best restaurant(s) you have ever been too.....restaurant(s) you want to go to....food(s) you want to

the my wife and i are huge fans of food in general...of course everyone is a fan of food as people must eat to live...some people though have no sense of adventure..they are good with burgers/fries/dogs/macaroni....you know what i mean....

i love to go out to eat even though i dont get to do it as often as i would like anymore....money got a little tight and we have a 2 year old....it was different when it was just my wife and i....with my daughter it is hard to justify spending long money on going out to eat....

so first some of the best restaurants i have ever been to....make no mistake, these are not high end restaurants by any means.....for me though, going to these places is a treat.

the sushi rock......awesome sushi and steak place.....
brasa.....a brazillian steakhouse....amazing food....all you can eat top end meat and seafood served to your table by gouchos
the melting pot.......fondue style.....great food..

now, to a couple restaurants i want to go to, even though i know i never will

www.noburestaurants.com...
Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa (松久 信幸 Matsuhisa Nobuyuki; born March 10, 1949) is a celebrity chef and restaurateur known for his fusion cuisine blending traditional Japanese dishes with South American (Peruvian) ingredients. His signature dish is black cod in miso.
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i really want to try nobu. plus, my boy deniro co owns nobu with chef nobu so it would be nice to chow down on some miso with travis bickle

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the french laundry......the site is down so i will link the wiki....
french laundry is recognized as one of the best restaurants in the world
en.wikipedia.org...

Every day, the French Laundry serves two different nine-course tasting menus, none of which uses the same ingredient more than once.[10] During the holiday season, the restaurant may offer special dishes. The menu as of February 9, 2014, is $295 USD per person, including gratuity for the base meal, not including additional supplements such as Russian caviar and truffles
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there are others but i will leave it at that for now.....

i also very much want to try high end russian caviar(a bonus for the french laundry) and fugu(or fugusashi depending on where you are from)

probably a pipe dream though....i cant afford stuff like that and even if i could i probably woulnt do it

5 Guys cheeseburgers.
That's all.

a reply to: Grovit

Shanghai, all you can eat for £50 but freshly cooked and served not sat in tin trays, best duck pancakes and bbq ribs iv ever had...

Soooo tender!

Okay, my favorite restaurant is a little pedestrian compared to yours.

Pappy's in St. Louis. The RIBS ... ZOMG! And the sweet potato fries. The guys who run this little joint were competition pit masters before they decided to open their restaurant. It's the kind of place where they cook all they are going to have for the day and when it's gone, they close up shop. It's also the kind of place where you show up early because the line is soon going out the door.

As far as naming places I'd like to eat ... Yes? I'd love to be able to go on culinary tours of both Japan and China. And I don't want just the tourist friendly fare but I'd also like to sample the stuff that usually only the locals experience.

I've also always wanted to try escargot as done by a chef who really knows how to handle them. And yeah, the caviar would be a treat as so far as I know there isn't a fish egg out there I don't like.

My wife and I have a thing where we go to a restaurant and have a degustation meal for Birthdays/Anniversaries etc. The best one of these was Quay..

www.quay.com.au...

My god it was damn awesome!! One of the desserts (Snow egg) was just unbelievably good. We've also eaten at Tetsuya's and quite a few other places that do degustation menus.

Mmmm snow egg.

We would've loved to have gone to El Bulli in Spain but it has closed now. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I used to go to a little hole in the wall restaurant in Houston called 'Barnaby's." The owner named it after his deceased dog. There were little winged doggie angels and milk bones all over the ceiling and art from local artists on the walls. I don't know if they are still in business.
They sourced all of their produce from local farmers.
I could get a house salad with grilled chicken that would feed me for a day for around 10 bucks.
Their homemade apple pie ala mode was beyond awesome.
They had a good selection of beers, too.

I did a quick search. It appears they are not only still in business, but have expanded.
I haven't been there in over a decade. I hope the food quality is what it was over a decade ago.
www.barnabyscafe.com...
I'll have to drop by next time I'm in the area.

a reply to: skunkape23

Some of those little places are so under-rated it's criminal.

originally posted by: ketsuko

As far as naming places I'd like to eat ... Yes? I'd love to be able to go on culinary tours of both Japan and China. And I don't want just the tourist friendly fare but I'd also like to sample the stuff that usually only the locals experience.

.

im with you on that.....i watch a lot of bizarre foods with andrew zimmern....
one of the episodes he was cruising around china...the food didnt look at far out there to me...i dont know the name of the place he went or what city it was in but it did not look like the type of place that had awesome food.
it was down some back alley and had like 5 tables.....no menu.....the owner/chef cooks whatever he feels like.....
the food looked amazing...i guess it takes a few months to be able to get a table.....

along with places that are well known like nobu and the french laundry, i want to try places like the one in china i just mentioned....small little one off places that have food that is to die for......

im pretty wide open when it comes to food also....i will try most anything....

i watch a lot of cooking channel and bizarre foods is my favorite. a lot of it grosses my wife out but to me most of it looks amazing...
even though i have never tried these things, i never will. they just give me the bugaboos.

maggot cheese
fermented fish
balute
and when they drink the animal blood.....not into it at all

that balute looks rough man.....never happening for me

a reply to: Grovit

Not doing haleah (the mound of meat preserved in fat) from Morocco. That one just put me right off.

The deep-fried tarantulas are actually starting to look good especially every time he describes them as tasting like crab.

originally posted by: ketsuko


The deep-fried tarantulas are actually starting to look good especially every time he describes them as tasting like crab.

most of the insects/bugs and such really does not bother me.....i would give them a shot....a great deal of them anyway....
en.wikipedia.org...(food)
^^^negative

I love going out to eat too. It is my favorite thing to do.

There is a little restaurant here in Denver called Il Posto. It's super traditional Italian food and they change the menu daily and it reflects the seasons. I think I like the atmosphere more than the food.
There is also a place in Fort Collins called Bisettis. Another Italian place. So amazingly delicious!!!
El Rancherito is a little hole in the wall Mexican food place in Denver that is pretty fantastic.
We use to have a place called Gumbos that sold really good cajun food, but they are no longer around. We have such good food here! All of the breweries have really good food. There are so many mexican and asian places.
We have a pizza fusion place that's really good. And let's not forget Voodoo Doughnuts. Omg.

Popeyes chicken.
Yes, I had to throw that in there. I am half african american. I can't help it.

Mmmm, I keep forgetting because it has been a while since I've been there - a local restaurant in KC called The Grand Street Café. They use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients where possible and they change the menu seasonally. One of the best things I've had there was a chicken fried calamari steak with lobster gravy and garlic mashed potatoes and a summer squash medley. They did the calamari perfectly! Not tough but just right.

Ruth's Chris in Fort Worth.
mmmmmmmmm. My sister took me there a few times while I was visiting. It takes me 12 hours one way to get to her house and it made it worth every minute.

hands down best restaurant i have been to: Congress Austin. Well known executive chef, well known chef de cuisine, amazing wine, amazing preparation.....you have to go to this place if you are a "foodie".

Bohanan's in San Antonio. If you want to spend $150 on a cut of beef, this is the place to do it.

Down the scale a touch, next door is Second Bar and Kitchen. Same folks as Congress, but not the ultra chic 5 star experience.

On a similar level to SBK:

Samar. Chef Stephen Pyles own this place, and has made a nice Middle Eastern flair here.

Jaspers (in Uptown Dallas). Get the bleu cheese chips.

Bolla (used to be at The Stoneleigh before ownership changed). The best dish I have ever had in a restaurant: seared scallops with polenta and a red eye gravy. Amazing.

The Smokestack (in Thurber, TX). Outstanding chicken fried steak. Along those same lines, Zentner's Daughter in Abilene (if they are still open). The one in San Angelo sucks.

Altitude in Laramie, WY. They were the first place I learned that "food" is more than beans, rice, and steak.

The Master Grill in NYC. The first place I had sushi. It was so fresh I had seen the fish alive when I was walking in. I LOVE churrascaria's. Texas de Brazil (in Dallas and San Antonio) is good, so is Rhodesio's (in Denver).

I love food, obviously.

originally posted by: trollz
5 Guys cheeseburgers.
That's all.

hands down, best burger/fry place I have ever been to.

However, not the best burger by a long shot. The Settles Grill in Big Spring TX....the burger there might get you condemned to an eternity shovelling hot coals. It really is so decadently good, its ridiculous.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan
If you're passing through the north end of Austin and want to stop in for a good round of burgers and fries, 'Mighty Fine' is hard to beat. The menu is simple. Burgers, fries, and milkshakes. They do it up right.
Fresh ground beef, as in ground 'in-house,' fresh sliced 'taters, and milkshakes made with homemade ice cream.
I took a woman there and she wanted to have sex afterward it was so good.

The most amazing restaurants I have ever been to have been places my Sister has taken me for birthdays. Historical buildings, lit fireplace, candles and fresh flowers on the table, the most amazing food and presentations and service. To die for!

a reply to: Grovit

My fav was a Korean restaurant on Bragg Blvd, Fayetteville, NC, long closed now. Great food, good prices. Their problem was that they went a little authentic and were caught by the State serving Cat and Dog and lost their licence.

No, I didn't go there for their Cat and Dog cuisine, though I bet it was tasty as well.

Captain George's seafood Buffet in Williamsburgh, Virginia. Awesome and delicious food for a buffet. I've heard there's a few more of them further south.

a reply to: TDawgRex

i love korean food.....
bulgogi is delish.

there was a restaurant that got closed down here for serving dogs/cats.
i never knew if it was actually true or not.
never really bothered me....i would try god or cat....i mean, why not?
we all sorts of other animals.....i have often wondered why it is not common practice for people in the west to eat dogs and cats....i dont mean back alley strays..
seems like that would be a good meat source....

same with horses......i go to the store and i see pig, cow....even bison...
why dont i see horse? again, that seems like good source for a lot of meat.....

i think its because we in the west view horses as 'majestic' or something and we view dogs and cats as pets....

not sure.....your post just got me thinking about it
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my favorite restaurant of all time is called bo loong. its a chinese tea house that serves authentic dim sum...
i love it....its not very expensive and its not the same quality of like a nobu but i love it...
i dont get to go very often though.....whenever i am anywhere near it(cleveland) i like try to go there but i am not usually alone and my wife hates it...tried to take my mother and she hates it....took my son and he hates it...
so, of course my wife says 'just go honey' but i feel bad cause she would sit there and not eat anything