Casual Dining

"Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one's life." 
                 - Anthony Bourdain 


I don't think it's a secret that I love food -- a little too much, if my doctor has a say. So when I'm traveling, I see food as an opportunity to try different things and enjoy the specialities of the region I'm in. But a curious thing occurred to me on my recent visit to the Pacific Northwest. In the vast majority of cases, the most memorable meals have been at smaller, local hangouts and not at the haute cuisine creme-de-la-creme expensive bistros of the rich and famous.

Peppermill, Las Vegas

Don't get me wrong. We've had plenty of wonderful and memorable times in high end eateries. This includes Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak in Las Vegas, Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in both New York and Vegas, several meals at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, and a host of other justifiably excellent destinations. They're all terrific, with at-times extraordinary foods in a beautiful environment. Great stuff, no question. And certainly no disrespect to the masters intended. But if you ask me the next day what I'd eaten, five times out of ten I'd need to think hard to come up with the answer.

Not so the more simple eateries. And maybe the answer is that it's easier to recall a breakfast burrito at the Bang Bang Cafe than it is the Liberty Farms Duck Cassoulet at Michael Mina's RN74. Sometimes the simple experience is more impactful than the complicated one. In New Orleans I readily remember eating at Brennan's -- but it's the beignets and coffee at Cafe du Monde which implanted themselves in my permanent mental collection.

And perhaps that's the key. When the food is competing with the overall experience of a high-end restaurant, it can be lost in the mix (no pun intended). When the food itself is the focus of the experience, and the environment doesn't intrude on the flavor -- or enhances it as the case may be -- then the food itself can make more of an impression when it's particularly good. Perhaps it's because of expectations, perhaps it's a reflection of what is going on around the diner, but by and large I know I'm going to have a fabulous meal when I walk into Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. No question. So perhaps something in the back of my brain etches that in and doesn't bother recording the details -- whereas a brilliant meal in a less than elegant surroundings startles the palate and grabs the reigns of the memory bank. The food must organically join with the surroundings to create a memory, not be the memory in and of itself.

I know, I'm beginning to sound a bit like Guy Fieri. (Or maybe, if I'm lucky, Alton Brown.) But the intent here is not to tour around looking for places to eat, it's about being someplace you want to go, and THEN finding the local hangouts and cuisine to match. Getting the feel, the vibe of a place is much more fun -- and more invigorating -- than sitting down at a high-end haute cuisine eatery unless that sort of thing IS part of the local scene and represents some truly local flavor along the way. But walking away from Michael Mina's RN74 -- an excellent restaurant in every possible way -- in Seattle isn't nearly as culturally satisfying as a single bowl of clam chowder at Ivar's. It just doesn't convey the sense of Seattle to the outsider. You could transplant RN74 to Los Angeles, Chicago or New York with very little changed save perhaps a few items on the menu, and it wouldn't be out of place.

Snowflake Burgers, Lake Tahoe

The key here is the food. Far and away, most meals at the high-end restaurants are spectacular. No question. And this is not about them. I have eaten at the now-closed Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park. I remember the ambiance, not the food. Likewise Clyde's of Georgetown in Washington DC's Georgetown district. Or dozen's of other excellent but trnspositionable places nationwide. 

(There are many exceptions, of course. But that's a different topic for a different time. I love seeking out celebrity chef's restaurants, but this is more about eating their food than exploring the town the restaurant is located in. One is a culinary adventure, the other a geographic one. Some of our choices for best "local" hangouts are actually quite nice restaurants -- but they readily evoke the local cuisine AND culture. The Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans is just such a place.)

Arturo's, Manhattan

As Gordon Ramsay is apt to say -- well, yell -- to the mid-range restaurant owners on the guilty pleasure Kitchen Nightmares, the food needs to be simple and honest, and representative of the fare being presented. Nice surroundings, of course, but is the meal I'm paying for somehow representative of the city I'm in? Is the setting local, or is it cookie cutter? A diner in Nashville may resemble a diner in Long Beach, but if the food, the service and the setting are all individualized then all is good with the world.

I'm all for treating oneself to a great meal at a high-end restaurant, but when it comes to traveling, the most memorable meals have always come from the local joints.

Some of my regional favorites:

http://www.peppermilllasvegas.com/#home (Las Vegas)

http://www.arturospizzanyc.com/ (New York City

http://www.elmesondepepe.com/ (Key West)

http://www.merchantscafeandsaloon.com/ (Seattle)

http://www.middletontavern.com/ (Annapolis)

http://www.philippes.com/ (Los Angeles)

http://www.redparrot.org/  (Newport, RI)

http://www.oletimebarbecue.com/  (Raleigh)

http://www.cattlemenssteakhouse.com/ (Fort Worth)

http://www.andrewsharborside.com/ (Boothbay Harbor, ME)
http://www.courtoftwosisters.com/ (New Orleans)