Hank and I once went to a beer tasting where we asked the brewer his favorite beer. He had the best answer I've heard. It's not necessarily that my favorite beer is the best beer out there, but the experience that I had while drinking that beer, say the beer I drank after I got engaged, amplified the taste for me, made me want to savor it a little bit longer, and that's why it's my favorite. People always ask me about my favorite restaurants, and I think I answer the same way. My favorite restaurants may not be the best out there, you could try it and think eh, but to me the ambiance was key, the food was great and my memories from that meal make it the best.
1. Hank and I love TV personality Anthony Bourdain. As we were planning our honeymoon to Paris and Rome, Bourdain did one of his shows in Rome and went to the restaurant Roma Sparita. We put it at the top of our list. Hank and I just had an awesome time in Paris and flew to Rome and were bubbling over with love and so excited to try this restaurant. We walked through a tiny rose garden to get to the piazza we needed. We got a table outside and a bottle of house red and ordered our simple little dishes that came highly recommended, cacio e pepe. It was perfect. I daydream often about that tiny little restaurant in that most delightful city. When in Rome...
2. Take me to Little River, S.C. right outside of Myrtle Beach on any given sunny day. You drive down a gravel road to get to a tiny little shack right on the waterfront, Crab Catchers. It's my grab a Corona Light with lime and sit at the closest table to the water under an umbrella kind of place. Life moves slower there. The boats pass by, the sea breeze dances in your hair - it's my happy place. I get the fried oyster, scallop or shrimp sandwich sans bun (because it's cheaper than a basket), and kick back and relax my day away.
3. This next one is a local to Raleigh, N.C. favorite - Dos Taquitos. I'm good for either location, but I've never seen a chip train anywhere else so the Glenwood location has that; although the esquites soup at the Creedmor location is better. Dos Taquitos is the happiest Mexican restaurant. It's loud, tacky and their Mexican flag enchiladas are perfection. I forgo the black beans and rice for their esquites soup, because it's all levels of delicious. I love this place for a fun day, birthday, any day kind of place. It's always a treat.
4. St. John, USVI was an amazing trip, and I'll recap it here one of these days. My favorite day on the trip included this next spot so it's certainly all encompassing as to why I love it so much. We piled eight deep into our red jeep and took the most vertical, hill ridden, scariest drive to beautiful Salt Pond Bay. It was a small hike to get to the actual beach but when we arrived it was a secluded oasis that we had almost all to ourselves. We left much of the group behind and took a quick drive to The Tourist Trap to pick up lunch for all. They are known for their lobster rolls so we grabbed eight of those and brought them back. We ate them on the beach against crystal clear blue waters, sailboats in the distance, a calmness so perfect that you could here the tiny waves dance against the sand. So yeah, the buttered and toasted bun filled high with lobster salad made from fresh, tender meat, celery, light onion and mayo... it was just right.
5. Lastly on my current top five favorite restaurants ever goes to Sauc in Barcelona. Hank and I went to London and Barcelona to celebrate our second anniversary. This dinner was memorable for many reasons but absolutely memorable because of how long we spent actually eating - no less than two and a half hours. This restaurant is a gastronomy delight, and we had whatever the chef had on deck - 15 courses - something like that. Too many to count that's for sure. I remember we were there so long, and certainly the last table, that they were vacuuming. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Back to the food though... the food! It was a visual feast. Each plate was small but creative. The fish was embraced by sea foam, the dessert was a chocolate sphere that melted away to reveal the true dessert. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced. We rolled out of there, just like that chocolate sphere would have, but it was certainly a dinner to remember.
When Hank and I eat at that next best restaurant, these five restaurants are in the back of my mind, and I'm wondering, would this beat out any of those? It would be no easy feat but I'm certainly open to it.
1. Hank and I love TV personality Anthony Bourdain. As we were planning our honeymoon to Paris and Rome, Bourdain did one of his shows in Rome and went to the restaurant Roma Sparita. We put it at the top of our list. Hank and I just had an awesome time in Paris and flew to Rome and were bubbling over with love and so excited to try this restaurant. We walked through a tiny rose garden to get to the piazza we needed. We got a table outside and a bottle of house red and ordered our simple little dishes that came highly recommended, cacio e pepe. It was perfect. I daydream often about that tiny little restaurant in that most delightful city. When in Rome...
2. Take me to Little River, S.C. right outside of Myrtle Beach on any given sunny day. You drive down a gravel road to get to a tiny little shack right on the waterfront, Crab Catchers. It's my grab a Corona Light with lime and sit at the closest table to the water under an umbrella kind of place. Life moves slower there. The boats pass by, the sea breeze dances in your hair - it's my happy place. I get the fried oyster, scallop or shrimp sandwich sans bun (because it's cheaper than a basket), and kick back and relax my day away.
3. This next one is a local to Raleigh, N.C. favorite - Dos Taquitos. I'm good for either location, but I've never seen a chip train anywhere else so the Glenwood location has that; although the esquites soup at the Creedmor location is better. Dos Taquitos is the happiest Mexican restaurant. It's loud, tacky and their Mexican flag enchiladas are perfection. I forgo the black beans and rice for their esquites soup, because it's all levels of delicious. I love this place for a fun day, birthday, any day kind of place. It's always a treat.
4. St. John, USVI was an amazing trip, and I'll recap it here one of these days. My favorite day on the trip included this next spot so it's certainly all encompassing as to why I love it so much. We piled eight deep into our red jeep and took the most vertical, hill ridden, scariest drive to beautiful Salt Pond Bay. It was a small hike to get to the actual beach but when we arrived it was a secluded oasis that we had almost all to ourselves. We left much of the group behind and took a quick drive to The Tourist Trap to pick up lunch for all. They are known for their lobster rolls so we grabbed eight of those and brought them back. We ate them on the beach against crystal clear blue waters, sailboats in the distance, a calmness so perfect that you could here the tiny waves dance against the sand. So yeah, the buttered and toasted bun filled high with lobster salad made from fresh, tender meat, celery, light onion and mayo... it was just right.
5. Lastly on my current top five favorite restaurants ever goes to Sauc in Barcelona. Hank and I went to London and Barcelona to celebrate our second anniversary. This dinner was memorable for many reasons but absolutely memorable because of how long we spent actually eating - no less than two and a half hours. This restaurant is a gastronomy delight, and we had whatever the chef had on deck - 15 courses - something like that. Too many to count that's for sure. I remember we were there so long, and certainly the last table, that they were vacuuming. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Back to the food though... the food! It was a visual feast. Each plate was small but creative. The fish was embraced by sea foam, the dessert was a chocolate sphere that melted away to reveal the true dessert. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced. We rolled out of there, just like that chocolate sphere would have, but it was certainly a dinner to remember.
When Hank and I eat at that next best restaurant, these five restaurants are in the back of my mind, and I'm wondering, would this beat out any of those? It would be no easy feat but I'm certainly open to it.
