50 Best

In light of the recent release of the "World's 50 Best Restaurants" list by S. Pellegrino, I am prepared to make a list of my best restaurants and why. (Don't worry, there aren't actually 50)

1. La Baguette, West Colorado Location (Colorado Springs, CO) The reason this tops the list is simple, I've never had anything but amazing cuisine francaise here. The cheese fondue is creamy, rich and decadent, the onion soup is succulent and flavorful, and the tuna salad croissant sandwich is buttery and fresh. The bread is crackly and crusty, and the lemon tart is just the right combination of sweet and puckering sour.

2. Ai (Colorado Springs, CO) The best japanese food I've ever had always comes from here. The miso soup is perfection and the tempura is light, crispy and barely greasy. The genmai-cha is served searing hot and brewed just right. To top it off, the sushi is supposedly wonderful. (I've never had any)

3. Amanda's Fonda (Colorado Springs, CO) For real southwestern style mexican, this is the best place on earth. Salsas are spicy, everything else is gooey, runny and flavorful. The chips are crisp and salty and the flan is a light, fluffy cloud of caramel that melts in your mouth.

4. Alma de Cuba (Philadelphia, PA) Each time I eat at Alma de Cuba, I marvel at the small rolls and dipping sauce they give as a starter. I could eat just those as my meal and be entirely satisfied. Their black bean soup is tick, rich and wonderful as well.

5. Bubble House (Philadelphia, PA) The Bubble House has some of the most ingenious food I've ever ingested. Their sweet potato fries are famous and their wasabi mashed potatoes spicy and the perfect pairing for their ginger-hoisen glazed salmon. The red thai curry bowl is also wonderful, creamy and spicy at the same time. To finish, their Vietnamese coffee is sweet and strong.

6. Cafe Rose (Lyon, France) Cafe Rose has the best tomato-mozarella sandwich I have ever tasted. I have tasted many.  Le Mozza, as its called, is served on the best bread in France, chewy, crusty and coated in poppy seeds.

7. Sitar India (Philadelphia, PA) The food at Sitar is served buffet style, and its easy to over do it. Like all the best Indian cuisine, its spicy and flavorful, but, here, its impossible to go wrong. The samosas are amazing and the badam kheer is the perfect sweet finish to the meal.

8. Le Fournil (Seattle, WA) The tuna sandwich at Le Fournil is perfection, once again served on wonderful bread, its peppery and light. The tarts an cakes aren't bad either.

9. Boriello Bros. Pizza (Colorado Springs, CO) If you favor New York style pizza, I challenge you to find better pizza than at Boriello Bros. The slices are huge, thin and infinitely cheesy.

10. Pagliacis Pizza (Seattle, WA) For slightly thicker pizza with creative toppings, Pagliacis pizza is unbeatable. The side salad is also wonderful.

11. Swiss Chalet (Breckenridge, CO) The fondue at the Swiss Chalet is stringy, rich an traditional. The raclette is always the finest.

12. The White Dog Cafe (Philadelphia, PA) The nachos at White Dog are renowned, and their innovative menu will please any discerning palate.

13. Max Brenner (Philadelphia, PA) I have only eaten at this chocolate haven once, so I can't put it too high on the list, however, the sheer decadence of the menu will stun any chocolate lover.

14. New Deck Tavern (Philadelphia, PA) New Deck has the perfect fries, served in a pub style atmosphere that makes indulgence easy.

15. Di Bruno Bros. (Philadelphia, PA) While not technically a restaurant, their baratta cheese and bread make a wonderful snack while hitting the shops at Rittenhouse square.

16. King Chef (Colorado Springs, CO) The best diner food around. Served, as always, with endless cups of coffee.

18. La Creperie (Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA) For the most authentic French crepes I've ever had stateside, la creperie is impossible to beat.