ITT: times you have been surprised while eating out

ITT: times you have been surprised while eating out

>going to a restaurant we went to a bunch of times with friends
>as we arrive, realize its closed
>decide to ask siri where the next restaurant is, we go there
>its a dark, rough looking house in a residential area
>has byname "the pub"
>go in
>bunch of drunks hang at the bar, pretty much like in moes bar at the simpsons
>smells of smoke
>pretty dark
>theres SHITLOADS of plants, like in a market garden, way too many plants
>only one old couple eating there, they seem to know the waiter
>all in all a really strange, old looking place
>tables dont even have cloth on them
>me and another one decide to just get a steak, the prices are really low
it was some argentinia beef steak, medium, and goddamn it was one of the best steaks i have ever eaten.
we all were completely amazed by our meals, and i even felt a little bad because i thought the place is shit.

>tl;dr: we went to some really sleazy looking bar/restaurant and got extremely good food for a low price

tell me about your surprises while going out to eat.

pic not related

>on holiday in Spain, Cordoba

Beautiful city with lots of history and things to see and visit.

>walk down alley, spot this really, really shady looking place - looks like a bar
>get my courage together to walk in... Loads of tourists were doing the 180 degree walk in hindsight
>locale looks more like a social club for retired seniors and pensioners, and has bullfighting memorabilia everywhere
>walk up to bar, point at the barrels behind it to place order - the barman is around 60, no English whatsoever
>they have food behind a tiny deli display too - pickles, cheese, marinated fish and such
>get this little tiny glass of chilled white wine
>proceed to drink the best fortified wine / sherry in my life
>the best bit... One serving was around 150mls / 5ozs maybe, and cost one euro each
>stumble back to the hotel after two glasses - strong stuff, and I usually hold my drink rather well
>visit every day for the rest of the holiday

There was also a casual fine dining restaurant where two 5 course meals and drinks were like 30 - 40 Euro in total. Service was impeccable. Best bang for buck I've had so far.

I am searing steak tonight. But I know it wont be as good as OP pic

Any tips?

Get your pan as hot as possible. Lots of oil, or maybe 50 / 50 with flavoured butter.

Wow. That really does sound incredible. As an amerifat that has only travelled to multiple countries in the Far East, I'm going to start planning a food trip to Spain and Italy. Fuck France.

Having said that, I would like to go to Great Britain for hand pulled ales and real Scotch. But I refuse categorically to go to fucking France.

Also garlic and thyme if you have any.

Yeah I am more of just a pure butter person these days.Should be good enough.

Used tenderizer on it earlier with some pink salt and pepper

I literally have a giant bush of it on the porch right now. how would you suggest using it fresh??

Ales here in the UK are fantastic, as is most of the food despite the misconceptions. I might be lucky though in that respect because I live in a large city and in my area alone there are 30+ restaurants (including one Michelin starred), pubs, takeaways and and coffee shops. Ironically, my favourite gastro pub serves brilliant american style food (smoked ribs, wings, fried chicken, mac n cheese).

Spain as a destination to enjoy food is absolutely fantastic, regardless whether it's further inland or by the seaside. I've only been to the region of Andalusia, but I love what I've seen so far.

Never had any French food which absolutely blew me away. Their bread and pastries are very good though. Have a patisserie / baker / café nearby which is superb for the aforementioned stuff.

Perfect. Just throw it in with the butter and garlic at the end of the sear.