Catching up on all the writing I didn’t do in 2012 in the last week of the year.
Fun times.
My Best Meal
This is a tie.
I got (probably) the last reservation available one night in March at Le Bernardin. Dinner at 10:00 is not my usual speed. Still, it was my birthday weekend and it’s Le Bernardin. I’ve been there once a year for the past three years and each and every time it’s been a magical experience. We’ve never had a single plate that wasn’t something to dissect, discuss or devour.
The night before I went out with a few of my favorite people in the world to Sparks, which is it’s own brand of genius. I sat at the back and ordered a bunch of wine and looked like this:
Boston
My favorite meal in Boston this year was likely at Mamma Maria. I rarely eat in the North End, but I’m a bona fide fan of this place. I just made reservations to celebrate my first week at my new job.
Other restaurants that I enjoyed in Boston this year included Mistral, Pigalle, erbaluce, Ten Tables and Eastern Standard.
Petit Robert on Columbus continues to be my favorite restaurant in the city.
I’m ecstatic to have Redd’s down the street from me.
George Howell, of Coffee Connection fame, opened up a cafe serving up his Terroir Coffee. I wish it was next door to my house.
On the Road
I traveled a bit this year.
Rome
Fortunato al Pantheon is one of those places with pictures of famous people on the walls (Bill Clinton famous.) It’s very good. I’ll be trying to replicate the cacio e pepe for the rest of my days.
Piccolo Arancio. See above.
Dar Filettaro a Santa Barbara sells fried salted cod. They sell other things, but the only reason to go there is for the fried salted cod. It’s delicious.
da Bafeftto is another, no-nonsense kind of place that I enjoyed the hell out of. Just south of the Pantheon, the multi-lingual menu and complete lack of decor hide some mighty fine pizza.
Speaking of pizza, Pizzarium is very, very good.
Gelato (in order of preference):
Miami
There are two places I go to every year when I’m in Miami: Panther Coffee and Sardinia Enoteca Ristorante
Chatham, Ontario
If you ever find yourself in Chatham, Ontario, go to the Chef’s Table. Go there and then go to the Chilled Cork the next night. Repeat as necessary.
London (Heathrow)
There’s a Wagamama in Heathrow. I ate there both coming and going from India.
India
Indian food in India is good. No surprise there, I guess.
The one place I’d call out in specific is a chain, Saravana Bhavan. I at at one in New Delhi, but heck, there are options all over the world and South Indian food is awesome.
I will say I was not a fan of Indian McDonalds. I don’t like regular McDonald’s, so that’s to be expected, but Indian McDonald’s was somehow worse.
Vegas
I hate Las Vegas. That said, I had a great meal with excellent service at Michael Mina at the Bellagio.
Maine
The Contented Sole is phenomenally great. The food is excellent and it looks like this:
And then… there’s Moody’s:
At Home
I’ve been enjoying the hell out of John Crow Farm‘s selection of meat. I got my turkeys for Thanksgiving from them this year and they were delicious. Heritage turkey FTW.
Another regular at the Roslindale Farmer’s Market, McCrea’s Candies, is a bit of an obsession for me now. Buy some of the Black Lava Sea Salt and then send me a tube to thank me for turning you on to them.
I’ve become a big fan of the stuff coming out of Berkshire Mountain Distillers. The Greylock Gin and Berkshire Bourbon are standards on my shelf now.
Next up, books!
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