Favorite restaurants in North America
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| Eddie V's Austin |
These are my 10 favorites as of this moment, in no particular order. Share yours with me so when I visit my next new city, I can try it out and recommend it in turn.
1) Tarbell's, Phoenix, AZ - Last time I was at Tarbell's, I started with the golden beet salad with a balsamic eduction and goat cheese, shared the beef sliders with my dining partners, pan-seared halibut for the main course, and vanilla profiteroles for dessert. Every single person in a party of 15 loved their meals, and the service is impeccable. I have great memories of this place as well: it's the first restaurant Will took me to the first time I went to visit him in Phoenix when we were dating. Lucky me - I fell in love with both Will and Tarbell's. http://www.tarbells.com/
2) The Five Fishermen, Halifax, NS, Canada - For me, Halifax is a magical place. Many Americans can't point to Nova Scotia on a map, let alone consider visiting it, but they are missing out on a fantastic place. If you're like me and you love seafood, brilliant fall colors, hockey, and friendly locals with wonderful Scottish-Canadian accents, this is for you. Take a drive out to craggy Peggy's Cove and the Swissair flight 111 memorial in the fall for mystical beauty. The Five Fisherman embodies the spirit of Nova Scotia, and it you really can't go wrong ordering any kind of lobster dish on special that night. Start with the mussels and salad bar, and go from there. http://www.fivefishermen.com/food.htm After dinner, go see a Halifax Mooseheads hockey game, with 16- and 17-year-old players on their way to the NHL. Pure hockey at its best.
3) Redamak's, New Buffalo, MI - Six words is all I need: cheeseburger, fried zucchini, and apple fritters. Trust me - best cheeseburger in the U.S., if not the world. http://redamaks.com/
4) Eiffel Tower restaurant, Paris hotel, Las Vegas, NV - I don't like anything about Vegas except for the food. Honestly, the restaurants in Vegas rival any place in the world if you know where to go. I don't care about any of the other dishes at Eiffel Tower, but the souffle is worth taking a side trip for dessert. It absolutely melts in your mouth. http://www.eiffeltowerrestaurant.com/
5) Masa, Time Warner Building, New York, NY - If you love sushi and haven't been to Masa yet, your nirvana awaits. Imagine yourself sitting at a bar with three of your best friends, and you have your own personal sushi chef, serving gourmet rolls and sashimi to you one unbelievable piece at a time. Shredded white truffles fluffily surrounding a simple roll of rice and seaweed was, surprisingly, my favorite. I told the chef that I didn't really want any of the oily fishes, and he sternly said, "You try." So I did. He rewarded me with another perfectly seared tuna roll after I tried the mackerel. Take out a second mortgage on your house before you eat here. I'm not kidding. http://masanyc.com/
6) Mistral, Boston, MA - My sweet cousin Kelley took me to Mistral the first time, while she still lived in Boston. We started with pumpkin martinis (oh, Bols, why did you have to stop making pumpkin liqueur?) and salmon tartare that still evokes a memory of silky, salty perfection. Their menu changes regularly, as it should, but their seafood is very well done, and they do client events with class. http://mistralbistro.com/
7) Eddie V's, Austin, TX - There are two Eddie V's in town - downtown and near the Arboretum, which means that my house is almost exactly in the middle. The first time we tried Eddie V's was the week before my son was born, and we enjoyed a fantastic meal even with my belly sticking way out toward the table. Service is divine, the ambiance is comfortable and not too stuffy, and the food is - ah - I'm salivating just thinking about it, and I just had dinner. The salads are decent, but don't miss the truffled mac and cheese, the sea bass, and the sugary, rich bananas foster cake. THE BANANAS FOSTER CAKE - now I'm craving a piece. http://www.eddiev.com/
8) Maximo's, New Orleans, LA - As luck would have it, I was upgraded on a flight to New Orleans in May a few years ago and ended up chatting with the gentleman next to me. He was a partner for a restaurant called Maximo's, and handed me his card, recommending I give it a try. That evening, I was on my own for dinner, as my colleagues hadn't arrived yet for the trade show for which we were in town, and I walked up Decatur Street past Cafe du Monde. There was the sign for Maximo's, and I decided to give it a try. I started the meal with a perfectly assembled chopped salad with fresh gorgonzola cheese, and followed up with the pan-seared redfish and grilled prosciutto-wrapped asparagus. Here's the clue that I loved it: I went back the next night, brought two colleagues, and had EXACTLY the same meal. It was even better the second time. http://www.maximosgrill.com/
9) Restaurant August, New Orleans, LA - It says a lot that two of my favorite restaurants are in New Orleans, because I haven't spent that much time there. During the same week I discovered Maximo's, I had booked a large client dinner at Restaurant August, based on the reputation and private dinner space. John Besh's menu changes frequently, and it's geared toward foodies with an adventurous palate, but their more "tame" dishes are also stellar. And the wine list is fantastic! For someone who doesn't drink wine all the time, I know what I like, and this restaurant has it. http://www.restaurantaugust.com/
10) Seagar's, Destin, FL - Yes, I am truly going to recommend a hotel restaurant on this list. Destin is one of my favorite beach towns, and my girlfriends and I have spent several long weekends having a fantastic time tearing up the town. Every single time, we have started at Seagar's, and mostly for two reasons: the tuna tartare and the tableside Caesar. After dinner, go dance it off until 4 AM at A.J.s. http://www.sandestinbeachhilton.com/seagars/index.aspx
Outside the U.S. -
* City center, Brussels, Belgium - Make a meal out of moules et frites (mussels and fries) if you like bivalves, because they're the national dish. As for me, the next time I'm in Brussels I'm going to head toward the most touristy area of Brussels - near the Grand-Place - and start with an order of frites avec andalouse in a paper cone and a frothy mug of Ouane Kriek (cherry beer), devour it all, and top it off with a gaufre avec sucre (waffle with sugar) from a street vendor. That's all I need.
* Rome, Italy - Here's the thing: I can't remember the name of one restaurant in Rome, because I wandered so much all over the city and tried so many things. I can tell you for sure that it is almost impossible to get a bad dish of pasta all'amatriciana. I had it at least 4 times. Blue Ice gelato is the best, and if you try the one near piazza novona, you can eat as you watch the street artists at work. Try any pizza that looks good. I love Rome so much that all of the food tastes good, even closest to the most touristy area, near the Spanish Steps.
Honorable mention: the best crumbcake in the world is at B&W Bakery in Hackensack, NJ (incidentally, the town where I was born). Huge sugary crumbs sit atop a light, flaky base and it melts in your mouth. Eat it fresh, because it doesn't taste quite as perfect frozen or after sitting a couple of days. Bar none, THE best. They're so old school that they don't have a web site, but if you're anywhere near Hackensack, look them up.