There’s no more offensive taste than the one the past year leaves in the mouth. I already gave my accounting of the best new restaurants of the year, and here, I offer the 151 very best things I ate and drank, should you wish to try to purge that bitter tang of 2016.
(1) buttermilk biscuit, (2) wedge salad, (3) tres leches cake, Entente
(4) bean-and-cheese empanada, Cafe Tola
(5) kakuni rigatoni, Intro
(6) tempura-fried lemons and delicata squash, (7) chestnut spaghetti alla chitarra, (8) radishes, (9) Spicy Carrot Cooler cocktail, (10) the Joker cocktail, Bad Hunter
(11) hand-shaved noodles, Slurp Slurp
(12) BLT, (13) garlic mashed potatoes, (14) roasted eggplant, (15) Belgian Dubbel Half Caf No Whip, (16) IBA Black Monday, Old Irving Brewing
(17) house-made Calabrian chile oil, (18) pumpkin spice brioche con gelato, Coda di Volpe
(19) lamb barbacoa, Pulqueria Chicago
(20) tlayuda, Kie-Gol-Lanee
(21) shatta, (22) hummus, (23) muttabal, (24) shawarma sandwich, Al-Sufara Grills
(25) samgyeopsal, Pro Samgyubsal
(26) crab and avocado, (27) s’mores ice cream cake, GT Prime
(28) sourdough baguette, Danke
(29) tomato-peach sorbet, (30) oyster and tomato, (31) grilled kanpachi, crab and foie gras, (32) egg yolk in salted licorice, Smyth
(33) pork guisado comida, Birrieria Zaragoza
(34) broiled sea trout, (35) cheeseburger, (36) smoky potatoes, (37) pavlova, the Loyalist
(38) arepa pabellón, Bienmesabe
(39) tomato pie, (40) cornmeal dumplings, Dixie
(41) roasted beets and scamorza cheese, (42) sweetbreads, (43) thin-cut pork chops, (44) barbecued quail, (45) rib eye, (46) Argentine float, El Che Bar
(47) chilaquiles, Brother’s
(48) bread service, (49) foie bonbon, (50) laminated brioche, (51) fried chicken skins, (52) chicken-fried quail, (53) coppa, (54) fideo, (55) sweetbreads, (56) honey ice cream and sage pound cake, Steadfast
(57) Maria’s Standard, (58) poutine, (59) scallion-potato pancake, Kimski
(60) masala chai, (61) chiya chile potatoes, (62) spicy minced pork pie, Chiya Chai
(63) egg tart, (64) bolo menino, The Bakery at Fat Rice
(65) ja jiang mian, (66) bibimbap, (67) pajeon, (68) kimchi chigae, (69) kimchi pork dumplings, (70) ddeokkbokki, Hanbun
(71) uni shooter, (72) peppers and honey butter, (73) pici, (74) eggplant agrodolce, (75) cajeta ice cream, Giant
(76) Oaxacan peanuts, Cruz Blanca
(77) scallops in salsa macha, (78) eggplant and shiitakes, (79) whole striped bass, Leña Brava
(80) saeng kalbi, Boo-Il Galbi
(81) Chongqing chicken, (82) mapo tofu, (83) cheong fun, Duck Duck Goat
(84) whole fish feast, Shiroi Sushi
(85) Yukon fries, (86) crudo, (87) whole chicken, (88) Carolina Gold risotto, (89) pasta and clams, (90) foie gras candy bar, (91) A5 Wagyu with uni butter, Roister
(92) fish and chips, The Northman
(93) sourdough bread with cultured butter, (94) langoustine, (95) pretzel cracker, (96) steelhead trout, Oriole
(97) edomae tendon, Hannosuke
(98) pastrami trout tartine, (99) O.G. Lox tartine, Snaggletooth
(100) sashimi plate, (101) madai, Naoki
(102) Honey Vee Vienna lager, (103) Cherry Amaro Ale, (104) Number Six smoked porter, (105) cranberry bean hummus, (106) Japanese sweet potatoes, (107) cheese and crackers, Forbidden Root
(108) foie gras toast, (109) black boule, (110) toad in the hole, (111) mushroom tea, Bunny, the Micro Bakery (RIP)
(112) sauteed button mushrooms, (113) roasted fingerlings, Cafe Marie-Jeanne
(114) machew krueng, Angkor Restaurant (RIP)
(115) roasted turnips, (116) beef tartare, (117) steamed clams, Cold Storage
(118) pla som thot, (119) som tam that, (120) naem khao thot, (121) phat ka-phrao (122) mu krop, Tom Yum Cafe
(123) spaghetti a la tom yum, Crepe Town
(124) naem tod sa mun pai, Paula’s Thai Kitchen
(125) curry laksa, (126) char koay teow, (127) Hainanese chicken, (128) pulut hilam, Serai
(129) orechiette, (130) pappardelle, (131) ragu alla Napoletana, (132) arancini, (133) octopus spiedini, (134) chicken livers, (135) budino, Monteverde
(136) Military Latte, Sawada Coffee
(137) shrimp taquitos, (138) goat albondigas, (139) chicharrones, (140) carnitas, (141) scallop crudo, (142) margarita, (143) manhattan, Dos Urban Cantina
(144) ceviche mixto, (145) Sonoran hot dog, (146) skirt steak (147) arroz aeropuerto, (148) Iberico secreto steak, Latinicity
(149) goat chili dogs, Brisku’s Bistro
(150) pies, Dukan International Food Market
(151) hot chicken, The Budlong v