume and desert was a homemade tropical ice cream and fruit platter. The waiter poured my wife and I a shot of coconut-infused and banana-infused rum and a after dinner drink.
December 4, 2007

LAR
there have been many but one that stands out was a lunch I had in the central square of Aix-en-Provence. A massive plate was served with such an incredible variety of prepared vegetables, pate, cheese, and more – it was as tasty as it was absolutely beautiful! Will never forget that one….
December 4, 2007

Chris Paul Schachter
Best meal last night after a shit day at work…

Bottle of Coume Del Mas Schistes 2003 + Arroz con Pollo Dominican style (from a dive on B’way/110th Street, NYC)
December 4, 2007

Mat
Best meal I had would be a vegetarian cannelloni in Scotland a few year ago, it was served topped with cloves, which is unusual but tasted amazing. I don’t remember the wine served with it unfortunately.
December 4, 2007

Chris
Best meal ever was at sparks in nyc. Great steak, great wine, great meal
December 4, 2007

Mike S.
Gary V, can you pm me whenever you have a chance? I have a HUGE request.

QOTD: My ex-girlfriend’s parents came over from France to visit us and we cooked for them. Great food, great people, great wine. I’ll never forget the look on her father’s face when he first tried the 1996 Meerlust Rubicon I served. He couldn’t believed it wasn’t high quality Bordeaux.
December 4, 2007

Mike
QOTD: Hands down … Craft Steak House Surf and Turf in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Simply AWESOME!
December 4, 2007

Lenny
QOTD- The meal that immediately pops into my head was cooked on one of those old Coleman stoves on a brisk morning outside on a trip we made into Canada. Somewhere near Lake of the Woods we pulled over and made bacon, potatoes, eggs and warmed up grandma’s cinnamon rolls on the tailgate in cast iron pans in the wilderness. Had to be 30 years ago but I still remember how good everything was. Or maybe it was just the location and company. . .
December 4, 2007

Victor
The best meal ever? Well, after Iâ€™ve tried some of the better restaurants in my Swedish hometown, and some in New York, I have to say that i had my best meal ever was at a shabby old restaurant near the city of Massa Marittima in Tuscany. Me and my family ate an amazing, rustic mushroom soup and drank cheap red wine, and everything wasâ€¦just perfect! The best moments are not so much about fine-dining, foie gras and trufflesâ€¦as long as friends, family and loved ones are gathered, a water-based Italian mushroom soup can blow your mind!
December 4, 2007

Lawrence Leichtman
The meal that sticks out the most in my mind was at El Bulli in 2004. What creativity and wines to die for and someone else was paying. Who could ask for more?
Your notes on the Nimes made me lust for 3 bottles. Thanks for your work as always. Haven’t had a Nimes in 5 years. I would like the Masseto if you are pulling names but so do the other 600+ folks.
December 4, 2007

Martin W
2;30am….Out all night party’in….Love’s biscuit…in Duncan Oklahoma….
December 4, 2007

Erin
QOTD- By far the best meal I’ve had was when I was traveling for work in Atlanta. My boss is good friends with the chef, so she took all of us who were traveling and we got the special treatment. The chef was incredible, a true artist. I don’t think I’ve even had better clams in my life. Better yet it was free!!
December 4, 2007

JSC1
Komi in Washington DC, fantastic.
December 4, 2007

wmole
Campfire grilled King Salmon outside Port Angeles, WA. Hot springs and beer. 20 lb fish, 3 people, 5 days all fish diet.
December 4, 2007

Lurkey MaGee
The best meal I ever had was at The Park Steakhouse in New Jersey. My wife and I wanted to celebrate our anniversary a year prior to be being married (I know it sounds strange but we are strange), so we called my cousin who told us about his new restaraunt, and it was set. We did not however realize the great lengths he would go to to give us such a nice gift, including a tour of the kitchen and cellar, an explanation of courses (all nine), an extremely attentive sommelier, and a dessert that would make you blush. Part of the dinner included roses delivered to my wife by the staff, and a small cast iron stove being brought to the table with fresh biscotti baking on top of smoking hickory cinders.
Its been a year and a half since, the experienced changed me and is why I “got into” wine and food in the first place.

Love the show keep it up.
December 4, 2007

Valerie
QOTD: Petit Fliet Mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, and asperagus with bernaise sauce! Melted in my mouth it was sooooooo good!
December 4, 2007

David
QOTD: I absolutely adore food, so that is a tough question. Probably the tasting menu at Daniel in NYC about 6 months ago with my wife celebrating our anniversary – phenomenal.
December 4, 2007

lifestooshort
QOTD: Easy one: The woman I married made Fra Diavolo for me for our very first meal together. It was, and will always be, my favorite meal.
December 4, 2007

KruszControl
QOTD: I just loooove ground lamb cooked with pine nuts and garlic on top of some nice yellow rice cooked with a bit of olive oil.
December 4, 2007

Bohi
I may be too late but the best meal I’ve ever had was at Cuistot in Palm Desert. Salmon Bocuse, Sweet Breads, Foie Gras, and Roasted Rack of Lamb all with individual wine pairings. Snap.
December 4, 2007

David Magee
I worked at a hotel out of college and one of the perks was dinner at the hotel’s 3-star restaurant. Duck in raspberry sauce – and the first outstanding meal that I earned on my own as an adult.
December 4, 2007

Karl Laczko
Did you say MEH on that Castano?

QOTD – Almost impossible to say, I’ve already tried on the forums. If I had to choose one experience, not just the food but the location, the ambience & the company then I’d have to go for either of the 2 evenings I’ve had at Shmulik Cohen’s in Tel Aviv with my colleague and friend Yaron Lapidot. Eastern European dishes, we let the house decide what to bring us, took over 2 hours to get through the multiple courses and had homemade lemon Vodka to wash it down – absolute bliss.
December 4, 2007

Billr
Boy, what a response on comments. Guess everyone comes off the couch when it comes to getting something for nothing or free……..
December 4, 2007

Serge Laporte
Greatest meal might well have been last summer, in Tuscany:)

My gf and I went to Poggio Antico, a beautiful restaurant in the slopes, just before arriving to Montalcino.
We had an amazing zuchini risotto, to die for, a mixed plate sushi style of tuna, crab and veal..yup..
All of the above served with the 2001 Poggio Antico Brunello, so all in all, exquisite. On top of which, it was gorgeous outside, and from the terrasse where we were seated, we could see miles of beautiful, lush countryside, it don’t get better than that
December 4, 2007

glenn levine
chef’s table Emeril’s in NOLA is a memorable night. truthfully though i fonder recollections from many lunches.

ship The Masseto with great care. thx GV.
December 4, 2007

Rick C
QOTD: It worked! A lurker coming out of the woodwork for this one. The best meal I’ve ever had was the New Year’s Day all-you-can-eat buffet at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It was amazing. The variety went on for miles, but the pinnacle was the King Crab legs that were even already cracked open for you in the shell. I must have had 15 King legs! I was hurting bad from that meal, and I even skipped breakfast and lunch in preparation for it. A mere $54, and I think they lost a lot of money on me. Boy was it amazing.