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Every year Eater reaches out to friends who cover the food scene and ask what their best —and worst — meals of the past year have been. Today food critics, bloggers, and seriously culinary fans are weighing in on which restaurants they found themselves returning to time and again. Today we ask, what was the most spectacular restaurant meal of the year?
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Stephanie A. Meyer, culinary coach, blogger
In terms of transporting me to another place and time, delighting me with dishes I haven’t had before (lobster quenelle, you are dish of the year), and spectacular service I’m going to say The Grand Cafe.
Mecca Bos, GoMn.com
Quite possibly the woefully underrated Bardo, where Remy Pettus is putting out some of the most precise food in either city. His handmade angolotti are wee, exquisite pillows; and the gnocchi with Shitake, smoked tomato, and preserved egg yolk is seared into my taste memory forever
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Jess Fleming, Pioneer Press
Corner Table's new menu tasting with new chef Karyn Tomlinson. Honestly, I can't stop thinking about that meal. It was also my husband's first Corner Table experience, so that made it extra special
Amelia Rayno, Star Tribune
At Grand Cafe: poached shellfish, foie gras royale, pike quenelle in crayfish sauce… I’m drooling; or at On’s: mango salad, nam khao, whole tilapia with broth; or at Saint Dinette: the octopus and the tartare; or anytime I shove a slice of the New Yorker at Hello Pizza in my mouth.
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Joy Summers, Eater Twin Cities
Grant Achatz’s Synergy Series meal with Gavin Kaysen at Spoon and Stable. It was just delightful. The food was spectacular, but everyone there was just having so much fun. We were clapping and oo-ing at other tables as the food was presented. There were a bunch of other industry folks there also enjoying the meal and it was fun to see them all dressed up and out in the wild enjoying a meal with spouses and friends. It was a once in a lifetime experience. (Here’s a look back at the pictures.) It was so expensive, but so worth it.
