Top Chefs Pick Meals Worth Traveling For
Some eat to live. Others live to eat.
They're called foodies, and they're so dedicated to their quest for the next great meal that many are willing to travel to the other end of the country and, in many cases, to the other end of the world just to experience it.
"People now more than ever are traveling specifically for one meal," says Erik Wolf, president and CEO of the Oregon-based International Culinary Tourism Association. "Everyone eats, but for some it's more important. It's an art form that speaks to all the five senses."
Twenty-seven million Americans participated in culinary activities while traveling in the past three years, according to the 2006 Culinary Travel Study compiled by the Travel Industry Association with the International Culinary Tourism Association and Gourmet magazine. Just over 12 million said that culinary activities were a key reason they chose that trip or destination. Sixty-four percent said their main form of a culinary activity was dining in local restaurants.
Why are so many willing to pack their bags for the promise of food nirvana?
Wolf points to the popularity of Food TV and the increasingly visibility of travel-related food shows on the cable channel such as Giada's Weekend Getaways and Rachel Ray's Tasty Travels.
But it's not just big-name restaurants and celebrity chefs luring people to travel for grub.
Richard Turen, owner of the Naperville, Ill., travel agency Churchill & Turen, specializes in culinary trips and says that travelers today want to discover out-of-the-way restaurants and local, authentic spots.
"It used to be that you name dropped that you had been to Paris and had dined at the fanciest restaurant there," he says. "Everyone's done this already. Now it's cool to say that you went to Paris and you discovered a great place that no one has ever eaten at."
Top Picks
Who's got a lock on that list? Seasoned chefs, some so fanatical about their chosen meal that they revisited it multiple times, some traveling intercontinentally for their fix.
Nancy Oakes, chef and owner of Boulevard in San Francisco, a 2007 James Beard nominee for Outstanding Restaurant, has traveled to Canneto sull'Oglio in Italy (north of Parma) six times to eat at Dal Pescatore, a three-star Michelin restaurant with classic Italian food.
Her favorite items on the menu? Deboned frogs legs that are fried and served in a garlicky green sauce made with olive oil; snails prepared in the same sauce and a suckling pig with a crispy skin that is roasted tender.
"The meal is a dream," she says. "It sticks to the Italian philosophy of not muddling up the food with a lot of ingredients and everything comes straight from the town."
For Laurent Tourondel, partner in six BLT restaurants, the ambiance was a major factor in his ultimate meal. He ate green curry, papaya salad and chicken with basil at Sala Mae Rim at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai in Thailand. He says the food had "bold, assertive" flavors, but the setting made it an amazing sensory experience.
"I was eating while overlooking rice fields with pink buffalo," he says."It was well worth the 18-plus-hour flight to get there."
Travel-worthy meals are just as available stateside. David Waltuck, owner and chef of Chanterelle in New York and 2007 James Beard winner for Best Chef in New York, found his ideal meal at Fore Street, a restaurant in Portland, Maine, that emphasizes using local ingredients in its dishes.
He ate the mussels and grilled rabbit and says he was taken in by the freshness of the food and loved that all the products were local.
"It was so appealing because it is very different from what I do, which is thought-out, formal French food," he says. "I went back to the restaurant a few weeks later."
Of course, not everyone can swing the cost to fly to a destination to indulge in a fantasy meal.
Still, it might be worth saving your pennies for these places. Since chefs, who can be the harshest food critics, have given them their seal of approval, they must be pretty good.
Who: Laurent Tourondel, partner in six BLT restaurants
The Meal: Green curry, papaya salad and chicken with basil at Sala Mae Rim at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai in Thailand
Why: "The food had bold, assertive flavors and a unique combination of spicy and sweet that balanced each other. The meal was an amazing sensory experience because of the taste and the setting. I was eating while overlooking rice fields with pink buffalo. It was well worth the 18-plus-hour flight to get there."
For more information, visit www.fourseasons.com/chiangmai/dining.html.
Who: Grant Achatz, chef at Alinea in Chicago and 2007 James Beard winner for Best Chef in the Great Lakes
The Meal: The chef's tasting at Per Se in New York
Why: "The most memorable dishes were the chad roe porridge with Persian lime salt and bonito flakes and foie gras in a jar with quail. I worked with Thomas [Keller] for four years so I really know the food, but these dishes surprised me. The flawless service and the setting, which had a great view of the city, helped too. All the factors collided together to create this amazing dining experience."
For more information visit www.frenchlaundry.com/perse/perse.htm.
Who: Martin Heierling, chef of the Sensi at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The restaurant features Italian, Asian, seafood and grilled specialties.
The Meal: The tasting menu at the French restaurant Cyrus in Healdsburg, Calif.
Why: "I experienced the tasting menu at Cyrus and enjoyed the entire experience from the caviar cart at the beginning of the meal to the foie gras three ways. I especially liked the interesting flavors and Asian influences on the dishes that former Lespinasse colleague Chef Douglas Keane created."
For more information www.cyrusrestaurant.com.
Who: Andrew Carmellini, executive chef and partner of A Voce in New York
The Meal: Sushi tasting at Sushi Dai in Tsukiji Market in Tokyo
Why: "This is a place in the market where all the fishing brokers go to eat sushi, so it's very bare-bones. I went four years ago for breakfast and got a sushi tasting where I sat at the bar and the sushi chef served the fish piece by piece. I still remember the bonito. The rice was warmed perfectly, there was just the right amount of wasabi and the fish was so fresh. The combination was so good that I ordered six more pieces."
For more information, call: 03/3547-6797
Who: Francois Payard, Pastry chef and owner of Payard Bistro and Patisserie in New York, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, soon to open in Rio de Janiero and at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
The Meal: Bouillabaisse at Tetou in Provence, France
Why: "Bouillabaisse [a hearty mix of seafood] is one of my favorite dishes, and this 87-year-old restaurant does it best. The thing that makes it is the freshness of the seafood--it is caught that morning."
For more information, call: 011-33-4-93-62-71-16.
Who: Patricia Yeo, executive chef and co-owner of Monkey Bar and Sapa in New York
The Meal: Grilled Wagyu beef and kingfish carpaccio with blood oranges at Tetsuya's, a Japanese restaurant in Sydney
Why: "It wasn't just the food that made this is an exceptional meal. It was the whole package. You walk in and enter a Japanese garden, so you feel tranquil right away. The food is served on really fine china and crystal glasses which is so in sync with how fantastic the cuisine is. It's not overly seasoned so the ingredients speak for themselves. And, the fish is so fresh that you can almost feel is pulsing."
For more information visit www.tetsuyas.com.
Who: Rick Moonen, executive chef of Restaurant RM and R Bar Café at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas
The Meal: Grilled Octopus and Braised Lamb at Kyma in Atlanta
Why: "This Greek restaurant serves up innovative food in a hip environment. The grilled octopus and the braised lamb are a celebration of authentic Greek food presented in a clean way. I would walk to Atlanta just to eat here again."
For more information, visit www.buckheadrestaurants.com/kyma.html.
Who: Marcus Samuelsson, executive chef and co-owner of Aquavit and Riingo restaurants in New York
The Meal: Le Louis XV, Alain Ducasse's restaurant in Monte Carlo
Why: "I first went to this restaurant 15 years ago when I had hardly any money and had saved for months for a meal here. What I remember most is the luxury in everything from the setting to the dishes to the service. The foie gras was soft, the turbot was perfection and the waitstaff was all over the guests. My ticket and hotel cost less than the meal. Since then, I've traveled and eaten a lot, but this meal is still the most memorable experience."
For more information, visit www.alain-ducasse.com.
Who: Nancy Oakes, chef and owner of Boulevard in San Francisco, nominated for the 2007 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant
The Meal: Snails, frog legs and suckling pig at Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull'Oglio, Italy (north of Parma)
Why: "This three-star Michelin restaurant sticks to the Italian philosophy of not muddling up food with a lot of excess ingredients. Plus, all the ingredients come right from the town. The frog legs are deboned except for one bone and fried crispy and served with a garlicky green sauce made with olive oil. The snails are done the same way. The suckling pig is roasted tender and has a crispy skin. This meal is a dream. I first went in 1990 and have traveled five times to eat it again since then."
For more information, visit www.dalpescatore.com/home_en.asp.
Who: David Waltuck, owner and chef of Chanterelle in New York and 2007 James Beard winner for Best Chef in New York
The Meal: Mussels and grilled rabbit at Fore Street in Portland, Maine
Why: "What I loved about this meal is that most of the products are local, and the food is so specific to the region of New England. Everything is cooked on a wood fire grill, and the menu completely changes every few weeks. It was so appealing because it is very different from what I do, which is thought-out, formal French food. I went back to the restaurant a few weeks later!"
For more information visit www.forestreet.biz.
Who: Roy Yamaguchi, founder and chef of Roy's, a chain of 35 Hawaiian fusion restaurants
The Meal: Truffle soup with puff pastry, sautéed sweetbreads, roasted squab with cabbage and a Grand Marnier Souffle at Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France
Why: "I had worked at the L’Ermitage hotel [in Los Angeles] in the 1970s with the chef from this restaurant, and I visited his place in Lyon in 2005. I was blown away because some of the dishes I had learned back then, like the truffle soup, were on the menu. It is traditional French food with deep flavors, and the chefs spend hours making the sauces used in the dishes. You could tell there was so much heart and passion in the food."
For more information visit www.bocuse.fr.
