Fun Topic: Best Thing You've Ever Tasted in Europe - Keep it short

Fried figs with fois gras, as a dessert, came pretty close. From the old Le Timbre, Paris 2013.

Edit: Oops, I see now that I wrote fried figs, I meant to say fresh figs with fried fois gras! Also, I have heard good things about the new Le Timbre.

Three way tie between pear sorbet, green apple sorbet (both at Gelateria Artiginale Eliot in Orta San Giulio) and the green apple sorbet "with just a touch of Calvados, not too much, just the right amount" per the waiter in Milano. Oh. My. Word.

Lambchop starter at Tayyab's in London.

On a covered restaurant patio overlooking the tiny bay in San Fruttuoso...a simple pasta with cheese made from sheep's milk. I've never tasted anything like it before or since!

30 month aged Comte in Paris

Roast boar with wild mushrooms served at a trattoria at a vineyard in Tuscany - can't remember the name but if I ever get back to Tuscany I will try to find it.

Cevapcici with ajvar in Kantrida, Rijeka in Croatia

Hard to choose, but I keep dreaming of two dishes... rabbit ravioli at a restaurant in Apricale Italy called Delio. Also a "nest" of pasta with cheese and honey called Nidi di Rondini Pecorino e Miele at Trattoria del Moro Aronne in Orvieto.

Borst and vareniki at the Magnolia Hotel in Kolomiya, Ukraine. Best I've ever had except my wife's.

A slushy dessert made of lemon sorbet mixed with cava (Spanish "champagne") in Spain, 2013.

mint gelato (Fior di Latte e Menta) at Gelateria Della Passera: https://gelaterialapassera.wordpress.com/

According to this HubPages article, I'm not the only fan: http://realfoodie.hubpages.com/hub/The-3-Best-Gelateria-Shops-in-Florence

Mushroom Lasagna from a RS recommended restaurant in Montalcino. Yummy!

I asked my husband and after 15 seconds, he said the Mushroom Lasagna also. Slightly ahead of the creme brulee at the same restaurant.

Pumpkin tortellini with sage cream sauce in Sabbioneta (30 years ago). Rum-raisin gelato in Bolseana last year.

Aviemore, Scotland
Cairngorm Hotel Restaurant
Roasted chicken served with potatoes, gravy, skirlie (oats fried with onions--- YUM!!!), kilted soldier (link sausage wrapped in bacon- also yum), and veggies.

Ultimate comfort food.

Dalwhinnie Whisky- 18 year old

Pesto in Cinque Terre :)

Tomato juice served to me in a Restaurant in Vernazza (in the Cinque Terre) in Liguria in ITALY. Tomato juice is not on the menu. I asked for tomato juice. Fresh raw tomatoes were put into a juicer. The cool tomato juice was poured into a big glass, for me. No salt added. Delicious ! I also liked the Pesto at the Cinque Terre. The Pesto has a wonderful aroma.

French fries with mayonaise after visiting a coffee shop in Amsterdam.

Elk entrecôte with chanterelle sauce at the Kallaren Kronan restaurant in Kalmar, Sweden

A seafood platter just up the hill outside Vernazza. You know the place ;)

Ireland: Bulmer's
Paris: chocolates and macarons from the best chocolatiers
Italy: just about everything
Munich: potato pancakes with quark (street vendor at Xmas market)
Istanbul: pomegranate lokum

Matt, this thread needs to come with kleenex to mop up the drool.

Three way tie between Schweinhaxe just about anywhere in Germany, fries with pindasaus in Belgium, and some fish meal I had in Finland with a tar-based sauce.

pesto in Genoa, thanks to a couchsurfing host

black cherry gelato in Rome last year at Don Pepe cremeria

Oh Oh - rosti somewhere outside of Bern at a ski place where some couchsurfing hosts took us - I tried to replicate it at home to no avail.

Long-stemmed artichoke hearts in Florence, steamed and seasoned 'just so.' Just NOT the same here in the US, even when we finally found the long-stemmed kind here.

Spaghetti alle vongole (clams) in Naples. It must have been the fresh clams from the Bay of Naples that made this dish SO delicious.

A chocolate-syrup-based liqueur made by the monks of the monastery of Fonte Avellana in the Marche region of Italy.

Grilled arctic salmon main course with a langoustine appetizer. Reykjavik, Iceland.

Sturm only available in the fall around Austria.

Shopska salata - a superior mixed salad in Bulgaria, 2004.

Sharing a Smithwick's, doner kebab and fries with curry sauce at 1AM with an extremely good looking Galwegian. His kissing ability was much tastier than the meal.

A cold beer in a Munich beer garden on a beautiful summer day with perhaps white radishes..It does not get better.

Carcioffii a la Romana in Rome
Taittinger Champagne in France

Fresh anchovies prepared three ways at a Table overlooking the harbor in Vernazza, Italy.

A warm, gooey, freshly made Nutella crepe from a street vendor in Paris on a cold February night...mmmm!

Homemade lemon preserves in Monterosso, Italy (a close second: Limoncello in same location)

Crema de Catalana in Barcelona, Spain

Cadbury (any variety) in London

Pizza! In Rome next to the Italian Parliament, Piazza Montecitorio. Pizza Della was filled with government workers at lunch. We walked in, ordered at the counter, and ate it 'take away'! Best Pizza and atmosphere ever! Eating as a local😍

Matt,

It's difficult to narrow it down to only one "best", but the first thing that comes to mind is freshly made Pesto in the Cinque Terre.

Spumetra at a rest stop on the autostrada in Italy. Fresh squeezed blood oranges run through a machine that grinds it all up, rind and all.

Chocolate ice cream laced with rum and dark chocolate shavings in Paris.

Sticky toffee pudding in Inverness.

Kopparberg pear cider (the first time) in Belfast.

Schweppes Agrum in France.

Home made rabbit stew in Toulouse.

Rhubarb (I think) flan in Verdun.

Cécémel cold dark chocolate milk in Belgium.

Savory vegetable flan in Florence.

Fried calamari in Fiumicino.

Schweine Schäufele in Nuremberg.

Yes, it is hard to pick only one thing...

Fresh, large, plump oysters on a square in Strasbourg during the Christmas season year before last.

Ris de veau au jus with chanterelles at a starred restaurant specializing in southern cuisine near Place des Vosges, 2009.

Duck comfit and profiteroles in France.
Fresh white truffles grated over pasta, and virtually any gelato, in Italy.
Guinness in Ireland.

Lemon Sorbet - Paris. The pucker factor was amazing

Panna cotta gelato, Gelateria Brivido, Siena
Gorgonzola gnocchi, Trattoria al Trebbio, Florence

Fiocchetti di pere in salsa di taleggio e asparagi at Trattoria Quattro Leoni in Firenze (pasta "bows" or "purses" containing pears in a sauce of taleggio cheese and asparagus tips).

The bacon on top of a filet at Al Profeta in Venice.

The fresh frozen orange juice from the little store outside Pompeii near train station.

Fresh Guinness in Ireland

A French baguette at L'Arve Hotel in Chamonix, France. The most perfect chunk of bread I've ever eaten. And I've tried a lot of baguettes... Yum.

Goulash with potato dumplings in Budapest.

A doner from a street stand on Schonhauser Allee in Berlin.

Anything fried, especially potatoes, in Spain.

I'll do by city since its too hard to pick just one thing.

London - Scottish eggs (seriously they are so good)
Paris - macarons from Pierre Hermes
Rome - pizza
Venice - a little chocolate cup with orange liqueur in it. Complimentary with our meal. Yummy.

Sticky toffee pudding - England

That pesto in the Cinque Terrre was unbelievably good.

Our last night in Amsterdam, an appetizer that I first thought was sushi grade tuna, but turned out to be beef. Forget the restaurant, but it is one RS tours go to.

Most duck dishes in France.

Schnitzel dishes in Austria and Germany. Husband's motto last summer was "a schnitzel a day keeps the doctor away" as we worked our way through the many village heurigen.

Apfel strudel with warm vanilla sauce in Austria and Germany.

Apricot dumpling (in season) in Austria. Washauer Marillenknodel. I'm going to attempt to make this recipe for our dinner guests next week. Wish me luck.

Freshly baked, still warm pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant). MMMmmmm.....

I know that there are things that tasted better, but I still think about the wurst salad at Der Wolf in Eningen uA. I last had in the 1970's with the last of that year's Apfelmost served in a crock.

Fries with any sauce at Place Jordan in Brussels, followed by "café Vatel" (coffee, whipped cream, cookies, chocolate and homemade ice cream) at Vatel (also, Place Jordan).

this is tough!!! so many good things. pastitsio from stella's in rethymno, crete. or those little custard tarts in lisbon, specically the place in belem near the monastery.

Plain spaghetti with simple tomato sauce, on a beach in Western Tuscany.

Aside from the raw (cru: unpasteurized) cheeses, a meal of tartare du beouf (steak tartar) and a dessert of local cherries with vanilla ice cream. All at Le Rendezvous in Auxerre.

Caccio e pepe at Roma Sparita in Trastevere, Rome.

Pastries in Turkey. So good we kept going back to the same bakery.
J

Canard in L'Epicerie in Amboise, France.
http://www.lepicerie-amboise.com/histoire.html

Coq au Vin at Le Chapon Fin, Epernay, France. Mixed reviews, I've seen. But we had the best service and food there...went 2X. Go for a table outside, weather permitting
https://plus.google.com/115869168156591592422/about?gl=br&hl=en

Shepherd's Pie in some back alley pub in downtown Edinburgh, Scotland
Sticky Toffee Pudding at Twice Brewed at Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland.....and I will tell you that this IS the best because my husband and I tried this wherever we were and this was by far the best. We started in Ireland and ordered it in every pub and restaurant we ate at for six weeks to find the best. Twice Brewed won out. Too bad it was such a bear of a place to get too....out in the middle of no where! Amazing countryside!! Would return in a heartbeat!

Pesto made from pistachios in Sicily.

Cream gelato from Origini Gelateria near the Pantheon. You're welcome.

Canned goulash soup (Knorr) eaten in our apartment in Vienna with fresh croissants and butter ... during December snowstorm when staying inside for dinner was a great idea. (We packed soup cans on our checked luggage for the trip home.)

We called ahead (as Rick recommended) to Walter at Hotel Mittaghorn in Gimmelwald. When we got there, tired and cold, Walter had prepared pork chops, red cabbage, and fried potatoes. We were the only guests in the hotel (in November) and it was the best meal and conversation of that trip. It is still our winter comfort meal--30 years later.

Best meal ever, hands down, was arroz costra at Riua restaurant in Valencia, Spain, this past May. My mouth is watering this moment just thinking about it. They serve authentic Valenciana food and cater mostly to the locals, but the proprietor at our B&B told us about the restaurant and we are so glad she did! It is one of our most memorable moments from our month-long trip to Spain and Portugal.

Asparagus sorbet with grilled strawberries in a peppered balsamic vinaigrette.
(Grand Restaurant Pupp, Karlovy Vary 2013)

Every single meal I ate in Sicily! Food heaven.

Apple pie and coffee at Winkels in Amsterdam.

Spaghetti with truffles at Lake Garda in May. Was amazing!

A big cheeseburger at the American Steakhouse in Brighton, England. We'd been on the road for 2 weeks in the Austrian Alps without any American food. And it was a first class burger.

Gnocchi !!! My first-ever plate of gnocchi will always be my most memorable, which I enjoyed at Trattoria Chiribiri in San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy.

Among the food or drink that struck me as exceptional at the time: a country dinner at this farmhouse tavern in Alsace,

Schnitzel in typical Austrian small restaurants (Gaststätten), unlike anything comparable in Germany or France,

trying Berliner Weisse mit rot for the first time in 1971...still one of my favourites in beer along with Herforder Pils in Germany.

Minke whale in Iceland. Unforgettable!

Lasagna at The Swan pub in, yes, Marlborough, England and roesti in an outdoor cafe in Basel, Switzerland.

Fried zucchini blossoms at 13 Gobbi in Florence.

Foie gras "bikini" appetizer at Cafe de l'Academia in Barcelona. No website and a challenge to find, but well worth the effort.

Foie gras "bikini" appetizer at Cafe de l'Academia in Barcelona. No website and a challenge to find, but well worth the effort.

** Gelato - anywhere in Italy - it's all good there
** Locally grown tomatoes from a farmer's market in Ljubljana
** Thin pizza at eatery on the edge of Piazza Navona in Rome
** Steak Florentine in Florence
** Steak Tartare at George V on Champs Elysees (brother-in-law's favorite)
** Beer most places in Europe - vastly improved from years back
** Tapas in Spain
** The cheese course at many Paris restaurants
** Watching (and eating) pasta being made from scratch - outside Rome

"Butter Fish" in Christiansfeld, Denmark at the Tryp Hotel. We were there to get married. Truly tasty fish.

Dark chocolate gelato at the Paulsplatz in Frankfurt. All of the Eis Salons are owned by Italians, so the gelato is excellent.

Calamari in Gythion, Greece.

The first French baguette in the morning is always the best - simply fresh, warm, crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside that is a perfect base for sweet or savory additions, or to eat all on its own.

Minke whale in Iceland. Unforgettable!

I wouldn't call that the best thing I've ever eaten, but it definitely was unforgettable. Tasted like the darkest, fattiest salted beef you could imagine.

Maccarons from Laduree in Paris
Gelato and limoncello in Italy
White asparagus served Flemish-style (w/butter) at Bistro den Hazaar in Bruges, Belgium

No thinking required. Definitely Bujta Repa in Prekmurje, Slovenija!!!!!!!

At Leopold's in Lisbon: all 7 courses were glorious, but we both truly enjoyed the poached egg with shiitake mushrooms and various wild seeds, AND a banana pureé with cinnamon sand, salty white cheese and some wonderful port.

Lots of good food everywhere in Europe, but I've just returned from Slovenia and can't stop thinking about the cream cake in Lake Bled.

Schnitzel with steamed potatoes in melted butter at a lakeside restaurant in Hallstatt, Austria. The scenery might have had something to do with it, but the food was amazing.

Many different fish dishes in Bilbao, Spain and pear cider in Normandy

The mussels at Fishy Fishy Cafe in Kinsale, Ireland.

Fruit scones with butter and jam.

Ah, nasching at the Viennese Heuriger,
Warm french baguette, the vin rouge in a Paris sidewalk cafe,
Swiss breakfast,
Roman pizza,
Münchner beer outside with a few thousand friends.

Carbonnades Flamandes (Flemish stew) at two different restaurants in Antwerp. And I'm not a big meat eater!

Hard to decide between Nocciola gelato in Florence, or Caciao e Pepe pasta in Rome.

Hot chocolate in Italy in December. A delicious chocolate bar in a cup.

Fried Zucchini Blossoms from Ristorante Barchetta in Bellagio. Oh my goodness!

Fish and chips in Glasgow. Ask about good meals, and most think of high-end, foody cuisine, but the street fare I had in Scotland was the best I had in 12 visits to Europe.

A close second would be goulash in Budapest.

Holunderblüten (elderberry blossom) gelato in Trier, Germany. The blossoms had been hand-gathered by the gelato shop owner.

Red wine risotto. In 2012 we had it at a little place in Pavia. Last month, Risotto of the Drunks made with Lambrusco at Osteria D'Oca in Mantova. Amazing.

Williams pear in Brittany in September.

Pigs cheeks at Petit Pontoise in the 5th, Paris.

(So many new posters; Welcome to the Forum!)

Again, not the absolute best thing I've ever eaten in Europe, but as The Whole Package Experience:
My first liter at Augustiner Bräustübl (Mülln) in Salzburg. The beer, plus the intimate biergarten, plus the church bells...Heaven on Earth. Pretty sure the Heavens opened and there were angels singing ;-)

It's my Happy Place.

Linguine con funghi at La Provenda Trattoria in Palermo (via Roma, toward the station from Hotel Ambasciatori.) Simple, but amazing.

Ireland( Howth)- best mussels I have ever had( and I have had alot!) at a dockside restaurant called " The Deep'

France- any freshly made ham and cheese crepe, baguette sandwich with only butter and ham, creme brulee at La Couple.

Spain- any seafood we ordered at our hotle restaurant on the sea in Tossa de Mar( Capri hotel), fresh and perfectly ccooked!

London- pork and chorizo burger with red onion relish , served at pub near Euston station, went back three times for it!
Also loved bacon in general in UK, much nicer then ours , meatier!

I have has some tasty things in many other europeon countries, but they just don't stand out like above foods.

Gelato, believe it or not, in Eger, Hungary - better than what I had in Florence, Italy!

Alicante, Spain : seafood paella
Paris: pizza with tuna and olives

Fondue in Switzerland

• Creamy gelato in Italy...
• freshly baked lemon apple cake in Girona, Spain...
• Stuffed tomatoes. Juicy, sweet (just harvested) green grapes, and Baklavas in Greece...
• croissants & sweet pastries in France...
• Belgium frites in Brussels...

Florence--pesto
Paris--Nutella crepe
Scotland--porridge with maple syrup
Capri--lemon risotto
Antibes--grilled squid
Ireland--salmon

Churros and chocolate at Gines in Madrid

Pancakes in Amsterdam. (Duck in Paris is 2nd)

The best thing I ever tasted in Europe was lipstick. Once!

Monte wins!

The gelato in Rome is completely different than everything I've ever tasted outside Italy, and so much better! A friend took me to a gelato place very far outside the touristic area called La Dolce Vita (not so far from Ponte Milvio) and it was amazing!

My favorite sliced pizza in Rome, I kept finding at a chain called Alice, and this was also better than anything of the sort I have ever tasted. I like very much a white tuna pizza they make.

My favorite chocolates must be Puccini in Amsterdam; very expensive, but very worth it and made with no preservatives.

If I am away from Amsterdam for too long I miss the patat oorlog at Manneken Pis. I can't live for very long without going there!

Farro risotto with eggplant and tomato, Trattoria Leo, Lucca. Did manage to make a feeble facsimile at home.

Raspberry Rose sorbet from Berthillon in Paris one month ago!! So unbelievably fragrant and declicious!

Barnacles in Nazare', Portugal

Ribollita (great Tuscan soup) at several restaurants in Florence.

Meringue ice cream cake - Casa Giovanni, Torreglia, Italy
Farmer's white wine - Pietreionne Agriturismo, Ponte, Campania, Italy
Chocolate-covered meringues - Ganges, Herault, France
Papardelle with wild boar ragu - Fiesole, Italy
Rabbit stew - Bruges, Belgium

Wild boar with polenta at Il Compaccio in Siena! Magical!

Fresh mussels in Positano

Marinated mussels by the old marina in Honfleur!

Real canolies in Sicily, my favorite place was the island of Lipari.

The locally made pesto in Vernazza Italy, on the Cinque Terre. Have never had any that comes close.

Schnitzel with cheese and sausage and greens all on one plate in Rothenburg Germany. So good I went back the following night for dinner and they took me into the kitchen and I watched how he made the noodles.

Pizza in San Giorgio a Cremano, outside of Naples, Italy.

Gelato - fell in love with Lemon

Waffles in Belgium with strawberries and cream

Chocolate everywhere!!!!

Well, I just noticed they are all sweets. We tried something everywhere.

jenny

Just about everything in Italy is good. Pompei really surprised me -- the best steak I've ever had in my entire life.

The olive focaccia and a Coke light at Focacceria Antonio in Monterosso al Mare while sitting on a bench outside just people watching and enjoying the experience of this great town while we ate. Such a simple but sooo good lunch while visiting the Cinque Terre. I wish I could duplicate this at home!

Just returned from Tuscany and used your book the Hill Towns of Tuscany for our trip. Some of our most memorable meals were in Cortona and Montepulciano. In Cortona we had luch at Osteria de Teatro...the best homemade ravioli stuffed with zucchini cheese and zucchini flowers. Have you ever had anything so delicious that you didn't want the meal to end? Savored every bite.
So delicious. At La Acquachetta in Montepulciano you order steak by the size you want and he actually cuts it in front of you before he puts it in the oven. The oven looks like a coal fired oven. Also while in Tusacany, try the homemade pasta with wild boar sauce. Fabulous. They have it on lots of menus. I guess you can tell I love good food. Thanks Steve for all the good tips in " The Hill Towns of Tuscany".

Spain-Cafe con leche- why can't they make it here?
Spain-Pistachio gelato from Los Italianos in Granada.

Turkish delight in Istanbul

More gelato, you say? Lavender in Gordes, Licorice in Vernazza. The guy in his shop in Vernazza (right at the harbor near where the passenger boats come in) was kind enough to give me a taste of it. When my wife also wanted a taste he motioned to me like ask him how he liked it, he just tried it and he's your husband. Very funny.

Wild myrtle (myrt sauvage) ice cream, in Corsica, from a roadside stand in a beautiful forest.

Glazed salmon at Fishy Fishy in Kinsale; scone and clotted cream at a little cafe/shop on the Slea Head drive

Oslo: lefse with butter and sugar, made over an open fire at the folk museum
Loire valley: baguette with camembert and a glass of red wine, in the garden of our B&B
Strasbourg: crêpe with ham, cheese, and mushrooms, at a cafe in a small city square
Paris: crêpe with nutella on the street at night
Munich: beer and pretzels at the Chinese biergarten
Garmisch-Partenkirchen: pork with cheese spaetzle by lamplight in a small tavern
Orvieto: pasta with simple tomato sauce in a small restaurant near the cathedral
Rome: pizza margherita at an outdoor table near the Spanish steps
London: ploughman's lunch (bread with cheddar and pickle), at the Spaniards Inn near Kenwood house

Beef fillet on lime tequila marinade at a Mexican restaurant in Switzerland. I kinda feel like cheating since I'm "voting" my own country and it's not even a native dish but it's one of the meals I can remember that I would call orgasmic.

Probably on par but further back was this absolutely amazing salmon fillet we had in Finland somewhere around Kitilä. Half a salmon, "nailed" to a board with wooden stakes, marinated with herbs and then, propped up next to an open fire for cooking. It was heavenly.

Peach gelato at "Riva Gelateria" in Varenna
Lamb liver with polenta cooked 3 ways from "Rosa Rossa" in Venice
Spleen on a roll from a street cart in Palermo

Also those amazing Negronis in Ragusa, Sicily. Can't remember what I ate that night!

Augustiner-Bräu beer in Munich. Prost!