The Best Meals We Ate in 2014
As 2015 inches nearer, we're reflecting back on the best meals we ate all year. From a weekly Sunday gravy to al fresco dining in Hawaii, these are our staff's most memorable meals of 2014.
Peden + Munk1/14Lunch in France
"I’ve had so many great meals this year. Memorable meals ranged from Wako Sushi’s omakase in San Francisco to all the Viennese food and pastries in Vienna to hosting shabu shabu hot pot dinners at our home in Jackson Heights, Queens.
The best meal of all was a long lingering lunch by the generous owners of the only restaurant in a little village in France—for the occasion of our marriage. What made it so amazing was that it was as last minute as it could be, and somehow everything came together, and we were surrounded by our dear friends and adopted family. Everything tasted exquisite to me on that beautiful sunny day, and I couldn’t have been happier." —Kaite Wong, project manager, bonappetit.com
Instagram/rmedmondson2/14Al Fresco Dining in Hawaii
"Dining al fresco on the North Shore of Hawaii at the Elephant Truck. We brought a bottle of wine (which may have been illegal), and dined under a spectacular Super Moon." —Dawn Perry, digital food editor
Marcus Nilsson3/14Sunday Gravy
"I've really been into my Sunday gravy with pearl onions, carrots, celery, garlic, a chunk of sweet potato, tomato, wine, oregano, anchovy…and pork chops/lamb shank/whatever meat I have on hand. Simmer on the stovetop or in the oven for 5-6 hours and serve over pasta or cheesy garlic-herb polenta." —Brad Leone, test kitchen manager
Marcus Nilsson4/14Roasted Potato Bread
"Best meal (not really a meal) was the potato bread from High Street on Market. Not even lying. I'll never forget it. I love bread." —Elizabeth Jaime**, photo assistant
Instagram/lallimusic5/14Dinner in Rome
"I had an awesome one-week vacation in Rome with my family this year. We ate incredible things—puntarelle, pasta alla carbonara, pasta alla Gricia (a Roman specialty with pancetta, eggs, and pecorino), teeny weeny fried squid, insane salumi, Roman pizza with tomatoes and anchovies, bruschetta topped with spiky Italian arugula, the best caffe shakerato of my life, and daily doses of gelato.
But the best meal was actually the worst one—we ended up at a tourist trap that “used to be good” and certainly wasn’t any more. The room was dingy, the food was sloppily prepared, the wine was corked, but despite it all, we had the greatest meal of the trip, screaming with laughter at the comedy of errors going on around us. We laughed so hard that people at the next table asked to be reseated, which only made us howl louder. Sometimes it’s the imperfect ones that you didn’t plan for that stick with you the most." —Carla Lalli Music**, food director
Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott6/14Rye, Kale, Mushroom, and Pumpkin Seed Stuffing
"There I was, sitting at my desk, just another dreary afternoon at work. A reminder popped up: Tasting in the Test Kitchen. I trundled down the stairs and took a seat at the table, where one by one, out come four casserole dishes of the most incredible Thanksgiving stuffing I’ve ever tried. Granted, my standards were pretty low: I am pretty sure no cook in my family has ever used so much butter or oil in any dish. (As I child, the only topping I knew of for baked potatoes or mac-and-cheese was nonfat milk. Truly, a low-point.)
At tastings, you are supposed to be very polite and restrained and just take a few bites of each dish. But: I couldn’t. I’d literally never experienced anything like this before, and the corner pieces, all crisped and crunchy? I mean, it was almost too much. So yes, as crazy as it sounds, I am confident that the best meal I had this year was a few corner pieces of Bon Appétit’s Sourdough, Baguette, Cornbread, and Rye stuffings." —Julia Kramer, associate restaurant editor
7/14All-Day Eating Near Copenhagen
"The best meal of the year was the day before MAD Food Camp. Sure, dinner at Noma the night before was off the charts. But on this day, all of the chefs and speakers took over what looked like an abandoned house from the 1930s on the outskirts of Copenhagen and cooked for one another.
As we entered, there were five-foot-long loaves of bread and tables filled with charcuterie sent by Faviken’s Magnus Nilsson, who was staying in Sweden to finish his cookbook (his publisher from Phaidon was there, so...). And then the cooking began. I didn’t take notes since we were in social-media lockdown (the point was to meet each other and enjoy the long, boozy day), but I remember seeing a crate of tiny gray shrimp, which Alex Atala of DOM then steamed and paired with tart local berries—we stood in the backyard scooping them up with lettuce leaves. Whole fish were cooked in foil with chamomile and herbs. Danny Bowien, Chris Ying, and David Chang may or may not have put wing spice on lobster. Chris Cosentino worked one of several grills. We were at the long tables for what felt like hours, buoyed by incredible natural wines chosen by Christian Nedergaard of Ved Stranden, the best wine bar in Copenhagen, if not the world. Dessert was simply chocolate and fruit.
Even though I can’t recite the menu, I’ll never forget the mood. It was chefs cooking for chefs, not the media or guests. It was exactly what they wanted to eat, and the conversations that came up around it were inspiring. There was the legendary French chef Alain Senderens talking with fellow chef Olivier Roellinger. René Redzepi was running around with crazy lobsters. Madhur Jaffrey next to Massimo Bottura next to MoMA’s Paola Antonelli. The Franks were turning everyone on to a trashy Danish chocolate soft drink (think Yoo-Hoo, but sweeter), so Bowien and co. were running to the deli across the street to get more. As my husband put it, it was what you always want a wedding to be (but isn’t): a loose, beautiful, shambling event to celebrate love—or, in this case, the love of food." —Christine Muhlke, executive editor
8/14Braised Lamb Shoulder
"The best meal I had all year was a plate of lamb. Literally, just a giant plate of lamb. I know. I'm a weirdo. But hear me out: I was visiting Coverdale Farm in Delaware while on book tour, and the farm's education coordinator had braised a lamb shoulder with an obscene amount of garlic the day before my event.
In between my reading and my cooking class, she warmed the lamb in the oven and I ate it with my hands, standing at the kitchen table as I looked out over the vegetable fields and the rest of the (living) lambs grazing. It really spoke to my fanatical desire to know exactly where my food comes from. The meat was rich and fatty, with just the right amount of barnyard funk. I don't think I've ever been that perfectly happy." —Rochelle Bilow, associate web editor
Alex Lau9/14Mapo Dofou at Xiao Bao Biscuit
"My most delicious night of the year was probably in Charleston. My friends and I started the night at The Ordinary, where we had incredible oysters and great cocktails at the beautiful bar. Then we moved to Xiao Bao Biscuit for dinner, where we sat outside, ordered way too much food, and ate it all anyway because it was so good. (One of the highlights: mapo dofou.)" —Meryl Rothstein, senior editor
Alex Lau10/14Tuna Sandwich at Palace Diner
"Palace Diner is a 15-seat charmer located in a shiny red 1927 dining car in Biddeford, Maine, located a 30-minute drive South of Portland. The two former fine dining chefs/owners—Chad Conley and __Greg Mitchell—__do simple and nostalgic diner food amazingly well. Their bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast is perfect. And, damn, those Palace potatoes: boiled, smashed down, and then crisped with abandon on the griddle.
But it's the tuna salad sandwich (with a side of crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside French fries) that I go back for. It's not rocket science: just good ingredients executed with passion and precision. The bread is always toasted perfectly, the tuna to mayo ratio spot on, and the addition of dill and cucumber is just the way my mom used to make them for me back in grade school. Pair with a hangover and Coke and all is well with the world." —Andrew Knowlton, restaurant & drinks editor
11/14Lamb Chops (and More) at Eno Terra
"Finding a spot like Eno Terra is not an occurrence that happens frequently, and it happens even less frequently in central New Jersey. The execution of modern, farm-to-table, Southern Italian food that comes out of that kitchen is truly top-notch and the reason that this place became my go-to dinner stop in college.
I got to enjoy dinner at Eno Terra on the day I graduated from college last May with my family and girlfriend. Items consumed that afternoon included, but were not limited to, fried fava beans (the most revolutionary bar snack I’ve had), an incredible charcuterie plate (18 month aged Prosciutto di San Daniele included), roasted beet salad, seasonal bean salad (give me all the beans), lamb bolognese (with house-made stracci), bruschette (with spreads like spring pea, olive oil, and feta), grilled lamb chops (my favorite), and of course some champagne and local beers.
The things that made this meal so incredible, besides the food of course, included an absolutely incredible list of wine and knowledge of said list by the staff, the freshness of the seasonal ingredients, and the beautiful interior architecture. A very fitting end to my transition from college student to BA employee. Plus, what’s a meal without sharing it with the people you love?" —Alex Delany, production assistant
Max Kelly12/14Burrata Pizza at Avec
"It's rare to have a truly perfect restaurant meal. I figure it happens no more than once a year—when the service, food, and company so effortlessly combine with not a single misstep.
This year I was lucky enough to experience that at Avec in Chicago at 4pm in the afternoon, with several close friends. I'm still thinking about the salty-in-a-good-way whipped brandade, the chorizo-stuffed dates, and the burrata pizza. My only regret is that we did not order more." —Carey Polis, senior web editor
13/14Clam Pasta on Cape Cod
"It’s sort of a cliché, but I have say that my birthday dinner at Jean Georges was an incredible dining experience. There was a dish of foie gras torchon with granola that was so unbelievably good. The service, the understated but elegant dining room—everything. I don’t do a lot of fine dining because it’s not really my thing (and it’s usually prohibitively expensive) but once in a while it delivers big on its promise.
But maybe not even a meal at Jean Georges is better than the clam pizza and linguine with clams that I made multiple times last summer on Cape Cod with freshly dug quahogs. Just a few ingredients—olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, clams, and lemon. Definitely 'last meal' kinda stuff. " —Claire Saffitz, associate food editor
14/14Potatoes Three Ways at The Restaurant at Meadowood
"Best bite this year was one of the first courses of my dinner at The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa, CA. It was potato cooked three ways: roasted spud nestled into a bed of mashed with crispy potato flakes on top. They really elevated something so simple and it was my most memorable course in an altogether outstanding meal. " —Jackie Ourman, test kitchen contributor
