Many many years ago (decades ago) my wife and I, along with another couple had dinner at a place called The Seabass Inn near or on Assateague island. Perhaps it was in Chineqteague, Virginia.

It was the most perfect seafood we have ever had...ever! After dinner the chef came out to the dinning room and played beautiful clasical guitar.

The wine, the food, the place, the music, were all perfect.

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I know I've had many, but the most vivid was in Istanbul while in college. We were in the village of Ortakoy alongside the Bosphorus Strait. Began the meal with Efes beer and many plates of meze. Fresh bread, hummus, garlic sauces, tons of olive oil, roasted peppers, and cheeses. Then we ordered the salads which were huge platters of sliced vegetables drizzled only with olive oil and lemon juice. Grilled fish with steamed potatoes and lemons followed. I believe I had grilled mackerel and fried istavrit. But I also tried the fresh calamari and sea bream. Awesome view, tons of people. Can't wait to go back.

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Here's my dilemma. Do I describe my *first* memorable meal, as you've done, as a youngster? Or the most memorable as an adult? Or the most poignant? Most expensive? Most gourmet? Decisions, decisions.

Going with the first memorable meal as a youngster, the one which "for first time in my life made me understand the power that really wonderful food has to captivate" -- it was an early morning breakfast, with my Dad, in a beach town in Santa Cruz, California. Would have been the very early 1970s, when I was about 9 or 10 years old.

Our family rented a summer house every year during my youth in Aptos/Santa Cruz. One of the drawbacks was that it didn't have a washer/dryer, so every weekend, we'd have to wake up early and trudge to the laundermat. None of my siblings were the slightest bit interested, so I volunteered to go with my poor old Dad, saddled with the laundry for a family of six (he let my Mom off the hook every weekend). Off we'd go, very early, before breakfast, to get it done and out the way so that we could play on the beach the rest of the day.
It was always cold and really foggy, with crisp sea air all around and only the beach hippies on bicycles and shop keeps up that early.

What I knew, and the others didn't, was that the child that got up early to help Dad do laundry, was treated to breakfast at a restaurant, while the rest stayed home and watched cartoons and ate Corn Pops or Rice Chex.

One morning during the dryer cycle we wandered a bit further from the laundermat than usual and found this little cafe just opening. They beckoned us inside and we ordered breakfast. I remember even now, what a revelation it was to have proper French Toast, not fried and covered in some maple flavored syrup, but, a batter infused with alot of orange zest, and fresh grated zest on top, with a shaking of powdered sugar, and what I now realize was an orange juice and brown sugar reduction drizzled over it. A small smattering of berries. A glass of fresh orange juice in a frozen glass, and a basket of assorted hot breads, pats of real butter, and a few sausages.

Like Marisa, I felt and was very quiet. I almost felt the need to be respectful of the cafe, the foggy morning, the frozen orange juice, the orange zested french toast, and what was obviously a very high quality organic meal. No one else was in the restaurant, and I felt both grown up and privileged to have this secret meal with my Dad.

We snuck away to the cafe several additional times during that summer, but none of the sneaky meals was quite as good in my memory as that first one of Orange Brown Sugar French Toast with Berries.

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The dinner I had at the Mural Room at Jackson Lake Lodge this past summer is the first best meal that comes to mind. My family was celebrating my cousin's birthday (which happened to fall during our Wyoming vacation, lucky him). Everything there was special from the view of the Tetons at sunset down to the butter, which was pressed into moose shapes. Wanting to save room for dessert, I ordered a salad, but it was still probably the best salad I've ever had - tender greens, crisp, dry blue cheese, and a sharp vinaigrette dressing. I didn't feel guilty at all later when I devoured the delicate dark chocolate mousse with fresh raspberry sauce for dessert. Pure heaven.

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My best meal ever was shortly after we were first married in 1975, my husband was stationed in Germany. The restaurant was on a hill, over-looking the area around Wurzburg. The views were beautiful. The meal was grand, (forgive my mis-spelling) Chateaubriand with pommes fritz, fresh green beans, steaming hot bread with butter melting over the edges. The sauce over the fork tender meat was pure heaven. Everything in the world was perfect, the food was sheer bliss, the wine was like silk swirling in your mouth. I know I had desert, but can't remember what it was. (We lived across the street from a bakery,and I was up early each morning, Heaven for sure!)

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New Orleans-- Jazz Fest-- '97

Stuffed Artichoke
Rose Iced Tea
Key Lime Tart

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Pusan, South Korea
Myself and 4 friends (one other American)
Bulgogi and Banchan
Neverending Beer and soda
First Total Immersion in Korean Culture (No English spoken)
Several hours of bliss
Total price (American) $18!

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Maybe you can help me out with something…? I want to order all of my food online from now on because of various reasons, but I don’t know where to go for quality food. I have tried 2 companies so far, Fresh Dining, and and Celebrity Foods, but I wanna get others I can try out. Do you know of any? The main thing I’ve ordered so far is steak. I guess you can say, I’m a steak junkie. LOL!!! From what I have found out (from what I have ordered so far) I think I am able to regulate the quality of beef I buy. I hate going to a store and getting that crappy slab of beef that I have to cut down until there is like nothing left. Hahaha!!!! (its so true though) Anyhow, sorry that I made this comment so long. If you can help me out or point me in a direction where I might find more quality foods online, I would greatly appreciate it. Have a good day or night! (depending on when you read this) LOL!!!!

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Reminds me of a similar experience I had at a now (sadly) closed restaurant called "The Mashed Potato Club" in Chicago. The place itself was amazing...like a nightclub. The surprise came when I ordered the Yankee Pot Roast. Honestly, I still get speechless when I think about it. Tender beef, the most flavorful gravy and (of course) the most amazing mashed potatoes. Why do the good places always close?

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Two meals come to mind. The first was at Vinton's, a wonderful restaurant in Coral Gables, FL. My husband and I feasted on roasted wild mushroom appetizers, entrees of perfectly cooked veal chops, and chocolate souffle for dessert.

The second was at Walt Disney World's Narcoosse (sp?) where we gorged on three pounds each of the sweetest, most succulent Maine lobsters we'd ever tasted.

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