The 50 best things to eat in the world, and where to eat them

[E. Q. Taft]

From cake, steak and tapas, to oysters, chicken and burgers, Killian Fox roamed the world to find the 50 best things to eat and the best places to eat them in, with a little help from professionals like Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux, Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...s-in-the-world

[Ana Ng]

Interesting piece- I was a bit skeptical when I saw aubergines first on the list.

I think the author needs to check out DiFara before he goes crowning Connecticut with best pizza.



I'd be interested in checking out the burgers at Little Owl, but I'm partial to the burgers at Bonnie's Grill in Park Slope.

[Errata]

The list looks pretty arbitrary, which is no surprise for such a grandiose claim. From the comments it seems like there are a few touristy places on the list.

[Jay Tea]

This is just journalistic filler - Oysters? fecking garbage 'wherever' you eat them. I can think of a dozen superior shellfish off the top of my head.

His point on roast chicken is valid. I mean, thousands of half decent chefs can roast a chicken to perfection so picking a place in Paris is as pointless as saying you can get good soba in Tokyo, but served whole is how they should be - no doubt.

This place looks pretty good as well...

[kitap]

How typical. They didn't stray from the New York City area or Southern California for their American choices.

[Flagg]

I thought for sure they'd mention Philadelphia cheesesteaks. I was curious to see if they'd say the winner was Pat's or Geno's. I am only a half hour south of Philadelphia so you'd think they'd know how to make them here, but whenever I ask if they use Cheez Whiz on their steaks they look at me like I'm crazy. Mmmm...now I'm hungry.

[Insensible Crier]

This is just to damn subjective to have any validity. We have about ten coffee places within a block of where I work and no one can agree on who has the best coffee. And just to makes things crazier is when not only a place is specified as the best but also specific person in the place ("Joni makes a cappuccino too light. Mark's is too strong. Sara is the one you ask for.").

Originally Posted by Flagg

I thought for sure they'd mention Philadelphia cheesesteaks. I was curious to see if they'd say the winner was Pat's or Geno's. I am only a half hour south of Philadelphia so you'd think they'd know how to make them here, but whenever I ask if they use Cheez Whiz on their steaks they look at me like I'm crazy. Mmmm...now I'm hungry.

Those thing are sooooo good and the only thing I'll eat involving Cheez Whiz. And I get the same crazy looks when I ask the same thing here. Here they think the cheese in cheesesteak is provolone. Some places around here even call it a Pittsburgh cheesesteak. To me, at that point you're just having a steak hoagie.

Oh, and curse you for only being a half an hour away!

[Pudding Crawl]

Fish & chips (specific dish), strawberry tart (specific dish), pho (specific dish)...
...'Nordic food'.
Evidently, Nordic cuisine isn't fashionable enough to be considered in terms of individual recipes.

I was hoping they'd weigh in on where to get the 'best' balti, as that's likely to be the only entry I wouldn't have to spend 5+ hours travelling for.

[Tootsie Plunkette]

The best place in the world to eat zabaglione, according to Giorgio Locatelli, is at his uncle's restaurant, La Cinzianell, in Corgeno, northern Italy. "As the sun goes down behind Monte Rosa and it starts getting a bit chilly, the thing I enjoy most is the zabaglione prepared by my cousin Maurizio…"

Obviously a completely unbiased opinion.

[Artemis]

If it were fifty places to eat a specific food, it might make sense. Like a list of the world's best burgers, world's best swordfish, etc. But how could anyone agree on the best food, period?

[Mad Jay]

"Sagar Ratna, in Delhi, serves South Indian vegetarian food – pukka food that nourishes the body and soul and is always in harmony with the seasons. My favourite dish there has always been idli sambhar: steamed rice cakes with coconut chutney and sambhar lentils."

If you want to find the best place to eat South Indian vegetarian food, wouldn;t you go to umm..... South India?!

[Ana Ng]

Originally Posted by Jay Tea

This place looks pretty good as well...

When I read the article, that took #1 on my foursquare list, I'll let you guys know if it's as good as the article says.

[Ariadne]

Sorry, but I can't trust any list that says the best pizza in the world is anywhere but Naples.

[Sister Ray]

Originally Posted by Flagg

I thought for sure they'd mention Philadelphia cheesesteaks. I was curious to see if they'd say the winner was Pat's or Geno's. I am only a half hour south of Philadelphia so you'd think they'd know how to make them here, but whenever I ask if they use Cheez Whiz on their steaks they look at me like I'm crazy. Mmmm...now I'm hungry.

Philly's Best in Chicago makes excellent ones. When I discovered their Belmont location I felt I'd died and gone to heaven.

Bartlet's Burger House isn't on the burger list?

Sister "their burgers are most excellent" Ray

[Ana Ng]

I'm like, all for street food and regional/local cuisine.

And I love Philly Cheese Steaks.

But I don't understand the proliferation of Cheez Whiz on Cheesesteaks. I love cheese. (Not gratuitous cheese, but cheese where it belongs and works well.) But Cheez Whiz outright sucks no matter where it's located. I could be licking Cheez Whiz off Jack White's unallowably gorgeous derriere and not be pleased about the Cheez Whiz part.

What is it about tasty sandwich steaks that makes Cheez Whiz bearable? I used to get my cheese steak fix at a Mennonite-run sandwich shop in Intercourse, PA, called the lunch box. The locally baked rolls and steak were fantastic, and the cheese was that sliced white Amish stuff. If some jerk put squeeze cheese on it, I'd have totally been pissed.

It's been gone about a year now, which is sad because I've been getting cheese steaks there for about 15, maybe 20. But seriously, why is squeeze cheese tolerated on otherwise awesome sandwiches?

[Errata]

I just had the best burger in the world at a local bistro, thus proving this article factually inaccurate. I can't articulate what makes it so great, because it didn't use any outrageously special ingredients, it was fairly standard components, but all done perfectly. A fresh baked roll, with a little browned crust outside but very soft. Crisp, ripe, colorful organic red onions, lettuce, and tomato. Provolone, dijon mustard, and mayo. And the meat was tender, juicy, and intensely flavorful, dark brown on the outside but a little pink on the inside, like a perfect medium steak chopped into patty form. And the whole thing was a reasonable size, not too large like so many "upscale" burgers that substitute quantity for quality. And it was only $9 including a side (I got the shrimp bisque, which is also amazing). It's the cheapest entree on their menu, and I never thought to try it because everything else is so good there.

[ganzfeld]

A little hint for the next writers to do this kind of thing: Tokyo isn't the best place to eat anything.

[Die Capacitrix]

Originally Posted by Ariadne

Sorry, but I can't trust any list that says the best pizza in the world is anywhere but Naples.

I've never had pizza in Naples, but many our Italian friends prefer the pizza of Tessin (Italian-speaking part of Switzerland).

And I am convinced that there is no absolutes with food - everyone has their preferences.

[Sebbenth]

I would think the best place to eat oysters would be somewhere in B.C. or Washington.

The European or Atlantic varieties are pretty tasteless. The stuff from Washington and BC is the real deal.

However, those Brits probably don't even know about it.

For the record: the best burger I ever had was the Olympic special at Mill St. brewpub in Distillery, when they topped it with blue cheese and a whole roasted top of a Portabello mushroom. That was the good stuff! I wish they brought it back. Plus, I think the authors never actually tried bison burgers. I know, it's Europe, and it has problems of its own, but a complete omission of game meats, like venison, is sad.