Best Meal You Have Ever Had??

[jd_1984]

What made the meal so special?

Was it quality of the food?
The setting/location?
The occassion that made it special?
Value for money?
an unexpected delight?
or was it at somebodies home or even your own cooking?

(or several of the above?)

[rockyracoon]

I've got two favourites, is that allowed

Last saturday in a modern Greek restaurant with my husband and kids, it was a treat for them as their end of year reports were so fantastic, the restaurant is great, the food was unbelievably good and it was a moment in time when you realise your kids are not kids any more, they held themselves up like adults, for three and a half hours it was non stop conversation. A to value for money, it was an expensive meal but the memory is priceless.

Three years ago we went to Boston for my husbands 40th, after a bit of research I found a middle eastern cuisine restaurant in Cambridge, the food was probably the best I've ever tasted (except my cottage pie lol), as was the wine, again it was quite expensive but it was value for money because we thoroughly enjoyed it.

[grasscarp]

Crab and wine in an outside cafe on Le Touquet sea front. Circa 1986. Myself and A.N Other. Mixture of food, drink, location and the company.

[shaneystar2]

In a village in Crete up in the mountains at night .It was a hairy journey to get there but the food was wonderful .It was very simple but oh sooo tasty .They brought round huge platters of lamb steaks ,the most wonderful yellow buttery potatoes,fried aubergine and greek salad .Honey cake,nuts and fresh fruit platters for dessert and lots of lovely sweet wine .

[EcclesCake]

Oh God impossible to answer as I have eaten in some of the countries and indeed the worlds best restaurants and for professional reasons I've eaten food actually cooked by top chefs as opposed to them just check it it on the pass.

For quality (and consistency) Then it has to be Le Manoir aux Quat'Saison
For setting and occasion a picnic on top of a waterfall
VFM a kebab from a hole in the wall in Berlin
Unexpected delight a surprise discovery at a local pub, amazing food and hospitality.
I sometimes cook a meal and think to myself, 'You've nailed that!' It's so good I want to keep on eating and eating it.....can't replicate that Je ne sais quoi for next time though!
Some friends cooked the most amazing ragu years ago and as good as mine is I still aspire to reach the level of theirs.

[pixie373]

Medium-rare steak with red-wine sauce, new potatoes and greens. The steak was so perfect they didn't even give me a steak knife. I never do it at home, so it's lovely on the occasions i go out. And vanilla crème brulee. Unbeatable!

[dannyk13]

Just after I got married (1954) meal cooked by my mother-in-law at her home in La Spezia.The dish was polenta which was spread out on a marble topped table in the kitchen and was then smothered with a delicious meat sauce.What made it so memorable was that all the family were sat round and given a fork to make inroads into ones section of the polenta. What joy.

[tiggerblue10]

The first time I ever had lamb shank with dauphinoise pots in Spain was the best meal I'd ever had. It was just the meal though as the friends I was with are no longer my friends.

Another favourite is grilled octopus which I had in Greece.

[EcclesCake]

What a lovely picture you've just painted Danny. Truly authentic food and conviviality, food as it should shared and enjoyed.

[fraser]

when my mum was alive everytime I went to see her, she would do roast lamb and all the trimmings, just the best good old English food.

[Mamyalynne]

The most welcome thing I ever had was a Strawberry Jam sandwich and a cup of tea after having my first baby - it was pure nectar.

[jd_1984]

Mine was during a holiday to Barbados, at sunset. We were sat on a decked terrace, impecable service, high standard of food and great company. Then it was cocktails and steel drums with a bonfire on the beach. Great times!

[espookid]

My mum god rest her soul was NOT a special cook but her pea soup is in my memory as the most tasty meal I have ever eaten
RIP mum

[horseshoes]

Just because it was SO special, sending for room service and having burgers at midnight while staying in a riverside suite in the Savoy.

Just because they tasted divine, oysters in La Rochelle.

[viv38]

Always has been and always will be, my Dad's Christmas dinner.

[DTCwordfan]

Agree with eccles on Le Manoir for consistency. On high end food, Alain Chapel in Lyon, The Troisgros Brothers in Roanne and Roger Vergé at the Moulin de Mouggins were up there.

The there is Restopecheria in Cecina, Italy, an unbelievable meal of seafood risotto, langoustine, salad and pecorino, followed by gelatos, local Tuscan wines and grappa, all for 70 Euros for three of us.

And a little beach caff near Larnaca, Cyprus, wonderful feta salad, wood-grilled fish (out of the Coke coffer fridge where they were swimming around) dessert and wine, all for a C£10 note in 1987 - heavenly food but very different to Monsieur Blanc and his mates.....

[atalanta]

Marinated steaks on the "Jolly Roger"

[jd_1984]

Le Manoir, is that Raymond Blanc? My parents, I think have eaten there with friends who live in Oxford.

[DTCwordfan]

Yes, he has a bistro and a patisserie in Oxford as well, both in/near Jericho

[jd_1984]

Thought it rang a bell. They only had the highest of prasie for the place.
UK wise my favourite is a small family run french bistro in my local village. The chef has worked his way up in fine dining restaurants but his dream was to open his own small place to showcase his food. It has about 14 tables, and is always busy, we usually book 3 weeks to a month in advance to be sure of a table. Its is rustuc french cuisine executed with real finesse, in fact now that I am talking about it I think I will get a table for next month booked!

[ummmm]

Lobster thermidor in a restaurant over looking the sea in Thailand.

Great value for money.