1. Italian - any good tomato based sauce with a heavy pasta; a lighter pasta (like Angel Hair) with a clam sauce; a good piece of veal or chicken marsala;

2. New York Spanish - pasteles sin pique; a good arroz con pollo; fried platanos;

3. American - filet mignon is my favorite cut (Panico's and Shula's in Chicago were excellent); a good hamburger; baby back ribs (love Tony Roma's style); a good bowl of New England clam chowder;

4. Chinese - Peking duck and and some good fried rice (with lots of "stuff" in it!; mildly spicy General Tso's chicken (if cooked properly);

EDIT: Re the hamburgers... as far as "chains" go, the two best I've had were from Fuddruckers and Fat Burgers (Los Angeles).