A drop in The Bucket

I can't be the only one right? You all have a culinary bucket list too, don't you? My current list is pretty short, only two entries, dinner at Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin in New York City and Thomas Keller's French Laundry in Yountville, CA.

My culinary bucket list goes back quite a few years. One of the first entries was Commander's Palace in New Orleans and dinner at Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen. It also included breakfast at the Cafe du Monde. We've been lucky enough to knock those off of the list.

Over the years the list has included restaurants of specific chefs, specific restaurants and dining experiences. One of the dining experiences was put on the list and knocked off in short order, eating at the lechoneras in Guavate, PR. We saw it on No Reservations and we went for it. It ranks as one of the most memorable dining experiences I've had anywhere. Eating roasted pork served right off of the spit at an open air roadside stand. Accompanied by local beer served ice cold. Perfection.

We've been lucky enough to have moved a few places to the done column. Lunch at Frontera Grill, Rick Bayless' Chicago restaurant, dinner at the Haufbrau Haus in Munich, Germany and dinner at Paula Deen's Lady and Sons. With a little luck and determination we've managed to whittle the list down to the restaurants I mentioned above and one relative new entry Mario Batali's Del Posto.

When we head to New York City, maybe later this year, Le Bernardin will be ticked off and we'll probably knock Mario Batali's Del Posto off as well. I can't wait. 

The French Laundry on the other hand has been on my bucket list for years. Point of fact, I've never been to the West Coast. I know right? Who hasn't been there? Well, me. I plan to remedy that in the not too distant future, after all a very good friend and family member lives out there. And I have no idea what I've been waiting for.

So if you see me out, I'll be the one taking pictures of my food. (When we had dinner at Five & Ten I overheard a women say "look, she's taking pictures of her food".) Yes, I know, it looks weird. But I never use a flash, I stick to what I can take pictures of from or on my table and try not to be too distracting to my fellow diners. So sue me, I'm a blogger and I take pictures of my food and all sorts of stuff. I love being able to look back at what we've done and where we've gone.

Do you have a culinary bucket list? What's on it? What has been one of your favorite dinning experiences? Please share thoughts here as I'm always looking for new places to try.