Just Like Heaven
Everyone has their own haven of deliciousness, that one spot where they reached food nirvana. For me, that spot is a little restaurant in Florence called La Giostra. Just thinking about it makes me crave fresh Carpaccio, rosemary scented rack of lamb and bold red wine. Unfortunately, I don’t get to my little slice of heaven too often and have had to find a new food Shangri-La to travel to. And where is this newfound place? Vegas…. baby. Yeah, I said it. The city of overindulgences, excess, too many beautiful people in too small a space and rich beautiful colors and foods. My husband and I discovered the wonders of the Las Vegas culinary scene when we spent a week there over New Years 2009. We quite literally acted like children upon gazing at the glory of the Bellagio Buffet 
and swooned over steaks made by a certain Mario Batali (GO – do not stop, do not collect $200 – to Carnevino at the Palazzo, best steak of my life). So many of our friends tell us that they can only spend “48 hours in Vegas max” – well this coming week we’re hoping to show many of them that while the nightclubs and DJs are lovely, it’s all about sampling the talents of one Daniel Boulud or Thomas Keller.
We all have that one place where we go to get “away from it all” and ironically, that place for me is “in the middle of it all”. Maybe it’s the noise, maybe it’s the fact that I get to indulge in foods made by chefs that I respect and admire, maybe it’s just the craziness of the place. Whatever it is, I can’t wait to make my pilgrimage on Saturday and pay homage to a few culinary divas and deities.
Where is your food Shangri-La? What is the one place in the world that you dream about returning to?
Category: Europe, Featured Articles: Travel & Culture, Travel & Culture, US & Canada
Ooo. One is this lovely hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome…a courtyard cafe. The other is this restaurant I have zero idea what the name is in Madrid where I FEASTED on jamon serrano, not knowing how expensive it was!
When we were in Spain I think that we lived on cured meat, it’s definitely one of my favorite things in the world!!
How lovely! For us, it would probably be the tiny Caribbean island of Mustique, it was so secluded and beautiful and the food was heavenly as well.
I love the seafood restaurants in the old port of Barcelona. They are so homey, no frills, but incredibly fresh seafood served in large platters for all to share. There are, of course, a number of great little spots in Italy
Oh my! That’s all I can say… There’s a few. Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, amazing.
Florence + pastries = heaven. definitely.
I know it’s not really exotic, but a small one room little returaunt in Mexico, they made the best food- homestyle…I ecently called and they are no longer open…oh how I miss that spot…
sweetlife
Sounds so amazing, would love to be there:)
I posted this on my FB and asked my friends. Here are some responses:
- There was a fabulous place in Little Italy in Boston. Tiny and didn’t even serve dessert but people were lined up outside.
- The Ironbound neighborhood in Newark NJ has the best Portuguese restaurants!
- Mortimer cafe in the old city, Geneva. Best chocolate cake ever made mate.
- hands down, O Porticciuol”, best seafood restaurant, in gorgeous Ischia!
- Oliveira’s near Silves in Portugal had the most awesome grilled chicken. *sigh*…frango assado….
- Chipotle! Anywhere.
- Potato soup in Siberia combined with munching raw onion and dense Russian bread
- Cleopatra’s Pool, Pammukale, Cappadocia. Heavenly!
I want to go back to Cartagena-Colombia!!!!I would love to eat fired whole red snapper with fried plantains and coconut rice.
I have been to Vegas once, but not in this glorious time when all the best chefs decided to unite and serve you wonders. I so have to give another try. I have quite a few places thatI consider heavenly, but the most recent is the burger at Father’s Office. I is pure awesomeness.
Hmmm. Probably Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston has a long and rich food culture and brilliantly combines local seafood, southern flair and french cuisine! I drool just to think of it!
It sure like a piece of heaven
I would love to go there! Everything looks fantastic.