What is the best thing you have eaten?

Your mom.

My husband's ass.

I, too, had the most fabulous chocolate souffle years ago on the UES, at a wine bar . .. .PERFECTION!

An apple

I had a crab souffle at a resteraunt in Pittsburgh, of all places. Don’t know the name of the place. Anyway, it was phenomenal. Very surprising.

Brains.

OP, where in Pasadena?

The sweetbreads at this long since closed restaurant in Sonoma, I can't remember the name now. Every bite was heaven. I've had sweetbreads since, but they have all disappointed in comparison.

The beef ribs at Mr Powdrell's Barbeque in Albuquerque. SO meaty (rare for beef ribs) perfectly cooked. I think about those fucking ribs every day.

Im not a burger person at all but the burger at the pool bar at the Kahala hotel in Oahu was the best thing ever.

Flan at a restaurant in NYC called BRAZIL BRAZIL. I was never big on flan and have only had it a few times in my life but this was EXCELLENT. I don't know if it's the best thing I've ever eaten but it was one of the best deserts I've ever had.

Tortilla soup at the Blue Moon in Tulsa.

I think it was called Jacques but I can’t remember exactly as it was in the 1990’s. It was actually called Chocolate Soup. It was amazing!

Creme Broule - I did two different versions. One where I didn't strain it, the other where I did. Both were excellent but the latter was in two words, fucking awesome.

Big Mac

🍩🍩🍩

New England clam chowder in the famous Boston plantation-style restaurant where you eat upstairs. Legal Sea Food was also excellent, but preferred the old-style place. Any ideas? Blanking on name (Google not helping).

I think this belongs in the Rachel Ray is FAT! thread.

Fantastic eclairs at some patisserie in Paris near George V, and I have no idea which one it was. The best eclairs I’ve ever eaten.

Hawaiian food in Encinitas it was called Khalanis. The best rice, macaroni salad and Katsu Chicken.

R15 that’s funny! Homer will eat donuts with a Diet Coke.

Chicken tortilla soup at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas

A tic tac

oysters bisque my dad made years ago. The texture, the flavor was just perfect.

Cheryl’s Bearded Clam Sandwich

Crème brûlée, R13. There's no "o".

Farmed New Zealand venison in cherry brandy sauce with sautéed root vegetables at the Top of the Tower, Birmingham, Alabama.

Close second: Eggs Benedict, Sheraton Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Even the exquisite cooking in New Orleans didn't compare (at least at that time).

Very close competition is the Red Beans & Rice, Natchitoches Meat Pies at Lasyonne's, Natchitoches, Louisiana.

I have had ribs from Powdrell's, too, R8. Splendid. I had an amazing lobster bisque at a hotel in downtown Washington D.C., on Christmas Eve day about 12 years ago. Creamy, boozy, lobster-y perfection.

Tom's ass.

Steak at Gotham in NYC. It was like velvet and so juicy with a port or red wine glaze.

Bread Pudding with whiskey sauce at the Sonoma Hotel on the square.

Meh, Lance.

Five Guys Burger with rings.

Damn fine cherry pie and coffee at the Double R diner.

In and Out Burger double double with extra cheese and spread.

Simple crab cake breakfast on a pier in Monterey. Delicately spiced, generous sized patties with huge chunks of fresh crabmeat with a sauce that seemed to be a variation on hollandaise and which the cook would not give me.

I had to go a second time before I left.

R16 do you mean Durgin Park? Sadly they are closing. End of an era.

Any waffle from a waffle stand in souther Holland. Crunchy, sweet, savory Heaven

I was in hospital several years ago for kidney surgery and the food was typically gross. Then one day they brought me a broccoli cheese omelet and, to my surprise, it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. True story.

Chicken Fried Steak with cream gravy at Babe's Chicken.

I don't eat much meat, and very rarely ever eat steak, but I would have to answer Prime Rib. Done right it is probably the best thing I have ever ate and I have a huge sweet tooth.

My mom’s mashed potatoes, range free chicken and Caesar salad.

A perfectly steamed lobster at papas brothers in Dallas. Heaven

The Golden Bowl at The Grit in Athens , GA.

Ricotta cheese gelato with candied orange bits, Siena

r39 Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Sadly, finding it properly rare (and it better be fucking rare) is hard to find. I'm in the SF Bay Area, and the good Prime Rib houses are insanely expensive, but they still tend to fuck it up.

Yes, R35! That's it. Thank you.

Absolutely spectacular... the brown bread, the oysters, the lobster and steak (though I didn't indulge in that) and the overall atmosphere brought you back to the 1900s.

But, the clam chowder... words don't do it justice. Best anything ever.

My mom's devils food cake with seven minute frosting. She made this cake for my birthday every year.

A Belgian waffle from a street vendor in Brugge - hot, fresh, and incredibly delish.

This is so hard to answer without categories (best pizza, best French, best Italian, best burger, etc...)

I had a savory crepe in Montreal with chicken in mushroom sauce that has to be in the top 10 for me... not sure if it was the best, but it was pretty amazing. I got the dessert crepe after (was not planning that) - but I was in love. It was also very good.

Giordano's stuffed veggie pizza (20 years ago - mildly changed now). It's still pretty good from Rush street only, though.

Seafood in Sai Kung out of Hong Kong. Now years later, I’m horrified at the idea of picking your dinner.

r23 made me cry. I know, MARY! But my dad made the same incredible thing as you describe. I have tried to reconstruct it a hundred times. Total hockey buzzer.

I really miss him.

He also used to make fried bologna cups that had the most creamy scrambled eggs inside with a bit of green onions in them.

I'm teary. I know. MARY! But he loved me no matter what.

R44 I haven't had Prime Rib in a restaurant in several years because that is just expensive. It is way cheaper but still expensive to just make it yourself. It is probably one of the easiest things ever to fix, it has such great flavor naturally that it really isn't necessary to do much except bake/roast it.

Only time it was't just perfect, when I made it myself, was when I followed the directions and inserted a meat thermometer and cooked to the correct internal temperature which resulted in it being over cooked and not pink in the center. It was still a great meal just not as good as normal.

r51 That is exactly why I am afraid to cook my own. I love it really rare, but every recipe I have read, I can tell it would turn out overcooked, and that is an expensive mistake I can't afford. This is also why I never use meat thermometers.

Could you please give us your recipe/method?

R52, I just follow whatever directions are on the label that comes with the roast which is just the number of hours to cook for however many pounds the roast is, I cook it for the recommended time but not the recommended internal temperature because that will not give you that pink tasteful center. I do nothing to the roast other than cooking, no seasonings at all, IMHO Prime Rib doesn't need any seasoning except a little salt at the table, last thing I want is to cover up the favor of the Prime Rib.

If you buy Prime Rib from a butcher that isn't pre-packaged you can look up recommended cook times on line I am sure. I do use one of those plastic cooking bags but I do that mainly to make clean up easy.

I normally buy a large roast, because Prime Rib leftovers can be frozen, thawed and reheated under a broiler and still taste just as good as fresh. I just recently finished my Prime Rib from Christmas. Mmmmm Good.

Thanks r53! And you are cooking bone-in roast correct?

Correct R54. Let us know how it turns out.

Entenmanns holiday cupcakes

Peanut Butter Pie. I remember this restaurant downtown. I remember the day that I had it just like I remember yesterday. The waitress, her name was Sonya, I remember she had B.O. She handed me the pie -- this is true -- I took one bite and I swear... time stood still. I remember that day like some people remember Kennedy's death!

The Chinese food that should be delivered within the next half hour.

I haven’t eaten a thing all day and I’m starving.

Once had a black bottom pie experience like that r57.

Oysters Rockefeller at a now-closed restaurant downtown, Just a few ingredients, perfectly balanced, and the oysters were just done, but not overcooked.

[quote] Peanut Butter Pie. I remember this restaurant downtown.

Which city's downtown was this exactly?

There used to be a little French place in midtown that was like a fast food lunch place. It had the best damn quiche ever. It was baked in a rectangular dish and you’d get a big fat square of it, with chunks of ham and only a little bit of cheese. It was so custardy and creamy. The place is gone now, but I still think about it often.

When I was working for AT&T, I went to Paris for a meeting. Never could have afforded to go there back then (the 90's). I had an incredible ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette sold by a street vendor. I've tried to replicate it but can't get it right. There was hard boiled egg, smoked ham, some light cheese like brie and some type of dressing. The company sent me out to dinner at great restaurants for the five days that I was there, but that fucking sandwich was the best thing I ever tasted.

I just had an incredible steak at a restaurant in Venice, right off Piazza San Marco. I was skeptical, since it was so close to such a tourist center, but such a perfect steak!

[R39], [R44] Love their prime rib...and the creamed spinach (guess that makes *two* of the best things I've eaten)!

A big piece of Dutch chocolate cake and a cup of the richest, darkest, coffee you can imagine from a street vendor in Amsterdam. I hadn't eaten or slept in over 24 hours, and that cake and coffee hit me like a charge of electricity. I had to sit down for several minutes while my body came to terms with that jolt of chocolate, sugar and caffeine.

Best meal was at the old Berghoff Restaurant in Chicago years ago (not this new version, the old one). Roast duck with wild rice dressing and a wild berry sauce. creamed spinach on the side. I went back many times looking for that duck. The had it on the menu seasonally, but it was never as good as the first time.

Best dessert was a dish of sesame seed gelato from a little stand in Cologne, Germany. The flavor of the roasted sesame combined with the fresh gelato was beyond wonderful.

Sipping coffee with cream, eating a plain croissant with preserves and butter at Fig Tree’s restaurant in Venice Beach while looking at the parade is heaven.

The best ribs and brisket I ever had was at a BBQ joint that was located in the Austin airport. I was stuck there on a layover. It was so good that a few years later, I flew back to Austin just to eat there again, sadly while they still had BBQ places in the airport, but it was not the same one and it wasn't as good.

Grapefruit Pie. It was incredible. I never had it before and was hesitant eating a piece. Fantastic!

Probably the fried haddock, fries and onion rings at a take-out joint called Charlie's in Lynn Mass. I haven't been there in ages, but it's still there. Fucking awesome!

Luke Bryan's ass...mmmm, yum

OP, I, like R7, would like to know where in Pasadena?

2 things come to mind: scallops I pan seared that I caught myself diving the Channel Islands in California. Perfection. Also a piece of key lime pie I had in Key West at the place called the blonde giraffe. Still remember how it tasted.

OP, what a great idea for a thread. Bringing back a LOT of memories. Thanks!

Ethiopian, Washington D.C., DAS? I think it was Tikil Gomen and a variety of Wats that was like taking a sensory journey with spice. I LOVE Ethiopian food. I love the texture of Injera, which is chewy and spongy at the same time and you scoop up all this delicious goop with it and the spiced fats get caught up in the holes.

...and there's really nothing like honey roasted cashews in Boston.

R75

A now-closed local Ethiopian restaurant used to serve a buffet at lunch. One of the saddest sights was a stack of forks and big bowl of white rice for westerners who could not (bring themselves to) eat with injera.

R77 But injera provides the perfect, complimenting texture to the stewed vegetables and pulses.

Best Ethiopian I have ever had is in Grand Rapids. Little Africa. Beer city has a fantastic food scene. You name it, they have it. It's not just wet burritos (the GR city food, which I don't quite get) Best Caribbean too. Chez Olga! The goat soup is fucking fantastic, and you can get it truly hot, not just "safe" hot.

So fucking pretentious is r77

36 courses of dumplings in a dumplings-only house in Xian. We didn't number enough to order the 72 courses available.

Carnitas at a restaurant on Sanata Row in CA back in 2007. Dear goodness that stuff was delicious, large chunks of super tender pork that was crispy on the outside, Mexican rice, home made flour tortillas, and guacamole made fresh at the table.

R82 here, sorry, typo - Santana Row

R83 If you feel comfortable telling me where you are now, I can probably point you toward a good carniceria that will have what you are looking for. I am a carnitas whore. Hard to find the perfect blend of creamy and crispy. The places that do it well also usually make the best Pico de Gallo. Oh my fucking god I am starving.

OK, go ahead and laugh... With the exception of Grape Nuts, I am in no way a cereal person. I hate sweet things for the most part, and most cereal is sickeningly sweet. Last week, my food delivery service fucked up and delivered Raisin Bran by accident. I was pissed but hung onto it. This evening I dove into a big bowl with a massive amount of whole milk. It was like kissing god. I am wearing my shame cone, so no need to rub it in. It was so fucking good though...Too, too good... *looks toward the pantry longingly*

Whale burger

Chrissy Metz cunt

The macaroni with black truffle at Epicure in Paris.

It's so sublime, life is rendered meaningless once you've finished.

Scrambled eggs with black truffle at La Belle Ferronnière in Paris after an overnight flight from New York.

McDonalds in New England sell Lobster Roll. It's only available in New England I saw it at a rest stop in Connecticut in 2017. They charged $10.99 for it.

"Love Letters" at Todd English on The QEII. They were truffle potato stuffed ravioli. I still dreams of them..

Fresh picked sweet corn at a picnic run by the Amish in Iowa, and by fresh picked I mean still on the stalk 10 minutes before. They went over and picked the corn then threw it into big metal tanks with hot water and about 20 pounds of butter floating on the top like a yellow oil slick. I knew about how the sugars start turning to starches once the corn is picked, but I had no idea how good corn could be. I know I ate at least 6 ears, maybe more.

I was about 22, female, and I weighed about 110lbs. My former mother-in-law had a clambake for my father-in laws birthday on Long Island. They brought in galvanized garbage cans full of corn on the cob, lobsters and other stuff. People ate a little but then went and got bags and bags and bags of McDonald's. I thought the hell with this. I sat down and ate 9 lobsters. They were the best ever. I did not eat any McDonald's.

Waffle House hashbrowns with two over easy eggs.

R63 I had a similar experience in Paris. I was travelling with familly in 1996. I bought a ham sandwich from a vending machine in the train station, and it was hands down the best sandwich I've ever had. It was just a simple baguette, sliced down the middle, smeared with butter with some very thin slices of ham. The quality of every ingredient was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Normally I would have thought butter on a ham sandwich would have been disgusting, but it wasn't. The bread was so fresh and flavorful, and the ham was exquisite. It's been over twenty years, and I still think about how good that ham sandwich was.

Tiny little coquina clams on the beach in Elba.

French fries at Albert Cupmarkt in Amsterdam.

Albert Cuypmarkt, sorry.

I can’t spell the name of the restaurant but I’ll try phonetically, Jacq-oo-lay. I think that was the name and it was off Colorado Blvd on a side street. It was small and dark. I’ve googled it and I can’t find any trace of it.

Skirt Steak with mashed potatoes at the Broadway Deli in Santa Monica. It is permanently closed.

Grits at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta.

Escargot in Paris

Crawfish Monica at Jazz Fest in NoLa

Chicken mole at cafe poca cosa in Tucson

Chile Colorado at the little poca cosa in Tucson

Clams casino pizza at Pepe's in new haven CT

Grilled pork banh mi at banh mi Saigon in NYC

New England clam chowder at union oyster house Boston

Raw Oysters and crudo at Row 34 seafood in Boston

R99, thanks OP. I take it this was many years ago then.

A meatball omelette from The Red Gravy Cafe in New Orleans. Good God I still dream about that breakfast.

r93 I love you.

A roommate and friend cooked me spaghetti and jarred sauce, the first night I moved into my first apartment. It was delicious!

R93 I once ate 5 lobsters at a Mother’s Day brunch 3 years ago. You’re my hero.

Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple from Papa Johns. Yum!

Yes it was quite awhile maybe 1992.

Lobster with rice, beans, butter, tortillas at Puerto Nuevo in Rosario Beach—-1983.

-All of the food in Quebec City was amazing. I specifically remember a crepe place with the richest chocolate sauce I ever tasted and a French restaurant with a perfectly cooked duck breast with some sort of port/cherry sauce that was unbelievable. -Pork Soup Dumplings (sometimes called Juicy Buns) at a now closed restaurant in midtown Manhattan called John’s Shanghai (not to be confused with Joe’s). I’ve had the same dish in several other restaurants and it is always delicious but never as flavorful. -Another closed restaurant, Le Palais in Atlantic City, had perhaps the best price-fixed meal I ever had- asparagus soup, chicken with a lemongrass/mango sauce, and cinnamon dumplings. -Believe it or not, the best steak I ever had was the Wagyu at a specialty steakhouse on a Carnival cruise ship. Better than the Palm, Peter Luger, Morton’s, etc. The rest of that meal was phenomenal as well, including an incredible tuna tartare and chocolate “globe” that turned into a soup when sauce was poured on it.

I'm not crazy about Cream Savers candy or yogurt in general but the 5 different Cream Savers Yogurts (Strawberry, Blueberry, Raspberry, Peach & Orange) drove me crazy with delight whenever they were available.

Sadly, I don't think they make any of the 5 flavors anymore.

A bowl of ramen in some tiny place in Tokyo where I chose randomly from a menu I couldn’t understand.

Local spot prawns.

My homemade Sour Cream Pancakes served with whipped butter and pure maple syrup.

Pear gelato at a store in Italy. It was like biting i to a frozen pear. I still remember it and this must have been 15 years ago.

My Russian boyfriend's ass. It always smelled and tasted great.

While were on the subject-What is the preferred word for the eating ass-ANALINGUS,RIMMING or LICKING ASS. I think ANALINGUS has a nice ring to it.

Years ago I was in Queenstown, New Zealand on vacation and found this little Indian restaurant in a mall food court. Best chicken tikka masala and butter chicken I ever tasted. I went back several times that week, and to this day I've never had Indian food that good.

R113 isn’t it amazing when two wrongs make a right? I don’t care for sour cream and despise onions, but sour cream/onion dip is delicious!

ONE of the best things I've ever eaten is a Mrs. Fields Milk Chocolate Macadamia cookie at Bloomingdales ca. 1995.

fat

Fondue in Gruyères.

Beef stroganoff prepared by my cousin's wife. Not a terribly classy dish on the face of it, but that woman could make a bowl of oatmeal taste like caviar. I have never seen a cook/baker like her. She even makes her own candy. Everything is exquisite and tasty.

Miss Lucy- In 1966 Beef Stroganoff WAS considered CLASSY.

Just-picked porcini mushrooms in Umbria, grilled with garlic butter. Insane.

The Crab Louis salad at Ferry Plaza Seafood, when it was open. Sublime.

Smoked sable from Russ & Daughters Appetizing. Sensual and primal.

Iranian beluga caviar. Once in a lifetime possibly. There's a reason people lose their minds over caviar.

A salad at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA. That was the first time I ate a salad with homemade salad dressing (oil & vinegar), tossed to coat all the leaves & items in the salad. I realized I could make salad dressings & do the same thing. I still make my own salad dressings. Very easy.

The rest of the meal, I have forgotten. Oh, yeah. I do remember dessert, which was bing cherries and some cookies.

A filet mignon at the Lobster Pot in Dublin, Ireland. Also gooey butter cak.

r99 OP, you were very lucky to enjoy your chocolate soufflé. Café Jacoulet was only open from 1984 to 1990.

More information on Café Jacoulet.

R127- You sound so PRETENTIOUS.

Ebinger's (Chocolate) Blackout Cake

Who’s the asshole who said an apple?

And the asshole who said a Mrs. Fields cookie?

What a bunch of assholes on this thread

The Incroyable at Aux Merveilleux de Fred in Brussels. This meringue, white chocolate and whipped cream dessert is hands down the most amazing thing I have ever eaten.

There used to be this restaurant here that had this side dish of whipped sweet potatoes with shiitake mushrooms mixed in. I know it sounds really simple, and I have no idea what else they put in it...but fuck, it was good! It wasn’t sweet at all. That restaurant has been gone for years, but I can still taste it. Before they closed, my partner ordered a whole pan of it for my birthday.

No, I’m not fat.

Mussels in champagne with straw cut fries (fried in duck oil).

Uncut euro cock

I don't think I could narrow it down to a single best thing, but there have been a few things so good that I would still be thinking about them days later:

Fried eggs, potatoes and garlic kalua pig hash at a breakfast place in Kapolei on Oahu

Tres leches cake at Casita Miramar in San Juan

Chocolate pie at Carshon's Deli in Fort Worth

I never cared about FLAN one way or the other but THE BEST Flan I ever had was at a restaurant in Manhattan called Brazil Brazil. The Flan there was EXCELLENT.

Lobster Eggs Benedict at the California Grill. One of those things where the joy of eating such a thing is almost too much.

Decades ago, when my sister and I were poor starving students, we went to the Getty Museum when visiting LA. A piece of cheesecake at a budget busting $5, but it tasted so amazing that we bought another.

I also remember a stunning chicken in pepper sauce in Paris. I commented, “This is the best chicken I’ve ever had!”

R4 es Sarah Jessica Parker

R144 es Hilaria Baldwino!