The Best of The Year

Was 2019 a good year food wise? It was the year Beyond Beef hit our tables and palates We found ourselves trying different foods and rediscovering the classics. There were some good restaurants and wand much loved recipes that made 2019 special. Maybe it was a very good year.

That was the idea of today's New York Times Food section. Many of the contributors and even readers weighed in about this last year of the teens. Pete Wells, the paper's restaurant critic. If you're in New York for the holiday season, please try some of his recommendations. Odo is one of his three star favorites. This is a kind of fusion restaurant that features soba waffles and Wagyu beef burgers (there's also veggie and chicken ones too).There's also a sushi bar at this trendy Flatiron District eatery. Another three star fave is Rezdora , creation of famed chef, Stefano Secci, who spent time working for another famed chef, cerebral experimentalist  Massimo Bottura. Mr Wells raves about the interesting uovo ravioli which spurts egg yolk when you cut into them and the handmade maccheroni al pettine, that's raked with a comb , made that way to have the sauce adhere to the pasta. It too is in the Flatiron  District. Another fusion restaurant, Llama San is the third three star eatery which nods constantly to Peru and Japan. nThe star dish is the nigiri, a hand rolled ball of rice with a duck breast draped over it. Another three star is Benno, created by Jonathan Benno, which features such lush dishes as risotto with truffles along with caviar and lobster dishes.

Home chefs also had their favorite recipes. The top number one dish was the vinegar chicken with crushed olive dressing. Alison Roman came up with this turmeric laced chicken baked on a sheet pan. Crushed Castelvetrano olives make up the sauce. Samin Nosrat gives us the second most popular ,a thrice (!!) washed salad that has five different kinds of lettuce and a honey, garlic, and Dijon dressing. It was inspired by  Via Carota, Insalata Verde. Pork lovers nominated the pork chops in lemon caper sauce which is also spiced with thyme and parsley. A Hawaiian dish, Huli Huli made it to number four. It originated in 1954 when a Honolulu businessman, Ernesto Morgado served a group of farmers chicken that had been marinated in teriyaki sauce. The sauce has been updated to include ketchup, soy sauce, and light or dark brown sugar. Garlic and ginger give it spice and bite as it's grilled for half an hour on a hot barbecue. It's worth dragging out the grill for this tasty dish.If you prefer a more indoor dish, then try number five, creamy chickpea pasta with spinach and rosemary. Alexa Webel created this blend of chickpeas, heavy cream, garlic, shallots and spinach. The chickpeas are browned first , and then half are removed   to break down and thicken the sauce. It can top either spaghetti or bucatini.

Was 2019 a good year in food. Yes. There are some good eateries and recipes out there that will definitely please the palate. Visit these three star restaurants  Cook these top five dishes. Enjoy what made this year a good food year.