Great Meals

(I'm distracting myself from the Big Things by obsessing over some smaller ones....)

Lately we've had a string of either meh or fine-but-nothing-to-write-home-about meals out, which got me thinking about some of the great meals of my life.

The only current Michelin-starred restaurant I have eaten at is a place called Cookies Cream in Berlin, a hidden almost speakeasy-like place that took us a few tries to find. It was really All That, and was entirely vegetarian, so I did not have to worry about any of it. It was incredible.

I did eat at Chez Panisse when it still had a Michelin Star, with Patrick and my friend Val. It was indeed amazing. Even better was when Val, Patrick and I ate at Bouchon, before it gained its star but when Chef Keller was actually dining there that night. As one might expect, it was incredible. I have wanted to dine at the French Laundry since the days when you had to keep on calling on the day that reservations opened up for 2 months later, but it has never happened.

Pretty much everything we eat when we are in NOLA is good. Commander's Palace is our annual tradition for a 2-martini lunch; the first few times we ate there were especially memorable (time #1 because it was the first time, time #2 because we were in the main dining room). In a simpler spirit, I salivate remembering the first cheese plate I ever experience at Bacchanal. IN the New Orleans spirit, the crawfish boil at Meat Feast was epic (thanks, Jake!)

Not too far out of town but not a quick jaunt is Va Bene in Duluth. Believe author Abby Jimenez when she says in one of her books that it's the best Italian food in Minnesota.

Locally, I'm finding myself in a funk of really missing Zander restaurant on Selby. Every single meal we ever had there was incredible; we even ate there on our wedding night.

I also miss the special meals that Chowgirls used to occasionally host. Good food is invariably tied to good company, and I remember one Valentine's Day sitting next to Chip and Amy Pearson at one of those meals and having an incredible night.

In a further nod to good food being tied to the people you are with, every single time I went to Pazzaluna for late night food with Bruce (who was also at Zander with us in the photo above) it was delicious; nearby Meritage was exceptional the night we went with the Chelimskys. I have had some memorable meals at La Grolla with neighborhood friends.

I still remember that night I first had the whipped feta at Bar + Cart, though my last review of them was less than stellar. I also remember the incredible food journeys Adam would take us on at Alma and Martina when we would visit him there at the bar.

And there are some desserts that are still on my top-of-the-tops list. I will drive across town on a warm night to get ice cream at Dream Creamery. Luckily for me, the Patti Cake at Yum! and the german chocolate cake at Cafe Latte are much closer.

Where are your top places to go, especially in the Twin Cities? I feel like we are kind of in a funk and I would like to get out to some new places that really wow me.