Top Three Restaurant Meals - February 2010

I really had some wonderful meals this month, including several I have yet to post on. Choosing the top two was easy, but it was difficult ranking the top two as they were both outstanding in terms of food, setting and company. The third selection was also easy, but the hard part was leaving off some very worthy meals that in other months would have made the top without too much difficulty.

1. Elements. So many courses with so little to criticize and so much to wax rhapsodic over, this meal was so much fun on so many levels. Of course, with the company I was with, even a lesser meal would have been a ton of fun. That such a great meal came with such great company was so much the better. It will take some truly great meals to oust this one from my top echelon come year end.
2. Blue Hill at Stone Barns. I will be posting my reflections on this meal shortly. It was a great way to spend time with my brother, with whom I was staying while attending the Bocuse D'Or USA. Suffice to say for now, the food, service and ambiance were sublime.
3. Cafe Lazio. This local stalwart really came through as I knew they would for the Slow Food Saratoga Region monthly restaurant dinner. Adriano DiMario cooks so effortlessly, but so beautifully. For the money, there are few restaurants I enjoy more.

Left off the list this month were a couple of fine meals at Yerba Buena on Avenue A and dim sum at Don Huang on Mott Street. Both were fun, tasty meals that missed the list this month, only because the restaurants ahead of it were even more wonderful. A post on Dun Huang should also be forthcoming soon. Then there were one or two restaurants best left unmentioned.