The Best Thing I ever Ate ...
On FN one of the rare shows I have come to love is: The Best Thing I ever ate.
I will admit, I DVR it and watch it the next night to eliminate all the fluff and commercials, but it is interesting to see what chef's find amazingly yummy.
Anyone else like this show? and of course.. what is the best thing you ever ate?
me: The first time I ate Creme Brulee .. or perhaps my first Krispy Kreme donut -- hot off the rack in North Carolina? hmmmmm donuts...
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32 Comments:
I've always had a love affair with lobster. One particular summer my husband and I went to a lobster bake at a friend's house in Maine. We sat around the fire eating lobster and grilled corn dunked in small pails of melted butter and drinking cold beer. I can't remember ever having tasted anything quite as perfect as that, and I haven't since.
juliebugsmama at 8:40AM on 07/30/09
Spiny lobster (langouste). It was my first trip to France and we were on the coast of Britanny. I ordered the langouste after a French friend suggested it. My plate of two lobster tails was the best seafood I've ever had and in the 18 years since I've never had anything as good. That trip was also when I had my first oyster. It was a defining experience. One of our friends just walked up to us with a bucket of oysters they had bought at the shore and started shucking them and handing them out. I had never had oysters before and was a bit scared of trying them, but my friends were so enthusiastic that I thought 'what the hell'. It was a revelation. I couldn't beleive how good it was. How fresh and clean tasting it was. That's what started me on the path of foodiness. But as good as the oysters were, they weren't as good as those lobster tails.
SqueezeBottle at 9:39AM on 07/30/09
The best meal I ever had was in a small bistro in Paris (of course). Roast chicken with roast potatoes for dinner and for dessert, a caramel French toast type of thing with a slice of baguette, caramelized pineapples, and salt caramel sauce. It was phenomenal.
emgroff at 9:50AM on 07/30/09
I love that show too! I also, DVR and watch it. It's hard to say just one...I like how they have the categories, like on the show. Last night, was breakfast. I can honestly say that the best breakfast is the corned beef hash and eggs at Hot Suppa in Portland, ME. That was one of the dishes last night, but from the video of the corned beef hash featured last night, this one blows it out of the water...
For dessert, it would be my boyfriend's dad's cheesecake. It's so good you need to sit down, close your eyes and have a moment of silence.
kmgagne at 9:53AM on 07/30/09
Well I can get to Cleveland for Corned Beef Hash, maybe not Portland 8-)..
However is your boyfriend's dad givin' up the Cheesecake recipe? I really like "eye closing" cheesecake!
@squeezebottle: My mom asked me the other day why I liked oysters, I told her if you've only have oysters from a little white container, you've NEVER had oysters.
TeriN at 10:04AM on 07/30/09
Most recently -- shrimp and grits from Georgia Brown's in D.C. -- the sauce was buttery and rich and so good I wanted to lick my plate.
Favorite standby -- tiger shrimp pad thai from Thai Spice in Chicago -- fresh and light and still rich -- it's so good it feels like it should be a sin.
a revelation -- fried camembert with raspberry sauce in Paris; also, eating fresh camembert and hot crusty baguette. Perfect.
gbania at 10:08AM on 07/30/09
SCALLOPS
anytime I have an option on a menu...I lean towards the sweet, succulent and magical scallops *wipes drewl of keyboard*
hungrychristel at 10:50AM on 07/30/09
I missed that show so I have to wait for a rerun, but what pops into my mind when I think of the best thing I ever have eaten is a simple little Dick's Drive-In cheeseburger, and i have no idea why, but to me there is no sub to the taste of those burgers. Leaves a smile on my face just thinking about it.
pjracz10 at 10:51AM on 07/30/09
Can't beat the fisherman's platter at Flo's Clamshack in Middletown, RI. It is a giant mound of fried clams, scallops, calamari, shrimp, and fish over french fries and served with coleslaw. Sitting at their communal picnic tables, drinking a cold beer, and being by the beach add up to an almost magical experience.
wilma at 11:02AM on 07/30/09
the only thing that is off-putting about the show is that it seems like an advertisement for all these restaurants, but maybe that's just the cynic in me. Plus that's FN's formula anyway (Unwrapped, Diners D&D, etc) - disguise a 30 minute advertisement as an educational food show.
That said, the best thing I've ever eaten at a restaurant was this seafood broth with lobster and fish at Bouley - it made me want to lay down and die with pleasure. Anytime I eat escargots with lots of garlic butter and parsley with the best baguette I feel like I'm in heaven. And my mom's magic bars also do the trick.
laurelie at 11:02AM on 07/30/09
I went to Lisbon last year and had the best chicken @ BonJardim restaurant. It's roasted on a spit fire, and its served with a hot chilli oil called piri-piri. Amazing. The chicken was so juicy, the skin was very crispy, and to have it with a cold glass of Super Bock beer, nothing in this world is better.
Juman23 at 11:36AM on 07/30/09
Fish n Chips from a little shack called Don's in Brockville, Ont., eaten steaming hot right out of the paper bag as I sit on the shore of the St. Lawrence river. Please pass the malt vinegar. Haven't seen the show and really don't want to.
dmcavanagh at 11:48AM on 07/30/09
The best thing I ever ate was actually something I cooked myself. Once. And I've never been able to replicate it.
A few years ago I decided I was going to make Spaghetti Carbonara. So I looked at a bunch of recipes and they called for eggs and cream but I didn't want to bother with that. Instead I simply I fried up some bacon pieces, sauteed some garlic in the bacon fat and tossed it with angel hair pasta and lots of parm. Oh my f'ing god was it good. Like my head just about exploded it was so good.
I don't know what the secret was but even though I've made it a few times since, it's never been as good as that first time. Not even close, really, which really pisses me off because it's so simple it should be impossible to screw up. But I imagine it's because it is so simple that it's easy to screw up. Anyway, I only make it about once a year, now, because it's terrible for me and it's always a disappointment.
As for the show on the FN, I like it but I find it jarring to see Sandra Lee in the same show as accomplished chefs and food writers.
RegrettableFoodie at 12:13PM on 07/30/09
ooooo, the best thing I ever ate was just recently at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Don't gross out now at the term; it was waaay better than the best lobster or Chilean Sea Bass.....HALIBUT CHEEKS! OMG, so tender & sweet, it made me swoooon!!
sathome at 12:18PM on 07/30/09
Sathome, never had halibut cheeks, but one of the best meals I ever had was COD cheeks at the River Lane Inn in Brown Deer, WI! Just thinking about them makes my mouth water...
bubbamom at 12:42PM on 07/30/09
braised beef cheeks that were snuck to me by the "nice cook" when I was waitressing in fine dining....it was like meaty butter...so smooth and delicious
veggieout at 1:08PM on 07/30/09
I'm just making my headache worse by trying to figure out an entree that would fit this topic - so I'll go for the obvious. The best thing I ever ate was a pastry called a Lobster Tail from a bakery called Alba in Brooklyn on 18th Avenue and 70th Street. The pastry was huge and came filled two ways - cannoli cream (best EVER) and "French" cream (a light whipped cream). The top was dusted with confectioner's sugar.
Alba was an incredible bakery. You couldn't get near there on a holiday. I remember taking my walkman (yes, I'm old) and something to read, and resigning myself to a one-hour wait. Don't know why I bothered bringing any distractions, people on line were always very friendly.
therealchiffonade at 1:17PM on 07/30/09
@sathome @bubbamom - ahhh! Pickrol and Trout-cheek lover! so damm good. Especially after it's just been smoked
hungrychristel at 1:22PM on 07/30/09
I made this tart for mothers day this year and it was probably the best dessert I have ever eaten. The recipe came from The Art and Soul of Baking.
xwafflesx at 1:31PM on 07/30/09
Hard to pick one best thing, but the pistachio mamoul I just ate is pretty high on the list.
ProfessorChaos at 1:46PM on 07/30/09
I just finished grad school in Chicago, but while I was there I went to Avec and had their dried-cherry-and-polenta poundcake. The dinner that preceded it was so amazing, I would have been happy with whatever they threw at me, but it was perfect and soooo delicious - moist, studded with tangy cherries, with a subtle crunch from the cornmeal and a lingering almond aftertaste. I didn't even want the whipped cream... just more poundcake. Mmmmm...
GirlFromJetCity at 1:58PM on 07/30/09
I've said this before and I'll say it again: The single best dish I've ever eaten at a restaurant was the Porterhouse for Two @ Peter Luger. That was 30 years ago and I'm afraid to order it again because I know it'll never live up to the memory.
bessfour at 3:02PM on 07/30/09
You're reading my mind. The first thing I thought of when I read the title was a hot Krispy Kreme. I'm not sure folks can get the hot ones outside of the Carolinas.
We have a KK in West Columbia and when the sign is lite you can stop and get a hot one.
Poultrygeist at 3:42PM on 07/30/09
Tree ripened peaches from hebei province, right near my home town of beijing. They're a cultivar that used to be delivered to the imperial family as tribute. Taking a bite was the quintessential moment of summer when I was little. They're so flavorful and juicy, and we bought them at roadside stands for something like 50 cents a kilo.
Aynsl156 at 4:42PM on 07/30/09
You can get hot krispy kreme's in Tampa Florida when the red lights on,but I think my favorite food was way back in my hippie days.We went to Martha's Vineyard in the summertime,got some fresh fried whole clams in little cartons like you get from the chinese place and ate them on the beach.
onepercent99 at 4:53PM on 07/30/09
I saw the first program (fried foods) and was intrigued and amused by Alex G, who is so stern on Chopped, going out of her way for a hot dog. Actually elevated my opinion of her.
lemonfair at 5:32PM on 07/30/09
Dinner at Commander's Palace in 1990...all those years ago and I still remember each component of the meal....trio of soups--including turtle soup, grouper stuffed with crab and for dessert...bread pudding souffle...so very good....also...a wonderful lunch outdoors in Italy....there was an olive grove and the owner pressed her own olives and those of other farmers and we had bruschetta, grilled sausages, wine and an apricot crostata...wonderful.
jsd517 at 5:44PM on 07/30/09
A friend's BF had just returned from fishing in Alaska and brought back the most amazing halibut cheeks ever. Totally blew my mind. (This was long, long, long before my cooking career.)
@pjracz--although a dick's burger still has a place in my heart.
sailordave at 9:45PM on 07/30/09
My best thing I ever ate:
Himachi Sashimi (from the belly cut)
Creme Brulee (it's a dessert I can never say "No" to)
Kobe Beef (unfortunate, since I can no longer have just a regular steak any more)
Lampredotto (Tripe Sandwich, from the foodcart in Florence Central Market)
AnnieNT at 2:31PM on 07/31/09
For me, any seasonal and regional seafood I ate as a kid.
Super fresh Iwagaki (giant oyster). my grandma used to open them with a huge mullet. I think that made it tastier.
Sailfin sandfish. also cooked by my grandma.
Zuwai crab, especially guts.
@AnnieNT if you like hamachi, you have to eat real buri* during its season (winter) from the Sea of Japan. OMG that stuff is amazing.
*not sure how hamachi/buri distinction is used outside Japan, but hamachi means farmed buri in Japanese.
hmw0029 at 3:00PM on 07/31/09
I like that show too - you get a lot of good restaurant recommendations out of it! For me, I need a theme to stick to like the show has.
Let's go with seafood burgers: I vote for the Ahi Tuna Burger at Hub 51 in Chicago. Ever since I had it (and it was months ago), I haven't been able to stop thinking about it!
Chew on That at 4:34PM on 07/31/09
The best meal I ever ate was at Tony Angelo's in New Orleans. Nine courses of old-school Italian with an old friend and his grandpa. I can't tell you a thing I ate but it is the standard by which all other meals are now measured.
The best single dish I ever put in my mouth is my mama's dewberry cobbler. I have the recipe, have watched her make it while I took copious notes, and still can't replicate it. I can eat an entire pan of it all by myself.
FoodieSearching at 6:27PM on 07/31/09