lhollers

That looks ... awesome ...

Just saw that you were looking for the "Raleigh/Durham area" - we also had fantastic meals at Nana's in Durham and Solas in Raleigh...again, feel free to let me know if you would like some pictures or more information on the meals!

My girlfriend and I had one of the best meals of our life at Bonne Soiree in Chapel Hill...absolutely incredible... The chef came out to speak with us about the courses and the hostess/sommelier (chef's wife) made sure the entire meal and night were fantastic. I would highly recommend Bonne Soiree for any special occasion - one of the very top restaurants in the Triangle! I included some pictures of our meal below...if you'd like more pictures or more information, please feel free to message me! Interior Roast Duck Breast with Duck Rillete North Carolina Chicken Savory Tart (caramelized onion and goat cheese) Boudin Blanc Seared Foie Gras with North Carolina Apple (best bite of food I have ever had...) Flounder with House-Made Gnocchi

We are there for a Moot Court tournament at Pepperdine Law, so we won't have all day, every day to go around. However, we do have some time open on Thursday night, Friday during the day, Saturday night, and possibly Sunday afternoon. We do have a rental car, but I was hoping to stay within a reasonable distance from our hotel in Santa Monica (right by the pier). Anything more than 15/20 min. away is probably out, though I certainly don't think this will limit my options as far as fine dining! As I said, I had considered Melisse, Il Grano, Urasawa, Katsuya, Bistro LQ, and some others. If you have dined at any of these places, or can think of any that I am missing, please let me know! Basically, I just want a fantastic tasting menu one night and one great lunch. The rest of the time, I will be more than happy to check out smaller cafes, restaurants, street vendors, etc.

Thanks for the recommendations! I didn't want to make it sound like we were restricted solely to Santa Monica for dining; that's just where we will be staying. I am, however, more than willing to make a trip to surrounding areas for a great meal! I hadn't heard of Michaels, but I will certainly check it out now...thanks again, and if you can think of anything else, please let me know!

Need to give this thread a little bump... Hello, everybody - I will be staying in Santa Monica from this coming Thursday until Sunday afternoon. I realize this is short notice, but I was wondering what was the very best of the best in the Santa Monica area. Price is no object, as I will likely only be here this one time and would like to try whatever you all think is tops food-wise. I was hoping to try a tasting menu or two, but would basically just like good food in general. I'm not locked in to any specific type of food, and am open to anything delicious. OpenTable has led me to seriously consider Melisse, Il Grano, and maybe an omakase at Katsuya; is there anything better or any restaurants I may have missed? Thanks for all the help, everyone!

Sweet post, Bryan - thanks for the pictures...

Hi all - I just set up a tasting for Sept. 5th, and was wondering if anyone had eaten here or could report...thanks!

I'm digging the report so far, Bryan - how long are you down there?

Dude, Prawn...this looks and sounds awesome! Nicely done!

Based on the critics' reviews and these last few comments, I guess I'm not joking...any chance we could get a description or thoughts on why your experience was so poor? Was it an off night, or was the service and food just outright bad? Thanks!

Haha, sorry - I was just going off of reviews that I had seen online...however, based on this thread, the experiences eGulleteers are having are far different than those being had by critics, etc.

Has anyone dined here recently? This would appear to be the leading contender for Bruni's next four-star, yet there isn't much being said about it on this thread... For what it's worth, Alan Richman very much enjoyed his experience at Marea - his review can be found here.

Haha, nicely done christine! As I was reading downward, I kept wondering "Wow, I wonder why they haven't thrown in some sour cream..." This was a summer staple at my house, and quite possibly began my love interest with cucumbers! Can't wait to hit up the Farmer's Market on Sat. and start rocking some of these salads!!

A joy to read! Very well done, and thanks for this!