What's Your Favourite Restaurant? - Page 2

Too many to list, but...

For comfort food, it's Paul Kee for affordable and delicious authentic chinese food.

Fine dining, 1789 made a nice impression; warm atmosphere, great service, and some nice eats (only reason I had a chance to go here was for my birthday dinner 

Chef,

You wrote,

Just as "authentic American food" would, "authentic... Chinese food" covers too much ground to give us an idea of what you like or what they serve.  Could you nail it down a little for us?

BDL

my best foods ever eaten were from street food carts, either in mexico or the caribbean, or a simple just caught lobster, grilled, on the beach...don't think i've actually been to a really really,really high end fancy pants restaurant that blew my taste buds away as much those simple tastes ...grew up in d.c, with lots of high end stuff, but guess i just really never acquired a taste for that stuff...at that time, french cooking was the norm...a family friend owned a spanish restaurant in baltimore...father was francos personal chef, so i was always around his food...jesus, my mouth still can taste his paella after all these years

joey

At the moment, my favourite is The Kitchin, a michelin-starred place run by Tom Kitchin, in Leith.

His food is sublime - he worked with some of the best chefs in Europe before opening his own restaurant.  Here's his website - he is the young man on the right on the opening page.

 http://www.thekitchin.com/kitchin/home

PS, Yes, Kitchen with two 'I'!

Alinea, Jean Georges, Momofufku is just plain fun

I saw New Orleans mentioned I love Cochon but Galatoire's lunch is always the first stop for the vibe of the city and the locals

I don't have that many anymore a lot have gone down hill but here are the true gems in my area.

for dinner in Nevada City you can't beat http://www.thenewmooncafe.com/

fresh ,local and handmade

for lunch and dinner Mexican food: http://www.mariasmexicantacos.com/

Maria herself is awesome and her food is great. anyone coming up I-80 through Auburn to Reno should stop and feast.

Best Breakfast place around here is small, cramped, crowded and has a line that makes me not eat there anymore, but if your stubborn and really want the best here it is : http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=katrina%27s+cafe+auburn+ca&fb=1&gl=us&hq=katrina%27s+cafe&hnear=Auburn,+CA&cid=15448277062535353020&pcsi=15448277062535353020,1

they don't have a website, don't really need it.

I will eat at a few other places around here but am always a bit sad about it. I have tried the new Thai place that opened up in my old Japanese restaurants  place and will say I really enjoyed my meal. I have only eaten there once though so won't put it on my list .....yet.

Yeah I guess you're right, sometimes I like to be vague so people can use their imaginations  My personal favorites are baby clams in black bean sauce, deep fried spicy shrimp in shell (with heads on so you can suck the yummy goodness out of them), and beef chow foon (wide rice noodles with beef and vegetables in a brown sauce) which is actually a common dish, but the way they cook it is unmatched. Some other unique items I can remember are pig knuckle, jellyfish, and duck blood. The place also has whole roasted pigs and ducks hanging in a window right next to the kitchen. Not your ideal 'romantic' eating spot, and maybe some people have gotten squeamish reading parts of this post, but this place has been open since I was a kid, and 30 some years later they're still in business and serving some damn good food 

I have two place i love

Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, although I have only been there once. 

Four words: Poutine au Foie Gras

Also the service there is fantastic. The servers have ESP or something. 

The other place is The Orient in Windsor, Ontario. 

Chef "Ken" makes the best authentic Chinese food i have ever had. You just have to makes sure to ask for the Chinese menu, not the white people menu. I don't know what he does to the spicy garlic sea food platter, but it is wonderful.

Again with the "authentic Chinese food" thing.  What does that mean? 

Please don't misunderstand.  I'm not trying to make a point at your or anyone else's expense.  I'm truly interested in what you like.  Otherwise, I wouldn't be reading the thread. 

For that matter, I'm also interested in how people distinguish authentic from inauthentic Chinese food.

BDL

Well BDL,

I guess "authentic" is a pretty subjective thing. All I can tell you is that we have a pretty good size Chinese population in Windsor, and there are places that those Chinese people eat that serve Chinese food and then there are places that white people go to eat Chinese food. As far as what constitutes authentic, in my opinion and in this case anyway, is the food that actual Chinese people order from other actual Chinese people. 

Granted that I have yet to go to China, I have to say though that when i look through my copy of Martin Yan's China, I have yet to see sweet and sour chicken balls, or egg rolls that look anything like the ones from almost any Chinese place I have ever been. 

I am a relative rookie to all things Culinary, but I like the fact that anything that I have tried at the Orient has a much greater depth of flavour. The dishes have subtly and exhibit flavours that are in balance. Most Chinese restaurants that cater to the masses (as well as a lot of western style places) seem to simply pack on the ultra sweet super thick sauce and call it a day. Don't get me wrong, The Orient's core business is blue collar workers rather than foodie's or chefs, so they do have a menu that has the good old stand-bys like won-ton soup and beef and broccoli. 

I haven't been there in over a year, now that I live in Michigan rather than Ontario, so I don't have a menu to reference but the Spicy Garlic seafood platter, the honey beef and the scallion chicken are great. Not to mention the hot and sour soup, it is quite possibly one of the best things I have ever eaten now that I am thinking about it. 

Best Restaurants for me are Abacus and Mansion in Turtle Creek in Dallas.

Charlie Palmer in Costa Mesa, CA. (best Fine Dining in my area)

Craft Steak in Las Vegas, NV. (best i've had in Vegas)

Best meal ever: Restaurant Daniel in NYC - superlative.

Local favorites - DC area:

Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, all by Jose Andres

Central - Michel Richard's "casual" restaurant

Joe's Noodle House - real (good) Szechuan food in the MD suburbs

Sushi-Ko - the original location, not the new Friendship Heights spot.

Of course, YMMV at any of these, but I find myself going back to them again and again.

It's fun to see all these restaurants all over. Personally, my favorite meal is breakfast, so my favorite restaurant is Cafe Patachou. There are a few of them in and around Indianapolis. They really have a unique style, and everything's just indescribably good.

Sherr

'''Restaurant Pic''''  in Velance France Best meals I ever had.when the father was the chef. Now daughters took over and I have not been there since.

Was that Chef Jacques Pic?  I pretty sure I read something about that restaurant just last week - a place that's been held through several generations.  Curious now...

+D.

Henry's Fish Restaurant and ironically it is on Frying Pan Island...check it out on Youtube,        Search for........             

  Fly & Dine to Henry's Fish Restaurant with Georgian Bay Airways

Here in Chicago, my go-to restaurant is Naha (Contemporary American/Californian).  I've taken a number of people there and I also eat at the bar on my own fairly regularly.  In addition to being great food, it used to be a great value.  The prices have gone up noticably over the past year, but the food is still excellent.  It's priced fairly, just not as well as it used to be.  Higher prices or not, it is still my favorite.

Other places I like to eat here in Chicago are Prosecco (Italian), Coobah (Cuban/latin cuisine), Tango Sur (Argentine steakhouse), Wishbone (Southern/soul food), Sepia (American contemporary), Lulu (American contemporary), La Sardine (French), Go 4 Food (Chinese), Cafe Central (Cuban diner), Xoco (Fast casual Mexican), Naniwa (neighborhod-level Japanese) and El Salvador Restaurante (Central American).

I'm from Louisiana, so clearly my favorites will be near here.

Restaurant August in the Warehouse District of New Orleans could be the single greatest dining experience I've ever had. We went not long after the finale of Next Iron Chef (in which Besh was robbed, but that's another topic) and had the smoked swordfish sashimi that he made in the finale as part of a tasting menu. Outstanding food, wonderful restaurant, great service. Can't say enough about this place.

Another great Besh restaurant, and one that I go to much more frequently, is Luke in New Orleans. Four words: cochon de lait sandwich. Plus the beers they have brewed for them are great.

There are too many other restaurants I love in New Orleans and Baton Rouge to name them all, but a few that I'm particularly fond of are: Bayona, Galatoire's, Felix's, The Gumbo Shoppe, Juban's,

Outside of New Orleans, there's small Italian place called Da Leo Trattoria on South Beach. Food is good, but the atmosphere is better. Probably the best lobster ravioli I've had.

Paesano's in San Antonio is a nice place. For me, the best dish is the Frutti di Mare. Love it.

Another old favorite is the Snake River Grill in Jackson, Wyoming. Lot's of great game dishes, especially the rabbit and the elk.

Slightly off the grid is BO's Fish Wagon in Key West. Basically a parked food truck with a few tables under a shanty roof, but the best fried grouper sandwiches.

TM

Nicholas - Red Bank NJ

Favorite Go-To bar/Italian - Catherine Lombardi - New Brunswick, NJ

HI..!!

When it comes to Chinese (or any other kind of Asian food) in Houston, the lists are just way too long indeed! For dim sum, I'd also recommend Golden Palace and Ocean Palace.

Hi,

The Italian. Commercial st Dundee. The only place locally that i can really enjoy a whole sea bass.......

Haven't eaten there, but a friend really likes it and he has always said that we'd go there when next up in Dundee  - I'm sure he  told me that the place had been sold recently.

So many "favorites".  I guess it depends on mood, cuisine, etc.  However, my favorite lunch place is the Parrish Cafe on Boylston St. in Boston's Back Bay.  They have an interesting concept.  They went to the area's top chef's (Joy Adams, Barbara Lynch, Ken Oringer, Ming Tsai to name a few) and asked them to design a "signature sandwich".  They rotate the menu every season, don't have a deep fryer in the house (sandwiches are served with great pot. salad, slaw, or a little of both), and they proudly don't include Bud or any AH beer on their excellent beer list.

Some of my favorite sandwiches are the Regal Regis (steak tips and mushrooms in a baguette), the Rialto (toasted Italian cold cuts with a phenomenal pepper relish), Elephant walking on eggs (egg sandwich from the Elephant Walk restaurant (French/Cambodian).  I've been there many times for "meetings" with staff and vendors and no one has ever had a meal that was less than excellent.

Outdoor dining in the summer is great for people watching.  (The Boston Public Garden's are across the street and Newbury St. starts one block away.)

For French food I like Sel de la Terre a few blocks up Boylston from the Parrish, at the Mandarin Hotel (Copley Square, just past the Boston Public Library).  Took my SO there for her birthday two years ago and she's still talking about it.

Circling back to BDL's question about authentic Chinese, I agree with Ryan.  The better Chinese places have a high percentage of Chinese patrons.  In Boston, I like Chinatown Cafe on Harrison Ave.   Simple cafeteria/takeout style with an open kitchen, English subtitles on the menu, and no "typical" chinese fare like egg rolls or sweet and sour anything.   For dinner I like The Golden Temple on Beacon St. in Brookline.  (Excellent Peking Duck.  Don't bother with their non-Chinese dishes.  Pad Thai was mediocre.)  I've heard the place described as "what you would get if you walked into a good restaurant in Hong Kong".  Strong focus on local fresh ingredients and healthy options (lots of brown rice dishes available).

My current favourite is influenced by a recent holiday in Spain - Restaurant First, Nerja, Andalucia.

Run by two women who were so creative in taste and presentation...it was wonderful but I am not likely

to visit too frequently...sadly.

http://www.greeneggplant.com/

Hit this spot out near the Beaches area for my uncle's birthday back in June.  I don't see much of that big Americanized portions up here but this place does it at a decent price and the food is good.  Start up with 3 dips for your bread (hummus, a creamy garlic dip, and a sweet eggplant salsa/chutney) is excellent, they do a great chicken on a skewer thats probably a good 16oz portion of chicken breast stuck on 2 spits that is literally as big as those used to roast whole lambs but a 1.5ft long.  I looked to my neighbouring tables and saw a mound of lettuce piled high on those big fancy bowls you see at 5star eateries that usually do a 6oz portion of filet mignon; I couldn't tell what salad it was mind you as I was just overwhelmed by the size. 

My biggest complaint is that the uptown location doesn't do the specials like they do in the Beaches location.  The Beaches did an awesome 10oz sea bass that nobody uptown orders...freaking sheep don't know how to eat.  My other complaint, their sides suck.  Mash potatoes and rice are bland and flavorless, the fries are usually stuck together.  Three heads can eat and drink for $80 total (thats non-alcoholic drinks with appetizers and a main). 

Where to start?  By location? by Genre?

Favorite local high end- Zaika in Clifton park, NY. High end Indian food, pretty building, great service. Plus the Owner knows us on sight, or at least my boy. I think my middle child is the only white six year old who's favorite dish is goat curry. Sonny (the owner) will also rat out the wife if she's been in w/out me (usually w/ her sister.)

Favorite local hole in the wall- Beirut in Troy, highly flavored, their garlic sauce is killer, plus it's close to where I work. Call em and they'll have it ready on my way out. Trust me chest compressions will make you hungry.

Favorite chain- Shane's rib shack, hard to argue with any menu that includes fried Okra, sweet tea and ribs.

Favorite distant- also in the hole in the wall catagory- Puka Puka kitchen (which means little hole in Hawaiian) in Hilo big island of Hawaii. Serves a Mediteranean, Asian, island hodgepodge. Really good flavors, not much to look at but most grab their food and go stare at the Pacific anyway.  Then again most of the places we ate at in Hawaii were fantastic, of course that could have been a little bit of island euphoria.

My favorite restaurant is Hacienda in South Bend, Indiana. The food is great and very reasonably priced. The Mexican fare is authentic, the atmosphere is fun and exciting and the wait staff is incredibly helpful and kind. I've never had a bad experience and have been there many, many times. They make their own chips and salsa and it beats anything else I've ever tasted. I highly recommend all look Hacienda up if you are ever in the South Bend area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beargy 

The Mexican fare is authentic...They make their own chips and salsa...
 

While I'm sure it's a good restaurant, it's still Tex-Mex if it's serving chips and salsa. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but not authentic Mexican.