Everyone’s all like, “2016 is the worst thing that ever happened to anyone,” but, all elected neo-fascists with a twitter problem aside, this year was pretty rock solid for Javon and the pugs. In addition to getting married, travels, and pug-ventures, we ate so much delicious stuff!
Jason
San Francisco, CA
This place was everything I believe a restaurant should be - inventive, thought provoking, and, of course, they serve excellent food. My favorite dish here was the tofu pasta pictured above. You would have never known this was tofu!
2. Franklin BBQ
Austin, TX
I had the pleasure of going to Austin this year for my friend Datus' bachelor party. Another guy in the party, Jonathan Eisen, AKA @jewisheater, hooked us up with a massive order of Franklin's BBQ. I had read about Franklin's prior to going and it's crazy; there is a devoted following of people who camp out for hours to get some BBQ, but I just thought they were a bunch of crazy Texas loons. Turns out, I'm one of those loons now. This was the best BBQ hands down I've ever had.
3. In Situ
San Francisco, CA
The single dish I think about the most from the past year is the Wasabi Lobster from In Situ in San Francisco. The flavor of this dish was amazing, with the wasabi really bringing out the flavor of the lobster. Plus it came with wasabi marshmallows...drop the mic.
4. Superbite
Portland, OR
When I look back on our trip to Portland, the standout for me was Superbite. The flavor in all the small "bites" were amazing, with this spaghettios with black truffle, irish butter, and parmigiano was the best of the bunch.
5. Bazaar Meat by Jose Andreas
Las Vegas, NV
I went on my bachelor party to Vegas, and the first night we went to Bazaar Meat by Jose Andreas in the SLS Hotel. We tried all of their rib eyes, including these two from Lindsay Ranch in Oregon and Vaca Vieja in CA. These were by far the best steaks I've had in my life.
Yvonne
1. Nomad
Portland, OR
Nomad was my top pick for Scallionpancake’s restaurant of the year. The good food we ate was just part of what made the trip with Danny and Nancy (Dancy) so fun, but the very first thing we did when we got off the plane was head, luggage and all, to Nomad. I don’t want to say that this was where we peaked, but wow, what a way to start! Nomad is in a warehouse-type space, and their concept is to do away with white tablecloth service and all preconceived notions of fine dining. Their food reminded me of Funky Gourmet as it was all so innovative--every course blew my mind. Most of all? These two:
Morel mushroom, charred onion juice, agastache
I do not have any idea how Ryan and Ali (that’s right, we’re on a first name basis with the chefs) made a mushroom taste like meaty, savory heaven, but that’s what we are dealing with, here. The humble, wrinkly little morel just multiplies times a million under the influence of these dazzlingly talented chefs.
Sourdough rye roll, smoked beef fat, nutritional yeast butter
That description might speak for itself--and bread is my favorite food, so this one spoke to me. I also loved the use of nutritional yeast, especially paired with the beef fat, so many savory umami flavors going on, and it was a delight to eat a bread course with oompf.
2- Saison
San Francisco, CA
On our mini-Honeymoon to San Francisco, Jason made reservations at Saison, currently number 27 on the list of best restaurants in the world. My favorite was the first course--they make their own caviar, which they cure, and then grill in kelp leaves. When they deliver it to the table, they unwrap the kelp packet of caviar, and it tastes like the most buttery, salty, delicious present you’ve ever opened.
3- In Situ
San Francisco, CA
Inside of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, there is a restaurant with a theme that fits perfectly with a museum--In Situ recreates famous dishes from the best restaurants in the world, often under the direction of the famous chefs themselves. We came here on our first real dinner out in San Fran, and it really set the tone for the trip. The ambiance is sparse and, well, modern--the tables are made out of found pieces of cottonwood and there are wooden osso chairs and, of course, a fun gallery wall. The dishes rotate fairly often, but my two favorite dishes from July were:
Carrot, Sour Curd, Pickled Pine inspired by Matt Orlando from Amass in Copenhagen
Of course one of my favorites is from a Copenhagen restaurant! Here, they take a carrot cooked in carrot juice, dehydrate it, then rehydrate it, and then coat it in pickled pine and serve it with the sour curd. The carrot is chewy and tangy, and it is just so amazing what flavors can pop out of a well-done vegetable dish.
Wood Sorrel and Sheep’s Milk Yogurt inspired by Noma in Copenhagen
Noma was named the best restaurant in the world many times over, and continues to make the list, even though the restaurant is now currently being reimagined as pop-ups and an urban farm as the owners start on new projects. Sorrel is juiced, then frozen into a beautiful, bright granita which is paired with a tangy sheep’s milk yogurt, and then topped with a thin anise-flavored candy. This was so light and summery (I notice it’s not on their current menu--maybe it will come back seasonally?), and just the right amount of sweetness. Also, Jason and I have always wanted to go to Noma, so this was the next best thing.
Yountville, CA
Ah, the much discussed visit to The French Laundry. Yes, it’s true that the restaurant as a whole did not fully meet our (rightfully high) expectations, but this dish absolutely 100% did. Although I usually hate the word “mouthfeel” (right up there with “foodie”), this dish had it. The interplay of textures and the savory sabayon just tasted like the pinnacle of fine dining: light yet rich, creatively served and flavored, and just so memorable. Check out part 1 & part 2 of our review!
5. Superbite
Portland, OR
We were sweaty, exhausted, and starving, and then Superbite appeared like an oasis. After our Dangerous Hike around Mt. Hood, we started googling restaurants in the car. And, like some of our very best culinary adventures, we happened upon Superbite very luckily--it is a fairly new small plates restaurant with rave reviews, and because we came pretty early (right around 5:00), we walked right in without a wait. We were a tad underdressed (and did I mention sweaty?), but they took us as we were, and the service and food were both phenomenal. Although everything we ate here was good (Jason has already mentioned their fab Spaghettios), my favorite of the night was the (super) bite of mushroom on a cloud of lightly savory miso marshmallow. This was, quite simply, the perfect bite, and it was a great first course to an overall fantastic meal. We are already looking forward to our next visit to Superbite!
Runners-up
Chez Panisse
San Francisco, CA
Strawberry sherbet meringata with Dirty Girl strawberries
San Francisco, CA
Sourdough pancake with sauerkraut, pecorino, and ricotta
Saison
San Francisco, CA
Orange sorbet (served in an orange!)