Arcolaio99

I second Aqua Al Due. Great food. The only time I ate there a friend and I doubled all the tasting plates and ordered a few dishes off the menu. Everything was excellent and great price as well. In Florence I also reccomend Pizzeria Spera, Pizaaoulio and Baldavino. All 3 of those place are excellent. I used to a be a regular at those 3 places.

moondog

that's probably quanjude. i used to like it myself, but then discovered that my stomach doesn't get along with ducks very well.

stimpy

I looked at that website and I'm not sure. Do they serve Jiu Gui? The Ghost Emporers wine? That stuff was 100 proof rice wine as I recall. Lots of happy red faces in this place.

moondog

although i can't vouch for the existance of 酒鬼, i can confirm that 100+ proof 白酒 is on offer (as is the case with many, if not most, restaurants in china). some friends of mine claim that it's easy to discern differences in quality (prices range from less than $1 to more than $500 per small bottle), but to me it's all jet fuel (never tasted it, but i imagine the chinese stuff must be similar). in other words, the type of booze shouldn't be the limiting factor, unless you start getting into ridiculously expensive brands.

as long as we're talking about chinese liquor, my personal favorite is snake liquor (there's a snake in every bottle). i've only tasted it once during a sampling in hk during 97 (and it wasn't nearly as bad as you'd imagine), but i've bought scores of bottles as gifts for friends in family. the challenge is finding it in small (1l) bottles that you can actually take on an airplane (there is a store on the north side of 公体北路 just west of the stadium that sells it). also, be forwarned that the bottles almost always leak so wrap them in lots of plastic bags. in any case, it's definitely worth the effort to procure the stuff; my dad still proudly displays the set i gave him in 96 on the mantle in his ski lodge.

PresRDC

Il Latini in Florence, Italy.

Best meal I've ever eaten, period.

Make sure you don't ask for a menu, it will ruin the experience. The waiter will tell you the options for each course.

Particularly good are the chicken liver crustini and the ribolleta (sp?) soup.

Arcolaio99

I agree. The home cooked meals I have are top notch as well.

leeinct

Cafe Brek, Torino Italy. Simple, quick, but my hands down favorite.

stimpy

Ah, Torino. That reminds me of Stars and Roses. Great restaurant and a must if you are into celebrities. They have at least a hundred large prints of celebrity mug shots. These are true mug shots taken in various jails and police stations. I was quite surprised at some of them. Most are US actors, but there is at least one Brit as they have Hugh Grant after his famous bust.

And the food is quite good too! Just a few blocks from the main train station and the Holiday Inn.

mosburger

Top three for each of the two continents I pretend to know at least something about:

Asia:

1. Shared by so many restaurants in the Korean South-West. Be it the unbelievable sashimi/sushi joint at Yosu Fishing Harbor, the great al-fresco roasted duck place in the Gwangju suburbs or that sidedish feast gourmet temple in rural Damyang. Even in Seoul the best restaurants are managed by people from this region, and for good reason.

2. The Izakayas of Kamigyo-Ku in Kyoto. Again too many good ones to mention, but let the proprietors play Sake sommelier. The tidbits, accompanying (rice) wine and centuries of experience in fine dining (+ a view of the Kamo river and restaurant garden if possible ) make for an unforgettable experience

3. One particular Sezhuan hotpot place in Suzhou, China. After first refusing to serve our late party the staff then proceeded to dish out a remarkable assortiment of meat, fish and veggie bits to cook. And that strong chinese liquor made us soon forget the post-communist service personnel.

Europe:

1. St.Johns in London: Damn this place is good! Offal heaven for the macho inside. Great non-nonsense approach to fine dining and one of the main culprits to revive British cuisine.

2. The Stanglwirt restaurant and hotel in Tyrolia, Austria close to the German border. Every Alps-related clichee fulfilled, but with style. Good food and "real" Tyrolian atmosphere complete with local musicians, laughter and the (in)famous Austrian desserts.

3. The 1812 in St.Petersburg, Russia. Big Zakuski offering, high-class live music and rumour has it Vlad Putin is a regular pundit. Oh, and the Vodka is soft and alluring...