So, I started to write this blog post on my six weeks as a radio talk show host. And then I got off on this long tangent about my friend, Miami columnist Dan Le Batard. It is, in fact, SO long, that I’m posting it as a separate deal. I’ll get that radio thing done at some point. Also, more baseball coming. And hey … no kidding, BUY THE BOOK! (please?) It’s still $5.99. You guys have pushed it all the way to No. 393 on Amazon. We’re trying to get it into the Top 100. It’s a quest. Can’t everyone in the blog world see the worthy cause here?
* * *
OK, so, I HAVE to tell you my Dan Le Batard story. I’ve been friends with Dan for quite a few years now, respect the heck out of him, wish him well while he takes some time off to find himself and all that. But … yeah, so this was at the Super Bowl in Miami — that’s 2007, right? I’m eating in this cool little restaurant in South Beach, and there’s Dan. And he says to me, “OK, do you want to eat the best Italian food you’ve ever eaten in your entire life?”
Now, seriously, you don’t say something like that to someone like me. This is like saying, “OK, would you like to find the six fingered man?” to Inigo Montoya. This is like saying, “Hey, how would you like two decent starting pitchers?” to a Texas Rangers fan. This is like saying, “OK, how would you like a good acting part again” to Robert DeNiro. It’s almost cruel.
I mean, seriously, the best Italian food of my life? Look: I’ve long thought that there are two kinds of people in this world: There are people who go to eat on vacation. And there are people who go on vacation to eat. I am very much the second guy. Hey, I’m fine for a few minutes with the sound of the waves crashing into the shore, fine going up high in the Eiffel Tower, or looking at cannons at Fort Niagara or snorkeling or spending a preposterous amount of money to see a Broadway show or waiting in line to actually meet the Disney Princesses or whatever it is that this vacation brings. I’m fine with all that stuff, really.
But I GO on vacation to eat. I went with my wife to London and Paris three or for years ago, best vacation of our lives, and this is how I remember the experience:
1. We ate at a restaurant owned by Michael Caine. It wasn’t very good. I ate a lot.
2. We ate at Rules … the oldest restaurant in London. Margo ordered the kidney pie because it sounded traditional and it wasn’t at all what she thought it would be. I ordered something British. I ate a lot.
3. We sat down on a doorstep on the Champs Elysees with a box of macaroons bought from the bakery Laduree. When we got up, we had no more macaroons in the box. It was one of the six greatest experiences of my life — certainly behind the wedding day and the birth of my two daughters and Duane Kuiper’s home run, but ahead of just about everything else.
4. We bought ice cream at some nondescript looking ice cream place in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, and I got a chocolate cone, and I don’t know if it was the location or what but it’s pretty close to the best ice cream cone I’ve ever had.
5. We went to this great Indian restaurant … ate a lot.
6. We went to this Chinese restaurant sort of hidden away … ate a lot.
And so on. Any time my wife brings up that vacation, she will say something like, “Oh remember the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London,” and I’ll say, “Absolutely, I had the pasta at that one restaurant right before that, and it was really good, it was just at some plain only pasta house but I thought the sauce was homemade though the salad wasn’t much and …” Then she says, “You know what was great about the Louvre, when we went to the … ” I’ll say, “well, not the cafeteria, because I thought the sandwich I had there was pretty dry …”
in other words, when Lebby asked me if I wanted to eat the best Italian food of my life, my first thought was, “OK, who do I have to kill? Is it someone I know? Because if it’s someone I don’t know, then yes, for the best pasta of my life, absolutely, I’m ready to do what has to be done, but if it’s someone I do know, then no, I’m not killing someone I KNOW just for Italian food, you know, unless they have a really good chocolate dessert too.” I managed to compose myself and say, well, yes, I would like to eat the best Italian food of my life, absolutely.
So he said: I’ll call you tomorrow. There’s this place. It’s impossible to get into. It’s kind of far away. But I know people there. I’ll have to call the guy for you special. But I’m telling you it will be great. It’s like, you know, a connected place. It’s incredible.”
A connected place. This made the whole thing sound even better. I was about to go to a far away to a crowded Italian place inhabited by Mafia types. That sounded to me like a place where I really might get the best Italian food of my life, a place that made sauce as good as Paulie and Vinnie and Henry Hill’s sauce in jail. I was so excited I could hardly sleep, man. This was going to be AMAZING. Once I went to Chicago with a friend, and we went to an Italian restaurant that looked really good — this is absolutely true, or at least it is how I remember it — and we walked up to the door, and it was like 7 p.m. And the guy at the door said, “We’re closed.” Closed? At 7 p.m.? And I looked inside … there was one guy eating in the whole restaurant. One guy. The door guy then pointed to another restaurant and then (I might have imagined this part, but I believe this is true) gave us money to leave. I’ve always wanted to go back to that restaurant … I can only imagine what the Chicken Parm or Manicotti tastes like in that place. And I’ve imagined it a lot.
So, this was going to make up for the missed restaurant in Chicago. Dan did call me up the next day, and he said that I was in — me and a couple of friends — and then he had very specific directions about what we had to do to get in. That only made it better. He said that we had to ask for some guy (can’t remember the name, let’s call him Brian) and that Brian would take care of us and that at the end — this was very important — we had to slip 100 bucks to Brian.
Man, was I excited now. The best Italian restaurant in the world. A place where we had to tip a guy a c-note just to get a table. Are you kidding me? I didn’t eat all day because I was just ready to eat some serious Italian food. And then we headed out. Dan warned us before we left that this place would not look like much from the outside — it’s in a strip mall — but he told us not to be fooled. He was guaranteeing Italian food like no place else.
This place was pretty far. It was like 45 minutes away from where we were staying, maybe an hour. And we got to the place, well, Dan was right. It was one of those strip malls. We drove up, and we were like — come on. You’re telling me the best Italian food in the world is in a Florida strip mall?* Is this possible?
*I have another friend who is convinced the best Chinese food in the world is in a Houston strip mall. Maybe the problem is I don’t have the right friends.
Then we noticed there were people standing outside this restaurant. LOTS of people standing outside this restaurant. There was a Depression Era bread line snaking up to this restaurant. And this chill came over me — Yes! We found it! THE BEST ITALIAN FOOD OF MY LIFE WAS MOMENTS AWAY. We had to park a pretty long way off, and we started walking to the place, and I could already taste that food, I mean, seriously, there’s Sinatra music playing in my head, and my stomach is already growling instructions, “Start off with a Caesar’s Salad, you have to do that, and then, you know, maybe some Calimari, and oh, I’ll bet that bread will be amazing and …” All because of my friend Dan!
OK, so I have now described the restaurant to pretty precisely the way Dan described it to me. You have an image in your mind of what it looks like, right? It’s a Mafia joint with the best Italian food in the world, right? What’s your image? Are you imagining a dark place, dark wood, a little bit of red velvet, maybe some tapestries on the wall, some candles going, a couple of fading photographs of Venice, personalized photo on the wall from Joe DiMaggio (“Food’s great! Signed: The Clipper). I mean this is precisely what I was imagining.
Um. No.
How to describe the place? OK, think about the loudest bar you’ve ever walked into. OK? You with me? I mean the loudest bar, one that’s so loud the light fixtures are shaking, and the organs in your chest are thumping, a flock of birds fly away in terror, ear doctors are on call outside to treat busted ear drums. OK? You envisioning that? Great. Now double it. OK? So, we’re now at Black Sabbath concert levels, only you are actually inside Tony lommi’s guitar. Right? You with me? OK, double it again.
That should get you pretty close to half the volume of this place. Wow. Airplanes could land in this place and no one would notice. Dick Vitale could call the action and no one would hear him. Garbage trucks could collide inside and no one would detect it for days. And it was very much a BAR. And not just any BAR but a MIAMI BAR. Put it this way: We walked in just as they were projecting scenes from “Pulp Fiction” on the wall. Music was pounding and then suddenly it would STOP and the dialogue from the movie would break hard into the music whenever Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta started killing people. Seriously. Now, look, I’m reasonably fine with the incredibly loud bar scene … when I know I’m going to an incredibly loud bar. But, you know, when I think I’m going to Louis’ Restaurant in the Bronx, when I’m hoping to go to the bathroom only to see Michael’s untraceable gun … it’s pretty jarring to walk into a Crocket and Tubbs scene. You belong to the city, indeed.
Well, fine. It was a bit surprising. And yes, I’ll admit it, I mentally gave up on this being the best Italian food I’ve ever had. I mean, seriously, what are the odds that I’m going to get an Osso Bucco from heaven while they’re showing the ear-cutting scene from Resevoir Dogs on the wall behind us. Still, I’m thinking it will be GOOD Italian food. Dan had never steered me wrong before (though, I was now realizing, Dan had never steered me right before either … he had never steered me at all).
So, next step, I have to find this guy, Brian. It takes about 20 minutes of jumping up and down and screaming at everyone before he notices us … then I smoothly drop Dan’s name (DAN LE BATARD SENT US .. NO DAAAAAN LE BA … YOU KNOW THE SPORTS … NO NOT DAN MARINO … LE BATARD!). He said something like, “OK, wait here, I’ll get you in.” Of course, it might have been, “Wooger, Mooger, Life’s A Booger,” I mean, we couldn’t hear a thing.
Still, we waited. And we waited. And we waited. This how much I wanted that food. I’m not exactly sure how long we waited — an hour and a half maybe — but I can tell you that at some point the noise just started popping my brain cells. They say that one way you can torture and break a prisoner is to play really, really loud and random music at him for a long period of time. Well if I someone had asked me for any national security secrets at that moment, I would have spilled it. My head was throbbing. I kept getting shoved around by people trying to get to … I don’t know where they were going. There was nowhere to go. There were no open tables. There was no place to stand. And did I mention it was loud.
And MAN were my two friends getting ticked off now.
As you no doubt expected, Brian disappeared. Gone baby gone. Well, hey — it had to be expected a hot Miami bar/restaurant (I guess) the Friday night before the Super Bowl, supermodels and pro football players were rushing in, I’m thinking that three shlubby sportswriters with a letter of transit from Dan Le Batard were pretty low on the priority list … in retrospect maybe we were supposed to tip Brian the $100 BEFORE he sat us down. Well, hell, I don’t know how to do that stuff. A tip won’t get you very far at Denny’s. Whatever, finally, we just had to go. There would be no unprecedented Italian food, not on this night. As we were leaving, we ran into Brian in the parking lot. I started to go up to him to say that we were leaving. He saw me coming and immediately walked off in another direction.
That was it. Dan called the next day to ask how it went. What can you say about that expeirence? I’m sure I’ll forgive him someday. No, really. Someday. I will tell you that nght, me and my two friends (who, I’m sure, have not forgiven me) ate at some fried fish place where the shrimp, lobster, mahi mahi and paper plates all taste precisely the same. It was depressing and greasy and our eardrums were bleeding. Anyway, I ate a lot.
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66 Comments, Comment or Ping
Jonathan
You are my idol. That is some fantastic writing.
May 15th, 2008
Mikey
The comments for this post has to be each commenter’s favorite Italian restaurants, right?
Da Umberto - New York City
Mosca’s - Avondale, Louisiana
A lot of New Yorkers swear by Il Mulino. I don’t know. For me it’s a little too much of a zoo. If I were having my last Italian mean ever in NYC, I’d take Umberto.
Mosca’s is one of those “only in New Orleans” places. You drive through a whole lot of nothing to get there, and when you do you the building is so non-descript you wonder if it’s even open or if you screwed up the directions. But it’s well worth the effort.
May 15th, 2008
Gordon
I like Gemelli in Waltham MA
May 15th, 2008
Ron
Okay, so you go to Amsterdam, and stand in Dam Square facing the Queen’s palace. Next to the statue where the drug dealers hang out. On the right side is an alleyway. About 50 yards up on the left hand side is a little store about the size of bathroom in a normal house. Nothing extraordinary at all.
Except for the soft vanilla ice cream they sell, which might possible make you wet your pants from the sensation that goes through your body when you taste it.
May 15th, 2008
Ron
On the right side of the palace, not the drug dealers.
May 15th, 2008
Doug French
Pick any Italian restaurant on “The Hill” in STL. You can’t go wrong.
I ate a lot.
May 15th, 2008
Matt S
Ferrari’s in the USVI - St. Thomas. If it still exists. Ask for it if you go there, the lasagna is insanely good.
May 15th, 2008
Man in Black
The title of this post sort of kills the ending…
The best Italian food I have ever had was at Vivace in the old market in Omaha.
May 15th, 2008
mr. steven
caffe sport, san francisco.
May 15th, 2008
smperk
Awesome Joe. Just awesome.
I am so disappointed, and that’s exactly how you must’ve felt. I was rooting for you to bring us (in a literary fashion) the most exquisite Italian meal ever, only it was like Casey at the bat.
never had a “best ever” Italian meal.
May 15th, 2008
mr. steven
website: http://caffesport.ypguides.net/
May 15th, 2008
will
While I love great food I’ve reached a point in my life where I no longer want to wait in line to get into a place when I’m paying for the meal/drinks/band etc… I’d rather have good food without a crowd than have excellent food in a crowded noisy place like you just described.
May 15th, 2008
Dan V.
Come to the Chateau in Waltham. I have not been to Gemelli but I’m sure Gord would agree that the Chateau is damn good.
May 15th, 2008
Paul White
Pretty much any random place in the North End of Boston will serve better Italian food than the best place in Kansas City. (Sorry, KCers, I love this town, but Italian food really isn’t your strong suit.)
There’s also a small place in Zurich called Restaurant Da Carlo where the food was just okay but the service was spectacular. The host will treat you like family even if you’re an American. Trust me, that’s rare in Zurich.
May 15th, 2008
greg
I seriously cannot stop laughing.
For my money, you and Dan are the best 2 sports columnists alive.
May 15th, 2008
Paul White
And I’ll second the nomination of The Chateau. When I was growing up in Waltham, if my grandparents were visiting and my Dad wanted to treat my Italian grandmother to a good meal, we went to The Chateau, and she was always happy. That’s pretty much the most glowing endorsement I can give.
May 15th, 2008
Matt D
Trattoria a’ Scalinatella in the North End of Boston. Don’t order from the menu, just get the chef’s tasting, whatever they want to serve you that night.
Out of this world. Some of the best food (Italian or otherwise) I’ve ever had.
May 15th, 2008
daveinseattle
La Luce in Chicago.
Serious “WiseGuy” place. There were mobsters hanging out at the bar, bustin’ balls with some cops who were getting a free meal.
The Penne with Tomato Vodka Cream sauce was amazing.
May 15th, 2008
RS
You must’ve been to Cafe Martorano’s. It’s the only restaurant in the world that could possibly fit this description. If you’re still curious and you’re ever in Vegas, let me know. They opened one recently here and, yes - the food and the atmosphere are both unforgettable - albeit for different reasons. I’m far more reliable then LeBatard.
May 15th, 2008
Carl Spackler
Best Italian food ever….One word - Fazoli’s
May 15th, 2008
Mikey
“caffe sport, san francisco.”
Awesome. Thanks for linking to the menu. I’ll be in SF in two weeks and I will plan to check this place out.
May 15th, 2008
Matt in Toledo
Carl Spackler -
I was going to do the same joke, but with Carrabba’s.
As for my real answer, I’ve had Italian food at more than one restaurant so I’m pretty sure somewhere has been the best. But I’ll be damned if I could tell you where that might be.
May 15th, 2008
Dan
I don’t have a best Italian food place but I do want to affirm the concept that the best Chinese food could be found at a strip mall. For about a year, my wife and I enjoyed the very best Chinese food we’ve ever found at a tiny hole in the wall in, yes, a strip mall in Fort Lauderdale. Since the restaurant disappeared without warning, perhaps he relocated to Houston.
May 15th, 2008
JeffSol
RS - agreed, it sure sounds like Martorano, and in vegas the food is spectacular but the atmosphere is insane.
I also have to support Mikey’s praise of da Umberto in New York, which is just spectacular. I worked a few blocks from there in Chelsea for 3 years earlier in my career. My father was working at the same company as me and used to have lunch at Umberto about 2x/week. So many fabulous dishes — I was particularly partial to a Pappardelle he used to make with a Lamb ragu…hell, I’m salivating thinking about it now. So we’re in crazy season, running the print shop 24/7 for about 2-3 weeks, and we decide to go over to Umberto for a quick dish of pasta for dinner. Only the place is mobbed — they’re 2-3 deep at the bar, waiting for tables. But it’s nice to be a regular — Vittorio, Umberto’s son, comes over and asks Dad what he wants — then goes over to the bar, clears out two seats, and says “Everybody move, Mr. Solomon gonna eat here.” It was classic…
May 15th, 2008
Jason
Since we’re talking food, can anyone share any must-eats in Las Vegas with me? I’m making a trip out there next month and like Joe, I’m very much a go on vacation to eat sort of guy.
May 15th, 2008
John McCann
Nino’s on Hylan Blvd. in Staten Island. Right down the hill from where all the kingpins of the NY mafia live.
EVERYONE I have ever brought there says it’s the best chicken parm they have had in their life. This included people that vacation in Italy or were stationed in Italy.
P.S. I weigh 300 pounds, I know good food.
/thread closed
May 15th, 2008
mr. steven
Mikey - glad you’ll be trying it.
make sure to note that it’s cash only, and you may want to call for reservations (i think they take reservations, but i can’t remember).
May 15th, 2008
JeffSol
Vegas has become such a great place for restaurants that I need a bit of clarification. What type of food/experience? On the strip or out in neighborhoods? Does price matter or great food at any cost? Let me know and I can make several recommendations.
May 15th, 2008
Oddibe Kerfeld
My favorite Italian place is Carabarra’s Italian Grill.
Joe, why didn’t you go after “Brian” or did you think he would hurt you? You guys should have bum rushed him and thrown him in the trunk of your car.
May 15th, 2008
McKingford
Jennifer 8 Lee (well, she did write a book about it…) says the best Chinese restaurant outside of China is on the second floor of a mall in Richmond BC (just outside Vancouver).
May 15th, 2008
JO'C
Great story Joe.
Jason, as Jeff said Vegas has become an amazing place to eat. I just got back from a 3 day trip to celebrate wifey’s b’day. Had an amazing meal at Hank’s Steakhouse located at the Green Vally Ranch. It is off the strip in Henderson so you’ll need a car to get there. Also had a very good meal at Joe’s Stone Crab in the Forum Shops next to Caesar’s (although I wasn’t a big fan of the stone crab, everything else was outstanding). Be warned, both of these places are pricey.
May 15th, 2008
Tony B
Some of the best Italian food in Houston is in a strip mall….in Pearland (and in Friendswood, and in Alvin).
Santa Barbara Italian Cafe, owned and operated Mama Jordana Putnik…a Croatian native.
May 15th, 2008
The Murph
Pretty much every great restaurant (including the best Italian) in Raleigh, NC is located in a strip mall. It’s a very odd phenomenon.
May 15th, 2008
Aaron B.
This story was pretty sad to read, i’m not going to lie. I really sympathize with Joe… good writing though.
Anyway, maybe you should talk with Keith Law of ESPN regarding some future food suggestions around the country. He’s been around most of the country and probably has recommendations for wherever you go.
May 15th, 2008
JeffSol
Hank’s is fabulous although if staying on the strip I wouldn’t travel that far to eat there — there are comparable restaurants on the strip. I love Joe’s Stone Crab, and their bone-in ribeye is actually one of the finest steaks in the city. If you didn’t like the stone crabs, it’s likely because they are currently out of season and they are frozen. The original Joe’s in Miami Beach is closed for a large part of the year. In season, the stone crabs I’ve had there have been spectacular.
If you’re insist on traveling off strip, I have two recommendations, quite different: One is Michael’s, at the nondescript South Point casino, but recently relocated from the Barbary Coast. Michael’s is Michael Gaughan’s personal indulgence, and for a “classic steakhouse” experience, with the ambience, captain service and all, there’s none better anywhere. Bring a big appetite and a bigger wallet, and a way to get back to the strip, because South Point is a mediocre locals joint, but the dining experience is awesome. My favorite hidden gem in town is an eclectic continental restaurant in a strip mall (here we go again) in Henderson called Todd’s Unique Dining. (www.toddsunique.com). Closed on Sunday’s except about 1x/month for special winery dinners, it’s fabulous, creative, and very reasonable for the quality. Other suggestions will be forthcoming pending a little more direction.
May 15th, 2008
Jake
You’re all wrong… Olive Garden. Hands down…
May 15th, 2008
Mike S
This reminds me of a joke — maybe from Lewis Grizzard? He said: “When I was in my 20’s and 30’s, I talked about all the women I’d slept with; when I was in my 40’s and 50’s, all I talked about was the great food I had; now I’m in my 60’s and 70’s and all I talk about is how well my bowels moved lately.”
May 15th, 2008
Jason
Thanks for the responses guys. I’m a burgeoning “foodie” so I’d like to go with high quality, although a specific type isn’t necessary…I love trying new foods. Preferably with some non-meat options for my wife to try (or at least poultry or fish). I can’t say price is no object but I’m not unwilling to spend big if the experience is worth it.
I’m also a Top Chef geek so I’m thinking of trying CraftSteak, but really, all suggestions are welcomed.
May 15th, 2008
Jason
Oh, and we’ll spend most of our time on the Strip, but if there’s a stellar off strip place that you like I’m all ears…er…eyes.
Thanks again!
May 15th, 2008
JeffSol
Let’s see…
CraftSteak our experience has been that the side dishes (a la Craft in NYC) are fabulous but the steaks were a bit disappointing. For steakhouses on the strip I would recommend Prime at Bellagio or Delmonicos at Venetian or SW at Wynn (the chile Rubbed Double Ribeye for 2 is fabulous) or Joe’s Stone Crab, which does great steaks, and fabulous Dover Sole.
For strict seafood, any of Michael Mina’s places are great (eponymous location at Bellagio, Seablue at MGM, another I can’t recall.)
Bartolotta at Wynn is an Italian seafood place that’s very special — the best thing there, by far, are the whole fish (which you get to choose, by the way). So you need 2 or more people ready to eat that.
Guy Savoy at Caesars is a unique french experience from a renowned Parisian chef. Probably the most expensive restaurant in the entire city, though, so be prepared.
Try Mesa Grill, also at Caesars, for lunch. They do dinner too, but lunch is, I think, more up Flay’s alley in some ways.
Stack, Fix, Mix and a few others are all similar and terriffic.
Bouchon, is Thomas Keller’s first place in Vegas, and everything he does is fairly special, although nothing really matches French Laundry.
For great views, consider eating on the Terrace at Mon Ami Gabi (at Paris). Only take reservations for inside, so you may have to wait, but there are misters and the best people watching in the city, plus views of the Bellagio fountains. Eiffel Tower is fancier, has the great view of the fountains, but loses the people watching of the strip.
Hope this is helpful. For off strip, if I had to recommend one, I would choose Todd’s or Panevino, which is Tony Martell’s (originally designed the Rio) and has a great, distant view of the entire strip.
May 15th, 2008
Justyo
Black Ink squid at the Daily Catch in the North End of Boston. Or anything else on the menu for that matter.
And yes! The c-note comes out when you greet him. If you’d greased this guy Brian right up front, you’d be eating that osso bucco.
As for strip mall delicacies - there’s an awesome Mexican restaurant called Tlapazola Grill in a strip mall in West L.A. that has lobster quesadilla to die for.
May 15th, 2008
Monkeyhawk
There was this place in Pittsburg, Kansas. Frasco’s. Run by Momma and Nick Frasco. She made all the pasta next door in her own kitchen and carried the noodles in he apron over to the restaurant. She insisted her sauce was hers, but she ran all the up front stuff at the restaurant and made Nick stay in the kitchen cooking. I asked him if he ever added stuff to Momma’s sauce and he said “All the time.” When it’s better, she never admits it. When it’s not, she know exactly what I’ve done.”
This was back in the late 60s/early 70s, when Kansas liquor laws were absurd. My Dad mentioned to Momma Frasco that the only thing that could improve her lasagna would be a glass of wine. Momma said, “You’re not a cop, are you?” And she came out with a cup and saucer and what to the casual observer would appear to be coffee. It was a cup of the Frasco family’s homemade wine.
Those are my kind of restaurants. Mom & Pop places with the kind of food that’s never been tested by focus groups and test kitchens and market opportunities and promotional tie-ins.
I hate it when Mom and/or Pop dies and they close the restaurant. But I kinda like it that no one tries to replicate what’s an absolutely unique personal experience with cook and diner.
Michigan Street Barbeque was that kind of a place when I was at KU. The old guy sat in the middle of a kitchen with maybe half a dozen residential electric ranges where simmered vats of his sauce. There was a brick smoker on one wall and he sat in a Lazy-Boy recliner directly opposite, in the middle of the room, and ordered his employees (most of them his children, grands, and great-grands, I later learned) around like Sgt. Snorkle in the “Beetle Baily” comic strip.
There was “Mizz Margaret,” an old Cajun lady in Port Arthur, Texas who expanded her front porch a bit, enclosed it, and knocked out a portion of what most certainly was a load-bearing wall to open a restaurant in what had been her living room. By the time I got there she was in a wheelchair and limited her duties to hostess and cashier. She’d wheel her way around the dining room to ask how dinner was going (it always went well… helluva place with kids who were among the most professional servers I’ve ever experienced. It was a trip, really.) And then “Mizz Margaret” would dis her cook (A tiny little black lady, Creole perhaps, who was born with a face that belongs on an angel in heaven). She’d talk about how your gumbo would have been so much better if she could be back in the kitchen.
I’m charmed that JoPo went to Paris to eat Chinese food. And I’m appalled when I hear of people who go to Mexico and eat at Taco Bell.
May 15th, 2008
Chris
My dad always said that a TRUE Itallian resturaunt had to have two pictures on the wall:
1.) Joe DiMaggio
2.) The Pope
If you don’t see that when you walk in…you’re in the wrong place.
May 15th, 2008
Steve
I vote for the final Italian dining of Sbarro’s.
May 15th, 2008
Daniel Z.
Best Italian food is at my place.
May 15th, 2008
Olentangy
Believe it or not, one of the best Italian meals I ever ate WAS at a strip mall in Florida. It was outside of Sarasota beside a Publix. We were there for one day and had gone to a seafood place first and the wait was over an hour, so we left there and were driving around and saw a place, Angelo’s, Antonio’s, I can’t remember…but my wife said why don’t we try there? I was reluctant, but she said how some of the best places are holes in the wall, so I tentatively agreed. It turns out the regular cook was out that day and the owner was the cook that night. Come to find out his grandmother taught him to cook and he was the one who started the restaurant. The guy was from Philadelphia and the food was AWESOME.
So when you wrote about having the best Italian meal in a strip mall in Florida…yes, it is possible. If you are ever in Sarasota, and see an Italian place in a strip mall by Publix, try it!
May 15th, 2008
Noel
Joe, can you give us some more details on what you said to LeBatard and vice versa on the day after?
To echo what others have said, some of the best sushi can be found in strip malls as well.
May 15th, 2008
Josh
I believe Trattoria Scalinatella in Boston has closed… couldn’t find it when I was there in August. Which is a shame, because it was fantastic.
I will be going to Vegas soon as well… any thoughts on which “celebrity” chef has the best restaurant there? I’m looking for a place reasonably priced here…
May 16th, 2008
roarke
Il Centro is pretty decent for italian food in Kansas City, but I have to agree that for the most part any place in the North End of Boston or on the Hill in St. Louis will have better italian food than we have here.
May 16th, 2008
Mauichuck
Somehow I just can’t bring myself to seriously consider the culinary tastes of a guy who likes Sky Line Chili.
May 16th, 2008
Joe Pel
Back in the day, man, my grandma made the best gnocchis. Now I’m all sad, thinking about it, gram being 10 years deceased. But that was at her house, anyway, not a restaurant. Best Italian food at a restaurant? Probably at this little place in the North End of Boston, where they only took cash. Didn’t have to be American cash — they took lira — but it had to some form of currency untraceable by the IRS.
May 16th, 2008
Chris
Josh,
If you’re in Vegas and looking for a Celeb Chef Resturaunt, try Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in Caesar’s Palace.
The veal is so tender, you can literally DRINK it.
…pretty pricey, though…
May 16th, 2008
JeffSol
Josh, they key with Mesa Grill is to go for lunch, when it’s much more reasonable. In terms of a “celebrity” chef but reasonable price, that’s a hard combination. Depending on how you want to define “celebrity”, Lupo, whcih is Puck’s Trattoria concept is a possibility, but it’s just not that spectacular. I would, again, recommend Todd’s Unique Dining, aneighborhood place that’s spectacular and very reaosnable. Teh chef there has experience at some big name restaurants and is still developing his own name.
May 16th, 2008
Alan
Chef Vola’s. Atlantic City. Cash only. Byob.
It’s in the basement of a house right off the waterfront. You have to enjoy unique experiences, or it’s not for you.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g29750-d491033-Reviews-Chef_Vola_s-Atlantic_City_New_Jersey.html
May 16th, 2008
cannatar
For those going to Vegas, I highly recommend Lotus of Siam, which is probably the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to. And it’s in a strip mall!
Their website:
http://www.saipinchutima.com/
May 16th, 2008
Jason
Celebrity chef is not a must….good food is
Thanks again all!
May 16th, 2008
Creston
Finest Italian restaurant in the world is called Luna, it’s located in the Otztall valley in Austria. You’ll never find it, but I ate there several times during vacation in Austria, and there have been times while I lived in Holland (550 or so miles away) when I tried to persuade my parents we could drive up and down for dinner there in a weekend.
May 16th, 2008
Bartleby
The fact that there are Red Sox fans here recommending The Chateau as the best Italian food they’ve ever had should tell you all you need to know about Red Sox fans.
May 17th, 2008
Le Bon Vivant
If you’re talking haute cuisine Italian, the best I’ve ever had is Spiaggia on the millionaire mile in Chicago. It costs some serious coin, but it’s flat amazing. I tend to eat at a couple top notch restaurants a year (never going to movies or having cable TV or going to bars much = enough money over the course of 12 months to have 2-3 legendary quality meals a year @ ~$200/person) when I travel, and Spiaggia is right at the top of my list with Veritas in NYC as some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. These are meals I remember years later in great detail, and as such end up being worth every penny.
I love eating these meals in large part because the prix fixe meals are so well designed by master chefs… and because so many restaurants now offer a complimentary wine flight. This is great because the sommelier who is paid to know what wine is best paired with which course makes my decisions at a (relatively) affordable price and assures that the dish and wine match well.
Outside of the fancy stuff, there’s a brilliant pasta place in Northampton, MA which makes its own pasta on the premise named Fresh Pasta Co. Their ravioli are stunning, especially the sweet potato stuffed ones. Pretty much anywhere in Boston’s North End good home style Italian can be found as well.
May 17th, 2008
TB
Best Italian I’ve ever had hits two topics on this board. It’s a place called Bautista in a strip mall behind the Barbary Coast in Vegas. It’s old, got photos of Joe D. and the Pope and is incredible food. I ate a lot, and compared to the restaurants on the strip, the price is a bargain.
May 19th, 2008
eric
Dan was right. Cafe Martorano has the best Italian food in the world. You should have waited.
May 20th, 2008
Brian
It is absolutely Martarano. Steve Martarano came down from Philly and started this tiny place about 16 years ago. I ate there several for several years after it opened. Then Steve let his ego take over. Sure, the food could absolutely be argued that it is the best italian ever. But you have to accept these facts about a dining experience there:
*The prices are astronomical, $55.00 for chicken parm,
*You WILL wait at least 2 hours,
*Once seated the music will be so loud that on most nights the server will just bring you, “What Steve likes.” And charge accordingly.
*You will not be able to have a conversation at all.
*You will leave full, broke, and with a terrible headache.
May 20th, 2008
G Young
The Hill in St. Louis is touch and go, which makes the hate spewed down for the Italian in KC in these comments is laughable.
It is for some reason considered passe’ to compliment KC on its non-BBQ food choices. You are somehow worldly and “in the know” if you say things like “KC’s Italian just doesn’t measure up” and “nothing in KC measures up to anything on The Hill.”
It just isn’t true. I can name five KC restaurants that measure (or measured, some are no longer with us) up with the best Italian I’ve ever had on the Hill. I’ve never eaten in North Boston, so I’m not going to comment on that.
May 20th, 2008
Thomas
Another vote for anywhere in the North End of Boston… that area has to have the highest concentration of restaurants to city blocks anywhere. But I’d recommend finding a hole-in-the-wall place on one of the side streets, not one of the always-packed places on Hanover St.
May 20th, 2008
eilis73
Trendy Italians’ restaurants The best restaurants of Italy!
Jun 16th, 2008
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