So what are your "amazing" food experiences?

[keltin]

Fair value is a relative term.

True that.

 

[qmax]

True that.

So where exactly you at?

I've been to Alabama a couple of times on business, a long time ago.

Actually was an eye opening food experience. Could include it here.

Circa 1980-81, I was working on a rocket program and one of our customers was NASA, at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

Had a meal at a place called Greenbriar's. Was at a little junction a few clicks outside of Huntsville. Literally at a little junction in the road. Nothing there but a general store, cotton gin, gas station and a few homes. And this hole-in-the-wall place. Had deep fried frog legs, catfish and hush puppies. I still remember it well 25+ years on. That certainly would qualify for this thread.

I wasn't cooking then, but I distinctly remember recognizing for the first time how utterly distinct and magnificent true southern cooking is.

Have never made it back to the south (I am discounting a couple of trips to Houston, and Orlando), but truly could go back on a food trip.

 

[keltin]

So where exactly you at?

I've been to Alabama a couple of times on business, a long time ago.

Actually was an eye opening food experience. Could include it here.

Circa 1980-81, I was working on a rocket program and one of our customers was NASA, at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

Had a meal at a place called Greenbriar's. Was at a little junction a few clicks outside of Huntsville. Literally at a little junction in the road. Nothing there but a general store, cotton gin, gas station and a few homes. And this hole-in-the-wall place. Had deep fried frog legs, catfish and hush puppies.

I wasn't cooking then, but I distinctly remember recognizing for the first time how utterly distinct and magnificent true southern cooking is.

Have never made it back to the south (I am discounting a couple of trips to Houston, and Orlando), but truly could go back on a food trip.

Most people consider Green Briar’s to be the bomb here! They love it.

But I grew up on the coast in Mobile and know a bit better. Green Briars is good, but nothing beats trap fresh or dock fresh catches cooked your way.

You’re well travelled to know this little place. I’m impressed.

 

[qmax]

Most people consider Green Briar’s to be the bomb here! They love it.

But I grew up on the coast in Mobile and know a bit better. Green Briars is good, but nothing beats trap fresh or dock fresh catches cooked your way.

You’re well travelled to know this little place. I’m impressed.

Well, you have enviable food there. very distinct, probably as uniquely American as there is. But then...where live has got some good stuff too.

Both places revel in the fresh seafood.

 

[keltin]

Well, you have enviable food there. very distinct, probably as uniquely American as there is. But then...where live has got some good stuff too.

Both places revel in the fresh seafood.

Ok.........JEEZ....what do you do that allows this much travel? You knew Green Briars! Amazing!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

No fresh sea food in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, but we have some of the best fresh-water fish in the world.

My most extravagant meal was in Pag San Jon (sp) River in the Phillipines. I went on one of the $20 tours put together by our ship, the U.S.S. Kittyhawk. We were taken on a dugout canoe ride up the river to a great waterfall where we swam in the pool under the falls. The ride back down the river was a blast as we shot the various small rapids in the dugouts. after the rainy ride, we feasted at the resort on a smorgasbord of amazing tropical fruits, meats, sauces, and veggies, all cooked in that unique Phillipino style that is so wonderfully fragrant and full of fresh flavor. I don't htink I'll ever eat another meal quite so fine as that one.

However, my fondest memories of food were when my Dad and I were sitting in front of the TV eating a bowl of Van Camp's Pork & Beans, with Vollworth's Beef Hot Dogs heated in the beans, or the New England Boiled Dinner, made of course with venison. I also found it a special treat when we'd make a fire and roast hot dogs on a stick. But the one meal that stands out above all the rest was a mess of freshly caught brookies, simply dredged in flour, pan fried in a couple inches of oil, and served piping hot, with a sprinkling of salt. The flash was a beautiful orange and the tails were crispy and salty, munched like potato chips with a bit of ketchup. Nothing else was served except a tall glass of ice-cold, whole milk. And that my freinds, is what my food dreams are made of.

My whole family that I grew up with could really cook. They passed that on to me. But I'm the only one truly passionate about it. My Dad might have been, but only mildly so. But everything he made was exceptional, except his pork chops, which were badly overcooked and over-salted.

I wish I had some brook trout in the freezer right now.

Don't even get me started on the legendary birthday meals we cooked up for my wife, and my kids. I made the mistake of telling them, at a young age, that I would make for them any meal they wanted for their birthday, thinking I would save money. Unfortunately, I exposed them educated their pallates too well. Some of those meals cost me in excess of $100, and that's just for the ingredients. I can't even imagine what those meals would have cost in a restaurant.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[qmax]

Ok.........JEEZ....what do you do that allows this much travel? You knew Green Briars! Amazing!

Work for a major aerospace company in the Seattle area ( among many other places, including major ops in Huntsville and Decatur). Take a guess.

Spent first part of may career working US Govt contracts (hence the Huntsville gig), then a number of years doing international marketing of air defence and surveillance systems, last half dozen years doing commercial aviation support stuff. Right now engaged in trying to build a commercial aircraft maintenance company in India.

It's been a ride.

 

[keltin]

Work for a major aerospace company in the Seattle area ( among many other places, including major ops in Huntsville and Decatur). Take a guess.

Sounds like Boeing to me! Either way, you've impressed me, I bow to your travel visa! Very Impressive! I'll never travel that much, but I am impressed in your travels. Very good! Thanks for posting this, you have really impresed me!

 

[qmax]

No fresh sea food in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, but we have some of the best fresh-water fish in the world.

My most extravagant meal was in Pag San Jon (sp) River in the Phillipines. I went on one of the $20 tours put together by our ship, the U.S.S. Kittyhawk. We were taken on a dugout canoe ride up the river to a great waterfall where we swam in the pool under the falls. The ride back down the river was a blast as we shot the various small rapids in the dugouts. after the rainy ride, we feasted at the resort on a smorgasbord of amazing tropical fruits, meats, sauces, and veggies, all cooked in that unique Phillipino style that is so wonderfully fragrant and full of fresh flavor. I don't htink I'll ever eat another meal quite so fine as that one.

However, my fondest memories of food were when my Dad and I were sitting in front of the TV eating a bowl of Van Camp's Pork & Beans, with Vollworth's Beef Hot Dogs heated in the beans, or the New England Boiled Dinner, made of course with venison. I also found it a special treat when we'd make a fire and roast hot dogs on a stick. But the one meal that stands out above all the rest was a mess of freshly caught brookies, simply dredged in flour, pan fried in a couple inches of oil, and served piping hot, with a sprinkling of salt. The flash was a beautiful orange and the tails were crispy and salty, munched like potato chips with a bit of ketchup. Nothing else was served except a tall glass of ice-cold, whole milk. And that my freinds, is what my food dreams are made of.

My whole family that I grew up with could really cook. They passed that on to me. But I'm the only one truly passionate about it. My Dad might have been, but only mildly so. But everything he made was exceptional, except his pork chops, which were badly overcooked and over-salted.

I wish I had some brook trout in the freezer right now.

Don't even get me started on the legendary birthday meals we cooked up for my wife, and my kids. I made the mistake of telling them, at a young age, that I would make for them any meal they wanted for their birthday, thinking I would save money. Unfortunately, I exposed them educated their pallates too well. Some of those meals cost me in excess of $100, and that's just for the ingredients. I can't even imagine what those meals would have cost in a restaurant.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

Very cool post!

Trout, little green onion, lemon inside, dredged in cornmeal and fried in bacon fat is is one of the best meals on the planet. Ala Hemingway.

 

[qmax]

Sounds like Boeing to me! Either way, you've impressed me, I bow to your travel visa! Very Impressive! I'll never travel that much, but I am impressed in your travels. Very good! Thanks for posting this, you have really impresed me!

You nailed the Co! The travel is a double edged sword. Most of the time it hasn't been too onerous. But I did have one year when my kid was only 11, when I was gone over 100 days during the year. You don't recoup that. It hurt a lot.

But other than that, I have been some interesting places, and one of the most memorable features of these place has been the food.

I am grateful for that. Anyway, thanks.

 

[keltin]

You nailed the Co! The travel is a double edged sword. Most of the time it hasn't been too onerous. But I did have one year when my kid was only 11, when I was gone over 100 days during the year. You don't recoup that. It hurt a lot.

But other than that, I have been some interesting places, and one of the most memorable features of these place has been the food.

I am grateful for that. Anyway, thanks.

You know what qmax.....I've got no other way to say this.........but I like you! Thanks for being here!! And keep the stories up.....I like them!

 

[qmax]

Sounds like Boeing to me! Either way, you've impressed me, I bow to your travel visa! Very Impressive! I'll never travel that much, but I am impressed in your travels. Very good! Thanks for posting this, you have really impresed me!

Hey, I forgot to ask...you still in the Mobile area?

Did you see Ken Burns' "The War"? Mobile was a featured place. The series was as good as television gets.

 

[qmax]

You know what qmax.....I've got no other way to say this.........but I like you! Thanks for being here!! And keep the stories up.....I like them!

I like you too, Keltin. You're a gentleman. Gotta respect that.

 

[Indigo_Swale]

Nothin’ personal, but I find paying $600 or $1200 for a meal incredibly asinine and foolish. It’s not impressive, but it does impress upon one that some have no concept of money or fair value. For the most part, all you do is pay for the name of the restaurant or resident “chef”. No different than buying cookware endorsed by a celebrity chef….but obviously more expensive.

Well, first of all, I didn't pay $1200 for anything. Can I help it if I have a BF who makes more money than he knows what to do with and seems to enjoy spending it on me?? (One of the perks of being an aging hottie: You now actually like and want to date gentlemen from that class of older, accomplished guys who wanted to be your sugar daddy when you were 19 and you had zero interest in guys who weren't hot young unemployed musicians, preferably slightly psychotic. )

That said, if I had his kind of money, I probably would be willing to spend $1200 on an extraordinary restaurant meal from time to time. (Though keep in mind that the wine was probably about $400, and I'm sure he tipped well over $200.)

Of couse...if you truly believe that there is no difference in the quality of food produced by a chef like Michel Richard or Thomas Keller vs. the chef who runs the kitchen at, say, your local Olive Garden, and that you are just paying for the "name" Citronelle or French Laundry....well,then, I don't really know what else to say. (You don't really believe that, do you?)

I'm not saying that there aren't restaurants that are overpriced, I'm just saying that truly talented chefs like Richard and Keller have earned their reputations by producing brilliant food, and truly brilliant food is worth a great deal more money than mediocre food.

To each his own though, I suppose. Some don’t understand the desire to pay $1500 for an LCD TV when a regular CRT displays a good image. But at least with electronics you can objectively measure the difference. Still, I imagine a $400 Kobe steak grilled to medium rare would taste the same as the same cut bought from a vendor and grilled yourself for only $60 or less.

You make a good point. Personally, I have one 13" CRT TV in my home that I bought off an old roommate for 50 bucks, and I have absolutely no desire to upgrade. I prefer radio to TV anyway.

Everyone has different ideas about what, exactly, is valuable, and they spend money accordingly.

Personally, I tend to value experience over material goods. When I do spend a lot of money on material things, it's usually because they will enhance some highly-valued experience.

I have a few all-consuming obsessions, and most of my disposable income goes to items or experiences that feed those obsessions: For example, I'm an obsessive birder/hiker/naturalist. As such, I would be happy to spend $1500 on a pair of Leica or Zeiss binoculars. I imagine that, unless you are also a birder, you would never do such a thing.

OTOH, I am not an obsessive TV-watcher or technophile. Therefore I would never spend $1500 on a TV. But neither would I judge anyone else for doing so, nor tell them that they were "asinine and foolish" or had "no concept of money or fair value."

One of my obsessions is food & cooking: I am immensely curious about all kinds of food, from haute cuisine to the most humble home cooking and street foods. As a result, I spend a lot of my (rather meager) disposable income on food-related items and experiences. If there's a recipe I really want to try, I'll spend $100 on equipment and ingredients and feel it was well worth it for the experience of learning something new, even if it means that I have to skimp on other things til the next paycheck. Same with restaurant meals, whether it's $15 at a soul food place or $150 for ten pieces of ultra-fresh, impeccably good sushi.

I guess that's the difference between you and me: For me, a $1200 meal is a learning experience. A $12 meal can be a learning experience, as well--but it will teach me something different, as will an ambitious $200 meal I cook at home. For that matter, even a mediocre, outrageously overpriced meal at a pretentious restaurant teaches me something.

The point: One of my personal goals is to learn as much as I possibly can about food, wine and cooking before I die...And anything that brings me closer to achieving that goal seems to me a worthwhile way to spend money--whether it's an insanely expensive restaurant meal at a Michelin 3-star, a bowl of menudo at a venerable family-run place in East L.A., a long-anticipated trip to see the street vendors of Thailand or the vineyards of Bordeaux (both just fantasies at this point), or 50+K on a culinary degree from the CIA (another fantasy).

So. You and I have different interests and values. You might consider being a tad less judgmental about these things. This is, after all, a forum devoted to food and cooking.

BUT….that’s just my opinion, say and do what you will.

Thanks for the permission. I sure will.

I didn’t experience this myself, but one of the most amazing food stories I ever heard came from my now deceased FIL. He was in the military and stationed in Italy during WW2. He stayed near a small and impoverished village where the women washed clothes on a rock in a free running stream. He would often go to that village at night and socialize and have dinner. And his stories about open pit cooking, fire brick ovens, and kettle meals blow away anything I could ever hope to attain, no matter how much money I threw at it. You can’t buy stories or experiences like that. Sorry.

No need to apologize. As I noted, a list of my repasts that were memorable due to extraordinary circumstances, unbeatable atmosphere, amazing company, nostalgiac bliss and the like (rather than the quality of the food itself) would be different for me, and I omitted many meals that fell into that category. [They include pasta meals in Little Italy with connected guys... pork chops and collard greens cooked by my BF's mom when I was 14 and pregnant...improvised birthday meals cooked on propane stoves in remote canyons on military bases... Morton's in Vegas with my stripclub-owner/boss/lover... lobster and key lime pie at the Homeport in Menemsha once a year with my family when I was small ....rice & beans & a fried egg & fried platanos for every meal in Costa Rica....the best-ever Mongolian Beef, eaten half-naked in the dressing room of the Great Alaskan Bush Company in Anchorage....surprisingly delicious little bean burritos served at the home of a resident of Boquillas, Mexico (population about 20) that doubled as a sort of restaurant, after taking a rowboat across the Rio Grande from Big Bend N.P. in Texas...bits of chorizo, and fish soaked in olive oil and garlic, eaten in gypsy caves in Andalucia during juergas, while my father played guitar, and old men sang older songs, wailing and sweating, and fat women were transformed into pure beauty as the heels of their shoes moved over earthen floors and their faces changed into the faces of women who could never be possessed, even in love.....]

But, that is just my opinion….carry on!

Yeah. Thanks again.

 

[abjcooking]

In Lisbon we ate at a wonderful restaurant called Terreiro do Paco. The chef Vitor Sobral uses regional ingredients and the dishes are fantastic, but not cheap. The building was previously the Royal Palace until it was destroyed after the earthquake in 1755.

While camping in Maine we went to a small local restaurant on the bay known for their lobster. It was nothing fancy, but the atmosphere of sitting on the heated screened porch overlooking the ocean was very memorable for me.

Just recently we visited Zurich and had a great time eating traditional cheese fondue early in the afternoon before heading into old town for a few drinks. That was the same afternoon that the tram driver decided to stop in the middle of the street for a cigarette break leaving me locked on the tram. Of course I was the only one on there, since I didn't speak the language I must not have understood the announcement on the previous stop I ended up going into the conductors area in the front and started pounding on the window to get his attention. Needless to say that whole day was pretty memorable.

There is a little B&B in Norman, Oklahoma called Whispering Pines. My parents took me there on my last trip after some of their friends recommended it. Great food and even better service. My parents had been their only once before for my sisters birthday and when they took me the weighter remembered my father's drink and that my mother was allergic to garlic. I was very impressed all around. A few of the dishes that were outstanding were the corn and crab bisque, duck salad, and the filet.

 

[keltin]

(One of the perks of being an aging hottie: You now actually like and want to date gentlemen from that class of older, accomplished guys who wanted to be your sugar daddy when you were 19 and you had zero interest in guys who weren't hot young unemployed musicians, preferably slightly psychotic. )

"Aging Hottie"?

 

[m00nwater]

Most amazing food experiences:


*When I worked on San Clemente Island as a biologist: the predator-control boys would go out fishing and bring back fresh yellowtail. We'd slice it up and eat it raw, or roll it in sesame seeds and sear it lightly, or grill it over hot coals and make delicious fish tacos. Once they went over to Catalina and shot a wild boar, then came back and cooked it underground and served it with a kind of apple-raisin chutney. I dunno, there was just something kind of revelatory for me, originally a city kid, about eating freshly-killed food. The botanist on island once picked a whole bunch of ripe elderberries and made a fresh elderberry pie. I thought that was pretty amazing, too.

Those are great! Your stories spurred my own memories of freshly caught brook trout as a kid. We'd take them home, clean them, toss them in flour and pan fry them. Nothing quite like a freshly caught meal!

We also used to snare rabbits in the winter, which always tasted great as well (except the odd one that tasted like spruce needles because that's probably all it was eating all winter). A freshly shot partridge was always a special treat, too. My brother and I would go hunting for them in the fall and it was always exciting to know we'd be eating fresh bird for dinner that night!

And yes, there really is nothing quite like a fresh fruit/berry pie. We'd pick rhubarb from the garden in the morning and make a pie that afternoon.

I love those "natural" meals!

 

[m00nwater]

I find it noteworthy and very cool that many of the experiences related here are founded in childhood and family.

Yes, I think it also very noteworthy. I think if you look upon ANY relevant and memorable moment, it will very likely involve family/childhood memories. Christmas just isn't the same anymore without those rituals/traditions we used to partake in with my family.

My solution is to incorporate similar traditions within my own little family and act like a kid as much as possible!

 

[Callisto in NC]

Yes, I think it also very noteworthy. I think if you look upon ANY relevant and memorable moment, it will very likely involve family/childhood memories. Christmas just isn't the same anymore without those rituals/traditions we used to partake in with my family.

My solution is to incorporate similar traditions within my own little family and act like a kid as much as possible!

I noticed the same thing. I think it's because we have so much less on our minds as kids that we remember longer.

 

[johndey]

Hi qmax I have heard about the goat bbq and even more outlandish stuff (camel bbq) from family in SA. I think it must be an experience to remember. Here are some of mine, I would not call them extravagant but they were unique and I will cherish them for a long time to come:

India: A place called Vishala in Ahmedabad where they have created an old village type theme. You sit on a jute bed and eat under the stars in a thali (plate). Simple fresh food and an experience that cannot be beat.

Eygpt: Eat in an authentic Shwarma joint in Mohedeseen locale. It was great local food that you can't exactly get outside of Cairo. Also went to the Khan e Khalil market and ate at a popular restaurant there. The best kababs and falafel ever. The food on the Oberoi Philae (a Nile cruise ship) was also truly authentic and spectacular. The chef would take us inside the kitchen and we got to eat fresh eygptian flat bread and falafel as they were making it.

Austria: Loved eating at the little authentic restaurants dotted along the highways. The coffee and pastries (especially the apfelstrudle) which are so fundamental to that culture was great every time.

Amsterdam: Really great dutch pancakes. Tried them for breakfast. They were huge and talk about different toppings from apple to strawberries to pineapple. The pancakes were super thin and almost like a crepe. So good.

Paris: Food is good there period but I love the simple sucre crepe sold by the road stalls. I was there in December and it was chilly and to eat that warm crepe (steam still coming out) as you stroll through the beautiful locales of Paris was an experience I will remember for some time to come.

Hawaiin Luau: I don't eat pork so cannot enjoy the kalua pig but the other stuff was great and the experience for us was unforgettable.

Been to London and eaten good food (especially curry)there as well but the ones above stand out more.

All thanks for sharing and very informative, can't wait to try out next time and eager to visit these places.