Favorite Meals of 2010

It’s almost a new year, kids. Get excited! It’s also almost the one-year anniversary of this blog, which I’m pretty excited about. I honestly didn’t think I would have the attention span to keep this up but I guess I love eating and blogging more than I thought! With that being said, I’ve decided to do a Favorite Meals of 2010 list. I ate at a lot of restaurants this year and am excited to share with you my 10 favorite meals, beginning with #10.

10. PS 450- This may seem a little random, seeing as how I only went to this place for brunch and brunches are a dime a dozen in New York, but there’s something about this entire meal, from the biscuits and muffins to the breakfast quesadilla to the mimosa that I truly enjoyed.

9. Green Street Cafe- I have great respect for restaurants that can do simple dishes really well. This was best exemplified in my dining experience at Green Street Cafe. Salmon with vegetables, lasagna and pasta with shrimp are not complicated dishes. However, I’m not usually completely blown away by these items when I have them at a restaurant. At least not until I went to Green Street Cafe. The flavors were so simple yet extremely good. I walked away pleasantly surprised and pleasantly full.

8. Acme Oyster House- Sometimes it’s okay to give into cravings and when I was in New Orleans, I knew that I wanted something fried and crunchy and all-around horrible for me. Enter the Fried Peace Maker Po-Boy, complete with half fried oysters, half fried shrimp and Tobasco-infused mayonnaise. I went there based on a recommendation from a friend and boy am I glad I went. Fried, salty, spicy amazingness. That’s all.

7. Trattoria Cinque- I am making this dining experience #7 for two reasons: 1. the gorgonzola, pear and truffle oil pizza. I loooove me some truffle oil and I found this pizza to be really fantastic. I don’t normally care for gorgonzola but this combo blew me away. 2. the ambience at this place is so lovely, I seriously want to live here or at least stay for long periods of time.

6. Taverna Kyclades- I sincerely miss my old neighborhood in Queens, mostly because I thought the food scene was great and it only continues to grow. One amazing place I discovered after a few months of living there was Taverna Kyclades aka Greek seafood heaven. Everything is fresh and tasty and generally amazing. The end.

5. Max Brenner- Okay Max Brenner is not necessarily a meal in the traditional sense but it’s kind of like a dessert meal, right? I’m sticking with that. So…I love chocolate. We know this. So when a restaurant is dedicated to chocolate the way Max Brenner is, I can only be grateful, happy and eager to enjoy what Max has to offer.

4. ‘Wichcraft- There aren’t many times when you get to go to a restaurant and enjoy almost everything on the menu. Such was the case at ‘wichcraft, where I indulged in things I don’t normally enjoy, like avocado, brussels sprouts and gorgonzola cheese. Oh and how about the trifle at the end with ice cream, devil’s food cake, and red wine-soaked cherries? Oh, yes.

3. Borough Market- These next three meals are essentially a tie but I committed to doing a countdown, so here it is. Coming in at a very close third place is my London love, Borough Market. I have been to this place multiple times and every time, my foodie heart is happy. What I absolutely love to eat at this market, and what to me is my favorite meal in London thus far, is the toasted cheese sandwich from Kappacasein and the £2 chocolate mousse that rivals many French restaurants around the world (not that I’ve been to all of these French restaurants around the world…just sayin’).

2. Casellula Cheese & Wine Cafe- As I just mentioned, it was hard for me to split these final three up but I did it. I go back and forth between proclaiming Casellula as my favorite restaurant and my #1 choice as my favorite restaurant. I will clarify why the other one edged out Casellula by a centimeter but I will say that I adore this wine and cheese cafe. I love the intimate vibe, amazing cheese pairings and inventive twists on familiar food.

1. Vesta- Yes, I am making Vesta my favorite meal of 2010 but I should clarify that I actually enjoyed another visit to Vesta more than the one I reviewed in this blog. The other one never made it up here but I can still talk about my overall love of Vesta. Similar to Casellula, this Astoria favorite has an intimate feel that makes everyone feel welcome. They also have some of the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life, not to mention I once had macaroni and cheese here about two years ago and have not stopped thinking about it since. Oh, and then there’s the Baby Jesus Cake, which probably deserves its own blog post. It’s this amazing dessert that pushed Vesta to my #1.

So that’s it. I can’t believe 2010 is over and we’re on to a new year and a new decade. I’m looking forward to new foodie adventures in 2011 and to sharing my experiences with you along the way. Happy New Year!

Peace, Love and Food,

The Hungry Girl

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