Here are the rest of the Best Dishes of 2008:
#26 Veal Sweetbreads
Hibiscus, London, The United Kingdom
26. Veal Sweetbreads
Executive Chef Claude Bosi
Hibiscus
London, The United Kingdom
The nugget was perfectly cooked. The coat of breading was thick and generous, yet managed to be loose and light. The coating had a wonderful fragrance – sage, which, together with the fresh lime flesh served off to the side, created a bouquet of fragrance. The wood sorrel dressing (green pool) pinched a high, bright, and zinging sour note, and with the lime, helped cut the heaviness of this sweetbreads. This was a dynamic preparation of sweetbreads, which I will not soon forget.
2008 #27 Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
St. John, London, U.K.
27. Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
Executive Chef Fergus Henderson
St. John
London, The United Kingdom
If you ever want to know what Jerusalem artichokes taste like, all you need do is taste just one spoonful of this soup and you’ll never forget. This was a bowl of warm liquid chenille tasting of flint and earthy sweetness. Pure artichoke. Amazing. This soup was hearty and soul-satisfying. It chased away all of the chills that had settled into my bones from the cold, rainy trek to St. John.
2008# 28 Linguine with Mahogany Clams
Esca, New York, New York
28. Linguine with Mahogany Clams
Executive Chef David Pasternak
Esca
New York, New York
This pasta dish would have only been a shadow of the dish that it was had it not been spiked with (a single) chili pepper. The flavor was as deep as the ocean is wide. The broth was intensely infused with clam juice and I will not soon forget how heavily drunk with white wine these noodles were.
2008 #29 Raviolo of Hen’s Egg
Hibiscus, London, U.K.
29. Raviolo of Hen’s Egg
Executive Chef Claude Bosi
Hibiscus
London, The United Kingdom
This is the first year that a ravioli dish failed to make it onto the 25 Best Dishes list for the past three years. But that’s not reason to ignore Bosi’s “Raviolo of Hen’s Egg.” As soon as I pricked open the raviolo, brilliant orange river of liquid gold gushed out, commingling with the buttery sauce full of black truffle shavings and puree of smoked potato. The sliver of caramelised Cevennes onion played a vital role – providing a sweetened relief to the onslaught of richness.
2008 #30 The Cheese Course
Picholine, New York
30. Cheese Course
Maitre Fromager Max McCalman
Picholine
New York, New York
To describe the role that cheese plays at the restaurant as a program is an understatement; obsession might be over-aiming. That it’s a curriculum, is more on point. Cheese is the restauarant’s raison d’être. Since I have more than just a passing interest in cheese, I’ll note that the selection is incredible – there are over sixty in the house on any given day. You can smell them too; Mr. McCalman, drives his pungent bus, piled high with about half of the available cheeses, around the dining room throughout service. He’s a more articulate but no less enthusiastic (or sassy) morsel-pusher than your local dim sum cart wench.
2008 #31 Butter-Poached Maine Lobster
Jean Georges, New York, New York
31. Butter-Poached Maine Lobster
Executive Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten
Jean Georges
New York, New York
I’m a card-carrying member of the ramp cult, a short-lived, but passionately attended seasonal revival. That ravioli, a blissfully fat pillow stuffed full of emerald green ramp puree, was such a joy. Despite its pungency, the ramps paired perfectly with the crisp bacon, neither of which disturbed the delicate, sweet, and perfectly-poached lobster meat.
The wine pairing really helped boost this dish in my estimation. The sommelier poured Patz & Hall Chardonnay (2005). It cut nicely across the pork fat and married wonderfully with the faintly sour vinaigrette.
#32 Spinach and Feta Chicken Sausage Hot Dog
Hot Doug’s, Chicago, Illinois
32. Spinach and Feta Chicken Sausage Dog
Hot Doug’s
Chicago, Illinois
The chicken sausage was extremely moist and flavorful. It got a nice garlicky kick from the skordalia, which functioned as an adhesive for the chunks of cheese on top. I didn’t get any feta from the sausage itself. Maybe it was all that yummy sheep’s haloumi that covered it up. Sure, it was pretty base, but I loved this hot dog. Loved it.
2008 #33 Tortilla Soup
Fearing’s at the Ritz Carlton
Dallas, Texas
33. Tortilla Soup
Executive Chef Dean Fearing
Fearing’s at the Ritz Carlton
Dallas, Texas
Not one to gravitate towards soups, I was pleasantly surprised by the “Tortilla Soup,” which Fearing made famous at the Mansion on Turtle Creek (it was still on the menu, non-attributably entitled “Mansion Tortilla Soup,” when I had lunch at The Mansion on Turtle Creek just a couple of days later). Thick but smooth, like the best tortilla soups usually are, it possessed immense zest and zing, laced with acid and a late-blooming heat. The bowl contained a commingling of shredded chicken, cheese, and cabbage, diced avocados, and jalepenos topped with a tangle of crunchy strips of fried corn tortillas that rose to the top as the warm soup was poured in table-side. The flavors were convincing and the textural elements playful. This was the best thing I had (the recipe is on the restaurant’s website).
2008 #34 Smoked Salmon Salad
JJ’s, Kansas City, Missouri
34. Smoked Salmon Salad
Executive Chef Linda Duerr
JJ’s
Kansas City, Missouri
Without a doubt, this is one of the best salads I’ve ever had in my entire life. The salmon had been rubbed with smoky spice rub and smoked over pecan wood. The imparted flavor married wonderfully with the dices of roasted apples and the toasted whole pecans. The backdrop to all of this flavor were fresh velvety leaves of baby spinach dressed with a savory-tart onion and cider vinaigrette.
2008 #35 “Pork”
Avenues, Chicago, Illinois
35. “Pork”
Then Executive Chef Graham Elliot Bowles
Avenues
Chicago, Illinois
Without a doubt, my favorite dish from my 30th birthday dinner was “Pork;” more specifically, pork belly. The cube of bacon was fried until crispy – the outside somewhat like crackling, the interior soft and supple with hot layers of collagen, fat, and meat. I’ve had a lot of creative treatments of pork belly in my time, but this one, which was painted Southern with molasses-braised collards, grits, and a bourbon-maple barbecue sauce and black truffles (Southern France), was truly extraordinary. The barbecue sauce was fantastic. It beat the best of what my hometown of Kansas City has to offer in the way of sweet sauces.
2008 #36 Corzetti Pasta with Walnut Pesto
James Beard Awards, New York, New York
36. Corzetti Pasta with Walnut Pesto
Chef Marc Vetri of vetri ristorante
James Beard Awards
New York, New York
I ate this standing up, negotiating armfuls of *stuff* – including my camera – elbow-to-elbow with 84 gazillion other people at this year’s James Beard Awards in New York City. And yet, all of those inconveniences seemed to fade away during the few short bites of the velvety discs of pasta lightly coated with an intensely walnut-flavored pesto and garnished with marjoram and Parmesan. It was primal-quenching bite that made me want to crawl onto the tiny plate, tuck myself between the silky sheets of pasta, and fall asleep. Vetri’s team was making the pasta on site, cooking, and plating it all within an area half the size of my kitchen.
2008 #37 Corolle d’Endive Feuilleté
l’Arpége, Paris, France
37. Corolle d’Endive Feuilleté
Executive Chef Alain Passard
l’Arpége
Paris, France
l’Arpége has an amazing talent for making flaky pastries. This roasted endive heart was nestled in a puff pastry cup so light and airy that the slightest movement of air threatened to carry it off the plate. Magnificent in its simplicity. Confounding in its lightness. And heart-warming in its beauty.
2008 #38 Quince Tart and Massipou Cheese
La Belle Vie, Minneapolis, Minnesota
38. Quince Tart and Massipou Cheese
Executive Chef Tim McKee
La Belle Vie
Minneapolis, Minnesota
A thin shaving of Massipou (a French mountain sheep’s cheese) leaned onto a pretty, rosy round of poached quince, which sat atop of a round of dense, yet crisp and flaky, pastry (think shortbread crossed with puff pastry) and attended to by swatches of quince syrup. What at first seemed like cheese accenting another dessert, the cheese – slightly musky with a leathery saltiness – actually took the lead role on this dish. The sweet-tart quince fell back and played a nice accompaniment. The tart shell was crisp.
2008 #39 Spring Pea Soup
bluestem, Kansas City, Missouri
39. Spring Pea Soup
Executive Chef and Owner Colby Garrelts
bluestem
Kansas City, Missouri
This soup forced me to find new and creative ways of using a spoon, like as a pavement stripper, scraping the enamel off of the china in order to get every little drop of that velvety, naturally-sweet soup. The truly wonderful thing about that soup: it was simply green peas pureed with stock with some salt and pepper. No butter. No cream (except for the crème fraîche added at the last minute). I also found myself bobbing for those crunchy crumbles of garlicky croutons.
2008 #40 Di Bruno Brothers’ “Burrata”
per se, New York, New York
40. Di Bruno Brothers’ “Burrata”
Chef de Cuisine Jonathan Benno
per se
New York, New York
Of my 20+ course extravaganza at per se, Di Brunno Brothers “Burrata” was my favorite course. Our captain presented a ball of freshly made mozzerella (shipped by the Di Brunno Brothers in Philadelphia to per se once a week). Cutting off the top knot, he carved the ball open, revealing a creamy textured filling of burrata cheese. Seasoning it with sea salt, pepper, and drizzling that famous Armando Manni olive oil over it, the server closed the ball back up and pounded it around to get the seasonings distributed. Wedges of the mozzerella with burrata were cut from the ball and set atop each of our plates which contain a crusty garlic-rubbed toast (i.e. bruschetta) topped with thinly sliced heirloom tomatoes (imported from The French Laundry garden in California), yellow onions, and baby arugula leaves. This was truly a great dish.
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Here are the rest of the Just Desserts of 2008:
Desserts #11 Sorbet Pie
North Pond
11. Sorbet Pie
Executive Chef Bruce Sherman
North Pond
Chicago, Illinois
The “Sorbet, Pie” was nothing like I had imagined. Instead of a wedge of something molded and frozen, I was delightfully surprised by a colorful trio of frosty quenelles – blueberry-lavender, sour cream, and anise-hyssop sorbets – lined up on a strip of pie dough and dusted with brown sugar streusel crumbs. It reminded me of what Sherman served at the James Beard Awards: anise hyssop and goat cheese sorbet with rhubarb relish and herb (chive) shortbread. Delicious.
Desserts #12 Apple Sorbet and Polish Vodka
St. John, London, U.K.
12. Apple Sorbet and Polish Vodka
Executive Chef Fergus Henderson
St. John
London, The United Kingdom
This was ghastly good. This sorbet was intense – it was essentially frozen cider. It had a bite, a sweet center, and a nice, long, tart finish. I’m not sure how the vodka was supposed to be taken – with or after the sorbet – but it was very smooth and clean-tasting vodka.
Desserts #13 Candied Kumquat and Blood Orange
La Belle Vie, Minneapolis, Minnesota
13. Candied Kumquat and Blood Orange
Executive Chef Tim McKee
La Belle Vie
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Like many restaurants, La Belle Vie’s pre-dessert was more brilliant than its often more sombre and burdened successor. At my meal in January, the pre-dessert featured a sprightly arrangement of blood orange sections – fanned out like a starfish – garnished with sweet, candied kumquat and a spectacular sabayon crème brûlée. It was dainty and daft.
Desserts #14 Armagnac Ice Cream
St. John, London, U.K.
14. Prune & Armagnac Ice Cream
Executive Chef Fergus Henderson
St. John
London, The United Kingdom
I have a history with prune and Armagnac ice cream. Prune and Armagnac ice cream made both the Just Desserts of 2006 (Jean Georges, New York, New York) and the Just Desserts of 2007 (The Modern Bar Room, New York, New York) lists. This year, I’ve found a version that bests both of those. The prune and Armagnac ice cream at St. John is prunier and headier with Armagnac than any other version I’ve tried. This was is spectacular and left me quite winded.
Desserts #15 Capogiro Gelati
Capogiro, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
15. Capogiro Gelati
Capogiro
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Capogiro needs to have an accompanying 12-step recovery program. Well, actually, that would be stupid of them. They make money off of addicts like me. Ever since I took my first taste of Capogiro’s ethereally smooth and almost froth-like gelato, I was hooked. At first, it was innocent, late night runs back in 2004 when I first discovered the tiny (original) store on the corner of 13th and Sansom. I was being somewhat naughty. Then it was a quick, but cautious slide downhill to afternoon visits, in between meals. This year, on a five-day trip to Philadelphia, I fell off the wagon. I went in every day after lunch and dinner for a week, trying nearly every flavor they had to offer. I admit, I’m a little obsessed, but his stuff really is just that good.
Desserts #16 A Sampling from the
Charrette de Desserts
Le Bec Fin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
16. Charrette de Desserts
Pastry Chef Jessie Prawlucki
Le Bec Fin
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
We were encouraged to try anything and everything on this legendary chariot of sweets, and so my friends and I unabashedly asked to try it all: 12 cakes, lemongrass-soaked pineapple, Grand Marnier-macerated strawberries, and ile flottante. While I can’t single any one item out as being sub par, there were quite a few that left a more lasting impreession. They included the Grand Marnier-soaked strawberries: fresh, glowing orbs of liquor – somehow the Grand Marnier had penetrated but not compromised the structure of the fruit; the “Kona” cake: Bananas Foster meets cappuccino; the “Tahiti” cake, a creamy tropical breeze involving coconut and other tropical fruits (I’m fairly certain pineapple was one of them); and the “Venetian” cake, which was, perhaps, my favorite – it was a square of pistachio dacquoise layered with a sour cherry marmalade and pistachio brulée paved with a cinnamon-kissed chocolate mousse. It was the cinnamon spice, which shot through each bite, that made that last dessert particularly compelling.
Desserts #17 Cornmeal Doughnuts
Vie, Western Springs, Illinois
17. Cornmeal Doughnuts
Executive Chef Paul Virant
Vie
Western Springs, Illinois
This was a truly amazing dessert. By themselves, the cornmeal doughnuts (more like a doughnut holes) were rather forgettable – they had a nice sturdy crumb, but otherwise, lacked character. Yet, Chef Virant saves the day with a touch of tang – buttermilk ice cream. Together with buttery, crunchy caramel popcorn, the composition was magically transformed into something truly extraordinary.
Desserts #18 Pumpkin Panna Cotta
Vincent’s, Minneapolis, Minnesota
18. Pumpkin Panna Cotta
Executive Chef and Owner Vincent Francoual
Vincent’s
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Deceptively sophisticated and tiny, but good. This silky pot de crème was winter-spiced and topped with a layer of crunchy cinnamon toffee perfumed with cardamom and perhaps ginger. It was everything pot de crème should be – it had a nice weight and smoothness. It’s insane how simple and unassuming this dessert seemed when it was served. And, yet, to take a bite of it was to have a whole new understanding of desserts. Low expectations = BIG rewards.
Dessert #19 “Rhubarb”
Jean Georges, New York, New York
19. “Rhubarb”
Executive Pastry Chef Johnny Iuzzini
Jean Georges
New York, New York
“Rhubarb” was the most creative and innovative, and, like all of Iuzzini’s desserts, playful. This one would probably appeal most to the “technoemotional” and “molecular gastronomized” diners out there, although that is certainly not what I liked about it. I preferred the two more traditional desserts on this presentation: the Rhubarb Sorbet, gorgeously swirled with neon green lemon verbena ice cream, and the Warm Rhubarb Clafoutis Tart. The combination of flavors in the former was spectacular; the herbaceous, lemon verbena ice cream brightened and complimented the rhubarb very well. (I’m reminded of a different combination of fruit ices in the same colour scheme.) The clafoutis tart, we were told, was mama Vongerichten’s recipe. Served warm, the clafoutis was comforting, less like a creamy nut-bound clafoutis and more like a rhubarb crumble in a crisp tart shell. The strawberry crème fraîche was a beautiful shade of rouge, and tasted like it too.
Dessert #20 Honey Cake
Zahav, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
20. Honey Cake
Executive Chef and Owner Michael Solomonov
Zahav
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
If only all (Jewish) new years could be so sweet. This little round of sticky sweetness was nicely spiced and very moist. Solomonov cleverly deconstructs the recipe somewhat by serving the cake with coffee ice cream and a rich raisin (crème) anglaise sauce.
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