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!

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 🙂

QOTD: A dry aged porterhouse with blue cheese butter at the local chop house. Fantastic.

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.

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 🙂

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

Veritas in NYC for my father’s 65th BDay. Lamb and Burgundy. A match made in heaven.

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.

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.

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…

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

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

Spicy sausage pasta with gorgonzola cheese.

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.

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!