Aaron Sanchez says you haven't arrived in El Paso until you've had Kiki's Beef Machaca. This braised-beef dish layers flavor upon flavor with its wonderful (some say addictive) green chili sauce and then, runny egg on top. To make yourself really at home, try Rosa's spicy chocolate mole.

Iron Chef Marc Forgione compares Reef's Big Pork Chop to a religious experience. The Big Pork Chop lives up to its name with a double-bone portion that's equally big on flavor. Owner Bryan Caswell couldn't believe when Marc finished. But, just like the crispy skin snapper, you'd be a fool not to.

Duff's plate of barbecue could have been served in a galvanized bucket. As he says, The Salt Lick BBQ has it all, including pork ribs and sausage. The giant pit in the middle of the restaurant is what makes them special — it's also what makes the best beef ribs Bobby has ever had. As for Michael, he couldn’t get enough of the tender brisket and its “crispy, caramelized bark.”

Duff prides himself on making a good tres leches cake. But that went out the door the second he tried Kuba Kuba's version. This Cuban-Spanish restaurant doesn't take reservations, so arrive early if you want to try the picadillo empanadillas made with sweet beef hash or traditional Spanish paella.

On The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Ronnie's Ribs, Wings & Other Things gives ribs the smoked, slow-cooked treatment. On The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Delilah Winder says the ribs are the "get down, get down" type of ribs that are good for eating in your car or being shipped to your home!

Crowds flock to this rustic Italian restaurant for dishes like the Baked Pasta with Five Cheeses. As the name implies, five cheeses (pecorni romano, fontina, Gorgonzola, mozzarella and ricotta) are used to make a rich sauce, which is then combined with rigate pasta shells and baked to create a bubbly, golden-brown crust.

Kerry Vincent's idea of a great afternoon tea includes a few hours with friends, and a reservation at The Adolphus Hotel. Don your nicest tea party hat because Kerry calls this four-course meal of tea sandwiches, scones, pastries and housemade truffles "perfection on a plate."

Adam Gertler's favorite steak and egg tacos are tucked inside a gas station convenience store. The gourmet tacos are stuffed with grilled rare flank steak and fluffy scrambled eggs. For an extra punch, they are topped with caramelized onions and jalapeno hollandaise sauce.

When prompted for an unforgettable dinner, Emeril doesn't take long in answering. On The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Emeril admits he twice ordered Fearing's Roasted Van Vooren Ranch Pheasant. With a luxurious dining hall and nearby poolside and spa dining, Fearing's knows how to handle extravagance.

Instead of a sundae, Kerry Vincent opts for Cafe Pacific's over-the-top Pecan Ball. On The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Kerry claims that although the food receives high marks, it's the Pecan Ball (a ball of vanilla ice cream rolled in pecans, hot fudge and topped with an almond tuile) that gets the A+.

Move aside, fruitcake cynics Marc Murphy thinks Collin Street's version will turn you into a fruitcake fanatic. With nearly 1 million fruitcakes made each year, Collin Street packs their cake with Costa Rican papaya, Washington cherries and Texas pecans that make up almost a third of the cake.

In a stroke of genius, Kent Rathbun served his special guest, Julia Child, curry lobster as a shot instead of a soup. The "Shooters" are now famous and Melissa d'Arabian also thinks they're worthy of The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Abacus is genius itself: a five-star restaurant serving global cuisine.

The saying goes that if Colonel Sanders had Uncle Lou's fried chicken recipe, he'd be a general. On The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Guy loved Lou's "crazy" fried chicken that's dipped into a sauce once called "Corruption." Now, thanks to Guy, it has been rechristened Sweet Spicy Love.

Claire Robinson insists that guilty-pleasure foods be "over-the-top outrageous" and Iris doesn't disappoint. The French-Creole cuisine is "guilty pleasure on steroids," as the Surf and Turf gets a po' boy twist with fried oysters stuffed into juicy steak under a thick creamy sauce.

Although Rendezvous is world-renowned for its barbecue chicken, ribs and pulled shoulder, Tyler Florence argues on The Best Thing I Ever Ate that the charcoal-smoked pulled-pork sandwich with coleslaw is the real winner. As he suggests, first see Elvis Presley, then it's off to Rendezvous.