If I had a restaurant..

[MarkD]

Last year I ordered a steak on a cruise ship. I usually order medium-rare, but the waiter said that because of the type of beef, which was heavily marbled, I'd be better off having it medium to ensure all the fat was liquified. I took his word for it, and thought I'd died and gone to Heaven.

As for seafood, hey, I'm Norwegian, there isn't much that comes out of the ocean I won't at least try.

[MarkD]

Last year I ordered a steak on a cruise ship. I usually order medium-rare, but the waiter said that because of the type of beef, which was heavily marbled, I'd be better off having it medium to ensure all the fat was liquified. I took his word for it, and thought I'd died and gone to Heaven.

As for seafood, hey, I'm Norwegian, there isn't much that comes out of the ocean I won't at least try.

That's actually one of the few times I will order medium, is when I'm ordering a ribeye that's extra fatty, but not actually prime. And yes, it definitely helps the fat render.

With prime, you don't need that extra heat, below it you might.

IIRC this was a rib eye, and it was supposed to be a VERY good cut (kobe maybe?). It certainly tasted wonderful, definitely in the top five steaks I've ever eaten.

[dfwmtx]

This thread reminds me how much I miss the vegetarian place run by Hare Krishnas in Dallas. Some of the best veggie food, inexpensive, and buffet style.

[Cobar]

Thanks, BE.

[Wrenchbender1]

What about FRESH lobster????

Not a seafood guy, but I'd probably take a bite out of this one just to get a picture with it on my plate.

[Windy Wilson]

The Cajun version;
Cajuns will eat anything with 4 legs that isn't a cat or a dog.
Cajuns will eat anything with 2 legs that isn't a human.
Cajuns will eat anything that comes out of the water.

You know, when I was 8 years old I accused my parents of adopting me. Here's more evidence. I seem to be the only one in my family who likes southern and specifically Cajun and Creole food. I put oysters in my turkey stuffing, and cook a pretty good jambalaya.

And as for Precision's restaurant, isn't there an expensive restaurant in Spain that serves whatever the head chef damn well pleases to on any particular evening? Proof that if it's exclusive enough and expensive enough rich fools will line up and buy it regardless.

[308Mike]

What about FRESH lobster????

Not a seafood guy, but I'd probably take a bite out of this one just to get a picture with it on my plate.

WHERE'S THE REST OF THE LOBSTER???????

[HTRN]

And as for Precision's restaurant, isn't there an expensive restaurant in Spain that serves whatever the head chef damn well pleases to on any particular evening? Proof that if it's exclusive enough and expensive enough rich fools will line up and buy it regardless.

The most famous restaurant in Spain that I can think of was the now closed restaurant of Ferran Adria's El Bulli. It was arguably the best restaurant in the world during it's time of operation. It was closed for half the year, so Adria could work on his dishes. As for the "serve whatever he damn well pleases", that I haven't heard. I do know that what's on the menu in many restaurants on any given night, depends on what was available grown locally at the time - the socalled "Market Driven" trend.

[Highspeed]

The Menu del dia in Spain ( we'd call it a set menu in the UK ) is very traditional. You'll find it in little bars where the agricultural workers go for a cheap meal and also in the poshest restaurants.
Basically you get what you are given and pay a set price for it.

Market to table is just how things are done here, there isn't any special kudos attached to it. Even in large supermarkets you can't buy out of season produce - unlike in the UK where strawberries for example are available all year round. It may be different in the biggest cities.

I don't know how vegetarians survive in Spain. The only meatless dishes you'll regularly run into are 'bravas' ( sauteed potatos with a spicy tomato sauce ) and 'queso frito' ( fried cheese served with fruit jam, nicer than it sounds )
Everything else contains seafood, chicken or pork.

Edit :-

One restaurant we go to is located on an industrial park. This isn't unusual at all, during the day they serve the factory workers and at night people from the town who are dining out.
It still blows my mind to see a bunch of guys in overalls scoffing pan fried sea bass marinated in lemon and garlic or crepes stuffed with bacon,mushrooms and cheese...that's not how the working class in the UK eat during their dinner break...
For one thing we couldn't afford a meal like that and if we could we would have to drive for probably an hour or more to find a place which served that kind of food - one of those 'gastro pubs' where they charge you £5 just to look at the menu
It was roadside burger vans or greasy spoon cafes for us peasants ( and boy, do I miss them.... )

[MarkD]

I know Italy seems to have a different outlook on food than we do in the US.

A few years ago my wife and I did a tour of Italy. We didn't do too much the day we got there (jet lag), we spent a little time at the Vatican museum in Rome, then the tour guide suggested we get a sandwich at these trucks parked on the street, take it back to the hotel, eat, then take a nap. My sandwich was, quite literally, a piece of flatbread cut in half, a slice or two of salami and a slice or two of provolone, pressed pannini style. It was one of the tastiest things I ever ate. Everything just tasted SO good. Later that week we stopped for lunch at a high-way rest stop and my wife (who has four Italian grandparents and has eaten lasagne her whole life) had the best lasagne she'd ever had. At a highway rest stop. The type of place where you'd get a greasy burger in the US.

OTOH, when we got up (at about 7:00 am) in Venice there was no hot water in the hotel (nice hotel too, not a Motel-6 type place). When I called the front desk they said it had gone out about 9:00 the previous night and they were waiting for the plumber. Waiting for the plumber? Here they'd be dragging plumbers out of bed and paying them extra to get it fixed.