recipes, recaps, and restaurant evaluations: Best of 2023

I had no concept that vegan cheese might be so good! I had solely tried the usual grocery store crap, which is ok when you take pleasure in Kraft Singles, however not when you’re fond of cheese that could not go for plastic. Riverdel cheese sells solely vegan cheese, which is precise cheese made the way in which cheese is generally made, solely with out the use of animal milks. I can not bear in mind the three cheeses I attempted, although I imagine one was a cheddar and one other was a blue, however they had been all implausible. My non-lactose-intolerant companion saved asking for extra “tastes” of my snack. Get yer personal, girlie. This is mine.

Another vegan shock was the vegan fried hen sandwich at Golden West Cafe. Made by Melanie Molinaro’s Little Fig Bake Shop in Rosedale, the free-form, plant-based glob of deliciousness is coated with a craggy brown crust and mimics a deep fried hen breast extraordinarily properly. Golden West provides a brioche bun, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and their model of thousand island, together with moderately mozzarella-like fried vegan cheese sticks. Like most all the things at Golden West, the sandwich is big, but additionally scrumptious. 

February

selfmade shrimp & grits

I made shrimp and grits greater than as soon as in 2023, however one of the best time was once I topped the garlicky shrimp with roasted crimson pepper and fried salami. It appeared Italian, so I added fennel seeds, too. 

all the things pizza with out inexperienced pepper, from Squire’s

There won’t ever be a time when pizza from Squire’s will not be one of one of the best issues I’ve eaten.

kupati at Tbiliso

The Georgian pork sausage known as Kupati made final yr’s checklist, and it was simply as superb in 2023.

vegan fried inexperienced tomatoes at Golden West Cafe

Yet one other vegan merchandise on the checklist of greatest issues I ate in 2023 is the fried inexperienced tomatoes from Golden West. It appears completely hideous, I do know, however the vegan pimento cheese and herb aioli had been each excellent and handed for animal-based merchandise. The tomatoes had been fried completely, too. 

shrimp liang and pancit at Heritage Kitchen

Sadly, Heritage Kitchen closed its doorways in 2023, however we made certain to get in our repair of Chef Rey Eugenio’s Filipino dishes greater than as soon as. The shrimp liang was my favourite, from the rice and greens to the shrimp and crispy squares of pork stomach. 

hen and lamb kebabs with Shirazi salad at Villagio Cafe

Another certain winner is something at Villagio Cafe. Though their rice dishes are uniformly tasty, when I’m on Whole30, I want a facet of Shirazi salad, a easy mixture of bell pepper, onion, tomato, and cucumber.  

egg fu yung at Kung Fu 12

Just for the heck of it, we ordered egg fu yung at Kung Fu 12; the veggie possibility with broccoli sounded good. Minds had been blown once we obtained crunchy deep-fried clouds of egg stuffed with barely-cooked greens, and a cup of cornstarch-thickened gravy on the facet. It was nearer to a cross between tempura and beer-battered onion rings than to the gravy-drenched omelets we anticipated. Fabulous, and now one of our common orders. 

May

woodlands pie from Underground Pizza Company

Underground Pizza Company makes the checklist once more this yr with their beautiful mushroom pie. I can not even clarify how good their crust is, and the combination of sauteed wild mushrooms on prime places it excessive.

June

moussaka at Nautilus Diner

When I see moussaka on the specials menu at Nautilus, I order it. While the inch of bechamel makes it a lactose-intolerant particular person’s nightmare, all the things else about it’s perfection.

pineapple fried rice from Mr Fried Rice at Urban Hawker, NYC

During a marathon consuming extravaganza with my buddy Daisy, I devoured greater than half of this flavorful rice dish. Those flower lower items of squid you see on the backside entrance had been insanely tender, there was simply sufficient pineapple in it that you just seen however not as a result of it was too candy, and the pork floss on prime added fascinating texture and crunch. Can’t wait to eat this once more.

pistachio supreme from Lafayette NYC

Lafayette’s spiral pastries created from laminated dough (assume croissants) stuffed with custard (this one is pistachio) are Instagram-famous for a motive. They are fabulous.

crab cake on fettuccine with vodka sauce at Pappas Parkville

I seldom order pasta in a restaurant, however I could not go up this particular at Pappas. Their crab muffins are enormous and superb, and the pasta was glorious. Best half is that there was a ton of sauce, so between Mr Minx’s and my leftovers and including a couple of extra ounces of fettuccine, we had a bonus crab vodka pasta dinner.

July

selfmade hearts of palm “crab”cake over quinoa and esquites.

I made some fairly spectacular fake crab muffins out of canned hearts of palm. Sure, they’re a bit tangier than actual crab, however the texture is analogous and they’re tasty in their very own proper.

August 

melon, burrata, marcona almonds, gnocchi at Kneads Bakery

This dish had a lot occurring, all of it good. It was a cheese course kinda dish as a result of there was a sweetness to it that is not usually present in an appetizer, and the gnocchi had been extra like donut holes than pasta, however rattling, so tasty. I remorse not going again to eat it once more earlier than the menu modified.

roasted cauliflower with EWF seasoning

Seems like I put the seasoning combine that Earth, Wood, and Fire makes use of on their hen wings on tons of issues, and one of one of the best was roasted cauliflower. If you look arduous sufficient on this weblog, you may discover the recipe, nevertheless it will not be credited to the restaurant as a result of I instructed them it could be a secret. It was, for years, till now it isn’t.
December

lentil and duck salad at Petit Louis

Neal and I snuck out for a 3-course lunch at Petit Louis a couple of weeks earlier than Christmas and loved a stunning French lentil and duck confit salad as our appetizer. It was so good, I invested in a bag of Puy lentils so I can try to recreate it at house. 

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