Thanks - I am booked!

Ate at Blanca (2-star Michelin in Brooklyn) for my birthday dinner last night. Excellent food, very well-done. Purists will probably be upset at hearing 'Ride The Lightning' during dinner, but I loved hearing classic rock, thrash metal, and punk all in a chef's table seating. 15-20 small bites, with my favorite probably being the lamb carbonara. Had a fantastic white IPA from Portland, OR during the entire meal. Would definitely recommend to anyone in the NYC area.

Just returned to The Harwood Arms in Fulham after it got its star. It was already excellent and it has turned it up a notch or two since my last visit. A very well deserved star.

Visited in 2010 when it already had a star. Very nice food, friends were also happy with a visit last year. Red they have a new chef now...

I just returned from a trip to Eleven Madison Park in NYC. Excellent food with great company. Definitely one of the top 2 meals in my life.

Went to Annecy, France last weekend and had dinner at a couple of Michelin-starred spots.

La Ciboulette - very good food overall, but the entrees were less inspiring than the mains. Very Old World decor. Not for those who don't have a passing/rusty knowledge of French (no English-language menus).

Yoan Conte - I really want to come back here for lunch on a clear day or an early dinner in the summer, as it is on Lake Annecy and undoubtedly has spectacular views. The food was fantastic here; the foie gras was one of the most flavorful, textured foies I have had anywhere (it was also the main meat entree! Have only had it as an appetizer). Menu in English, a handful of waiters with enough English language to even make a little conversation. I was displeased when we had our tea on the couches and then were virtually ignored for 20 minutes once we were done. Some of the wait time is so the head chef can come out and greet folks as they were departing, but we saw others leave before us - so there was definitely slippage once we were no longer in the dining room. I wouldn't call it a Top-10 dining experience, but I love the setting and the food was a delicious contemporary take on French cuisine.

have forthcoming reservations at EMP and Chef's Table - couple of quick questions:
- are the beverage pairings at either of these outstanding enough to indulge?
- is it true that chef's table has a no notes and no photos policy?

also wondering whether to add in a lunchtime visit to le bernadin or another on our very short stay in NYC.

Yes to your question re: Chef's Table's photo policy, at least when I went a couple years ago. I would take any photos before dinner gets started.

As for lunchtime eats, I have heard that Marea (2 stars) has an excellent lunch menu. Jean-Georges does as well.

Only had dinner at Marea so far, but Jean-Georges lunch was a real steal.....

Even more true at nougatine for lunch

Loire valley:
Domaine des haut de loire : amazing place. 2 stars but better than some 3 stars in france.
Salmon is out of this world.

Chateau de pray : just ok for one michelin star.
The setting / room is original.

There are many "steal-destinations" in NYC at Lunch:D

i'm all ears...

For example Ai Fiori (29 $ - 2 courses) or Bouley (55 $ - 5 courses)

Over all Lunch got more expensive over the last years:(

I haven't been to Ai Fiori in some time - is their food overall still okay? The last couple of times my wife ate there, she was less than impressed.

Juni (1-star Michelin at 31st between 5th and 6th) has a great lunch, according to one of my coworkers. Been there for dinner and it is outstanding as well.

On a separate note: does anyone have opinions on the below Michelin-starred places in Tokyo? Going there next month and trying to get a good mixture of Japanese cuisine to try out, and I came up with these (I am doing Kyubey for sushi, which doesn't appears to be starred but have heard / read many good things about):

-Usuki fugu Yamadaya (3-star Michelin specializing in blowfish)
-Nodaiwa (1-star Michelin specializing in unagi)
-Fukamachi (1-star Michelin specializing in tempura)

My last visit was in 2012, so not really fresh:(

Ate at Sushi Azabu (1 star) for dinner tonight. The fish quality is still excellent, but now that I am paying more attention to it, the rice was not as well-prepared as it could have been.

Also had their tamago - definitely gives Nakazawa's a run for its money; it may even be better.

Nodaiwa is good. If you like eel, also put Anago Tamai on your list. Not M*, but still tasty nevertheless.

To echo others in this thread - Harwood Arms is fantastic. we went for the sunday roast and it was nicely done.

On this trip, also ate at Le Cinq - really really enjoyed it. The kouign amann they give at the end are out of this world. Also got to take some home :)

In Frankfurt, ate at Lafleur - some service missteps, but otherwise enjoyed the food and the meal.

I managed to get a table at El Celler last month, thanks to Citi Prestige concierge (then ten group) by requesting a table a month before. They clearly mentionned that it was fully booked all year but they had a special relationship with the restaurant. Amazing dinner.

As for Tickets, got some last minute table. They release them online, just check frequently.

Both were fantastic experiences in their own different ways.

In Barcelona now. I finally secured a lunch reservation for El Celler off the waitlist, but AMEX concierge wasn't very helpful. I didn't use Citi because there were no Spanish restaurants mentioned on the Prestige concierge website. How did you even know to use Citi? You just called and asked?

Still hoping for Tickets. From their website, sounds like I have to call from 4-6pm to see last min reservation has opened up. I didn't think website would update as well.

yes just sent an email and asked.

they also open some last minute availabilities on their website. might give it a go as well.

Were you in Barcelona? Trying to figure out how I'm going to get to Girona if they decide to give me a table on very short notice. I think I can get there on the train, but getting back late at night might be a challenge. All predicated of course on getting a table, which may or may not happen.

Spent a night in Girona after the dinner, highly recommend the AS Palau dels Alemanys in the old city.

Thanks - this is handy

Just had my lunch at El Celler... reservation was for 1 pm, was out the door at 5:15-5:30. Longest meal I've ever had. I've done Robuchon's 20th anniversary dinner with 18 courses in Tokyo, but El Celler was more impressive and more grand. Service is good, but not close to The French Laundry (2011), which still is the standard for me.

Anyway, we did the "Feast menu" at El Celler, which I think is 14 courses, but that's in addition to the 4 appetizers not included in the 14-- so 18 total. We are staying in Barcelona so we came back after lunch (raining, or would've explored Girona more); if this was a dinner, we definitely would've stayed overnight in Girona.

One more thing-- my wife and I collect menus from 2* and 3* restaurants we've dined at, but left ours in the lobby on the way out. I realized this on the way back to Barcelona, and called the restaurant. Within an hour, someone had emailed me a pdf of the menu. I asked if I could have a hard copy mailed to my address in US, as I'm flying out in just over a day; I was fully prepared to pay shipping costs, but they said they'll ship it out with no mention of cost. I appreciate that.

Had a meal at the three star Schloss Berg (Nennig-Perl) the other day that was amongst the best I have ever had. Went back to check the Pellegrino list - not there. Checked Andy Hayler's website and saw that he rated it 20/20 and one of his best meals ever. I guess it is one of those off-the-beaten track restaurants that gets no PR whatsoever, but produces world class food. Really amazing and worth the effort to get there. It's about 15 miles from LUX

An a bit further north from Trier (approx. 30 min from LUX by car) you have 3-star-Michelin Waldhotel Sonnora. Awesome too !

Excellent, I will add it to my short list for next time. Haven't been back to L'Arnsbourg since they lost their stars but also had an excellent meal at that three star, not too far away. Also Gastehaus Erfort in Saarbrucken, but that one I didn't feel compared favorably to the others

Visited 20 years ago - perhaps time for a re-visit;)

Auberge de l'Ill was excellent too. More classical menue though.
If you are in the region south of Bonn (Bad Neuenahr), I can recommend Steinheuers Restaurant zur Alten Post. Also impressive.
Next month I will try L'eau vive (2 stars) near Dinant (B).

Oh yes ;)

My next will be the two star Il Pagliaccio in Rome in a couple of weeks. Definitely looking forward to it.

Took a quick trip to NYC a few weeks ago and had lunch at both Jean-Georges and Le Bernardin. I've been to JG before and it was just as good. First time at Le Bernardin and the food was fantastic. Service wasn't too great, but I've come to expect that as a solo diner who's under 21 :rolleyes: (CX F and Krug made up for it that night though!)

You are solo dining at these restaurants and you are under 21 years of age?! My poor butt was eating $3 food truck food when I was your age... :(

Separately, back from a trip to Tokyo. Sampled a few Michelin-starred spots for dinner...

-Fukamachi Tempura (1 star) - excellent tempura, easily the best I've ever had. Hard to compare within Japan as I haven't eaten any elsewhere, but tempura prepared with care is much, much better than any regular fried veggies and fish.

-Nodaiwa (1 star) - similarly, very good preparation of eel. The focus here is on unagi and not anago, but I really liked that every dish was served without being over-lathered with teriyaki sauce, as it I have had it nearly everywhere else (especially in the U.S.)

-Usukifugu Yamadaya (3 stars) - overpriced and not worth it. Fugu (blowfish) is interesting to try, but it is not worth designing a whole meal around by any means. The sashimi cuts were a bit on the dry/chewy side, and even when it was grilled/fried/boiled, etc., it just did not blow me away. I wish I could have ordered one of the tasting menus with less courses so that I wouldn't have spent as much.

Finland does not have high-star Michelin restaurants, while we do have few in Helsinki, but I would recommend to check "Kaskis" in the pictoresque old capital city Turku which is 1,5 hours drive west of Helsinki.

It just got a Michelin sticker recommendation and it is in my opinion the best restaurant in Finland nowadays. It is fully booked though for months in advance so the best you can do is to pick their telephone number in the internet and call if they have any last minute cancellations.

Last time I was in Helsinki I had an excellent meal at Saaga. Maybe not up to Michelin standards, but excellent none the less.

Based in the US and have not really tried any of the Michelin star restaurants but thinking that needs to change. Any recommendations on a first one to try? Doesn't have to be the best but what would be a good first experience that would showcase the food and service that Michelin represents?

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Depends where you are;) US is not really small

If you're ever up in Chicago (noticed you seem to be IND based), there are a lot of nice ones here. I personally like Tru a lot, I also had tea at the Peninsula which was nice.

In NY, I think lunch at Jean-Georges or Le Bernardin are nice places to start as they are "only" 2-3 courses are are not marathons like dinner at places like Tru or Guy Savoy can sometimes feel like.

Thanks I have stayed at that Peninsula but not done the tea. Chocolate buffet yes but not the tea ^

Appreciate the suggestions and may be in NY before Chicago so appreciate the suggestions.

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