Silly me, I almost forgot one.

Din Tai Fung, in HKG was the best. I've been to the one in TPE, and SEA, and they weren't quite as good. The menu was the most extensive in HKG, which is weird because I thought they originated from TPE.

The Blue Chair in Glasgow, Scotland. It's a random little cafe in Glasgow with a wonderful hostess and owner and food that is all homemade and to die for. The brownies are the best I've ever tasted anywhere.

I live 2 minutes away. And I always go here when I return from abroad.

The http://https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maisonette"]The Maisonette was one of my favorites and ranked as best in the country

The Wagon Wheel in Cleveland was another great French resturant

When I was much younger, the Chesapeake resturant in the Baltimore train station was a great treat. I was allowed to have cherries jubilee.

Sushi Den in Denver was also a favorite. My boss knew how to always get a table. Also when we lived in Denver, the Palace Arms had great pitchers of martinis

On my first business trip to Paris, I thought the
Napoleon hotel dinner was pretty grand

Now in Austin, it is Stiles Switch bbq.

So many great places to eat.....

The ones in Arcadia, CA are very good. The newer one in Glendale isn't as good, and I haven't been to any outside SoCal. For a long time the one and then two (back to back in the same building) in Arcadia were the only ones in the US.

This kind of question is so difficult to answer, mainly because there are some places that have absolutely phenomenal homey food, but it's not anywhere near the level and class of upper-end places.

That said, if I have to pick one place that is absolutely at the top of my list, it goes to Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare. Incredibly innovative food, with every course (of which you get 15-20, so keep in mind these are more bites / small portions) being absolutely phenomenal. I would love to go back again sometime, but there is so much good food in NYC (and getting a reservation is nearly impossible) that I probably won't be going back anytime soon.

There are a few:

Cascadia in the Belltown section of Seattle, sadly Kerry Sears closed after about a decade and went back to be the exec chef at the Seattle Four Seasons.

La Toque in Napa Valley

El Gaucho in the Belltown section of Seattle

Overall? Hard to say; Restaurant Martin Berasategui in Spain was top-to-bottom one of the best, with no one course amongst the 14 standing out above the rest and all solid. Nakamura in Kyoto excelled for service (and the food was great, too!). For value, Batelina in Pula in Croatia is tough to beat. In the DC area, we love Rose's Luxury, which has very tasty food at a relatively inexpensive price (but doesn't take reservations, either). We've eaten at many of the much pricier places in DC, but they're near the top of our list.

Two of those three are 3-Michelin-star restaurants, so it's not a surprise they're fantastic... but for different reasons IMHO. The 3rd has no star but has some of the best seafood I've ever eaten and for a fantastic price.

Le Grand Vefour. Worth every penny (or Euro).

Nakamura was alright, but I wasn't blown away by the food (at least compared to Kichisen, which is another 3-star in Kyoto and, IMHO, was markedly better). Very nice traditional setting and meal, though.

There is no one best restaurant. But those where we had tasting menu meals that were so spectacularly good that we easily remember them long afterward include:

USA:
Saison, San Francisco
Meadowood, Napa Valley
Saam at The Bazaar by Jose Andres, Los Angeles
Juniper & Ivy, San Diego
Alinea, Chicago
L20, Chicago
Le Bernardin, NYC

MEXICO:
Pujol, Mexico City
Biko, Mexico City
Quintonil, Mexico City

SOUTH AMERICA:
Central, Lima, Peru
Astrid y Gaston, Lima, Peru
La Cena del Oro at MAP Cafe, Cusco, Peru
Sucre, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1884, Mendoza, Argentina

EUROPE:
Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Ledbury, London, UK
Guy Savoy, Paris, France
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Paris, France
Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy
Varvary, Moscow, Russia
Mikla, Istanbul

SOUTH AFRICA:
The Test Kitchen, Cape Town
The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais, Franschhoek
Camphors at Vergelegen, Stellenbosch

ASIA:
Amber, Hong Kong
Mr. & Mrs. Bund, Shanghai
Nahm, Bangkok

MOST OVERRATED "TOP" RESTAURANTS FOR US:
French Laundry, Napa Valley--very good, but not memorable & pompous
Lung King Heen, Hong Kong--very good, but not 3 star
Coi, San Francisco--very good, but not remarkable
Malabar, Lima--just good
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London--downright bad, 2nd biggest letdown
St. John, London--absolutely awful, worst fine dining letdown ever

STILL DYING TO TRY:
Benu, San Francisco, USA (in 2 weeks!)
Atelier Crenn, San Francisco, USA (in 2 weeks!)
Manresa, Los Gatos, USA
Chez Panisse, Berkeley, USA
Eleven Madison Park, NYC, USA
Next, Chicago, USA
Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, NYC, USA
El Cellar de Can Roca, Girona, Spain
Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy
D.O.M., Sao Paolo, Brazil
Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain
All of Tokyo top restaurants!

Eleven madison could, maybe, have one star in france. (Amber is a different league)
But it's still a good restaurant with very good service.
They gave you a nice frozen coke if you asked for a kitchen tour.

It is possible that Eleven Madison Park is overrated--but I find that highly doubtful. I have too many friends who have dined there over the years and recently who also really know their fine dining, not to mention the restaurant is enormously acclaimed by not only Michelin but also the NYT, Pellegrino, and just about every rating that matters.

I've been to Daniel--last year--and it was overrated IMO, but not for its food. Its wine pairings were just OK IMO, and one was terrible. I actually had to refuse that wine pairing and make the sommelier replace it for everyone at our table. I've NEVER done that before. Then I noticed Daniel lost a Michelin star this year--and I wasn't surprised.

I doubt that's true for Eleven Madison Park.

I think your assessment lacks credibility. I also find your "in France" assumption to be wildly prejudiced, as there are far more 1 star restaurants in France that would never get a star in the USA--simply because Michelin doesn't rank the USA except for the SF Bay, Chicago, Vegas, and NYC. Michelin is overrepresented in Europe because (1) not every region's customer base buys into the Michelin rankings/criteria, and (2) Michelin needs to keep its biggest customer base (Europe) happy. If Michelin actually ranked the entire world, and had to maintain food quality/creativity standards across the world, Europe would pale in comparison to many other regions. Michelin is to food as Bordeaux is to wine--with an assumption that Old World is somehow always better than New World, despite the overwhelming evidence that both can be wonderful and the direction for both is New...and that sometimes the New World can trump the Old. Let's face it--the fact that Noma is only 2 Michelin stars is laughable...and an obvious embarrassment for Michelin.

I've never been to 11 Madison or Daniel so no comment there. But I have met CGRA and I think you have erred in saying he lacks credibility. And I have to say in my opinion you aren't really appreciating all that fine dining is if you can't see the differences between European and US restaurants. This is common for Americans so don't worry. I'm American myself and it took a fair bit of time for me to fully appreciate fine French dining, as well as that of other countries. There are elements of really top quality at some US restaurants, but they generally, well almost always, do not have the complete package as a top Euro restaurant has. Anyone who has real experience at this can easily find faults at any US restaurant. But I try to not let it spoil my meal and just focus on the good parts.

I appreciate your opinion, but I still must disagree. I am American, but I've lived abroad and traveled all over the world. My husband lived in Europe for several years, and he also has traveled all over the world. We've been to the many European capitals and small villages and had some fabulous dining there, of course. But the pretentiousness of assuming that Eleven Madison Park is but a 1 star compared with many restaurants in France is overmuch even for me.

There is an assumption that somehow some things with food and wine are just inherently better in Europe, and I find that assumption as laughable as American exceptionalism. There are amazing things in Europe, just as there are amazing things in many other places. Sometimes Americans have a tougher time accepting this than others; in this case, I think it is your friend who is having the tougher time.

Great food is great food--but everyone has their own preferred tastes. Great service is great service--but different cultures have their own preferences and standards. Europeans tend to look down on service standards abroad because it is more relaxed and casual compared to what is considered proper service in Europe...but that doesn't make the service better. It just makes the service more old school and European. Much like wine.

The slight against Eleven Madison Park's 3 stars is as laughable to me as Noma's having only 2 stars. I've dined at many of the top 2 and 3 star restaurants in Paris, as I've dined in most of the top 2 and 3 star restaurants in most major cities around the world. I don't believe that any country has the best or a monopoly on the best...despite many believing some do.

I wonder what our mutual friend will say about The Test Kitchen in Cape Town or Central in Lima...or even the special La Cena del Oro at the MAP Cafe in Cusco--1 specific meal which I'd put up against the best 3 star restaurants in the world without blinking. I wore jeans at them all...so I'm sure that might disqualify those by esteemed colleagues. Even though it's supposed to be about the food and service (actually now Michelin is claiming it's only about the food, which is also a laugh). There's no doubt that far more than France can account for some incredible creativity and amazing food throughout the world. Your friend is just wrong.

[QUOTE=kerflumexed;25821779]The Chesapeake resturant in the Baltimore train station was a great treat. I was allowed to have cherries jubilee.

If I remember correctly, it was a bit north on Charles Street from the station and I was allowed to have chicken kiev (a Baltimore boy here). Haven't thought about this place in years. Being 8 years old, I believed it was one of the best restaurants in the world, rivaled only by Marconi's. Now with Nahm and Gaggan right down the road, my 'best' list has expanded a bit.