I’m writing this while looking out at snow burying my car and daydreaming of sipping white wine under a tree in Strasbourg, France, or eating lavender ice cream on a hot day in Columbus, Ohio.
My road – and autostrada – has been long and luscious. I have been out of town 179 days and counting in 2006, almost exactly one out of every two days. That encompasses 18 states, six countries and way too many Marriott breakfast buffets. Along the way, I discovered insects can be edible and English cuisine truly isn’t. I also had everything in between, so below I present the Best & Worst Moveable Feasts of 2006.
You’ll notice most of the listings under “Best.” Yes, this year I did eat well.
Best meal: Novarese. Porto di Savona, Turin, Italy. A thick slab of breaded veal covered in luscious gorgonzola sauce with chunks of cheese. It’s heavy for Italy, but the de rigueur for the Piedmont region and was a highlight of a glorious Winter Olympics.
Worst meal: Penne arrabiata, Pizzeria Rizzi, Leipzig, Germany. Like my rule never to try Mexican food east of Texas, never eat Italian food north of Milan. The penne I had at this German chain had all the flavor of raw flour. Garlic must be illegal in Germany.
Best table view: L’ami Fritz, Strasbourg, France. I sat outside under a giant tree along Fossé du Faux Rempart, the canal that meanders through Strasbourg’s medieval neighborhood, Petit France. Off a wooden chalkboard I ordered choucroute, the signature sauerkraut from France’s Alsace region and drank Riesling while looking at chalet-like buildings lining the canal.
Best steak: Filet mignon Oscar, Mitchell’s, Columbus, Ohio. A high, chunky filet topped with crab meat and covered in béarnaise sauce. The condiments don’t drown the flavor of the lean, savory steak, one of the many fine traits of this underrated city.
Best seafood: Smoked eel, Alt Hamburger Aalipeicher, Hamburg, Germany. This is one of those dishes that sounds awful and isn’t. Served with roasted, seasoned potatoes, it’s light and tangy and a Hamburg tradition.
Worst seafood: Broiled trout, Jimmy’s Grille, Bridgeville, Del. Moveable Feast Rule No. 432: Never try eating real food in greasy spoons. Stick to greasy food: burgers, wings, etc. I tried going healthful in this sprawling dive and had fish so overcooked it was flat as a mouse pad and just as tasty.
Most romantic restaurant: Al Tettarello, Rome. Restaurants in Rome aren’t normally romantic. They’re brightly lit, designed to remind Romans of their homes. But Al Tettarello, located so close to the Colosseum you could have heard the gladiators’ screams 2,000 years ago from your table, is dark and intimate with a piano player who knows how to set a mood. The food’s great, but, then, when isn’t it in Rome?
Best place to take a pretentious date: Mr. Chow, Los Angeles. She won’t look at you. She’ll be too busy star gazing at Kiefer Sutherland or Robert De Niro or the tennis-playing Williams sisters who hang out there. She’ll also be impressed with the bill, which will make her think she’s worth it even if she’s not.
Best place to dump a pretentious date: Sonny’s Diner, Junction City, Kan. A rough and tumble restaurant in a military town, if she doesn’t like it she can walk out – right to nearby Fort Riley to find out what real suffering is all about.
Best dive: Sternhohe, Leipzig, Germany. Down a gravel road in a private garden, a little shack sells cheap German beer and great homemade German food. In what baseball stadium in America can you get a beer and a brat for $4.30?
Best public market: Pike Street Market, Seattle. I love the markets in Rome and Paris but no place in the world matches Pike Street for seafood if you’re in the mood and, smelling the salt water off the Puget Sound, you will be.
Weirdest meal: Roast bone marrow, St. John, London. You take little utensils similar to crab forks and scrape out the marrow from the hollowed out bone of a calf’s leg. It doesn’t taste as bad as it sounds, but about halfway through you’ll wish you had gone to a curry house.
Best appetizer: Buffalo mozzarella, Obika, Rome. Shipped up daily from Campania, south of Naples, the mozzarella is so good it is Obika’s signature dish. The Romans turn hors d’oeuvres into art.
Worst appetizer: Prairie dandelion sautéed in pine nut butter. Served by the Explorers Club at the Brown Palace Hotel, prairie dandelion even trumped ant tarts and North American cricket. It tasted like spinach spread – last month’s spinach spread.
Best grocery store: Harrods, London. Yes, it has one. It’s just past the overpriced crystal. Huge, overflowing, surprisingly fresh fruit rests on marble countertops near a seafood grill. The huge bushels of fresh flowers and stained glass you won’t find at King Soopers, either.
Best ice cream: Jeni’s, Columbus. Jeni’s scores points for weird flavors (Thai chili, bourbon buttered pecan, sweet basil) that actually taste like their names and are delicious.
Worst meal on a diet: The Big Tuck, Tucker’s, New Orleans. Don’t ask the calorie count. Who can eat when you’re depressed? Just enjoy this fat, stuffed burger deep fried to a crispy orange crust ladled with barbecue sauce and cheese shavings. But wait a minute for the first bite. The gooey pepperjack-cheese center can scorch your tongue.
Best pizza: Da Michele, Naples. Reputedly the best in Italy, it is beautiful in its simplicity. Either margherita (mozzarella and tomatoes) or marinara (tomatoes, garlic and oregano). That’s it. Fresh, light and no grease. No need for variety when the quality is this high.
Staff writer John Henderson covers sports and writes about the food he eats on the road. He can be reached at 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
