# Favorite Food or Meal in the European Country You Visited



## DXK (Jun 1, 2007)

JSpira said:


> *Mark´s*. Mandarin Oriental München. The Lamm was incredible.
> 
> [


That Lamb was from the Limousin region of France; they make the best organic lamb. I also recommend the Rabbit for an appetizer. I stayed in MO for 5 nights and had to have those things every night even if I was going elsewhere for dinner.


----------



## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

OK...our best was not a hotel or restaurant. We stayed a couple of days in the village where I lived the year I worked in Germany (Linden outside of Geissen). One of my old friends from there invited us to his parents house for dinner one Saturday...what a spread! Something pork, something beef (Grilled), real pommes fritters, homemade spatzle, incredible veggies from their garden and enough desserts to feed a Panzer Division. On Sunday afternoon we went back for waffles and sausages...a traditional thing. And the Licher bier was flowing all the time (A good brand made locally)
However, my wife would probably choose breakfast at the Hotel Meurice and pastries at Angelina's in Paris or the Schotzenhaus above Heidelberg (A private gun club open to the public with very interesting decor...the champion marksman every year has to commission a custom made target which they put a few bullet holes in and then hang it up for permanent display. Some of them go back to the 19th century and the servers are all delightful teenage children of the members) Neat place and good food.


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

DXK said:


> That Lamb was from the Limousin region of France; they make the best organic lamb. I also recommend the Rabbit for an appetizer. I stayed in MO for 5 nights and had to have those things every night even if I was going elsewhere for dinner.


2 dinners per evening - that's an idea. :angel:

I would have gained 5 or more kg. if I dined at Mark's every night I was there.

When I was checking in, my room wasn't quite ready and I had a club sandwich at the lobby restaurant (Mark's corner I believe). It was the best club sandwich I had ever had. Accompanied by a nice glass of Sekt. Both items complimentary.


----------



## DXK (Jun 1, 2007)

JSpira said:


> 2 dinners per evening - that's an idea. :angel:
> 
> I would have gained 5 or more kg. if I dined at Mark's every night I was there.
> 
> When I was checking in, my room wasn't quite ready and I had a club sandwich at the lobby restaurant (Mark's corner I believe). It was the best club sandwich I had ever had. Accompanied by a nice glass of Sekt. Both items complimentary.


This is funny since those are exact words I've used to describe the same sandwich to my wife. One afternoon I ate 6 of them. ( I don't gain too much weight from eating). Every time we go to Europe, we eat so much since the food is much better there, and I don't gain any weight, but my wife does, and gets angry at me. By the way, the pianist at the lobby plays great piano and tailors the music to the visitors, i.e plays Russian romances when he hears russian speech.


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

DXK said:


> ( I don't gain too much weight from eating).


I hate people like that :rofl:


----------



## emdreiSMG (Dec 10, 2003)

I don't have experience with the whole of the cuisine in Italy or Belgium. 
Nor do I feel like I've seen enough of Italy to say I have had all they have to offer. I can say I really liked the following...

GERMANY (Bavaria)-
1.)at Sankt Emmerams Muehle: Lechs Forelle (sp?) Smoked Salmon w/ some cheesy herbed spread. That good German whole-grain bread & A fresh salad w/ tomato slices on the side. Their Franziskaner was the freshest and coldest I have ever had. 

2.)at WALDHEIM Biergarten: Brat and Gemischter (sp?) salad. Along with a Mass of Hacker-Pschorr Weisse. Outstanding!
*All of the breakfast buffets I have had at LeMeridien and the Dorint have been worth lingering over.

SWITZERLAND-
-Luzerne. A brewery down on the Reuss which I believe was called Rathaus. They served a sausage salad w/ all those awesome
Swiss Cheeses.
*Great location and Breakfast buffet at Hotel Des Bains.

ITALY-
1.)I believe it was called Dante's in VERONA (in Dante's Piazza). I had a Ligurian-style Frutti di Mare over papardelle that was the best I have EVER had.
I think I had some Pasta Fagioli and a Caprese to start. Insalata Caprese is perfect food, I think. The wine was good too, maybe a barolo and a chianti?

2.)One time I was in Bellagio on a 75 degree April day. Had a Tuna Salad and some Kronenbourg's. Best Tuna salad I have probably ever had.
There was egg and artichoke and pickeled asparagus in it.


----------



## ddtan (Apr 28, 2006)

Apfel Strudel and brots at the Chinescher Turm in Englischer Gartens.
And Spaetzle at Rathaus off Marianplatz. (not responsible for spelling)
Probably not the best examples of the genre, but we enjoyed it and the atmosphere couldn't be beat.


----------



## Zheeeem (Feb 29, 2008)

A few:

A quail and foie gras millefeuille tart at Julen in Strasbourg.

The bouillebaisse at Tetu in Golfe Juan.

The choucroute at Brasserie Lipp in Paris.

The pigeon tandoori style at the Cinnamon Club in London.

The filet de sole and apple tart at Marius et Janette in Paris.

The spaghetti alle vongole at Cestia in Rome.

The sorbetto di limone at Perilli in Rome (the bucatini alla carbonara is good, too).


----------



## drand (Aug 19, 2007)

This was not on ED but last May my wife ad I were on our honeymoon to Spain and Portugal and on the 1 day each year they accept reservations, I was able to make a reservation at El Bulli in Roses, Spain (about an hour out of Barcelona). El Bulli is frequently recognized as the best restaurant in the world.

Our reservations were made for the week that they opened for the season (they are only open for 6 months out of the year), and even the drive is incredible. They are aways from town, up and over a hillside and then down on the beach right near the Mediterranean. We arrived for our 8:30 reservation and then spent the next 4 1/2 hours enjoying (mostly) some of the most unique food in the world. We were served about 32 courses, everything from small appetizers (flash frozen strawberries with waisabi) to heavier dishes (white asparagus served 5 ways, lamb brains cooked in their own juices).

For anyone who has the opportunity to be in Spain from April through September and is able to submit a reservation request on October 1st, I would fully recommend you try and get a reservation (they get hundreds of thousands of requests for 8,000 tables a year) as it will be one of the most incredible dining experiences you can have. You will pay for the experience, but in my mind it was a bargain (180 Euros each) as they could charge two or three times what they do and still fill the restaurant.

http://www.elbulli.com/

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/04/24/top.restaurants/


----------



## boothguy (Feb 1, 2007)

C'mon, gang... the OP said "...tell us about.." your favorite meal - not just list it. Hearing about WHY it's your top choice is 3/4 of the fun.


----------



## emdreiSMG (Dec 10, 2003)

Zheeeem said:


> A few:
> 
> The pigeon tandoori style at the Cinnamon Club in London.
> ).


Ahhh yes, pigeon cooked in the tandoor. Did you accompany that with a bottle of '82 Petrus?


----------



## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

Good grief.

The posts in this thread are making me insanely hungry! :rofl:


.


----------



## Zheeeem (Feb 29, 2008)

emdreiSMG said:


> Ahhh yes, pigeon cooked in the tandoor. Did you accompany that with a bottle of '82 Petrus?


Alas, I don't wine. (I do whine, however.)

The Cinnamon Club is really quite an excellent restaurant, and quite possibly the only good resto in all of Westminster (renowned for it's awful eateries). It was a fixed menu, with about a dozen courses - all good and some superlative. The grilled prawn was remarkable as well, especially since the prawn, head on, weighed almost 1/2 pound. Alas, I'm quite fond of pigeon which is inexplicably not eaten here in the former colonies.

It was one of those perfect meals. I had spent a difficult week chairing a fairly large international meeting and was completely knackered, with an early flight out the next morning. I ate alone, accompanied only by a good book. The maitre d'hotel gave me one of those semi-remote spectator seats where I could watch the action. Service was impeccable. Price was impeccable too, at a bit over 100 pounds. But absolutely worth it.


----------



## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

Sometimes the simplest food is the best...

In 2004, there was a guy selling sausages with bread from a cart at the base of the hill going up to Neuschwanstein. Absolutely delicious.

Doners from a doner stand in Schwabing in Munich.

In Gordes, France, on market day, some guy grilling all kinds of regional sausages on bread.

Believe it or not, the ham and cheese crepes at the Pont du Gard were delicious, too.

Warm apfelstrudel and vanilla ice cream at the Augustiner Keller in Munich.

Now, having said this about take-away style stuff, my wife and I had a delicious meal at Ristoro di Lamole in Lamole, Italy (just outside of Greve in Chianti).

-MrB


----------



## adc (Apr 1, 2003)

Some of my best meals have come when I least expected them - the little culinary jewels, personal experiences or veering off the beaten path have been some of the most satisfying parts about discovering a country or a culture.

As such I cannot pinpoint to just one meal and hand-on-heart declare it was the best one, but there are certain moments I'll remember and treasure for a long time to come.

The last time that happened it was late in our last evening in Provence in a sleepy little town with businesses already shuttering down for the night. After checking the menu and not being inspired by anything in particular, I asked the owner to Surprise Me with something on the light side. He smiled, delighted at the challenge - and thoroughly did just that with an improvisation of Coquilles St. Jacques avec haricots verts - and don't you agree it sounds so much better than sea scallops with green beans . Everything very fresh, with local herbs and a little chef magic to cap off a gorgeous day. And our desert was free, since he found out it was our last night in Provence... :thumbup:


----------



## b-y (Sep 14, 2004)

adc said:


> .... And our desert was free, since he found out it was our last night in Provence... :thumbup:


That points out a very important factor in customer satisfaction--offer them something extra and they will remember it. 

Here are a few examples from our recent trip:

When we mentioned that we would miss the opening of the BMW Museum because of our June travel plans, the people at the Welt immediately offered us passes good for a visit when we made it back to Munich.
Limoncello or other local digestifs offered at the end of a meal in Italy.
A "goody bag" with special spices to take home after the dinner at Schuhbeck's.


----------



## claud 3 (Jun 27, 2005)

Munich, Haxenbauer

When you roll off the plane, get your hotel arranged, and do a bit of sightseeing, its around 2PM Munchen time. If you are lucky as us, you spot a famous pig knuckle eatery. We were the only customers so the staff was very nice and friendly. The food was as good as we had in Germany.


----------



## claud 3 (Jun 27, 2005)

Most interesting dining experience.

The Bar Arrosticini
Pescara, Italy

We stayed one night in Pescara. Our guidebooks were no help on food. When in doubt, stroll around the neighborhood and try to talk with the residents about what is good within walking distance. This was an adventure in itself since the wife and I know about 8 words between us of Italian. We found some English speakers who recommended this place. The surprise was that no one at the restaurant spoke English. It was one of the best, and cheapest meals we had in Italy. The specialty was grilled lamb on a stick and grilled local sausages. I ate all the sausages before I thought to take pics.


----------



## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

Patrick said:


> Good grief.
> 
> The posts in this thread are making me insanely hungry! :rofl:
> 
> .


Me too...think we're going to HAVE to go to our one and only German restaurant in KC for rouladen this weekend.


----------



## Zundfolge (Feb 20, 2008)

That's easy. La Giostra on Borgo Pinti in Florence. Outstanding! http://www.ristorantelagiostra.com/ 
I wish I were there now...


----------



## ironside7 (Nov 21, 2006)

bimmernupe said:


> Ratkeller potato soup and red cabbage in aplle cider in Munchen.


I second the Ratskeller potato soup. The "grillwurst schmankerl"was also delicious.


----------



## mgthompson (Oct 14, 2007)

I have made a study of schweinshaxe in the Karlsruhe area. Most of the restaurants just put them on a sheet and cook them in an oven. They end up with a nice crispy side, a gooey side, and lots of fat inside. The Vogel Hausbräu in Ettlingen (http://www.vogelbraeu.de) has a rotisserie like the one shown in claud_3's post. All of the fat drips off and all of the outside is all crispy. When I visit next week they will have Weizen-Doppelbock which will go very nicely with the schweinshaxe. Can't wait...


----------



## b-y (Sep 14, 2004)

*Italian restaurant in Berlin!*

The editing of the Munich restaurants Wiki led me to think about other top restaurants in Germany, so I thought I'd revive this thread and mention Ristorante Don Camillo near Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin. The street address is Schloßstr. 7-8.

This is an unusual place with great food, but you have to know what to expect-- no menu, no prices! (And cash only!!) The owner speaks rather good English, has the staff wheel in courses on trolleys (appetizers, pasta, meat or fish, desserts) and you decide which (or several) to try. All this is accompanied by an interesting discussion--some serious, some humorous.

Approx. 50 Euros per person (a few years ago) before wine, but easily the best Italian cuisine I have had in Germany (or the US).

Web site: http://www.don-camillo-berlin.de/
City website listing: http://www.berlin.de/restaurants/index.php/bo/restaurantbo/action/display/frmRestaurantId/4761
Sample review: Berlin Online


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

We need a screen scraper that takes these posts and puts them into the wiki in the right category.:angel:


----------



## hts (Dec 19, 2001)

not a meal per se, but the most memorable food we ate during our ED was schneeballen at rothenburg ob der tauber--a very charming, if not somewhat commercial, medieval walled-in city:

http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Rothenburg/Tour/Schmiedgasse.html

we particularly enjoyed the night watchman's tour:


----------



## cwsqbm (Aug 4, 2004)

While about 40 miles outside Frankfurt, an extremely distant relative of friends I was traveling with made us sausage complete from scratch. Best sausage I've ever had.


----------



## andytaro (Jan 6, 2008)

My favorite in Paris is Tartare de Boeuf Traditionnel


----------



## AggieKnight (Dec 26, 2008)

Hands down our favorite meal in Europe. So good that my wife made us go back the next night so she could order what I had.

Served at Hotel Haus Appelberg in Dinkelsbuhl, the dish is called Pan Mutashen (I'm obviously mispelling it.

http://www.haus-appelberg.de/









Pan Mu-something is a Franconian Dish, with ravioli stuffed with spinach and sausage, covered in onions and mushrooms, more meat and finally covered with melted cheese.

Unbelievably good.

(Hotel is also the best we stayed at in our two weeks...and one of the cheapest)


----------



## Contact Patch (Nov 11, 2005)

Monk fish and Squid cooked in its ink at "vini da Pinto" in Venice were amount my favorites. Italian food just taste better in Italy.:yummy:


----------



## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

roast suckling pig in Madrid










Onion Pizza in Verazze, Italy


----------



## emdreiSMG (Dec 10, 2003)

cwsqbm said:


> While about 40 miles outside Frankfurt, an extremely distant relative of friends I was traveling with made us sausage complete from scratch. Best sausage I've ever had.


That looks like a tremendous experience!


----------



## DonnaBlackson (May 14, 2006)

The Peroggis on Krakow Poland......
Least favoite: The yuccy salad or whatever it was with grissel at Hofthbraus, yuk!!!!!!!!!!


----------

