There's Foie Gras in My Bucket List!

Our Top 17 Restaurants to Travel To

"In an episode of Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw declares that she once used to buy a Vogue instead of dinner because she felt it fed her more. If I was her friend, I would have slapped her in the face." 

-Ebony Hurwitz

~~~

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am an insane foodie. I think about food all the time... eating it, smelling it, staring at it, and the anticipation of going to a great restaurant and ordering a prix-fixe that gives me a whole new perspective on life itself while burning a rather large hole in my wallet. Some mornings, I wake up craving toro sashimi (fatty tuna goodness) or seared foie gras and plum stuffed gnocchi like a pregnant woman. When I make reservations at a restaurant, I obsess over it. I stare at their website, studying foods that I have never tried before, waiting anxiously for the moment that I receive that long-awaited menu and my adventure begins. Good food -- No, great food -- is like a drug to me. It's instantly uplifting, utterly infatuating and thus inconveniently addicting. 

When I first met my husband, he was, needless to say, not very interested in food. His daily activities would include hours of some sort of physical workout, (at one point it was putting 40 pounds of weights in his backpack and hiking up a hill), studying for a new certification, and Netflix. My only physical activity was that I could walk (and sometimes walk very fast!) to a restaurant or a little more locally to my take-out menu drawer. When we first started dating, we did not have many similarities in how we spent our time, and I feared my intense food cravings and expensive dinners would be hard to understand to someone who would cook a pound of plain ground beef and sausage and eat it out of a mixing bowl. A few months into our relationship, we decided to take a trip to my small hometown of Manhattan for the Fourth of July. We asked the concierge at our hotel to recommend somewhere really spectacular for dinner and she made us last minute reservations at Aquavit, a Nordic style restaurant with a very famous former executive Chef, (the other love of my life, Marcus Samuelsson) and an incredible $80 12 course menu. I sat down at our table, giddy as a toddler on Christmas to find that Bryan couldn't get over the expensive price tag for dinner. However, wanting to be supportive, he stayed and sampled everything from house-made lox and beets to sweetbreads and mushrooms. The meal ended with the restaurant's famous Arctic Bird's Nest which consisted of "eggs" made from goat cheese parfait and sea buckthorn berries enclosed in a layer of hard white chocolate. 

After paying the bill, I hesitantly glanced over at Bryan, expecting a look of complacency and disappointment. Instead, he had the biggest smile on his face. In True Blood style, I had turned my boyfriend into a food loving vampire. The CPA in him has hated me ever since. 

I can't say that it really even bothers me how much I'd be willing to spend for an incredible meal. Rather than spend over $200 to stand next to middle-aged women crying silently over their lost youth at a John Mayer concert, I'd much prefer to shell out the same amount of money to sit comfortably, eating one amuse-bouche after the other while sipping on a perfectly paired French Côtes du Rhone. I guess that's just me. So, I boastfully present to you the top restaurants on my bucket list. These restaurants are regarded as some of the best in the world, and the cream of the crop as far as I'm concerned. I admire all of these Chefs and their style of food. It's creative, it's captivating and above all, it's all friggin delicious. 

Enjoy! 
(is it lunch time yet? This post has me STARVINGGG)

#17. Pujol - Mexico City, Mexico
Chef: Enrique Olvera
Cuisine: Modern Mexican 
Dinner Only p/p: 10 courses = $990 Pesos ($75 USD)

I'd be kissing like that too after a meal at Pujol

#16. Attica - Melbourne, Australia

Chef: Ben Shewry
Cuisine: Natural Antipodean (Australian)
Dinner Only p/p: 8 courses = $190 AUD ($170 USD)

Chef Shewry is known to forage for wild foods that he uses in his menus

#15. Momofuku Ko - New York, NY 

Chef: David Chang
Cuisine: Japanese Bar-Dining
Dinner Only p/p: $125 USD

With a random computerized reservation system, getting 2 seats at this 12 seat bar might be ... difficult :) 

#14. Vendôme - Bergisch Gladbach, Germany

Chef: Joachim Wissler
Cuisine: German
Dinner Only p/p: 7 courses = $170€ ($233 USD) 

Located in the 5 star Hotel Schloss Bensberg, Vendome is considered by most as the best restaurant in Germany
5 Year anniversary? I think yes!

#13. Joel Robuchon - Las Vegas, NV

Chef: Joël Robuchon 
Cuisine: French
Dinner Only p/p: 16 courses = $425 USD

Joel Robuchon has a 16 course tasting as well as a bread and dessert tray that comes around to serve you!
Don't think it's the best deal? Just a two-course prix fixe at Robuchon will run you $120.00

#12. Nihonryori Ryugin - Tokyo, Japan
Chef: Seiji Yamamoto
Cuisine: Traditional Japanese
Dinner Only p/p: About 8 courses = $23,100 JPY ($226 USD)

Strictly Tradtional, this place literally means "Japanese Cuisine/Singing Dragon"

#11. Le Chateaubriand - Paris, France

Chef: Inaki Aizpitarte
Cuisine: "Bistro" Food
Dinner Only p/p: 4-5 courses = $60€ ($83 USD)

Inaki is a leader in what is known as the Neo Bistro movement, a modern approach that leaves out the fancy white tablecloths and concentrates on taste alone

#10. Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare - Brooklyn, NY

Chef:  César Ramirez
Cuisine: New American
Dinner Only p/p: over 20 small plate course = $255 USD

Located in the Brooklyn Fare grocery, this surprise gem was given 3 Michelin stars and is now the talk of NYC

#9. Narisawa - Tokyo, Japan

Chef: Yoshihiro Narisawa
Cuisine: Japanese 
Dinner Only p/p: 10 courses = 21,000 JPY ($206 USD)

Narisawa uses all Japanese ingredients but cooks using classical French techniques

#8. Le Bernardin - New York, NY

Chef: Eric Ripert
Cuisine: Seafood
Dinner Only p/p: 8 courses = $198 USD

Eric Ripert is a sexy French beast. His dishes have such grace and highlight the flavors of each seafood course

#7. The Fat Duck - Bray, England
Chef: Heston Blumenthal
Cuisine: Old vs. New/Hi-Tech
Dinner Only p/p: 14 courses = £195 ($325 USD)

Blumental uses hi-tech techniques to showcase dishes that are appealing to all senses

#6. Eleven Madison Park - New York, NY
Chef: Daniel Humm
Cuisine: Modern French
Dinner Only p/p: $225 USD

It's like the Grand Central Station of food... in my mouth

#5. Per Se - New York, NY
Chef: Thomas Keller
Cuisine: Contemporary French
Dinner Only p/p: 11 courses = $310 USD

I've had dreams about these doors actually opening

#4. Masa - New York, NY
Chef: Masayoshi Takayama
Cuisine: Japanese
Dinner Only p/p: $450 USD

Okay, yes it is $450 per person without tax, tip or drinks. But look at this guy! Would you say no to this guy??

#3. Alinea - Chicago, IL
Chef: Grant Achatz
Cuisine: Molecular Gastronomy
Dinner Only p/p: 18 courses = $210 USD

Fun fact: dessert is served ON your table. Here's the YouTube link to prove it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhmkotwDpTg

#2. Noma - Copenhagen, Denmark
Chef: René Redzepi
Cuisine: Nordic (Scandinavian)
Dinner Only p/p: 20 courses = DKK 1,600 ($294 USD)

Noma, is currently the #2 restaurant in the world according to San Pellegrino serving incredible food with Nordic flair

#1. French Laundry - Yountville, CA

Chef: Thomas Keller
Cuisine: French/American
Dinner Only p/p: 11 courses = $295 USD

Thomas Keller is a brilliant, brilliant man. I wrote it twice so that if he ever sees this post, he'd make me two reservations