The Best Meals I Have Ever Eaten

Since, on Fridays, I want to write out of personal experiences, I would like to tell about some of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life. These aren't in any particular order, and I'm not able to tell all of them.

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner-
We had a sit down dinner for about 40 people at the Wildwood Inn in Denton, TX. The menu consisted of a spinach and goat cheese salad, filet with lobster thermadour, and white chocolate creme brulee. It was awesome having the people that mean the most to me and my wife all in the same room, eating great food and drinking good wine together. One note- the head table drank much better wine than the rest of the room. Hey, it was our party!

Dinners With Josh-
I had a buddy in Boston that had done something like a 2-year stage in a 2-Michelin Star French restaurant. Plus, he was 5th generation Harvard, and spent all of his time and money on food and wine related things. Needless to say, the boy could cook. One time, he made a 7-course meal for 6 people, each course paired with ridiculous wines (Lafite, y'quem, etc). Another time, he called me and said that his freezer had gone out. He whipped together a ludicrous meal with foie fras, lamb, duck, and dozens of other things. I specifically remember a white fish souflee that was amazingly rich, and delicate at the same time.

My 29th Birthday-
I have been known for throwing some serious birthday bashes, and this one was the most memorable. We had 12 people over for a sit down dinner that included over 30 bottles of wine. It was a ton of fun, and nobody got too out of control- just lots of friends laughing, telling stories, eating steak and shrimp, and having a blast.

Italian restaurant in Dallas-
When I worked for Smith and Wollensky in Dallas, I used to have a local Italian chef come in and eat. One night, I picked up the tab for his meal, just to be nice. The next week, he told me and my wife to show up at his restaurant. We walked in, sat down, and he literally ran to the table to take menus out of our hands before a waiter could take any sort of order. He just started sending stuff out to the table....food, wine, everything. I think his orders were "send them a course every 10 minutes until they die, then every 15 minutes after that." It was the first time that I really got a "hook up" at a restaurant, and it was amazing.

Thanksgiving in Boston-
When we lived in the Northeast, we were in an apartment complex that had quite a few transplants from all over the country. Most of these folks were about our age, and we all became quick friends. One year, 13 of us got together for Thanksgiving. It was quite the motley crew, and quite the eclectic dinner. Besides the 21 pound turkey (huge!), there were enchiladas, potato salad, and yes...Jaegermeister. We were all stuck in Boston for the holidays, so we just had a great time together. I miss most of those folks!

Now for Fridays Fun Facts:

I don't know if it's some sort of Pavlovian response, but walking into a bookstore makes me have to use the restroom.

I secretly like Natalie Merchant's music

My favorite car of all time is the Ferrari 360 Spider

I can't stand cheap tequila- one bad night in Waco, TX caused this

It makes me sad to see poor people buying lottery tickets

I will drink all levels of coffee- from gas station coffee to starbucks to french press stuff, it pretty much all tastes the same to me

I think Rachel Ray would whip Bobby Flay's ass in a fight.

That's it for the week. Have a great weekend, drink something good!

Cheers!