Dish! Your best meal/dining experience ever.

Where was it? What was it? How much? What made it so memorable? No rules. Anything from fine dining to home-cooking.

Probably a tie between Lespinasse (at the St. Regis) and Jean George ... different situations, different dinner partners, but fabulous experiences in each case.

Where was it? What was it? How much? What made it so memorable? No rules. Anything from fine dining to home-cooking.

BlueFin Bay - Tofte MN. North Shore of Lake Superior. We both agree that it was one of the best experiences of our lives. The food was damn good too.

French Room in Dallas TX, Duck Confit Creme Brulee, I bought it in a 5 course menu, the chef tooked us up with 3 extra, so that was super nice, I think it cost around $65pp plus drinks. It was totally smoth and creamy like creme brulee, flavored like classical duck confit, light tan color, carmalized perfectly on top. I dont know if it was the consept or the taste that blow me away more.

Pahu i'a at the Four Seasons, Kona on the Big Island. I had the fresher than fresh, nicely seasoned and grilled mahi mahi ever. Did I mention how fresh it was? The service was very professional and genuinely friendly. I had the best Manhattan ever....I should say "ManhattanS" My date had the best Cosmopolitan ever and the dessert was intoxicating. Also, outdoor fine dining at night with floodlights illuminating the waves was the creme de la creme.

Maxim's, Paris, 1972, I was 18. I was on holiday with my eldest brother. The trip was a graduation present. Sat on the right side banquette and had sparrows with truffles, fresh raspberries and fresh figs with creme fraiche. I've never felt as if I had thanked him enough for that rare opportunity.

Well, clearly one of most memorable dining experiences I've had was at "Beano's Cabin", located on Beaver Creek Mountain in Colorado...diners gather at the base of the mountain and are taken to the restaurant in a snowtrac-drawn sleigh, covered in huge blankets and sipping hot cider...the "cabin" is a blend of rustic and elegant with an eclectic menu that usually features wild game dishes...I've had the chance to dine there on several occasion, but the last time was a few years ago w/friends during the ski season....I recall having grilled kangaroo tenderloin for the entree -- quite tasty as I remember, and very similar to beef.

Locally, 610 great food and wine, can't remember the cost, Corbetts ($350+) 9 course tasting pared with wine. Impecable service, excellent food. Sorry Phil, but Jeff Rubys bone in Filet ($300, but not my cash) great Vodka Gimlet, I agree the decor is a trip.

New York-The Relaxing Frog-I can't remember it's real name, French. Perfect Sole. Pricy, can't remember how much.

Grand Cayman-Deckers- Lobsters, Blood Orange Mojitos, stupid expensive because it was CI$.

My mother-in-law's tortellini in broth with shredded chicken, carrots, and potatoes.

My Gran's chicken and dumplins at every family gathering.

I could go on but now I am just obsessing over all this good food......................

We were in Sicily and had read about a restaurant named Trattoria da Giovanni in Modello before we arrived on the island. We taxied out to Modello and felt it would be easy finding Giovanni's in a small village. Arriving in Mondello, we realized not a soul spoke English and we would have to make ourselves understood some way and some how in order to find Giovanni's. I started asking people as we strolled through the main square of Mondello. Each question was met with a Sicilian shrug and obviously no one knew what I was talking about. I was pronouncing Giovanni's like my Italian friends would back in New York, phonetically = Jeeavanee's. Finally, I spied two policewoman, very chic in their designer uniforms I might add, and asked them if they know Giovanni's and mimed eating to clarify what it was. The women shook their heads in dismay and finally I decided to write down the name of this restaurant on a piece of paper. The two policewomen looked at my writing and their eyes opened wide with a big smile, "Oh, Joevannee"s!" They walked us over to Giovanni's which was directly on the water. I don't know what they said to the proprietor, but Donna and I were treated like royalty. I tried to explain that I read about their restaurant in some publication, but I think they thought I was some kind of travel or restaurant writer.

The owner started to bring platters of assorted seafood that he gathered from the boat docked right next to the restaurant to show us how fresh it was. Without allowing us to look at a menu, he cooked what was caught that morning. Donna and I proceeded to eat the freshest seafood imaginable with platter following platter. Soon several dignataries from Mondello joined us and we started drinking toast after toast. The food was incredible and the company warm and loving. After several hours, we left Giovanni's with hugs and kisses staggering to the main square to catch a taxi. I still do not know who they thought we were, but it was one of the great food experiences of our lives.

August 21 1995, Bouley in New York City. My Cousin was the Pastry Chef at the time and we went in one night for a "special" Degustation menu. For Seventy Five bucks we ate for 4 hours straight. After dinner we toured the Kitchen and I got to meet David Bouley. After telling him how much I liked the Foie Gras he graciously sent me home with a whole Hudson Valley goose liver. Un****ingbelievable!!

A few years back Anne and spent a couple of weeks an the island of Anegada. This is the largest of the BVI chain but the least inhabited with only about two hundred living on island. The folks we stayed with run a commercial fishing boat and a few guest cottages. In order to save a few bucks we would help out cleaning lobsters before dinner service or assist with a few other odd jobs. They knew we didnt have the deep pockets like most of their other guests had(sailboaters)and they took care of us very well. One of the last nights we were there we went all out and had lobster. Caribbean lobster is quite a bit different from the lobster you get out east, but when properly prepared (steamed) it can be equally sweet. So, there we were...sitting on a patio with the Caribbean stars overhead,a light trade wind blowing, the sound of the ocean gently lapping on the white moonlit sands....first course comes out, conch fritters (made with conch the brothers caught while diving just a few hours earlier) served with a chipotle aioli dipping sauce. This was followed by peppered shrimp and a bowl of unique delicious corn relish. Next up was a bowl of a great seafood chowder. Then my favorite came out, a nice size piece of yellowfin tuna just seared enough to allow for good texture to develop in the meat. Theres something about seeing a fish come off the boat only to eat it later that makes it more delicious. Finally the lobster,it was the largest one we'd ever seen,sweet and succulent, cooked perfect with plenty of drawn butter and complimentary bottle of champagne. Theres so many things that made this meal so special...my beautiful wife,the beautiful scenery,the super fresh seafood,the island family that treated us so well....this meal combined all the aspects of what we look for in a great meal...couldnt have ever asked for more.

Kettle Lakes near Syracuse, New York

The best MEAL I've ever had? Maybe, but perhaps not. The best dining experience? Yes, because it was the first time in my life I'd ever had an entirely amazing, Food with a capital 'F' kind of meal. I'd eaten at Shariat's and Zephyr Cove and the Flagship and a handful of other now-defunct spots but I'd never really had one of THOSE moments.

I was a college freshman or sophomore, dating my SCUBA instructor, who decided that it would be a good time to experience 'Food' for the first time and take me along. (The relationship didn't last, which isn't a bad thing at all.) Our first course was mushroom risotto and I remember being completely and utterly amazed and discussing how we never realized that food could be this amazing. It was revolutionary.

Somehow, I have no idea what I ate for an entree. We had some type of leaning chocolate tower art/dessert that was also very good, but those first few bites of life-changing risotto (plus, my first time getting waited on as an "adult" rather than tagging on with my folks).

Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada. (aka The Great Frozen North)

Two summers ago I decided to travel up to the great frozen north to escape the harsh embrace of my mother star. Those of you who read the All About Louisville forum already know that my skin has an unhealthy pallor, and although the days are longer when you're next to the Arctic Circle, the UV exposure is significantly less.

As you all are probably aware, the Inuit natives of Canada traditionally consumed a large amount of their calories in the form of whale blubber (which they refer to as muktuk), and I wanted to recreate the experience as authentically as possible. I wouldn't be satisfied with any old McMuktuk from the golden arches (McD's actually serves McFalafel in Israel), so I went straight to the source.

A small village north of Iqaluit in an Inuit reserve tries to live by the 'old ways' as much as possible. Thankfully, summer is traditionally the season for hunting and they agreed to let me come along on a hunt. Donning a traditional Nootka whaling hat, I set out with them in a small and somewhat unsteady craft. I'll save you the actual details, but needless to say our small fleet returned to shore with more than enough muktuk. The best way to describe the experience of consuming it is simply to say 'chewy.' It had a slightly salty and fishy flavor overall, and had an oily sort of 'melt in your mouth' quality to it. Nevertheless, 'chewy' overwhelms all other sensations.

Later that summer I also had the chance to set out with some furriers. While everyone criticizes 'baby seal clubbing,' the hakapik (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakapik) really is a fairly humane tool in the right hands. Science has shown that a single blow to the head with the hammer side (the pick side is used for hauling carcasses out of the water) will crush the skull and kill them instantly. With a rifle, you run the risk of wounding them and having them flee to the water to die slowly and painfully.

Coincidentally, seal is delicious.

Although its not the best food I ever had, my gastronomic escapades in the great white north were definitely my most memorable. I returned to the States in August with skin as white as the northern snow and a nice layer of blubber of my own to help fend off those cold KY winters.

[Robin Garr]

Paul: season's greetings!

[