first top 10

I am a huge fan of lists. I love them so much that I've decided to add an occasional "top 10" list feature to the blog. If you've been reading the blog with any sort of regularity, you also have gathered I love food, so it's only fitting that my first top 10 list be food related. Here's a list of just some of my favorite restaurants, in no particular order.  

1. Ray's Cafe, Philadelphia, PA: Taiwanese restaurant with the best dumpling sampler and coffee in Philadelphia. For about $3 you can have an amazing cup of coffee, made in a siphon pot and served beautifully on a tray with a butter cookie, a miniature pitcher of cream, and a gold-tipped spoon.
2. Posada Meson Mudejar, Archez, Spain (www.posadamesonmudejar.com): Hands down the best restaurant I've been to near the village. I always get the solomillo al ajillo and the rice pudding for dessert. The rice pudding is so good it will make you cry.
3. Schaefer's Canal House, Chesapeake City, MD: My family made the two-hour drive to this restaurant at least once a year. Situated right on the water, every visit was a mini-vacation for  us.
4. Melrose Diner, Philadelphia, PA: I mentioned the Melrose previously. What every American diner should be. I especially loved to go there Sunday mornings before an Eagles game. Half the patrons would be wearing jerseys, and the atmosphere would be electric with hope of an Eagles win (before reality set in and the Eagles blew another lead and lost).
5. Formy's Barbeque, Painter, VA: I once convinced a friend to take a spur of the moment trip from Philadelphia to Virginia, just so that I could have a pork bar-b-que sandwich from Formy's. It was worth the trip to a place whose motto is "We sell no swine before its time."
6. Mr. Martinos, Philadelphia, PA: Fabulous Italian trattoria in South Philly. Great eating, and Mark and Maria make you feel like you're part of the family.
7. Snuzzle's, outside of Kutztown, PA: A bar and sandwich place not far from my parents' house. Located on a hill overlooking the PA Dutch countryside, its ski lodge atmosphere is perfect on winter nights. Great cheese fries, and my mother and I will never forget the day we saw a wildcat in the field outside our window.
8. Vietnam Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA: Love the soup, love the stuffed grape leaves, love, love, love the noodles. And all washed down with a "flaming volcano", guaranteed to get you and your dining companion completely blathered.
9. Any of the seafood restaurants along the promenade in Torre del Mar, Spain: They're all perfect for a plate of fritura de pescado and a pitcher of sangria as you overlook the beach and the Med.
10. Savoy Grille, London, UK: Big Jim surprised me with a weekend at the Savoy about 4 years ago, complete with a trip to the theatre (where Donald Sutherland was performing) and dinner afterward at the Grille. Can't remember what I had anymore because I was too busy watching Terrance Stamp at the next table.