Best tasting food that you can remember.. where, when..if you can

[Stuart G]

Pizza ..about,30 years ago, near north Chicago..Place called DUES PIZZA.

My Friend Ron and I challenged each other to see how much we could eat..On that day, the Pizza was particularly great. Now, I cannot say if they still make it that good..many say that they don't. But then, it was the best. And I know my Pizza..

[begin_within]

1. I didn't know food could be used for tasing

[Stuart G]

3. I guess proof reading should be required eating..it is tasting, not tasing.

[begin_within]

2. 1977, at "Top Pan Pizza" in Phoenix, Arizona

Deep-dish style pizza, with a crispy crust on the bottom, then the upper layer of the crust was as tender as a marshmallow (but still fully baked) - I have no idea how they got it that way, but you would just sink your teeth into it and it was heavenly. The sauce and toppings were typical of most pizzas but the sauce was a little spicy or peppery. The best pizza I have ever had anywhere. They vanished one day and we never knew what happened to them. No pizza since has even come close.

[Tikki]

4. I worked in a little Coffee Shoppe when I was.....

in my late teens and one of the cooks I worked with made the most
awesome tuna noodle casserole. I still dream about it, sometimes.

The waitresses would scrap the sides of the empty service pans before
the dishwasher got them..just to get a taste of that yummy casserole....

Tikki

[AlCzervik]

5. Chicken parm made by my mother.

she was excellent cook and to this day i have never had sauce near good as hers.

[meegbear]

6. Vermont Sandwich Co., Winooski VT, 2002, "Fire and Smoke sandwich" ...

Turkey breast seasoned on top with cayenne pepper
Lettuce
Tomato
Red Onion
Bacon
Jalapeno peppers
on a mini-scalia bread roll with horseradish/garlic mayonnaise

:bounce:

[MorningGlow]

7. Boiled crawfish, New Orleans

Just about any restaurant, although I am partial to the Alpine.

Also a small sandwich shop in Boston--I think it was actually in Chestnut Hill--absolutely killer turkey and sprouts sandwich on a very crunchy French roll. I was a dead-broke grad student at the time, so forking over $7 for that sandwich was a luxury, but I managed to scrape together the money when I had a craving.

[Kali]

8. as often as possible:

a good beef ribeye steak grilled over mesquite and/or catclaw acacia WOOD (not charcoal/flavor chips or god forbid, GAS)

[guitar man]

14. I agree

Ribeye+Mesquite= Heaven O8)

[Inchworm]

9. Some stuff and Thai iced coffee at a Thai place in Miami

I never figured out what it was that I ordered.

I was in a meeting helping to convince a politician how baaadly she needed our signs, so I was otherwise focused. Actually, I may have just been eye candy because I was just watching a master work lolz ;)

Good memories.

:hi:

[Bertha Venation]

10. fried chicken made by my grandmother, several occasions

of course, the house had greasy doorknobs after she made it . . .

[LeftyFingerPop]

11. Gnocchi. Little Italy NYC. April 2008.

I've also had good experiences with lobster, scalloped potatoes. steak, chicken wings, etc.

[guitar man]

12. Right here

This is a 10 1/2lb pork shoulder that I smoked for 10 1/2 hours (1hr per lb at 200 degrees)with my own homemade basting sauce. I also did a couple slabs of ribs and sides that day, everything was fantastic If I do say so myself, but the pulled pork I got from this shoulder was the star of the show. :evilgrin:

[Kali]

13. ohh DROOL...

WANT!

[guitar man]

15. hehe

I wish it wasn't so blasted freezing cold here, I'd have some on the smoker today ;)

[flvegan]

16. Seafood Newburg at Quintals in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts

Definitely NOT vegan. Lobster and scallops, chunks of (likely) haddock, all in this heavy sauce.

The best pizza in the world, and a close second to the above, can be found at Ernie's in Plymouth, MA

[charlie and algernon]

17. my grandmother's spagetti

Always has been and always will be the best spagetti :9

[Auggie]

18. Pizza topped with Romesco sauce and Spanish Serrano ham

My wife made it. We forget the cheese and herbs we used and have never been able to reproduce it exactly. Washed down with a good Rioja. It was incredible.

[MineralMan]

19. Rack of lamb with tamarind chutney

at a hotel restaurant in San Francisco. I can't remember the hotel's name, now. It was a crappy hotel on Polk St., but the restaurant was glorious. The next time I was in town, the place was closed, so no repeat.

[XemaSab]

20. A small Italian place in San Rafael

Italian is tricky for me, being vegetarian and not eating tomatoes.

They only had one thing on the menu I could eat: ravioli in a white sauce.

I was a little cranky about this fact, 'cause white sauce is usually underspiced.

But not at this place...

SWEET RAPTOR JESUS it was good.

Heavy cream, garlic, sage, rosemary, and a touch of lemon, topped with shredded gruyere.

Damn. :9

[Auggie]

29. Name?

[XemaSab]

30. I totally forgot

It was a TINY little place (I think) northwest of downtown.

It had about 4 tables in it, and it was the kind of place where the owner asks how the food is.

It wasn't cheap, either.

This was about 10 years ago, so i don't know if the place even exists anymore.

But DAMN that was some fine ravioli.

I've tried making it at home, but it isn't the same. :(

[rucky]

21. Stuffed Squid at Shibuya - Calabasas, CA

[MineralMan]

22. I remember another one...

I had just dropped out of college in 1964 and was driving a $100 Chrysler across the country. I stayed in a dump motel just east of New Orleans one night. The next morning, I went into this little cafe next to the motel.

On the menu was "Pork chops and Eggs." I decided that sounded good. What came out of the kitchen was three fried eggs, sunny side up, fried potatos and onions, and four pork chops, each about 1/4" thick. Somehow, they had been cooked so the fat around the outside was crispy, the surfaces of both sides of the chop was nicely browned, while the rest of the chop was tender and juicy. The seasoning was just right, too. The eggs were good too, but I've been trying to duplicate those pork chops for 45 years now, without much success.

I figure I can call myself a good cook when I duplicate those.

[Bossy Monkey]

23. AuxTrois Chevaliers, Strasbourg, 1979

Veal cooked in milk, so yeah, I know, I'm going straight to hell. The mother of the French family I was staying with took me and ordered, so blame her for leading me astray. Was awesome. Unforgettable (obviously). Went back with other friends on the study trip when we made it around to Alsace again, but they cooked it in lemon juice that time and it wasn't the same. Per the internet, the restaurant is still there, though.

Fortunately, my own cooking is pretty damn near the best food I've ever eaten these days, damned lucky as we celiacs don't have a lot in the way of restauranty options. If I'd known then what I knew now-- well, I'd probably have missed out on a lot of cool traveling.

[MineralMan]

26. Strasbourg is a wonderful place to eat...

Most memorable for me was a tarte a l'oignon at a restaurant just across from the Cathedral. It was something I felt I had to order there, and it was just amazing, washed down with an Alsatian beer, the name of which I cannot remember.

[Taverner]

24. If we're talking Pizza, Zacharys (here) or anyplace in Chicago

[BrotherBuzz]

25. Crab cakes

Baltimore. I was doing work in one of those upscale touristy stores along the inner harbor, but stayed in a motel about ten blocks away in a very seedy part of the city. It was a long walk through no mans land when I spied a little tavern that served food. The bar was busy but the restaurant was quiet. I was assured the restaurant was open and I would be served a fine meal. I read the menu and stopped when I spied crab cake. I'm a west coaster so crab cake is a rare item, and I've always enjoyed them. These eclipsed anything I had ever tasted, the chef nailed it! I believe there were herbs and spices in the dish I never knew existed. Two cakes the size of sticks of butter. They were grand. Those crab cakes became my benchmark for crab cakes and nothing has come close in twenty years of searching.

The chef came out to talk as I finished, and he had that knowing look when I tried to tell him they were the greatest I've ever tasted. I distinctly remember he was a dead ringer for the dude on the Cream of Wheat box.

[surrealAmerican]

27. A footnote for those not from Chicago:

Due's is the second location of Uno's, which is now a much larger chain.

[sakabatou]

28. My mom's slow cooked beef

[peacefreak]

31. Smoked Salmon French toast

with carmelized onion, drizzled with a maple syrup mustard seed glaze. In Nova Scotia, this Fall. omigod.

[yellowdogintexas]

32. Nonna Totta's Italian Cafe in Ft Worth is double awesome.

best barbecue I ever ate was from one of those little shack places in Kentucky, it was the best ever. no longer there so sad.

best fried chicken was brought by someone to any church supper, Homemaker's picnic or other covered dish occasion in my little town.

my mom made awesome pies, my grandmother cooked a great steak

[Blue_In_AK]

33. Believe it or not,

there's a Thai restaurant up in Fairbanks that has the most delicious Thai food I've ever tasted anywhere. I don't remember the name of it, but I know where it is, and it's the first place I'm going to go the next time I'm up that way.

[begin_within]

34. Salat eh Olivieh

A rich chicken salad that was originally invented at a fancy Moscow hotel but then adopted by the Persians and is one of their national dishes. Any good Persian restaurant will offer it on the menu. Chicken, eggs, potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, white pepper and some other seasonings are the main ingredients. Really delicious although very rich and filling. My favorite Middle Eastern food.

[spindrifter]

35. Castelo de Vide, Portugal--

late '80's. Pork chops--I don't normally eat pork, but for some reason I found myself with these pieces of heaven in front of me. I have never had anything better. I have no idea how we found the restaurant!

[LibDemAlways]

36. Some sort of pasta in a white cream sauce served at

a tourist class hotel in Venice in 1984. I was on a package tour and the meal was included. The hotel was nothing special, but the dinner was unbelievably delicious and memorable. I've never been back, but if I ever do go, I'm finding that hotel and hoping the chef hasn't retired!