2008 Year in Review

Let's face it, 2008 was a pretty terrible year except for my marriage/honeymoon of course. But, I had some great food moments, so here's a fun look back on some of the good things from last year.

1) Best Restaurant 2008 - Ko
Although I'm getting sick of reading about the Tom Brady of food, Ko kicked massive ars. This place was an explosion of textures and flavors and a complete revelation of how fun and good food could be. Definitely worth going back again if you can get in.
Honorable Mention: Au Peid de Cochon, Fung Ya Xuen

2) Best Restaurant Dish 2008 - Foie Gras (Ko)
Again, it pains me to write more about David Chang, but this dish was just ridiculously good and perfectly encompassed what Ko was all about to me. Amazing textures with equally amazing flavors. I mean frozen shaved foie gras paired with riesling gelee and lychees - what the f is that and why does it taste so f'n good.
Honorable Mention: Clam Pie (Frank Pepe's), Shrimp Taco (Marisma Taco's), Camaron En Rajas Con Queso Gorditas (Kool Fish), Shrimp Burger (Dr. Taco), Stuffed Pied de Cochon with Foie Gras (Au Pied de Cochon), Sicilian Pie (L&B Spumoni Gardens), Lobster (Ko), Escolar (Le Bernardin)

3) Best Cheaper Restaurant 2008 - Marisma Tacos
I may not be any happier than eating a shrimp taco at Marisma Tacos. A tiny taco stand, away from the tourists in Puerto Vallarta eating with the locals on a beautiful sunny day...it may not get any better than that.
Honorable Mention: No contest...this place kicked serious ars

3) Worst Restaurant 2008 - Craftsteak
What do you get when you combine bad service, insanely high prices, and subpar food? Why you get Craftsteak, the worst restaurant experience of 2008. Tom Colicchio should either remove his name from this place or spend less time on Top Chef and more time supervising his restaurants. I still can't believe there was steak caked on the knife they gave me...what the f!
Honorable Mention: WD-50 (food poisoning), Rhong Tiam (worst service ever)

4) Favorite Dude's Night Moment 2008 - Ramen Crawl
We've had some great times in 2008, but one of the most fun times was stomping around the East Village for our ramen crawl. Great times and more importantly we found out Ippudo rules for ramen in NYC.

5) Favorite Television Episode 2008 - No Reservations: Into the Fire
This episode with Bourdain working a full lunch/dinner service at Les Halles is still the best food program I've seen on TV. Loved watching Bourdain in the weeds and showing just how hard working the line is. Equally fun watching Eric Ripert the master of fancy fish, rocking the grill line for steaks and kicking it's ars.

6) Random Thought 2008: NY Times is confusing as hell
Way too many restaurants received 3 stars in 2008 and you really can't put a place like Momfuku Ssam Bar in the same category as Eleven Madison Park.

We've had some great food in 2008 - from Taiwan to Playa del Carmen, it's been a tasty year. In 2009, I'm looking forward to potential trips to Hong Kong and Malaysia for our international travels and hopefully a trip back to Le Bernardin or Daniel locally. Oh, and our two year anniversary of our humble food blog is coming up this March...maybe they'll let us use Buckingham Palace to celebrate :)