TOP 10 RESTAURANT DISHES OF 2009

I have tasted many wonderful meals this year and while I cannot name my most favorite meal, I CAN name my 10 MOST FAVORITE DISHES. Some are from fine restaurants, some are local comfort foods. The common thread through all of these dishes is the use of natural, seasonal and quality ingredients to produce incredible food. With something on this list for everyone, these are MY TOP 10 FAVORITE DISHES OF 2009!

10. Grasshopper Pie Ice Cream
Emack & Bolio's
When Erik brought me to Emack & Bolio's we had just started dating. I didn't have the heart to tell him I wasn't a huge ice cream fan, but this was no ordinary ice cream. Looking at the board I saw flavors I had never heard of before: Caramel Mooseprints, Deep Purple Cow, Heaven and Grasshopper Pie. Ahhh, Grasshopper Pie, Crème de Menthe ice cream with oreo cookies and chocolate flakes. It's rich and yet refreshing at the same time. The oreos give a texture to the creamy ice cream and the flakes add an intense chocolate pop and an unexpected slight crunch. In addition, Emack & Bolio's uses all natural ingredients and makes each flavor fresh each week. And boy do you taste the difference.

9. Roasted Marrow Bones, Parsley Salad & Sea Salt
Prune Restaurant
I wanted to go to Prune for well over a year. I had heard so much about Chef Gabrielle Hamilton and her homey sophisticated food. The Roasted Marrow Bones appetizer is a perfect example of this cuisine. A plate of four huge bones, filled with warm, succulent marrow, served with perfectly grilled country bread and fresh from the Farmer's Market Parsley salad, seasoned to perfection.
I slathered the bread with the marrow and piled parsley on top. The combination of fabulous fat from the marrow and the salt, acid & crispness of the Parsley create an ideal balance. The dish is so rich and indulgent I could have easily made it my entire meal. Not only was it one of my favorite dishes of the year, but our dog Lucy enjoyed the bones for a whole week after.

8. Sautéed Chicken Liver, on Toast points with Black Currant, Golden Raisin Cognac Sauce
Upstairs at Bouley
I know what you’re thinking, “Liver, gross.” But you’re wrong.
If you’ve never been to Upstairs at Bouley, it’s a very small space with an open make shift kitchen and sushi bar. Our table was overlooking the action and as we sat, a fragrance began to grow. First sweet, dried fruit beginning to stew. Then it became more savory… onion, buttery, meaty, wine…finally I HAD to ask “What is that dish?” “Sautéed Chicken liver”. Although the rest of the table had just ordered dessert, I ordered it.
The liver was cooked like foie gras, more seared than sautéed. It cut like “butta” and lay on top of sliced famous Bouley bread, just barely toasted. While the liver was cooked perfectly and the bread famous, what really made this dish a favorite was the sauce. Sweet and acidic, the currants and raisins were plump and juicy. The cognac added depth and the acid balanced the sweet perfectly. I only needed one bite to know I had ordered the perfect “dessert”.


7. Calvolerno: Raw Tuscan Black Kale in "Caesar" Anchovy vinaigrette with Parmesan and Croutons
Il Buco
This Caesar salad is ingenious. When I tasted it I realized what had been lacking in all Caesar salads I had eaten until that point, the kale. Strong and flavorful, this hearty green really stands up to the tangy creamy dressing of the Caesar. Unlike the traditional Romaine, the kale doesn't wilt but stays firm in the salad. Plus, kale is an antioxidant with tremendous nutritional value.
Accompanied by the salty, slightly nutty parmesan and the crunchy croutons this salad is so smart and delicious that I duplicated the recipe, using collard greens, and now use it as my standard Caesar for clients and friends alike.

6. French Onion Soup Dumplings
The Stanton Social
The best onion soup reincarnated into a dumpling. A burst, literally, of savory goodness that warms you from the inside out.
The presentation alone is noteworthy. Like traditional onion soup, the dumplings are served in a crock, with individual slots, think escargot. Each dumpling sits with beefy onion soup inside, entirely covered in melted Gruyere and a golden crouton on top.
Deeply flavored soup, tender dumpling, gooey cheese and crisp crouton. Each component comes together into a complete expression of the dish giving new meaning to "the perfect bite".

5. Good Bread Basket
Good
Good's entire Brunch menu is GREAT. But, no matter what you order, nothing is better than the "Good Bread Basket".
A choice of any three of Good's baked goods, my favorites are: Savory Cheddar Corn Bread, Hand-rolled Orange Sour Cream Doughnuts and Warm Buttermilk Biscuits (although many may argue for the spiced pumpkin bread...which is also amazing).
Just the sound of these words and you can begin to taste the food they're describing..."savory", "hand-rolled", "warm". These words are so accurate because what makes the baked goods so magical is that they are made fresh, made to order and made with care.
The corn bread is served like Texas Toast, thick slices, warm and golden. The biscuits are big and flakey and the doughnuts are similar to an orange flavored beignet. Savory, sweet, warm...this is the basket I eat as a meal.

4. Mache Salad with Lardons & Truffle Vinaigrette
Country
There are three components that make up this salad: Mache greens, lardons and truffle vinaigrette. The Mache is incredibly fresh and petite. The lardons are smoky, warm and crisp, giving a wonderful contrast and depth of flavor to the salad. But, it's the vinaigrette that makes the salad so unbelievable. You won't know it until you taste it, but there is something truly spectacular about this dressing. Maybe it's the combination of quality ingredients, maybe it's the way the dressing interacts with the rest of the salad. So simple. So elegant. Whatever it is, the salad is light and sophisticated and when it's gone, you'll wish there were more.

3.Pork Sausage with Jalapeno Cheddar Sauce
Dogmatic
I LOVE hot dogs. It's a guilty pleasure, I know, but I LOVE them. I also LOVE great bread. I mean crusty, warm, baguettes that crackle when you bite them and are soft and warm in the center.
Dogmatic has taken these two loves, combined them, and brought them to the next level. Hormone, antibiotic and nitrate free, these homemade sausages are all natural and all flavor. They come in a variety of proteins: pork, beef, lamb, chicken and turkey. Each sausage has a unique taste and seasoning. Pork is my favorite. It is a combination of Italian sausage and breakfast sausage, yet still maintains the integrity of a traditional hot dog.
The sausage comes incased in a wonderful, crusty baguette. To add greater dimension to this gourmet street food, the Cheddar Jalapeno sauce compliments the seasonings in the sausage as well as the crunchiness of the baguette. This white, luxurious sauce with just a bit of bite enhances the sausage while seeping into and flavoring the inside of the baguette.
From the first bite to the last, the three ingredients work together in harmony. I can't write anymore...I need to go get one...


2. Toasted Ricotta Gnocchi with Italian Parsley, Parmesan cheese & White Truffle Crèma
Jane
Gnocchi is a dish that always promises to be light and airy, but almost never delivers. At Jane, they deliver. The Toasted Ricotta Gnocchi is wonderful for two reasons: texture and flavor.
Brown and slightly crisp on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. The sauce is velvety and silky but not heavy.
Before the plate even hits the table the aroma of truffle wafts through the air. The gnocchi are creamy and almost sweet. They are complimented perfectly by the truffle sauce which is earthy and creamy.
This dish is so light, you forget it's an indulgence not a healthily treat. It's an indulgence however, I could eat every day...

1. Steak Tartare
Cercle Rouge
Last week my friend Christa and I went for a holiday lunch at Cercle Rouge and decided to order their Steak Tartare. When it arrived, I knew I was going to love it. The meat was a wonderful pinkish red, showing how fresh it was. Flecks of shallot and capers shown throughout and a beautiful raw quail egg sat on top. Accompanying the tartare were baby frisee and pickled blanched plum tomatoes.
What is so wonderful about this dish is the freshness of the ingredients and the fact that each bite revealed more and more flavor and depth. First you mix in the egg. As the yolk hits the beef and you taste the first bite, hints of mustard hit your palate. Second bite, shallots. Third, cornichons. Fourth bite you take a bit with the frisee and tomato...heaven. By the time you're in the middle of the dish your tongue is hitting so many notes there's a symphony of flavors going on in your mouth.