Best Thing I Ever Ate...

Today, I've created my own survey, pulling some titles from the six seasons of Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Cooking Channel. It actually took me a while to think about my answers, but here they are. These are mostly Austin joints, but some others as well!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate...

All American- Hyde Park Fries at the Hyde Park Grill in Austin, with their yummilicious Hyde Park Sauce. We first had this at the original Hyde Park location with the Angs many, many moons ago.
New Orleans- Beignets at Cafe du Monde. Goes without saying.
Smoky- Smoked Potato Salad at Lucy's Fried Chicken in Austin, the best potato salad ever
Las Vegas- Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill smoked salmon pizza, with red onion, dill crème fraiche and caviar. Had this my very first lunch with the website gang on our first trip together!
Street Food- Baja Shrimp Taco at Torchy's Tacos in Austin, fried shrimp, slaw, pickled jalapeños and onions, queso fresco and cilantro
Ice Creamy- Dark Chocolate Ice Cream at Amy's Ice Cream in Austin, with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups thrown in for good measure
Finger Food- Grove Crispy Oysters at The Grove Wine Bar in Austin, oysters on house-made chips with spicy aioli and mango-poblano pico
At a Deli- the N.Y. Style Great Reuben at Larry's Giant Subs in Austin, with thick slices of corned beef, instead of your typical paper thin ones
Cakewalk- any cupcake from Sweet Treats bakery in Austin. They are SO incredibly delicious.
With Chopsticks- Sesame Chicken at Hunan Lion in Austin. First started going there with my coworkers back in the Pharmaco days, when the sesame chicken was superhot and you had to request a milder version. Now it's pretty mild.
Grilled- Swordfish at City Grill in Austin (closed for years), the ONLY good swordfish I have ever had, it was absolute perfection every time we went
Appetizers- Flammenkuchen at John Besh's restaurant Lüke in San Antonio, a sweet onion tart with bacon and Emmenthaler cheese. Went with those fun Bon Jovi gals, including my pal who lives in NOLA and knows Chef Besh.
In a Bowl- Tom Kha Gai soup at Satay in Austin, chicken coconut soup served in a big Thai hot pot for everyone to share. This was The First Thai Food I Ever Ate as well.
Sliced- Fried Calamari at Gumbo's in Austin (now closed here, but a location is still open in Georgetown), thick slices, perfectly cooked and seasoned, served with remoulade and tomato basil sauces
Cheesy- Figs/Brie/Julienned Apples Bruschetta OR the Artisan Cheese Plate at The Grove Wine Bar in Austin
Sauced- Shrimp Enchiladas at Iron Cactus in Austin, with cheese and yummy lobster cream sauce
Meat Fest- Ribeye Steak at Austin Land and Cattle in Austin. OH. YES.
Chocolate- The Original Chocolate Fondue at Melting Pot in Austin, milk chocolate fondue swirled with crunchy peanut butter
With Fruit- Banana Burrito (a.k.a. the famed "Banana Hoo Hoo") from Coyote Cafe in Austin (now closed), bananas/chocolate/nuts fried inside phyllo, drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce, with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream
Crunchy- Italian Nachos at Johnny Carino's... any location. Pasta chips, black olives, pepperoncinis, Roma tomatoes, grilled chicken, alfredo sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.
Wake Up Call- Leberkäse at the Cafe Malerwinkel in Schönau am Königsee, Germany, a pan-fried, pressed porky meat loaf... with a runny egg on top please! (Always remember, leberkäse contains neither liver nor cheese.)
With My Hands- Spider Roll (or any roll really, but the spider is my fave) at Musashino Sushi Dokoro in Austin
Guilty Pleasures- Dirty Berry Donut at Gordough's Big. Fat. Donuts. trailer in Austin, a donut covered in hot fudge and grilled strawberries.
Totally Fried- Onion Ring Loaf at Luther's Bar-B-Q in Houston (now Pappas Bar B Q, without this side), a twisted block of long, skinny onion strings perfectly fried and salted
Barbecue- Pork Ribs at Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX
Pizza- The Carnivore at Via 313 in Austin, freakin' amazing Detroit-style pizza with smoked Pepperoni, regular Pepperoni, Ham, Sausage, Bacon

I'm sure I've left something off that I'll hear about later! Is it dinnertime yet?