the best things i ate in 2011

tapas in barcelona, sugar coated pork buns in hong kong,

crickets in bushwick, camp food...

my belly is full after this year.

though i've yet to train myself to really enjoy mushrooms and seafood, i'd say this year was pretty successful, tastily speaking.

here are some of the highlights {in no particular order except

the fried green tomatoes should probably be at the top no

matter what}:

fried green tomatoes at sel de mer {williamsburg}

literally, marry me.

brussel sprouts

i can't believe these weren't in my life before this year.

everywhere i had them, they were so yum: swimming in mustard at

buttermilk channel, with bacon at rubirosa,

with spätzle at ditch plains, fried at rye...

maybe i'll be one for halloween.

chocolate chip cookie from birdbath {manhattan}

i don't know. there are unicorn tears sprinkled on these things

or something. but you taste one and you're confused because

how can a thin cookie be like that.

the fried mac + cheese i made for the violet

i am naughty for being so wasteful and forcing

myself to throw most of them away.

but it was for my own good because self-control

goes out the window when these are in house.

brioche + ricotta at blue hill at stone barns {the stix, ny}

pretty much everything at blue hill was the best thing i 

ever ate. but the brioche and ricotta is what i dream

about regularly.

crispy duck + maraschino cherry salad at torrisi {manhattan} 

i never thought i'd have a salad on this list,

but there it is. the duck was perfectly salty and crispy,

and the cherries were like candy.

stuffing in the summer camp cafeteria {the stix, ny}

if there was one reason why my taste buds didn't up and jump

into the lake this summer, it was because of the one day a week

that we got stuffing. on these days i commandeered the entire bowl

and ate enough stuffing for my entire bunk.

steak buns at crystal jade {hong kong}

mind blowing and yes, i'd go back to hk just for these.

sugar coated pork buns at tim ho wan {hong kong}

shockingly good. like a barbecue pork donut.

sesame gelato from xtc {hong kong}

this not-too-sweet gelato was packed with full

black sesame seeds. smokey and amazing.

a ladies lunch at paco meralgo {barcelona}

there is no one dish that i salivate about {although

the fried spring onions were damn good},

but the company + conversation + ambiance

made this one of the best meals of 2011.

quiche at cours saleya {nice}

there is just something about romping around old nice

and chomping on a homey farmer's market quiche

that is so giggle-worthy.

apples and apple cider donuts at all seasons apple orchard {illinois}

an apple straight from the tree,

in fall,

with mum.

yes, please!

and melt-in-your-mouth donuts made from them? uh huh.

crab donuts at hurricane club

i know, what was i doing at hurricane club?

but someone make more savory donuts.

breakfast sandwich at m. wells {r.i.p.}

my birthday breakfast is regularly a big fat breakfast sandwich.

i didn't have this on my birthday, but it might as well have been.

it was so fat and doughy and amazing. too bad m. wells went byebye.

dinner at home restaurant

squash ravioli, perfect spiced cider, cozy seats... fall in a meal.

liddabit's beer + pretzel caramels

salty, crunchy, chewy, sticky. addictive.

hey, dentist.

...............

this is all making me want to steer my 

new year's resolution towards the gym,

or fresh vegetables.

what's the best thing you ate this year?? 

-yeh!!!!