Favorite Restaurants

Parent Cafe
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<p>Now we’re talking! hehe</p>

<p>Bec Fin - Philadelphia</p>

<p>Campton Place - San Francisco</p>

<p>Charlie Trotter’s - Chicago</p>

<p>Citronelle - Washington DC</p>

<p>Daniel - New York</p>

<p>Erna’s Elderberry House - Yosemite</p>

<p>Everest - Chicago</p>

<p>French Laundry - San Francisco</p>

<p>Gary Danko - San Francisco</p>

<p>Jean George - New York</p>

<p>La Folie - San Francisco</p>

<p>Maisonette - Cincinnati</p>

<p>Patina - Los Angeles</p>

<p>Picasso - Las Vegas</p>

<p>Renoir - Las Vegas</p>

<p>Seeger’s - Atlanta</p>

<p>Tru - Chicago</p>

<p>White Barn Inn - Maine</p>

<p>Woodland’s Resort and Inn - Charleston area</p>

<p>Paris deserves its own section because it has by far the best restaurants in the World.
Ambroisie
Apicius
Arpege
Divellec
Grand Vefour
Guy Savoy
Helene Darroze
Ledoyen
Lucas Carton
Michel Rostang
Pierre Gagnaire
Plaza Athenee (Alain Ducasse)
Taillevent</p>

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<p>alwaysamom and jmmom - I might have been there with you at Nepenthe’s all those years ago…</p>

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<p>In France, there are 15 restaurants I REALLY recommend:</p>

<p>ARPEGE (Paris): Start with the multicourse vegetarian meal (Alain Passard is a genius with vegetables) and then, share the Lobster and the Chicken dishes. WOW!!!</p>

<p>AUBERGE DE L’ILL (Illhaeusern, Strasbourg). The best cuisine in Alsace…and that’s saying a lot!</p>

<p>ESPERANCE (Vezelay): According to legend, Vezelay is where Mary Magdalene’s remains rested from the 8th century until the 14th century. But I digress. L’Esperance is an amazing restaurant in an amazing Inn. </p>

<p>FERME DE MON PERE / AUBERGE DE L’ERIDAN (Haute Savoie): Those are two separate inns, run by the same culinary freak (Marc Veyrat). When one is open, the other is closed, so you never have to make up your mind! hehe</p>

<p>GRAND VEFOUR (Paris): Napoleon Bonaparte, George Sand and Victor Hugo were regulars! LOL Seriously, it is an amazing restaurant.</p>

<p>GUY SAVOY (Paris): Currently, the hottest Chef in Paris. </p>

<p>JARDIN DES SENS (Montpellier): Best dining in the Cote D’Azure.</p>

<p>LAMELOISE (Chagny): Game like you have never tasted before. Cheapest Michelin *** restaurant…well worth the trip.</p>

<p>LEDOYEN (Paris): Possibly the best seafood in France.</p>

<p>LUCAS CARTON (Paris):The best in traditional French cuisine.</p>

<p>MICHEL BRAS (Laguiole): French country cooking at its best.</p>

<p>PIERRE GAGNAIRE (Paris): The most creative Chef in France.</p>

<p>TAILLEVENT (Paris): Need I say more!!!</p>

<p>TROISGROS (Roanne): The cradle of great French chefs for generations. Still produces some of the best food in France.</p>

<p>I think all 15 of those are Michelin *** restaurants. That is a coinsidence. But not all *** restaurants are worthy. Some are way past their prime…others are simply overrated.</p>

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<p>Alexandre - WOW! Thanks for the suggestions and comments. They all sound amazing. Have you ilived in France? </p>

<p>Have you been to Le Bec Fin since it’s renovation? (I think it’s been about 3 years)</p>

<p>I see we agree on Daniel (NYC). How many votes is that from this thread for Daniel - 4,5? Perhaps we should plan a CC dinner at Daniel !!</p>

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<p>I lived in France for a year, but that was several years ago. I love that country and intend to move there permanently one day. </p>

<p>As for Le Bec Fin, my last trip there was in 2000, when I was a graduate student at Cornell. I found it to be excellent. </p>

<p>CC dinner at Daniel? I am all over it, just give me a 4 months heads up! LOL Anyway, reservations must be made at least 6 weeks in advance, so what’s 16 weeks of planning?! hehe</p>

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<p>Okay, are we talking good and affordable or massive indulgence food? (Definitions: indulgence–greater than around $75/person (with wine), affordable–less than $50/person, with wine)</p>

<p>Massive indulgence, Seattle area: The Herb Farm, Canlis
Affordable, Seattle area: Cafe Juanita, Yarrow Bay Grill</p>

<p>Massive indulgence, the Big Island, Hawaii: Canoe House
Affordable, Big Island: Merriman’s, O’s, Bamboo (which is actually very affordable)</p>

<p>Affordable, Portland (OR): Castagne Cafe</p>

<p>Massive indulgence, Boston: Harvest
Affordable, Boston: Legal Seafood for lobster roll (one of my favorite foods for all time, and unavailable outside of New England) (and yes, I know there are cheaper places to eat lobster roll–but it’s across the street from the hotel we stay at when we visit DS)</p>

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<p>If $75 per person, including win is an indulgence, then most of the restaurants on my list are downright obssene! LOL </p>

<p>In France, you cannot get a great meal for less than 100 euros a person (win included of course). Most of the restaurants in my France list will cost at least 200 euros per person. In some cases, up to 500 euros a person if you go for nice wines! Restaurants in the US are more reasonable. Seeger’s and Gary Danko for example, you can have an amazing dinner, win included, for $120/person. But restaurants like Charlie Trotter’s can cost up to $400 per person if you go for nice wines.</p>

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<p>Mmmmmmmm…Dmd77…Lobster Rolls!! We go camping once a year throughout New England (most of the time is spent in Maine - Camden, Sebago Lake, Mount Desert Island) and look for Lobster Rolls as soon as we hit the area. I haven’t had one at Legal (though, I do love their Cioppino). Will make a note to try one.</p>

<p>I do believe most restaurants are “get what you pay for” - I have a hard time finding REALLY wonderful, lower priced meals. To that end, my new quest is to find wonderful BYOBs…</p>

<p>Maybe we should share BYO recommendations…</p>

<p>My Philly BYOB recommendations- </p>

<p>Rx
Dimitris
Django
La Boheme
Pif</p>

<p>Would love some BYOB recommendations for NYC and LA</p>

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<p>Ahh, all this talk of lobster rolls reminded me of another of our all-time favorite places to eat. Cobie’s on Route 6A in Brewster, Ma. Anyone who’s been to the Cape has probably been there. They have the best lobster and crab rolls ever! It’s not fancy (you order then sit on picnic tables outside to eat!) but it’s delicious and cheap. :)</p>

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<p>What shocked me was to pull through a McDonald’s drive-thru in MA and find lobster rolls on the menu. This was my first exposure to a McD’s regional menu item. I later found Mexican items on the McDs menu in LA.</p>

<p>Always, there must be something to grungy places having the best lobster rolls. Every place I’ve ever ordered one was a shack with a bench or two by the road. I haven’t been to the one in Brewster. Last time I had one was in Gay Head (MV) atop the cliffs - another shack :)</p>

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<p>Here in Dubai, we have McKebabs! LOL Ok, maybe not!!!</p>

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<p>Don’t give them any ideas Alexandre!</p>

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<p>Well, Alexandre, the last time I was in Paris (2000), I found a lovely, very simple restaurant called La Bastide Odeon, which was under $25pp at the time—a quick check shows their Prix Fixe is now 39 euros. I hesitate to mention it here, but oh well. They take reservations, and I guess I’ll just have to make them soon :wink: No Michelin stars, though.</p>

<p>A month after I came home, one of their recipes showed up in Gourmet.</p>

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<p>Bastide Odeon is a fine restaurant. It does have some good food indeed. And it is in a great little neighbourhood too.</p>

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<p>I had a fabulous dinner at Fee & Me in Launceston, Tassmania (<a href=“http://www.feeandme.com.au/index.html[/url]”>http://www.feeandme.com.au/index.html&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>After a 5-day hiking trip at Cradle Mountain and the Walls of Jerusalem, we headed back to Launceston for a day at a spa and happened upon Fee & Me for dinner. It was great!</p>

<p>Oh, the hike was booked through Tasmanian Expeditions and I highly recommend them.</p>

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<p>Alexandre, since most of us are tuition paying parents, I think we are more for the Cafe Con Leche than Daniel’s. We should ask Sybbie for some cheap eats suggestions in NYC. I’ll have to ask my brother who tells me where to go for food anytime we are there, as he is the unpublished bargain Zagat of Manhattan. We rarely pay more than $10 a head–no wine, however, unless it is BYOB. For a good steakhouse there that is pretty easy on the wallet, especially for families as they will serve sides family style (and they are delicious!) is Roths Steakhouse on the Upper Westside. Am having my niece’s wedding dinner there.</p>

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<p>It’s amazing how a favorite restaurant can change with the departure of a chef. One of our favorite restaurants in the world was in Borthwick Castle, between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This was the castle that Mary Queen of Scots was in when Cromwell laid seige. She escaped from a window, dressed as a peasant boy. The walls are 11 feet thick and the doors to each chamber are less than five feel high. The vary narrow, winding staircases to the rooms have stone steps that are worn with centuries of footsteps. An incredible place. We used to save it for our last night in Scotland (cheap lodging the whole trip until we’d splurge and stay in the castle that last night). And the food - combined with the ambiance of the great room in the castle - was memorable.</p>

<p>And then they lost their chef, and we subsequently had one of the worst meals EVER in our entire lives there. We’ve never been back.</p>

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<p>Bec Fin - Philadelphia, I always have wanted to go there- its a bit expensive for a high schooler though. i might go with my family sometime.</p>

<p>In south jersey I like: Villa Barone, Collingswood
The Pub, Pennsauken</p>

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<p>Sam Choy’s in the new industrial area near Costco in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Big Island.) Not the fancier tourist places on Oahu and elsewhere, but this old dinner place for the best (ono-licious) Hawaiian food. Might as well eat lunch when all the maka’ainana kaukau the laulau or else all you will see are tourists.</p>

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<p>We should ask Sybbie for some cheap eats suggestions in NYC.</p>

<p>Because every true New Yorker knows that the best food is not necessarily the most expensive food. Some of the best food can be found in hole in the wall places. The city just finished Resturant Week </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=241[/url]”>http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=241&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Best place to take a group of people: Carmines in the theater district (everything is served family style </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.carminesnyc.com/[/url]”>http://www.carminesnyc.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Best BBQ- Virgils
best seafood- City Island (Sammy’s) <a href=“http://www.sammysfishbox.com/[/url]”>http://www.sammysfishbox.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Spain Restaurant 113 West 13th Street,</p>