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
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.

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