2011: A Year in Eating

December is always a time for year end lists. Best albums. Best songs. Best concerts. Best new restaurants. Best desserts. Best new bars. It seems like there's a list for everything.  

This got me reflecting on the best things I ate in 2011. But, how to rank? How to compare an appetizer or one simple ingredient to a full entree or ten course prix fix? So in no particular order, the best things I ate in 2011: 

Fresh Brazilian starfruit
plucked right from the tree. 

• The delice de bourgogne cheese plate at Maude's Liquor Bar. Absolute decadence. It was the dish that spurred me to launch The Drunken Goat Dispatches in May, and I'm still in love. 
• The deluxe focaccia at Avec, with taleggio cheese, ricotta, truffle oil and fresh herbs is salty, savory and more addicting than a Big Mac.  
• An authentic Brazilian fish feast prepared by the lovely people at Salto das Nuvens, a small, waterfall-side restaurant, bar and resort located in the Matto Grosso state. It was like being on an episode of No Reservations.
• Fresh starfruit picked off a tree (also in Matto Grosso) and eaten. Nature's sweet tart.  
• Mom's stuffing at Thanksgiving. So incredibly simple (bread, onions, celery, stock and pork sausage) yet delicious and flavorful. The memory of Thanksgiving leftovers is still lingering.  
• Served with crisp sourdough bread, sea salt, parsley and red onion jam, the bone marrow at Longman & Eagle is savory and rich.  
• While I love the cheese and charcuterie at The Purple Pig, the olive oil poached tuna with lima beans, fresh herbs, red onion and vinaigrette is still the dish that I keep thinking about. 
• Fetucine a la Pasquale at my family's favorite restaurant, Pasquale's Osteria in Norwalk, Conn. Homemade pasta, shrimp, ham, asparagus, tomatoes, fresh basil in a garlic red sauce with a touch of cream. It's ultimate Italian comfort food made by Pasquale, a former Vatican chef (more on that in a future post).   
• The lobster roll at B&G Oyster in the South End of Boston served just the way I like it: heaping mounds of lobster, slightest touch of homemade mayo, herbs, S+P, on a butter toasted roll. 
• I'm still blissed out from The Lair of the Minotaur burger at Kuma's Corner. The brie, pancetta and bourbon poached pear made the burger worth the wait...and the calories.    
• The cheese cart at Tru. An unpasteurized heaven on wheels.   
• The hen at Graham Elliot: a savory and memorable dish that embodied fall with every bite.

What was your favorite dish or dining experience in 2011?