What is the most memorable thing you ate in Europe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best falafel sandwich I've ever had at L'as du falafel in the Marais in Paris

Followed by the most delicious ice cream from Berthillon in Paris

Fresh goat cheese made from milk from goats steps away from us in the mountains of Switzerland

We also did Paris and Switzerland this summer, but the line at the falafel place was too long and we were not that hungry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White asparagus (Spargel) in season (June) in Germany.
Dessert: ice cream with hot raspberry sauce

Oh.. this! I don’t undestand how it’s not a “thing” anywhere else! I feel like I was ruined for “real” asparagus, after the first time I had it!

I'm the PP. It is labor intensive to produce it. I lived in Germany and there was an asparagus field next to my apt building. The farmers build up little piles of dirt around the plants to keep the sun off of it as they grow. (I don't understand the whole process, but I watched them do this from my window.)
I have purchased white asparagus in the grocery store from Peru--but it is not the same--at least, not to me. The season is pretty short.
Restaurants put up signs that say "We have spargel.'

The spargel in season in Germany is served a number of ways. My favorite was with buttered bread crumbs over it. It is frequently served with thinly sliced ham. So, if you plan a trip to Germany, be sure to go when spargel is in season. (Although, the best weather is in September and spargel is not in season then.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White asparagus (Spargel) in season (June) in Germany.
Dessert: ice cream with hot raspberry sauce

Oh.. this! I don’t undestand how it’s not a “thing” anywhere else! I feel like I was ruined for “real” asparagus, after the first time I had it!

I'm the PP. It is labor intensive to produce it. I lived in Germany and there was an asparagus field next to my apt building. The farmers build up little piles of dirt around the plants to keep the sun off of it as they grow. (I don't understand the whole process, but I watched them do this from my window.)
I have purchased white asparagus in the grocery store from Peru--but it is not the same--at least, not to me. The season is pretty short.
Restaurants put up signs that say "We have spargel.'

The spargel in season in Germany is served a number of ways. My favorite was with buttered bread crumbs over it. It is frequently served with thinly sliced ham. So, if you plan a trip to Germany, be sure to go when spargel is in season. (Although, the best weather is in September and spargel is not in season then.)

I’m the replying PP, and we go in May every year (DH is German so it’s an annual trip) so hit the early season. We also get the awesome strawberries! I love the Spargel with a simple hollandaise.

And as far as process, it’s asparagus that never sees the sun. While I do get that it’s a labour of love, clearly an industrialized country can do it!

[Anonymous]

This is a wonderful thread. It's making me REALLY hungry, and REALLY eager to travel more.

I keep coming back to the simplest meal: Baguette, soft cheese, and fruit, eaten anywhere and everywhere in France. I was poor when I was there, so I had quite a bit of this.

[Anonymous]

My trip to Madrid was food heaven. The paella of course was a huge highlight, and fresh homemade cheeses.

In Rome my husband became a bit obsessed with Veal Saltimbocca. He's even made a few recipes of it here at home. Of course it's not the same as he remembers, but still delicious.

[Anonymous]

roast suckling pig in madrid @ Botin
hamburger in zermatt @ Chez Vrony
rabbit kidneys and steak tartare in paris @ Bones (now sadly closed)
pappardelle al cinghiale in florence @ Buca Mario

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fresh, housemade pasta and pesto in Corniglia (Cinque Terre). So simple, so good.

Mmmm. That’s my best food memory too - pesto and seafood pasta in Cinque Terre 30 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I ate a twelve course, no menu meal in a tiny fishing village in Sicily. Accompanied by crisp white wine. It was the best meal of my life- tiny raw squid, amazing grilled octopus, some kind of Sicilian lobster, etc. Each dish just kept coming.

Anthony Bourdain had an episode in Sicily, and the meal sounds like yours. "It all started when a trip to catch cuttlefish and octopus turned out to be staged with store bought seafood, and went rather rapidly downhill from there" - I thought it was really funny (but also sad). He couldn't deal with the fakery. Very sensitive guy.

[Anonymous]

Indonesian rijsttafel in Holland

It translates to rice table where they bring you 10+ little dishes for you to try. For the vegetarians restaurants often make their own tempeh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I ate a twelve course, no menu meal in a tiny fishing village in Sicily. Accompanied by crisp white wine. It was the best meal of my life- tiny raw squid, amazing grilled octopus, some kind of Sicilian lobster, etc. Each dish just kept coming.

Anthony Bourdain had an episode in Sicily, and the meal sounds like yours. "It all started when a trip to catch cuttlefish and octopus turned out to be staged with store bought seafood, and went rather rapidly downhill from there" - I thought it was really funny (but also sad). He couldn't deal with the fakery. Very sensitive guy.

I’ve seen that episode- it was in Taormina, which is a very touristy area (the cruise ships come through). My meal was in southern Sicily, and we were the only non-Sicilians in the restaurant. I am of Sicilian heritage and speak Italian and Sicilian. It was not fake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A madeleine dipped in tea in France. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me.

Thanks Proust.

[Anonymous]

Street sausage in prague. Mulled wine at a Christmas fair in Luxemburg

[Anonymous]

Cheese soufflé at the late, great La Cigale in Paris.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I ate a twelve course, no menu meal in a tiny fishing village in Sicily. Accompanied by crisp white wine. It was the best meal of my life- tiny raw squid, amazing grilled octopus, some kind of Sicilian lobster, etc. Each dish just kept coming.

Anthony Bourdain had an episode in Sicily, and the meal sounds like yours. "It all started when a trip to catch cuttlefish and octopus turned out to be staged with store bought seafood, and went rather rapidly downhill from there" - I thought it was really funny (but also sad). He couldn't deal with the fakery. Very sensitive guy.

I’ve seen that episode- it was in Taormina, which is a very touristy area (the cruise ships come through). My meal was in southern Sicily, and we were the only non-Sicilians in the restaurant. I am of Sicilian heritage and speak Italian and Sicilian. It was not fake.

I'm the poster who brought up Anthony… didn't mean to indicate your meal was fake - just that he had a similar meal in his show (which he was blackout drunk for, because he was so distraught about the fakery). Your evening sounds absolutely amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best falafel sandwich I've ever had at L'as du falafel in the Marais in Paris

Followed by the most delicious ice cream from Berthillon in Paris

Fresh goat cheese made from milk from goats steps away from us in the mountains of Switzerland

you should visit the middle east