A Slightly Obsessive and Highly Subjective Look at the Best Things We Ate and Drank in 2018
This may come as a surprise, but here at Bon Appétit we spend a somewhat ridiculous amount of time talking about food. Arguing about it, swooning over it, discussing its pros and cons, analyzing it down to the most granular detail, and of course, eating it. It’s what we do. It’s all we do. Like, I haven’t been to a movie theater in eight months. Instead of dinner-and-a-movie, I just eat dinner twice.
As a result, we consider ourselves pretty adept at figuring out which food trends are all hype and which ones are actually worth eating (or drinking). Rainbow bagels? Meh. Oat milk? Hell to the yes. It’s creamier than actual cream, y’all. Get on this bus.
In that spirit, as this very weird year drew to a close, we gathered together as a staff to compile our official list of 2018’s greatest culinary hits. It’s an eclectic list, yes, and highly subjective to be sure. But it comes from a place of deep, obsessive, highly considered love. Most important of all: Nothing here is not delicious.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely1/25How We Cope in Our Nation's Capital
Since the newest Line hotel opened, we’ve given ourselves full permission to lie in bed shoveling our faces full of room-service cakes from pastry legend Pichet Ong of Brothers and Sisters every time we visit D.C. It’s called self-care; look it up.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely2/25Beer of the Year
We just want to say thank you to Suarez Family Brewery of Hudson, NY, for refusing to get on the hopped-up IPA, ABV-overload bandwagon and sticking instead to pilsners and unfiltered lagers that we can actually drink all day.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely3/25The Dreamiest Dining Destination
Why does it feel like everyone we know spent this summer in Portugal, drunk on porto tonicos, dragging cartoonishly large head-on prawns through lemony butter puddles at linen-covered tables by the sea? The rest of us spent it scrolling through Instagram at our desks, hating them.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely4/25Revenge of the Curds
Once the stuff of ’90s starvation diets, humble cottage cheese made a truly unlikely comeback thanks to high-quality brands like Good Culture and Cowgirl Creamery. Full-fat only, please and thank you.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely5/25The Condiment Crossover Hit
Spicy, herby zhoug, a treasured Middle Eastern condiment, flew off the shelves when our pal Trader Joe started selling his highly accessible version. We’ve been using it to spice up sandwiches and scrambled eggs, and dipping anything and everything (including maybe our hands) straight into the tub.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely6/25Best Reason to Stock Up on Rhubarb
The surest sign of spring? Our feeds were stacked with mesmerizing rhubarb custard cakes, each with its own meticulous geometric pattern of tart pink stalks. In Claire Saffitz we trust.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely7/25Queen of the Alt Milks
Okay, we admit it: None of us predicted that the next great alt milk would be made out of oats. But then, seemingly overnight, creamier than dairy Oatly became indispensable to coffee drinkers everywhere.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely8/25How We Garnished in 2018
Aleppo-style pepper, toasted sesame seeds, garlic chips, dukkah, crushed hazelnuts or pistachios: All manner of savory sprinkles took even our blandest tomato and avocado toasts from one-note to symphony.
Illustrations by Jaya Nicely9/25Our Favorite Fruit Mutant
In varieties like UFOs, Sweet Bagels, and Flat Wonderfuls, the squat donut peach—sweeter, less fuzzy, and (admit it) waaay cuter than its spherical counterparts—dominated farmers’ markets all summer long.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely10/25The Wine That (Literally) Exploded
Carbonic wine has gone the way of kouign-amann and Marion Cotillard: no longer reserved for the French. We struggle to explain the process—something about grapes self-immolating—but we’ve been hoarding bottles of fizzy, fruity Marigny from Oregon’s St. Reginald Parish like end times are nigh.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely11/25We Scream for Stretchy Ice Cream
Ice cream doesn’t have to melt, we learned this year at BigDash outside Dallas and Republic of Booza in Brooklyn. Middle Eastern booza can… stretch! Like taffy! Like bubblegum! Like our retirement age when we spend our entire savings on food! What a world.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely12/25The Year’s Sexiest Pastas
Whether it was our own Andy Baraghani’s ginger-scallion ramen or the delightfully chewy ddukbokki with lamb ragù at Chicago’s Passerotto, this year was all about nontraditional pasta mashups. Just don’t use the word fusion.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely13/25Most Sippable Summer Staple
Sometimes we come up with weird nicknames for things we love. Waju, a.k.a. an icy-cold glass of peak-season watermelon juice salted to turn that fruit flavor up to 11, is one of those things.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely14/25The Brad-ified Pizza
Thanks to the world’s most famous test kitchen manager, YouTube phenom Brad Leone, crispy, chewy cast-iron pizza—with a generous amount of bubblage and absolutely no floppage—became our new weeknight go-to.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely16/25David Chang’s Best Move
He starred in a Netflix show, opened a few more restaurants, and launched a media platform. But was anything actually more monumental than the rollout of yeasty griddled bing bread at Majordomo in L.A.? We think not.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely17/25Favorite Way to Get Our Hands Dirty
From NYC’s Le Sia to St. Paul’s Grand Catch, spice-soaked crawfish boils jumped from a thing you could get in the bayou to a thing you could get... very far from the South—sticky hands, plastic bibs, and all.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely18/25The Ultimate Carbo Load
It’s a mess of spaghetti and oozy burrata piled between two slabs of Parmesan-crusted Texas toast. It’s Houston’s most viral brunch (yes, brunch) item. It’s Justin Yu’s spaghetti sandwich at Better Luck Tomorrow. It's delicious. Paleo, schmaleo.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely19/25How We Chillllllled Out
We all needed something to take the edge off 2018. No wonder THC’s tamer sis, CBD, snuck into everything from vibey cocktails to artisanal gumdrops to claw- footed bathtubs (really, though—check out these CBD bath bombs).
Illustration by Jaya Nicely20/25Best Way to Eat an Anchovy
Popping into Kopitiam for a bowl of Malaysia’s national dish, nasi lemak (creamy coconut rice topped with fried anchovies and a swoosh of fiery sambal), is now an NYC rite of passage.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely21/25Popcorn 2.0
This year, our snack table became a shrine to everyone’s favorite solar-popped corn: BjornQorn, with its name like a Scandinavian nü metal band and exterior dusted in nutritional yeast. And yeah, we’re still obsessed with nutritional yeast.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely22/25Least Spirited (But in a Good Way)
With the new class of zero-proof cocktails, like the herb-festooned creations from Chicago’s Oriole and the alcohol-free elixirs at NYC's Reception Bar, booze is no longer required to fancily schmooze. Just don’t call it a mocktail.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely23/25Most Exciting BBQ Debut
For eons Georgia barbecue has toiled in obscurity, surrounded by venerated regional styles without one to call its own. Then B’s Cracklin’ BBQ’s barky-luscious heritage pork ribs drizzled in tangy peach-mustard sauce arrived on the scene, and the whole game changed.
Illustration by Jaya Nicely24/25Snacktime MVP
How do Aida Sourdough Crackers taste like that crispy cheese that gets stuck to the pan while making grilled cheese... when there’s no actual cheese in them? The answer is magic (and sourdough).
Illustrations by Jaya Nicely25/25Pizza Without Borders
One day Detroit’s caramelized-cornered darling pounded its cheese-covered chest and cried, “No longer will I be contained!” And lo! From Philly’s Pizza Gutt to Portland, Oregon’s Ranch, it was clear: Detroit-style pizza has officially transcended Detroit.
