This week on Facebook I asked family and friends for favorite restaurant ideas. I’ll share their choices as we travel a culinary journey far away and close to home. Pour yourself a glass of wine and let’s see what people people loved. I’ll begin with our daughter Lisa and her family at the “Girafe Restaurant” in Paris. She felt this experience was close to the top of her list!

The interior of Girafe. Some tables come with an Eiffel Tower view.

Another favorite of Lisa’s was “Restaurant Terrazza Danieli” in Venice. She was celebrating a big birthday and in high, happy spirits. Looking across the terrace they noticed a woman dining with a few bodyguards around her. It was Hillary Clinton! Lisa, never shy, walked over and had a chance to meet her and tell her what a fan she was!

While studying in Paris as a teenager Lisa’s host family took her for dinner at “Le Jules Verne” restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. She said, “Dad,…you and Mom MUST go!” My future restaurant list is getting quite long! Lisa’s list included “Bouchon” in Las Vegas,…and the iconic now closed “Rattlesnake Club” in Denver, the place to see and be seen in the ’80’s!

Our daughter Stacy said one of her VERY favorite dining experiences is “La Terrazza di Lucullo” at the famous Hotel Caesar Augustus in Anacapri. She and her husband were hosting a group and just came off their boat in the bay below. The restaurant features truly great cuisine and breathtaking views of the whole of the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi Coast. This is definitely on my future list!

This is a photo of the restaurant. Gorgeous, isn’t it!

Another of Stacy’s favorites is “Mister Charles” on Knox Street in Dallas. Marla and I were with her that birthday evening, a beautiful experience!

My brother Gary shared San Francisco’s “Alioto’s,” a favorite for our entire family for decades. Sadly, it closed after 90 years in 2020.

Gary is sitting with our grandson Paxton at a birthday dinner at Alioto’s for our Mom.

Gary’s message said,…“Now, don’t forget Casper’s Hotdogs” in Pleasant Hill, California! How can I forget as this is one of my special places as well!

This is a touching restaurant memory submitted by my nephew Steve… who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is from Steve:

“In 2005, I asked Karen to marry me in Werfen, just south of Salzburg, at the very same picnic field as used when the children were learning ‘Do-Re-Mi’ in the Sound of Music. The scenery in Werfen was some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. After Karen said ‘yes’, a special dining experince was in order, so we got dressed up and headed out to St. Peter Stiftskulinarium (then called St Peter Stiftskeller) which has a noble distinction of being the oldest restaurant in Europe (established 803 AD!) I remember ordering a magnificent, large and delicious Weiner Schnitzel.”

Patty Hansen, my good friend from high school, sent this lovely memory of one of her favorites, the “Russian Room” in New York City.

“A magical afternoon in the Russian Tea Room, New York City near Carnegie Hall. A comfy red tufted booth held us in soft welcoming arms while we sampled high tea with all the trimming, scones with clotted cream and finger sandwiches. The time drifted by, with nothing seemingly more important than the next moment while we relished the varied menu items. The calm ambiance and gracious servers were our assistants to entering a world of times-gone-by, when sharing a meal with friends was a time to open and share our hearts, thoughts and internal melodies.“

Patty is a pretty busy lady, but don’t you think she should start writing a novel or two? She has a descriptive gift!

Marla and I dined in the Russian Tea Room early in our marriage. We sat next to an elderly couple having a deep discussion about love. We said we wanted to remember this moment hearing the gentleman saying,…“Love…what is it,…and how do you define it? Do you really understand it?”

My adventurer friend Tom Rackerby and his good friend Jennie were in Mexico for an educational tour. In Mexico City their group stumbled upon “Lorea”, a possible Michelin star destined restaurant in Tom’s view. They really liked it! Tom said they have a sliding door and you check in out in the street. The chef was from Tabasco where he perfected his craft and opened this restaurant seven years ago. They had his 8 course tasting menu and “were delightfully stuffed by the end of the two hours.”

My nephew, Mika, said he loved going to “Nirvana”, a now closed Indian restaurant in New York City.

Our friend and former Southern States Sales Manager of Wesco Fabrics, Steve Beard from Jackson, Mississippi, chose “Flagstaff House” in Boulder, Colorado, as one of his super favorites! Marla and I love this place although I remember driving home from the restaurant in a terrible snowstorm! The cuisine and the views are superb!

Steve is also a big fan of “Middendorf’s” in Akers, Louisiana. The photo above is Steve’s wife Glynda with her brother dining on their famous thin fried catfish.

Judi kovac loves “Bouchon at the Venetian, in none other than Las Vegas…truly memorable, wonderful food, company and experience I will never forget! We followed this up at ‘Cirque du Soleil…unforgettable!”

A few others mentioned Bouchon in Las Vegas. I really like Bouchon in Yountville in the Napa Valley as well.

Denver interior designer, Cathrin Crampton, likes Denver’s “Atelier by Radex” on 17th Avenue, the latest creation of Radek Cerny.

Jenna Abbott from Sacramento loves local spot “KRU” for their Omakase dinners.

Facebook friend, Susie Jue, knows her way around great restaurants and cuisine. She loves the breakfast buffet at “St Regis Bali” for upscale dishes, wide variety, and high quality offerings.

Her favorite for special occasions is “Gary Danko” in San Francisco (one of my very favorites along with my brother Gary as well!) and “Chez Panisse” in Berkeley, CA.

From Michael Taylor in Denver…

” Because I’m a Colorado guy I like the Perfect Landing in Englewood, CO. Excellent food and great ambiance.”

I don’t know about you, but writing this post has left me totally famished. Stay tuned as Marla and I will share favorite places and a couple of wild restaurant stories.