I’m not exactly sure when my dining tastes changed from TV dinners to hoity-toity affairs. Growing up in 
Elkhart, Indiana the closest thing we had to fine dining was Minelli’s Steakhouse, owned by our next-door neighbor. It was probably my first encounter with linen tablecloths and tuxedo-wearing servers. Otherwise, away from home, it was fancy bars like Michael’s, Flytrap’s, and Nicky-D’s or the McDonald’s drive-thru. 

My wife and I have certainly enjoyed our share of fine dining throughout the years. Major dollars have gone into trying some of the finest restaurants around the world. One of the priciest was a dinner at Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier, France where my wife’s daughter was studying. There were four of us and the check was over $800 U.S. dollars without a lot of expensive wine consumption. I didn’t understand that the tip was included and added a generous amount to bring the total to a tidy grand, since the service was over the top. This was over twenty-years ago, so I can’t imagine what the bill would be today. 

Several meals for two have exceeded $600 with drinks and tip. Alinea in Chicago was memorable because one course was a bite of wagyu beef skewered to the tip of a nail and another involved a fragrant pouch of flowers and herbs to enhance the senses. The first impression while entering through a dark hallway were automatic doors suddenly opening to reveal the massive kitchen and the staff greeting us with waves behind the floor-to-ceiling glass pane. It wasn’t enough to serve good food, you also had to perform some magic. 

One guaranteed way to boost the bill was to add caviar, oysters, seafood towers, truffles, or pricey liquors. We’ve experienced it all through the hundreds of business meals we’re enjoyed. In this case, we had to make the favorable impression, but the damage was ultimately paid by the company. Then, you sometimes had to justify the expense to your bosses. Fortunately, we had a leader who thrived on over-the-top meals topped with Chateau D’Yquem wine at $500 a bottle. TRU in Chicago was known for their plexiglass stairway of caviar, served as an appetizer. Speaking of big checks from world-renowned chefs, Per Se in NYC was an intimate, romantic setting overlooking Columbus Circle where we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary, Joel Robuchon in Vegas will always be remembered for their elaborate bread cart, French Laundry was a special treat because it was seemingly impossible to get a reservation, Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee in Paris was very French for beaucoup bucks, and Emeril’s Delmonico Steakhouse was the site of our wedding dinner 22-years ago. We also spent an evening with Rick Bayless at his Chicago Frontera Grill and dined in New Orleans at John Besh’s flagship restaurant, August. 

My wife has a collection of autographed cookbooks from these famous restaurants and hundreds more. Joe’s Stone Crab is one of her favorites, after many visits to their various locations in Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, and Washington D.C. On our many trips to the Big Apple, many places come to mind including Peter Lugar,  Carnigie Deli, China Grill, Aureole, Il Mulino, Steria Del Circo, Daniel’s, Capital Grill, Tropica, Café Bolud, Four Seasons, Abboccato, Il Nido, Mandarin Oriental, Palm, 21 Club, Ruby Foo’s, and Nobu. Each of these have made big dents in our wallet, although some of these meals were company reimbursed. 

One of my first gourmet business meetings took place at The Glass Chimney in Indianapolis. St. Elmo’s then became a dining preference because of their spicy shrimp cocktails. I was once elaborately wined and dined by a boss on an expense account at King Cole, a fancy French restaurant on Monument Circle when I first went to work at the Middlebury Independent. When traveling to Chicago, the restaurant names that come to mind are Bice, Smith & Wolinsky, Shaw’s, Ben Pao, Catch 35, Chicago Cut, and Harry Caray’s. Each visit involved a stop at Garrett’s Popcorn for the ultimate dessert. Just outside of the Windy City in Valparaiso was another of my wife’s favorites, although not fancy, The Strongbow Turkey Inn. She also craved her hometown Dick’s Drive-In where she once worked in high school. They don’t have a cookbook or apparently even shared their recipes. 

Another dining mecca, that included some business meals, was flashy Las Vegas. Popular fine dining spots in Sin City that I haven’t already mentioned are Trevi, Emeril’s, Bouchon, Michael’s, Chinois, and Hugo’s Cellar. When we were living in central Illinois our taste buds often led us to Bizou or Montgomery’s. We also loved to go to New Orleans for Bananas Foster at Brenner’s for brunch, or dinners at Nola and Galatoire’s also in the French Quarter. When in D.C. to visit family or Chamber of Commerce trips, we’d dine at L’Enfant,  Old Ebbitt’s, Kinkead’s, and Beuchert’s, among others. 

When I was first learning the basics of gourmet dining, my wife once made fun of me for asking if squab was hamburger at Tommy Toys in San Francisco. She always seems disgusted with my table manners. We also ate at Alan Wong’s where the appetizer was a delicious, toasted cheese with tomato soup – my kind of gourmet dish. Alan Wong’s is not to be confused with Johnny Wong’s near Warsaw, Indiana, my mother-in-law’s favorite, although they are both serve Chinese fare. Other Golden Gate area dining happened at Kokkari Estiatorio, Farmstead, Tarantino’s, Arguallo, City View, and The Waterbar as I recall. 

Just outside of Ft. Wayne, Indiana was an upscale restaurant named Joseph Duquis where we once had a great meal. When I lived and worked there, WMEE Radio issued me a Don Pedro’s credit card, hardly Diners Club, but essentially a limitless supply of Mexican food and drink to share with clients and family. We ate there all the time and sometimes both lunch and dinner. It was a welcome break from all this expensive dining. 

Then my wife discovered Outstanding in the Field, a traveling gourmet extravaganza that further stretched our budget. It’s now over $300 bucks a person to attend these events where the white tablecloth stretches as far as the eye can see in an outdoor setting and local celebrity chefs prepare farm-to-table meals. Green Gate Farms near Austin, Big Table outside of Portland, Jacobson Salt on the Pacific Coast, Portland’s Archery Summit, and Brighton Park & Beach in Vancouver, B.C. hosted us for wine and dinner. 

I would be remiss if I failed to mention Roy’s, a chain owned by James Beard Foundation award winner Roy Yamaguchi, as one of our best-loved dining treasures, whether in Florida or Hawaii. Misoyaki Butterfish is always my choice with the Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert. Our most recent stop was in Orlando where we’ve also eaten at Victoria & Albert’s for my 50th birthday. I don’t remember what I had, but my wife will surely remember. She never forgets a fine dining moment. All I recall was the harp player’s odd rendition of “Margaritaville.” Il Mulino recently opened a Disney-area outlet that we tried last year with family after that great experience in NYC.

It’s difficult to recognize all of our numerous fine-dining experiences, but thanks to my diary I’ve listed a pretty wide range. While in Bangkok, we researched choices and selected Wat Phra and Thanying. Viking Cruises and the Marriott Vacation Club have taken us to some distant places. On-board meals at Manfredi’s, Mamsen’s, The World Cafe, The Restaurant, and the Chef’s Table have been outstanding without the burden of picking up a hefty check.

Our marriage has followed a trail of food from Indiana through Illinois, Texas, Oregon, and Florida. We both had a life of fine food long before we met, otherwise this post would be twice as long as it is. Austin was all about BBQ, having sampled Franklin, Salt Lick, Black’s, Rudy’s, County Line, Stubbs, and Lockhart. Congress Restaurant downtown was a pricey choice for my 55th birthday, followed by a more affordable Magnolia Cafe for breakfast with Tinker, who would have preferred to be at her picnic spot behind Rudy’s. 

We then moved to Portland, Oregon where Castagna, Aviary, Le Pigeon, Farm Spirit, Cocquine, Pardner’s, Firehouse Pizza, Blue Hour, Ava Gene’s, Dukahbee, Nonna Emelia, Roe, Laurelhurst, Hairy Lobster, Mingo, and Holdfast became her local favorites, along with Mucca Osteria where her daughter’s wedding reception took place. We left them all behind to retire in Florida, where dining is much more casual. The fanciest establishments here so far have been Sarasota’s Michaels on East, where my son once bought me dinner, and popular Prime Steakhouse. We both now agree that we’ve pretty much seen it all when it comes to extraordinary fine dining. It’s probably not worth the money anymore. Cracker Barrel here we come!