This is the "short list" of the very best of any food or meal I have had - mostly in and around the New York City area but some other locations are listed as well. Any items listed at more than one location were equal, i.e. tied for first place.
| Food | Location | Notes |
| Brisket Baked Beans |
R.U.B. 212-524-4300 208 W. 23rd St. (btwn 7/8 Ave) New York, NY 10011 |
Their brisket is to all other brisket what Kobe
steak is to all other steak. (Get the "burnt ends") Honorable mention: the brisket at Blue Smoke |
| Ribs | Pig'N Out Barbeque 60 Henry Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 522-5547 |
Honorable mention: the ribs at "The Eastside Kitchen" upstate. [NOW DEFUNCT] |
| Pulled pork | Virgil's BBQ (from before 2000) | This restaurant changed its recipes and in general the quality has gone wayyyy down hill since about 2000 - their current pulled pork is not on my "best of" list - it is listed here for what it USED to be. If I ever find any equal to its former glory somewhere else, that will replace this listing, but for now there is none that has compared. |
| Nachos Mozzarella Sticks Calamari |
UJ's Luncheonette 10718 70th Rd Forest Hills NY 11375 (718) 261-2400 |
Generally above average diner foods [NOW DEFUNCT] |
| Hamburger (restaurant) | Donovan's Pub 5724 Roosevelt Ave (at 57th St) Woodside, NY 11377 718- 429-9339 |
|
| Hamburger (fast food chain) |
Ruby's Diner no longer in the NYC area - was located on 42nd Street |
not to be mistaken with Ruby Tuesday's |
| Pizza slice (traditional) | Joe's corner of Bleecker and Carmine in the Village |
[NOW DEFUNCT] |
| Pizza - Sicilian square Calzone Chicken roll Pepperoni Roll |
Freddy's Pizzeria 12-66 150th St. Whitestone (Queens), NY 718-767-4502 |
no other Sicilian comes close. |
| Pizza - "other" - buffalo chicken | V.I. Pizza 4304 Bell Blvd Bayside, NY 11361 (718) 229-9311 |
Make no mistake, I am a pizza snob and purist, but they made a true believer out of me with their spicy chicken pizza. It's so worth a road trip to try this. |
| Flan | Ocotal resort in Costa Rica | Their hilltop restaurant had sensational food in general, fantastic view, and friendly wildlife. One of my top favorite beach resort experiences ever. The water was warm, the sand soft, the weather dry. |
| Peanut butter pie Dinner Rolls Crab cakes Pork loin |
Dimmick
Inn Broad & Harford Streets Milford, PA 18337 570-296-4021 |
This restaurant had an amazingly high number of "bests" along with other greats. In the top three best meals we've had. |
| Kobe Steak sourdough dinner rolls Creamed spinach |
Uncle Jack's Steakhouse 39-40 Bell Blvd. Bayside, NY. 11361 (718) 229-1100 |
I hear the other locations aren't quite up to the same level - but the meal I had at this location may well be the best meal I ever had. |
| Asparagus Crab cakes |
The Homestead Resort 1766 Homestead Drive Hot Springs, VA 24445 540-839-1766 |
|
| Asparagus Bolognese Spaghetti (southern italian) |
Nicola's 146 E 84th St 212-249-9850 |
|
| Bolognese Spaghetti (northern italian) | La Vigna Northern Italian 100-11 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills, NY (718) 268-4264 |
Exceptional |
| Bolognese lasagna (northern italian style) |
Marchi's 251 East 31st Street New York, NY 10016 |
beyond description. there are no superlatives sufficient |
| Peanut butter and jelly sandwich |
Pepperidge Farm sandwich bread Jiff creamy peanut butter Harry and David's strawberry jam |
these represent the pinnacle of the three fundamental ingredients, of course you have to make it yourself |
| Ice cream (parlour) | Bob's Ice Cream Lake George resort "downtown" 289 Canada Street Lake George, NY 12845 518-668-3207 |
[NOW DEFUNCT] |
| Ice cream (grocery): Bunny Tracks | Blue Bunny brand - Walmart grocery frozen section - or regular grocers in the mid west. | I couldn't possibly imagine an improvement on the Bunny Tracks, a heavenly mix of caramel, peanut butter and fudge ribbons, chocolate bunny's, and peanuts. Snicker's brand ice cream doesn't even come close to the perfection of this one. |
| Ice cream (soft serve) | Dairy Queen | Much better than Mr. Softy trucks or any other soft serve. |
| Fish 'n' chips (restaurant) | Riordan's 64-09 Roosevelt Ave. Woodside, NY (718) 779-8456 |
Yes I've been to A Salt and Battery - Riordan's beats them. |
| Fish 'n' chips (chain) | Long John Silvers | Arthur Treacher's is a poor copy |
| Cheese cake | La Vigna Italian restaurant 481 8th Ave, at 35th St New York 10001 Phone: 212-268-8460 |
your taste buds won't know what hit them. |
| Polish sausages | Greenpoint butcher | get a whole selection, they will all amaze you by their utmost flavor and quality, and their rock bottom prices |
| Black and White cookie | Kew Gardens German bakery | I have tried them all over Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn and nothing is like this one |
| Banana cream pie | Focker's Family Restaurant just off Rt 81 |
Don't expect to like the entree's but the desert is cream pie perfection. |
| Rotisserie Chicken | Park Slope, Brooklyn | |
| Mini éclairs and mini napoleons | V & V Bakery (718) 476-1669 6119 Roosevelt Ave, Woodside, NY 11377 |
Right off the 7 train, 61/Woodside stop. |
| italian ice | Lemon Ice King of
Corona 52-02 108th Street Corona, NY (718) 699-5133 |
|
| Breakfast sausage | Mark Twain Diner (718) 651-2212 72-12 Northern Blvd. Jackson Heights, NY 11372 |