Gaya Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France

This was our last lunch of the trip (which has been a stellar food trip, no doubt about it). I like to have a lot of things from the ocean when I travel to places that abutt the sea, and this was an especially accommodating menu for that goal. The Michelin website says: Chef Pierre Gagnaire has a focus on good food in a bid to cater to modern French sensibilities with a seafaring slant (carpaccio of seabream, pink radishes and grapefruit; giant langoustine, cream of Paimpol beans, scallion onions) and a fondness for veggies.

The seafood platter for deux. There are about 40 tiny cockles sprinkled throughout that with some difficulty and a little finesse we were able to use the red topped toothpicks to get out the innards. One of my favorites—teeny tiny flavorful morsels! We really enjoyed this as the show stopping part of the meal, but there was much to love about this restaurant from start to finish.