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I like trying to find the "best of" certain dishes and then trying to replicate them at home. Some of the "best of" dishes for me are at Michelin star level restaurants. Some of them are at non-Michelin star restaurants.
I don't readily have access to Michelin star restaurants because my home base is in Austin/Houston, but of the ones I've been to I've never had a bad meal. I've had some overrated meals (both at Michelin and non-Michelin star restaurants alike).
The best Indian restaurant that I've ever been to was a Michelin star restaurant in London called Gymkhana, and it was very reasonably priced as well. There are Indian restaurants in Austin Texas that charge just as much as Gymkhana. I felt it was a good deal. The second best Indian restaurant I've ever been to is a non-Michelin star restaurant in Vancouver called Vij's. With main dishes in the $30 range it was actually (on average) more expensive than Gymkhana. In Austin the best one I've been to is a place called Saffron (technically a Nepalese restaurant that sits inconspicuously in a strip mall). The the most overrated one I've been to is a popular place called the Clay Pit.
One of the more overrated Michelin star restaurants I've been to is a 3 Michelin star restaurant in Las Vegas called Restaurant Joel Robuchon. They pride themselves on their potato puree, but to my knowledge I've had just as good potato puree at many restaurants and let's be honest - it's pretty damned hard to mess something like that up.
I've been to endless steakhouses. If it's a chain steakhouse, I've probably been to it. The best I've ever had was at Crafsteak in Las Vegas. The second best I've ever had was at a chain restaurant called Pappas Bros (and thinking back, I liked it because the consistency of the filet was similar to something that might come out of a sous vide machine). Most other steaks I've had have been pretty on par, nothing terrible, and generally on par with Pappas Bros. The worst steak that I've ever had was at Smith and Wollensky in Houston. Everything else I've been to - Truluck's (not really a steakhouse), Fleming's, Ruth's Chris, Perry's, Vince Young, Capital Grille, III Forks, Bob's Steak and Chophouse, Longhorn Steakhouse, TRIO, Texas Land and Cattle, and probably about 10 others I'm forgetting have been good. Not bad, nothing spectacular, but just fine.
I don't view food in terms of price. I try to be price-agnostic when I assess food. At the end of the day for me personally, there's probably a weak correlation between the price of food and how delicious I perceive it to be. There's also a chance that I may be biased and that looking at the price of food may subconsciously affect my perception of it. Ideally I hope that this isn't the case, and the fact that the most expensive restaurant I've ever been to (Restaurant Joel Robuchon) is also not my favorite is (somewhat) testament to my price agnosticism.
I'm always on the look out for good pasta. One thing I've felt is that a lot of restaurants mess up simple cream based pasta dishes (in my opinion) generally by doing one of three things:
(1) Overcooking the pasta to the consistency of baby food
(2) Over-dressing the pasta with sauce
(3) Thinking that adding gobs of cheese out of proportion to other ingredients (butter, cream) always makes the dish better
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