Friday Fun: What are the best meal/s you've ever had?

Mandy Ross
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July 25, 2019

One of the ways that people (and teams!) bond, collaborate and grow closer is over a good meal. I love hearing people's stories about "best meal ever" because it usually involves the people and location just as much, if not more, than the food.  

For me, they'd have to be:

- Eating a whole, perfectly grilled fish in some amazing sauce, with the local rose wine (that they don't sell anywhere else) on the island of Capri. I can't remember the restaurant name, but damn. 

 - A lobster feed at my friends' house in southern Mass. We doused these in melted butter, and also scarfed down some corn on the cob. Simple and perfect! These were super close friends who moved away, so it also involved some serious wine, a fire, and lots of catching up. 

IMG_0668.png

 - A harvest and foraging fall feast we hosted. Everyone brought something they'd foraged or grown, and then we prepped it into something delicious. I made venison medallions smothered in chanterelle mushrooms and fresh basil. My friend Chuck brought the venison, which we'd assumed he hunted. After we finished eating, he revealed that it was actually fresh road kill. THANKS CHUCK. 

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Davin Studer
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July 25, 2019

On a recent trip to Vegas for a conference (not Summit) I went to Gordon Ramsay Burger and had the Gordon Burger (not on the menu). It was quite frankly the best burger I have ever had. I did not know that a burger could taste SO AWESOME!!

We have a meat market somewhat close-ish to where I live that sells the most amazing pepper steaks. Those steaks on the barbecue on a nice summer day are just heaven.

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Mandy Ross
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July 25, 2019

I'm dying to know - what made the burger so awesome? was it the meat, or the bun, or the sauce? (fun fact: I used to own a little indie burger restaurant!)

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Davin Studer
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July 25, 2019

It had a pretty awesome sauce ... don't know what was in it, some kind of fried chilies, and duck bacon(which was so good). I didn't even know duck bacon was a thing. The patty itself was thick and moist on a house made bun that was slightly toasted, but not dry. It was just really good.

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Mandy Ross
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July 26, 2019

You had me at "duck bacon".🥓

Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

Oh my this thread is droolworthy!

Chambah Russell July 28, 2019

Have you heard of cassava flakes fufu and eru? 

Mandy Ross
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July 29, 2019

I hadn't! I just googled it tho, looks like a dumpling and vegetable soup kinda dish? 

Matt Doar
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July 25, 2019

Roadkill, excellent! One of my favorite books is about how to cook things on your car engine - "Manifold Destiny"

https://www.amazon.com/Manifold-Destiny-Guide-Cooking-Engine/dp/1416596232

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Mandy Ross
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July 25, 2019

My dad actually has this book, or one very, very similar! 

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

I read that it was so hot last week that someone baked muffins on the engine bonnet of their car when it was turned off!

Matt Doar
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July 25, 2019

Family feast with roast goose come to mind as "best meals ever". Crispy, salty goose skin is the best.

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Jesse July 25, 2019

Broasted Chicken is in effect here, tonight. It's so good!

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carolyn french
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July 25, 2019

I think I read roasted the first time I read through this post.

What is this broasted recipe, pray tell?

Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

Yes please share your recipes!

carolyn french
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July 25, 2019

Pretty consistently Thanksgiving dinner ranks as the best food and company for me every year. It's the day to spend together cooking with my family, taking a hike, resting, and enjoying everyone's joint efforts. Also, since many of the dishes are cooked once a year, there's a nice anticipation build up (although I'd take a turkey cold cut sandwich any day over traditional roasted turkey, I've found if I smother the turkey in cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, it can also taste good). 

@Mandy Ross that venison story is quite good- we have one in my family too, except that my grandfather hung the road kill deer on my swing set in full view of the house so it was very traumatic as a child

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Mandy Ross
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July 26, 2019

I love Thanksgiving too! Every year, my stepdaughter and I spend days planning the menu. 

Yikes on the roadkill-swingset story! Grandpas of a certain generation probably didn't think that thru very well...😳

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

Thanksgiving Leftovers for days are my favourite :)

Davin Studer
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July 29, 2019

LOVE Thanksgiving!!! Definitely my favorite meal of the year.

Mr J July 29, 2019

I've never actually had roast turkey before (or any other turkey actually aside from the ones you find in Subway sandwiches). How does it taste like?

Teodora _Old Street Solutions_Tempo_
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July 26, 2019

Two weeks ago I was at a wedding, held at one small sea island near the mainland. I tasted the most delicious, perfectly cooked pork with baked sauce... oh my, even the memory makes me hungry! 

The Island is called Saint Anastasia, and it's near Burgas, here in Bulgaria :)

And of course - Italy. Fresh Italian pizza and cold beer always melt my cold grumpy heart.

Great topic, lot of tasty memories! :)

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

I heard that scents can bring us back to a moment in time, food can be so nostalgic!

Teodora _Old Street Solutions_Tempo_
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July 28, 2019

True that. Sometimes I am diving in memories just because of a familiar scent, sensed for just a second 

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Manuel Bastardo Castellano
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July 26, 2019

Nobody can beat Empanadas 🤤🤣

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Mandy Ross
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July 26, 2019

My stepdaughter and I looooove making empanadas! It's one of our bonding things we do. I make the pastry, and she makes the fillings. :D

Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

Nice! I have never tried empanadas before, but I will definitely look up a recipe for this :)

Teodora _Old Street Solutions_Tempo_
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July 29, 2019

Never tried either :) With a statement like that, I have to reorder my food priorities. 

Jimmy Seddon
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July 26, 2019

I'm going to take a different spin on this one.  The most satisfying meal I ever had was a small team of us at work decided to use the company barbaque in the middle of winter. 

Everyone those we werre crazy but they were also very jelous of the fact that we came in at lunch time with a full slow roasted rotisserie chicken, two full racks of back ribs, someone else had made homemade coleslaw, and our resident baker finished things off with a cheesecake for dessert.

Most satisfying because we weren't going to let a few feet of snow on the ground get in the way of cooking a good meal!

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Teodora _Old Street Solutions_Tempo_
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July 26, 2019

That's what I call team spirit! 

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

I agree amazing team spirit, you should turn that into a yearly tradition for your office! :)

Jimmy Seddon
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July 29, 2019

@Jodi LeBlanc - Unfortunately, new company (well I've been at the new one for 7 years now).  Without an outdoor BBQ option :(

But we've managed to do some other crazy things here, I'll be sure to post the next time that happens!

Jodi LeBlanc
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July 29, 2019

Nice, I look forward to you sharing all the team fun! :)

Susan Hauth _Jira Queen_
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July 26, 2019

The best meal I had was a 50 cent plate of pad thai at Bangkok's floating market, that the woman made on her dugout canoe! 

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Mandy Ross
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July 26, 2019

Someday, I want to take a street food tour of Asia!

Arlette Paul July 26, 2019

Cafe du Monde in the french quarter, New Orleans crawfish etouffe

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Erica Moss
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July 26, 2019

@Arlette Paul Oh my gosh, and also SoBou. 🙌🏼

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

This thread is making me realize there is so much I haven't tried before, thanks for opening my eyes to your favourite dishes :)

Mikael Sandberg
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July 26, 2019

Best meal I had was katsu udon at the family run noodle shop in Tokyo that was only opened for lunch. The noodles were made fresh every day and you ordered your noodle portion based on numbers: 1, 2 or 3. They also made an awesome kimchi udon soup.

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

That kimchi udon soup sounds incredible!

Erica Moss
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July 26, 2019

Three friends & I recently indulged ourselves in a dinner at Eleven Madison Park, one of the top restaurants in the world. I was cautiously optimistic — part of me was fully expecting to be served foam on a plate and leaving feeling hungry.

As a very pleasant surprise, I was wowed by flavors you wouldn't expect to marry together, as well as impeccable attention to detail. At the end of the meal, they give you a gift bag with a jar of fresh granola inside and a copy of your menu from the evening (specific to what each individual ordered), plus a bottle of brandy for your party to enjoy at its leisure.

IMG_8574.JPG

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Mandy Ross
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July 26, 2019

I'll be doing some vicarious fine dining living through you!

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

Wow this resto is now on my bucket list!

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Walter Buggenhout
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July 26, 2019

Really the very best I ever had must have been in the Belgian restaurant Nuances of chef Thierry Theys. The guy has an amazing passion for food and spends like 2 hours (or more) to prepare a single piece of tuna. Which leads to something like this:

Screenshot 2019-07-26 at 21.40.39.png

The mix of textures, flavours and even temperatures in the man's dishes in simply amazing!

One of the most fun things related to food is the time when I accidentally found myself participating in the BBQ world championship in Germany, back in 2004. That's a story I shared earlier, but still remains one of my most heroic experiences :-)

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

I am not that fond of tuna tartar or even raw tuna sushi, but this photo you shared makes me want to try it again :)

Mr J July 27, 2019

It's weird, but one of the best meals (or at least one of the most memorable ones) was just me eating some hot dogs with my colleagues. I was visiting their office in the US (they work in an overseas office) and after hanging out for most of the night, we got hungry and went to grab some food. We went into this hot dog place and ordered two hot dogs, and one gigantic pretzel. 

It's nothing fancy, but we had a heck of a time and it's a memory I'll always cherish.

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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

Yes memories like that will last a lifetime :)

Nic Brough -Adaptavist-
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July 27, 2019

I'm not someone who can easily pick out a "best".  Memorable on the basis of (only) "this is something that tastes... so... good...", the top few on the list are

  • The Old Vicarage, near Witherslack in Cumbria (Sadly, I know that has gone, the chef I loved retired)
  • Ali's in Wellingborough
  • Bistro One in Llandudno
  • Mellons of York
  • Meat at the Parish, Windsor
  • The Fat Duck, Henley
  • The Sportsman, near Whitstable
  • Deja-Vu, Kendal
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Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

Now all I need is a teleporter to visit this awesome list!

Jodi LeBlanc
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July 28, 2019

My favourite was an 8 course meal at the Culinary Institute of Canada here in Prince Edward Island. It was a four hour experience and even with all that food no one felt stuffed at the end of the evening, just satisfied.

Another time was at a friend's party where he specializes in molecular gastronomy. He can make a drop from a test tube into a flavour burst like nothing I have ever tried before. It is all about the flavour, but with only drops you never get full so you can taste test all you want.

And for my favourite dessert, my friends and I had a cupcake and champagne party. There were 20 different kinds of cupcakes, and we cut them all up and everyone got to taste as many as they wanted. We had enough cupcakes for 100 people. Cupcakes are my favourite dessert so that was an evening I will remember forever!

A restaurant on my bucket list is Atelier in Ottawa: http://www.atelierrestaurant.ca/ The quote says plate after plate of mind-blowing dishes.

Another bucket list resto is https://www.onoirtoronto.com/. That quote is "when you eat food in the dark, your remaining senses are heightened to savour the smell and taste of food. Even everyday dishes like potatoes and yogurt take on a culinary flare.”

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Darline Auguste
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July 29, 2019

This is a tough one to answer because indeed, sometimes it's more about the location/company or what the meal may have represented. I've had some awesome experiences ranging from holes in the wall (Nyonya is a favorite of mine in Amsterdam) to Michelin starred restaurants (Noma in Copenhagen is another fave) and feel like I'm constantly topping a previous best. I joke with friends all the time that I can't wait to 'eat my way through X' whenever I'm in a new city. I'm already looking forward to seeking out some of the above recommendations! 

But if I had to choose my last meal ever, it would be my mothers legume. My family is from Haiti and legume is a delicious vegetable stew that you can also add meat/seafood to. My mom makes it with crab & beef every time I go home and it's my favorite thing to eat in life. Last time I was home, we made it together and the plan is for me to make it for her when I'm home next in August. Wish me luck!

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Mandy Ross
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July 29, 2019

I love those dishes that just make you feel like you're at home and with family. For me, it's my mom's chicken divan casserole. Super simple, cozy and filling. :)

Jodi LeBlanc
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July 30, 2019

I love that you are learning your Mom's secret recipe to pass on through generations, and that you are going to make the legumes for her in August. I am doing the same for my Mom's biscuits, they are the best I have ever had and reminds me so much of my childhood. 

Zak Laughton
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February 7, 2020

Domino's pan pizza. Every time. AMAZING. Not joking. Their pan pizza is delicious.

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Erica Moss
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February 9, 2020

@Zak Laughton I live in New York where there's a lot of great pizza, but I could not agree with you more — handmade pan 4 life. 🍕

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