Best Restaurants You've Ever Been To

Lots of post on French Laundry - indeed one of the best but Cyrus in Healdsburg is my favorite.

Joel Robuchon, Picasso, Mix, B&B Ristorante- Las Vegas

Michael Mina (food is a trio of art), Gary Danko (cheese lover's dream), Masa, Coi (Molecular Gastronomy), Boulevard, Aqua, Aquarello, - San Francisco

Per Se - NY (Keller's other restaurant but not as good as French Laundry)

Le Cinq, Chez Pauline (quaint small restaurant) - Paris

Sushi Ran (one of the best OToro you will ever eat, looks like the best marbled steak and melts in your mouth) - Sausalito, CA

Charlie Trotter's, Alinea - Chicago

 

My Favorites in no order with the exclusion of Ponte's being my all time favorite........

F.illi Ponte Ristorante- NY, NY (owned by dear friends and the restaurant where I had my Bar Mitzvah party)
Peter Luger- Brooklyn NY
Philippe- NY, NY
Prime 112- Miami
Buckeye Roadhouse- Mill Valley, CA
Sushi Ran- Sausalito CA
La Kupia- Rhodes Greece
EIia’s Corner- Astoria Queens, NY (Owned by my father’s partner’s cousin)
Sylvias Soul Food- Harlem NY (Best Fried Chicken out there)
Scomas- San Francisco, CA (Version across the bay in Sausalito doesn’t compare)
Slanted Door- San Francisco CA

 

Wow

Fantastic post glad I came and checked this one out! I'll need to find the Chicago and Milwaukee restaurants ASAP So far I have found decent places but nothing spectacular...

My favorites so far (not a big fan of the super fancy, and I generally favor excellent food/atmosphere over pomp and artistry)...

Steak: III Forks north of Dallas. (Del Frisco's used to be as good)
Cheeseburgers: Balls hamburgers, OK just about he best Cheeseburgers anywhere (Dallas)
Pizza: Gino's East (Chicago, Libertyville).
Italian: Leo's (no idea what the address is, it was a hole in the wall place) off the Plaza St. Croce in Florence. Fantastic and small and likely I won't have better Italian food ever.
French: OK this is tough... Split it three ways:
La Jarre (Antibe, along the old wall, fancy old school french restaurant)
Josy Jo (Cagnes Sur Mer, this one is right at the top of a hill, stunning view, part of an old castle, excellent grill)
Le Brulot (Antibe, not the pasta one, which is next door, best grilled breast of duck ever)
BBQ: Tough one: Coopers in Llano, then Rudy's in Austin
Chinese: Feng Shui off Leicester Square in London, pretty good "English Chinese", Golden Temple (Boston) for "American Chinese", need to go to China sometime...
Indian: Shanti Sagar (Bangalore, off M Ghandi Highway)

BR,
Mike

 

zagat, citysearch, yelp and chowhound are all helpful. with the exception of gramercy tavern, i've only been to each establishment below only once since i believe there are just too many new restaurants to try out...

top 3 ever:
1) jean georges - nyc. best food and wine in my life, mediocre service (good-accommodating in that they let me do the tasting menu while everyone else wanted a la carte. bad-they tossed out my empty bottle of wine which i wanted to save and our water glasses weren't refilled after we paid the check), best overall dessert, nice conservative dining room). even the smell of horse**** outside the establishment, as typically found in south central park, did not deter me from giving this place an A
2) wd 50 - nyc. most inventive food that actually tastes good. left me hungry, however, so i had to grab a burrito afterwards. A
3) melisse - l.a. what a shocking surprise to find food in el lay that rivals that of the east coast. service sucks (mixed up our sparkling water with tap on refills, forgot one course) ambience sucks (even though i might like coldplay and radiohead in the car, you never pipe in kroq in a fine dining restaurant). A-

the rest in no particular order:
gramercy tavern -nyc. 1st time awesome food. 2nd time average food. same menu, can't explain the inconsistency in preparation. best/most extensive cheese selection anywhere. A-/B+
chanterelle - nyc. blah food, blah service, romantic dining room. C
daniel - nyc. C
cafe des artistes - nyc. C+
sushi of gari - nyc. best/ most inventive sushi anywhere. can't give a sushi joint top rating, however, but that's just me. A
le bernardin - nyc. yes i know it's seafood cuisine, but the dining room smells just so damn overpoweringly fishy. C
peter luger - brooklyn. steak was just ok. C
palm - nyc. steak. B+
dylan prime - nyc. steak. C
keens - nyc. steak. C
sparks -nyc. steak. was rushed by waiter. D
plataforma - nyc. brazilian steakhouse. B
nobu - nyc. hip. sushi sucked. F
bond street - nyc. sushi B
per se - nyc. C
smith & wollensky - nyc. steak. C
smith & wollensky - chicago. steak. C-
magnum's - chicago. steak. bone in ribeye B+
alinea - chicago. inventive, moderately tasty. good service, but ymmv depending who waits on you. veteran servers are knowlegable, but there are many young ones. wished i tried this place before achatz developed tongue cancer. B-/C+
everest - chicago. best decor ever. white motif. good view. romantic. B+
tru - chicago. best service ever. they didn't care that some of us were in jeans, we were all treated like kings. watching the waiters pour water is like watching synchronized swimming. B+
blackbird - chicago. good a la carte. tasty cheese. B
charlie trotters - chicago. service was way too full of themselves. C-
morton's - chicago. steak. B
chop house - chicago. steak. C
ruth's chris - chicago. steak. B
ruth's chris - irvine, ca. C-
ruth's chris - san juan, pr. C
ruth's chris - honolulu C
gibsons - chicago. burnt steak. D
gene & georgetti - chicago. steak. D
mirai sushi - chicago. F
sushi wabi - chicago. B+
vie -western springs, il. C
coi - s.f. inventive. breaks all the rules. relies too much on green puree. service sucks. B
manresa - los gatos, ca. breaks some of the rules. dishes are either hits or misses, but thankfully more hits. service mediocre B
slanted door - s.f. vietnamese. C
sona - l.a. blah food. service sucked. C
patina - l.a. service sucked. C-
providence - l.a. seafood. C
hatfields - l.a. C+
pizzeria mozza - l.a. pizza C

 

Few people here may have the opportunity to travel to Northern Wisconsin, but there is a special place in Hayward, Wisconsin that has the best steak I've ever eaten. I do not recommend restaurants, but oddly enough two of the finest happen to be in this small resort community. If you like dry aged Porterhouse Steaks and are within a three hour drive of this sleepy vacation destination make a trip to TURKS INN. Its like stepping back in time to the early 60's.

The key is that they dry age only Prime Porterhouse steaks and each cut is personally inspected by the owner before its bought. Her eye for the perfect cut of meat makes a difference, as does their exceptionally long aging process. The owner told me years ago that they age their steaks a minimum of 30 days and some cuts 45 days.

I'll describe their steaks as simple as this: Ever bite into a ripe, juicy peach and the flavor is just terrific? They dont even compare to some peaches that taste like theyve been frozen and there is no juice or flavor. Eating a Porterhouse steak at TURKS is akin to eating a juicy, delicious peach in that it makes all other steaks, like Mortons, Ruth Chris', et al never quite the same.

http://www.spiderlakelodge.com/SLL-Pages/turks.html
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Hello, well you may laugh. but at the Wynn Casino Buffett. We waited in line over a hour to get in at $42.00 per person and it was incredible. not only a huge selection but the quality was excellent it wasnt needed to stuff yourself to get your monies worth as every bite we just savored and OMG the pasteries. Ive been to eateries that are highly rated, but what you get here for the money is wonderful. Thanks Norm

 

How can you rate Per Se a C? I thought I was a tough critic .... I think its really one of the best in NYC if not the best.... also the only 3 star michelin in NYC...

 

I believe that is false. Le Bernardin and Jean Georges are also three-star Michelin.

As for restaurants, my favorites:
New York City:
Aureole, A-
Daniel, A
Le Bernardin, A-
Jean Georges, A- (haven't been in a number of years, though)
David Burke & Donatella, A (based on brunch, not dinner)
Alain Ducasse (Essex House location, not St. Regis), A (I believe this was 3-star michelin, new location is downgraded to 2)
Le Cirque, A-/B+ at the beginning in the Palace Hotel, moved to B+ toward the end, and now a solid B/B- at Bloomburg bldg.
Nobu, A-
Spice Market, A-/B+
St. Regis - good afternoon tea at Astor Court, good late-afternoon snacking at the KC bar.
Sparks, B+/B, tempered expectations, I do not compare Sparks against, for example, Le Bernardin.
Chocolate Room (Park Slope), A on their banana split.

North Carolina:
Fearrington House, A (would be a B+ if in NYC)

International:
La Tour D'Argent, C+ at best, tourist trap?
Lucas Carton (haven't been in 10 years at least), A-

Also, really random, but the brunch at the Ritz Carlton golf club in Naples, FL - really good.

 

Lazy Days,Islamorada FL.

 

The Inn at Little Washington.

Washington Va.

 

I eat at Gordon Ramseys last night in London UK, was lovely in every way.

 

I definitely agree with that. I'm heading back to Vegas next week and plan on hitting that buffet at least once.

 

Whataburger drive-thru at 3AM


Taco Bell, when you are hungry and only have a few bucks in your pocket.

 

In addition to my restaurant picks:
Only Burger in Durham (it's a mobile burger truck) - amazing burgers. Their fries are a little on the peppery side, though.

 

My favorite list are:

Best restaurants in Denver

Gabriel's Restaurant
Fruition Restaurant
Palace Arms at the Brown Palace

Best restaurants in Boston

Bocado
Fore Street
Simon Pearce Restaurant

Best restaurants in Dallas
Hibiscus
Lonesome Dove Western Bistro

Even you can find more yr favorable restaurants online & book your table for dining within a moment at opentable Denver Restaurants

 

Hello yes Im going back in a couple of weeks too, Wynns baby!

 

I just saw this thread again. Didn't make it down to the Wynn this trip. At at the Strip House at Planet Hollywood. Decent, but not great for ~$100/person. I would have preferred somewhere else, but I wasn't doing the planning this trip.

 

I just had lunch yesterday at Per Se NYC... it was spectacular as I remembered it... 7 course lunch with great wines! Highly reccomend Per Se. One of the best out there.

 

yep - I got it wrong! you are right Le Bernadin and Jean George are 3 star... just had lunch at Per Se yesterday... was spectacular... then had dinner at Nobu.. what a let down.

 

Truly a special place!

 

Barclay Prime in Philadelphia

 

peter luger's in NY,the Palm in Ny and dallas

 

All South Florida:

Barton G (AMAZING) Food is as good or better than the presentations! - South Beach
Prime 112 (VERY Good) - South Beach
Devitos (VERY Good) - South Beach
Anthonys Runway 84 (VERY Good, Consistent) - Fort Lauderdale
The Palm (Very Good) In Bal Harbour
1Bleu in the Regent Hotel Bal Harbour - (VERY Good) - Bal Harbour

A few that come to mind..... All are top notch!

 

Pics I found from Barton online! Voodoo shrimp FTW!

And "The Damage" is how they present the bill
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login