I wish I could reproduce almost everything that I ate in Italy, from the pasteries and pizza in Naples, to the perfect, not too dry, not too soggy panzanella in Tuscany. One thing I was able to reproduce, though, was a great dish I ate at a restaurant in Rome. Rather large sheets of pasta, toasted pine nuts, and halved, perfectly sweet cherry tomatoes were tossed in a gorgonzola pesto. Very simple, but using the gorgonzola in the pesto rather than the typical parmesan really adds a punch of flavor. Another easily reproducible gastronomical delight I discovered is the pairing of cheese and honey. My friend and I stopped at a bodega in a little Tuscan town for a snack, ordered some cheese, and were presented with a huge platter of five different kinds of pecorino cheese, fresh bread, and a little dish of honey. The salty pecorino (especially the hard, crumbly version) with the sweet honey was heaven! Ok, better stop as I am making myself hungry!

I was in Santa Barbara at a great little restaurant, there; if not authentic, it at least has decent atmosphere and is easy to get to. The dish was called "Palermo", and it consists of jumbo shrimp, stuffed with pesto, and wrapped in prosciutto. My friend and I made it ten or fifteen times in the next year or so, using my mother's old pesto recipe and experimenting with everything from low-quality bacon to very pricey imported prosciutto. Inspiring, indeed!

Me: salted caramel ice cream at Jeni's in Columbus, on a trip to see family; perfect salted and broiled squid at Chez Panisse Cafe; that fennel and orange salad from Piccolo Venice, and every mozzarella and tomato sandwich I ate in Italy.

J - that cheese and honey sounds amazing!!

Lunch in Tuscany at Da Delfina in Artimino. Inspiring in every way possible.

For me, it was ice cold, ocean-fresh peel-and-eat jumbo shrimp, and equally ice cold vodka tonics at the (almost empty) raw bar of a Key West hotel, Fourth of July. Me and my travel partner were sunburned but freshly showered, and avoiding the festivities at the other end of the island. We laughed, ate, talked, drank, shared our stories, fell the tiniest bit in love. We were worlds away, and it was terribly (and surprisingly romantic).

It was quite something. I think of that night, and him, quite often, over twenty years later.

Pasta with fish sauce in Vernazza, Cinque Terre. I later learned that it is made from fish heads put through a ricer, so I have not been brave enough to reproduce it.

The Wine Factory in London make a seemingly simple green risotto. I asked the chef to write down the recipe. It was slightly indistinguishable, so I've had to experiment a few times and seemed to have finally nailed it. It's made with a "nage" made with greens like arugula and spinach, which give the broth it's green color. Then a puree of greens is also added in, as well as some asparagus. A touch of butter at the end. It's delicious.

The gazpacho at Les Fables de la Fontaine in Paris was to die for. It was not soupy, but a layered glass of crab, avocado, a creamy tomato layer, etc.

Ferrara in Rome is unbelievable with wine lists that are literally books.

some little restaurant in Seattle- it was pouring rain(as usual) and my partner and I were literally running back to the hotel when we saw the cozy glow of the front door and ducked in to get dry-I had the pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola, what a perfect meal for a rainy night-a few glasses of wine later the rain had stopped and we strolled leisurely through the wet streets,satisfied and warm!!
that fall we reproduced it for a dinner party with hand made pasta and trust me it was a hit!!

Dinner at San Michele in Fiesole, Italy at sunset overlooking Florence. The view was stunning, the meal was several courses of the freshest, most delicious food ever. The cheeses, the wines, the bistecca Fiorentina ... it was a magical night. Though, as you can tell by the majority of the responses here, food in Italy is magnificent no matter where you eat. And, recreating it is close to impossible. In Italy lemons are the size of grapefruits and basil leaves grow larger than your hand. It's truly an amazing place.

El Xampañet in Barcelona. Fresh bread, great olives, heavenly tomatoes, jamon aplenty, and LOTS of good cheap Spanish champagne. Mmmm.

Aria,

Sounds delicious. I'm heading to Spain's Basque region mid Sept., any recommendations for a place to stay in Barcelona. Or Bilbao or San Sebastian for that matter?

There's a theme here...

I vote for Italy, too. In particular, the crepes stuffed with zucchini flowers which were stuffed with ricotta and fried, all of it topped with a creamy bechamel; which was a prelude to sole stuffed with rapini and drizzled with olive oil. This was at the lunch counter at Peck in Milan.

A very close second would be the gnocchi alla Romana with reduced balsamic vinegar. But that's not to shortchange the brioche with Nutella, the Bellini at Harry's Bar, the grilled lamb with balsamic syrup... Even the snack at McDonald's -- fried camembert -- was delicious.

Art,

We stayed here in Barcelona: http://www.visit-bcn.com/inglaterra/opcion_rooftopdream.htm
The apartment was clean, basic, comfortable enough, and a better deal than hotel rooms for a week. The rental company was helpful and easy to work with. The location was also great. It was a 5-story walk-up, though -- after a night at the Whiskey Museum across the street those stairs become perilous.

In Bilbao we stayed at the Petit Palace Arana hotel. It was modern, stylish, comfortable, and had about 10 nozzles in the shower (which was cool until you literally flooded the entire bathroom floor every time you showered). This hotel is really reasonably priced for what it is, and the location was perfect.

In San Sebastian we stayed at the NH Aranzazu, which was basically like staying at a Mariott. Not my aesthetic ideal, but it was clean and comfortable. San Sebastian can get pricey, I'd search around.

And in a nutshell, here are my Spain experience notes:

1. TRUST MARIBEL (http://maribelsguides.com/), particularly when it comes to food. I printed and bound her region-specific guides, and barely consulted a Time Out or a Lonely Planet.

2. Eat fiber when you can find it. Seriously.

3. Don't allot a whole lot of time for Bilbao. San Sebastian is prettier and more interesting. A day or 2 is more than enough.

4. In Barcelona, eat at Pinotxo in the Mercat de Sant Josep on Las Ramblas. El Xampanyet in El Born at Montcada, 22. And try a meal at Cal Pep.

Sorry AT, there was no way to do this in a couple of sentences. Art, feel free to email me at aria@casanovawong.com if you need more details.