Best Meals I've Ever Had

Duck Confit & Goat Cheese Ravioli
w/ cherry tomatoes, braised mushrooms, and garden greens
Drink: Lagavulin 15-year
 The Reading Room
Bar Harbor, ME
Aug 22, 2021
Japanese seasoned black cod wrapped in a magnolia leaf
with a thick sesame ginger yozu dipping sauce and pickled red onions
Drink: Sword and Samurai (Japanese whiskey, green tea, honey)
 Roka Akor
San Francisco, CA
Dec 8, 2021
Four-Course Special
  1. Raw princess scallops, seaweed and salted herbs, ink chips, foam Drink: Laguz (Furlong gin, amaro with herbs, glasswort foam)
  2. Perfect duck egg, Jerusalem artichokes, maitake mushrooms, walnuts Drink: Jeran (Spiced sugar beet rum, oxalis chlorophyll, honey, wild mushrooms, Amer Kebek Forest bitters)
  3. Bison short rib, BBQ sauce, sea buckthorn, delicata squash, charcoal, and onion petals Drink: Fehu (Catrina pumpkin brandy, prickly-ash pepper, sweet vermouth, Gorria pepper-infused maple syrup, Amer Kebek Aromatik bitters, fermented and roasted coltsfoot leaf salt)
  4. Plum and cherry symphony Drink: Ansuz (Maître Pierre plum brandy, lacto-fermented cherries, pine pollen mousse)
 Rosélys Bistronomie
Montréal, Canada
Feb 25, 2023
Three-Course Gourmet
  1. Beef carpaccio with basil oil and pine nuts
  2. Fried blue ling on cauliflower purée, potato duo and carrot-orange sauce
  3. Skyr panna cotta
Drink: Dirty Elín (Gin, lime juice, blueberry liqueur, prosecco)
 Hotel Geysir
Haukadalur, Iceland
Sep 16, 2022
Chef’s Tasting Menu
  1. Tuna tartare with beets, blood orange, and chili
  2. Soy milk burrata with crab in the center in persimmon sauce
  3. Supreme broth with daikon and angelica root
  4. Chicken shrimp and pig trotter dumpling with black truffle
  5. Ginger cake with egg and cognac cream
Drink:
Mister Jiu’s
San Francisco, CA
Jan 20, 2024
Poached egg, salmon gravlax, and caviar on a blini
with buttered baguettes
Drink: Espresso
 Restaurant Leméac
Montréal, Canada
Feb 26, 2023
Icelandic Tapas
Lamb and vegetable stew, cured salmon with pistachio purée, apple blueberry candied walnut salad, kleinur with rhubarb purée for dessert
Drink: Reykjavík 64 (Icelandic gin, cucumber liqueur, thyme syrup)
 Old Iceland Restaurant
Reykjavík, Iceland
Sep 18, 2022
Paubaya (Chef’s Choice)
  1. Sturgeon caviar duck egg mouse
  2. Sisig fried rice with poached egg
  3. Filipino egg rolls in lettuce
  4. Futuristic Apple pie
Drink: Calabarzon (Bacardi, creme de Ngohiong, calingag, ginger, creme de coconut)
 Abaca
San Rafael, CA
Dec 10, 2023
Asian tapas
  • Steamed BBQ pork buns
  • Duck, chive and peanut dumplings
  • Steamed bok choy
  • Dessert: Sponge cake and steamed custard buns
 HK Lounge
San Francisco, CA
Jan 27, 2024
Wolfe Ranch Quail
with braised mushrooms and kale-pistachio pesto
with bites of friends’ meals: Casoncelli with pumpkin and pepper butter, Vermillion rockfish with green garlic salsa verde
Drink: 2020 Negotians Vinarius Pošip (skin-contact white)
 Octavia
San Francisco, CA
Jan 26, 2024
Braised pork and vegetable stew
over jasmine rice with chicken bao and vegetarian samosas
Drink: Mas Grand Plagniol Red Blend
 Burmatown
San Rafael, CA
Dec 9, 2023
Duck Cappelletti
with sweet corn, brown butter, and pecans
Drink: Jungle Lounge (Mustard seed rye whiskey, amaro, tamarin, garam masala, lemon, bitters)
 Campground
Kansas City, MO
Aug 5, 2023
Middle Eastern Tapas
Grilled bread & ricotta, grilled octopus on white bean & barberry salad, hard-boiled eggs with za’atar and scallions, potato patties with trout dip, marouli salad, duck leg
 Extra Virgin
Kansas City, MO
Oct 21 &
Nov 18, 2023
  • Shaved pig head with galia melons, peanuts, and shallots
  • Crispy game hen with cashews, pineapple, and broccolini
Drink: The Groundskeeper (Compass Box scotch, Joseph Cartron banane, lemon, burnt sugar)
 Liholiho Yacht Club
San Francisco, CA
Jan 25, 2024
Basteeya
Chicken confit, spiced almonds, caramelized onion, sultana raisins in a pie crust
Drink: Swan Lake (Mezcal, pilla, yuzu, pamplemousse)
 Aziza
San Francisco, CA
Feb 17, 2024
Potato Gnocchi
w/ braised rabbit, leeks, shiitake mushrooms, grana padano
 Farina
Kansas City, MO
Aug 20, 2023
Pork collar
on a creamy habanero sauce bed w/ pumpkin slices
Drink: Bring The Cows Home (beef-fat-washed whiskey, bitters)
 Campground
Kansas City, MO
Nov 19, 2023
Cornbread-battered Gulf Fish
over cornmeal purée with corn veggie mix
Drink: Genever’s Body (Gin, ginger, citrus, almond liqueur)
 Sylvain
New Orleans, LA
Nov 14, 2022
Charred Haddock on rice grits
with lamb ragu and spring greens
Drink: Green Light (Tequila, lime, green juice, club soda)
 Hamlet and Ghost
Saratoga Springs, NY
July 24, 2022
Fries with crawfish etouffee Dat Dog
New Orleans, LA
Nov 15, 2022
The Emma
Omelette with homemade jag (linguica, rice, beans, and kale) and cheese
Drink: Black coffee
 Pier view
Onset, MA
May 26, 2024