BEST of 2014

As I said in my metaphorical toast— it’s been a delicious year. So many foodie ventures! I’ve indulged in yummy things on the East and West Coast (sweet and savory). I baked, sampled, tasted, ate, and gorged on so many delightful eats. But here are my Best of 2014!

New Recipe

Let’s face it—I like to try out new recipes especially when it comes to baked goods. These are the recipes that really took the cake this year!

Caramel Cake

Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Banana Blondies

Bite

I had a lot of bites this year, like a lot. Between Taste of Tribeca, Taste of Hope and all the other chowing down I do, there was no shortage tasty bites, but these were my faves.

Pumpkin Fig Cheesecake

Sugar Couture

Avocado Smash

Little Collins

 

Drinks

Even though apparently I sampled a whole bunch of flavorful libations this year, one spot had my favorite sips.

Fig and Olive

Appetizers

Appetizers can sometimes really steal the show. The starters at these restaurants made for delectable beginnings.

Central Kitchen

Flea Street Café  

Brunch

As that in-between time, brunch menus can offer the sweet and savory stuffs of both breakfast and lunch. This year however, my taste-buds danced for savory brunchy dishes.

Duck Confit Hash

Park & Sixth Gastropub

Shrimp and Grits

The Bistro at Grove Square

Dessert

Dessert is my most favorite time of day. Love salty, but I have a weakness for sweet thangs, and this year, these two desserts really satisfied my sweet tooth.

Snickerdoodle Sammie

Bareburger Hoboken

Pistachio Crème Brûlée

La Nonna

Dish

It’s practically impossible for me to pinpoint the best dish I devoured in 2014, as there were so many extremely delicious, covetable and dreamy eats.  But I stumbled on this one as something I thoroughly enjoyed this year.

Pancetta wrapped Scallops

Battello

Most Memorable Meal

It’s hard to say what makes a meal memorable. Is it the delicious dishes, the fresh ingredients, the agreeable atmosphere and service? Or is it the sheer thrill of caloric ingestion? There is one place that comes to mind that most definitely checks all of the boxes for my most memorable meal in 2014.

Brenda’s French Soul Food

Can’t wait to see what tasty things are to come in 2015!! Don’t forget to follow along on facebook, instagram, twitter, and yelp!

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organized CHAOS: Central Kitchen

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The room was like whispers— an intricate balance of indoors and outdoors, starlight streaming in, growing greens, silent water, and sturdy wooden feelings. The space belonged to fairies and twinkling lights, warm laughter and robust wine.

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At Central Kitchen in San Francisco, the flavors of fresh mingled with exquisite execution, local and seasonal ingredients and something a little too cool to utter. Each dish felt like a harvest of the best, misplaced and disoriented, redirected to produce an earthy perfection.

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The swirl of stone fruits of pinks, peaches and hushed purples, hugged the soft and sticky burrata, stretching. Earthy greens darkened the fruits tangy tenor, urging the burrata to hold the center. Crunchy fried bread felt sharp as thorns to the stone fruit flower— sharp and savory.

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A pyramid of pink triangles, thick with light green pistachios and white striations of fat and flavor, stood up proudly to delicate chips crisp with air and heat. The meaty pate longed for fall and wind and leaves, but was rich and rugged, here and now.

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Almost indistinguishable splotches arranged themselves on the plate, lopsided and lackadaisical. Smears of horseradish cream, imperceptibly spicy, cradled fat and juicy fresh figs dressed in slimy exotic lardo. The creaminess below was at odds with the crunch of the seeds and the liveliness of the fig, while the fatty and salty lardo unified both disparate fronts.

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A ring of delicate green cucumber, rich and roasty potatoes and mini micro greens, danced around the plate, chasing after a salty, crunchy king salmon. It was light and playful, a song of earth and sea.

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Meat lay flat in multicolored rectangles, layered with heavy pork, luscious fat and crunchy skin, while a thick line of a mélange of yellow corn and wild rice divided the plate. Wisps of vibrant green herbed emulsion exclaimed, contrasting dark bittersweet blackberries and cream.

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A random smattering of odd shaped pastas, wheaty with fennel pollen, multiplied, like a colony of cells reproducing in warm weather. Sweet golden knobs of corn heightened the saltiness of each thick and almost crispy chunk of brown red pancetta, springing to life with artisan cheese and great green chives.

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Puzzle pieces of drenched peach slices, precarious crunchy cookie,  sweet peach compote and floral honeycomb bites fit together, textures playing a tug of war while warm and cold sweetness made jagged edges round.

The plates all were a pretty consortium of the most colorful and rich moments, laden with purpose and guidance—almost like an organized chaos.

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