What's Your Favourite Restaurant? - Page 3

My favorite is probably Kichisen, Kyoto, but the next time we're there the wife and I are going to try a full-on kaiseki meal at Kikunoi and it might nudge into top. There was this amazing restaurant in San Sano, Tuscany, but looking back it was more about being on honeymoon in a tiny village at the top of a mountain in Tuscany, during wild boar season, although it was pretty great. (If you're in San Sano, there is only one real restaurant, so the name is unimportant....)

I love Mandina's in New Orleans. It is a great neighborhood restaurant and is New Orleans cooking at its best.  I then go across the street to Brocato's for some awesome gelato.

My favorite restaurant is My Thai Beach Restaurant In Capitola. They serve authentic thai food and have are probably better than all the other Capitola Restaurants.

How do you answer a question like this? Well, I guess I just love food and have a lot of favorite restaurants. It's hard to even put down a short list as that list is quite long....

Anyway, want to address something that came up on this thread earlier: authentic Chinese food. That's another loaded topic. In many Chinese restaurants in San Francisco, you will find that most of the people who dine there are Chinese. Many of them also have a menu written in Chinese only. Now, are those Chinese restaurants serving authentic Chinese food? Not necessary....not to me anyway. I guess what I classify as authentic would be what I grew up with in Hong Kong. I haven't really had Chinese food here that can compare with what I've had in Hong Kong. Now, are all Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong authentic Chinese? Not necessary either, because there are so many regional cuisines in China. I might be impress with the Shanghainese food found in Hong Kong, but someone from Shanghai probably has a different point of view. Frankly, I think it's so difficult to recreate authentic food in a different region. Think about the water, the soil, the produce available - those factors play into the authentic flavors. So, I don't bother really looking for what's authentic and go with what taste good to me. Besides, just because something is "authentic", it doesn't mean that I would like it....

That was a very valid statement, and it is very hard to answer a question like this...guess it all depends on what your go to restaurant is if you had to choose one!

Blossoming Lotus, Portland, Oregon

Red Kimono - Japanese foods

Where I live we don't have any fancy restaurants unless Outback and Olive Garden count.  But, they're an hour and a half away.  I have a love for pizza and pasta so, my fave place is Pizza Hut.  I've never even been in an Outback. 

So many favourite restaurants worldwide ... I shall start with the best of foreign cuisine in the Madrid Captial ... The key to all of the venues on this list, is the quality of their seaonal raw materials ...

Japanese:  Kabuki - Hotel Wellington - Plaza de Independencia Zone ( Banco de España Underground )  

Mexican:  Taquería Alamillo - La Latina Underground Station ( Jalisco, Guadalajara and Pacific Coast regional Mexican )

Indian: Swagat - Diego de León Underground Station

Italian: Boccondivino - Nuñez Balboa Underground Station

I shall continue on this theme with Spanish regional, and some secret havens and then head over to Lisbon with Chef José Avillez who is opening 2 new restaurants in Baixa Chiada in October and check my notebooks for my notes on various provinces in Italia ...   

MANHATTAN  ITALIAN ...

One of my fabvourite lunch spots is Ennio and Michael, and though by no means is it the best Italian I have ever had, it is one of the loveliest meals I have had in NYC.

Located at 539 - 541 La Guardia Place, off the corner of West 3rd Street by NY University. The dapper restaurateur and host, Michael hails from Bologna and the tender stuffed squid and the Cippioni shellfish Cassola hits the spot along with the outdoor open air terrace which is splendid and shady. Well paired Italian wines to match.