Here are the twelve most impressive meals I ate in 2007, regardless of cuisine or price level, excluding Los Angeles. Most people opt for a Top 10 list, but since it’s an arbitrary number anyway, why limit myself? The entries appear by date of consumption.
1. Redd – Yountville, CA – February 17, 2007
Despite Thomas Keller’s stranglehold on Yountville, with three restaurants and a bakery, Richard Reddington has carved out a distinctive niche by pairing vivid flavors with sleek design. Our explosively flavored starter featured rectangles of soy caramel glazed pork belly, apple puree and matchsticks of rutabaga. Caramelized diver scallops were perfectly cooked and paired with floret-studded cauliflower puree, shaved almonds, balsamic reduction, capers and golden raisins. Crisp-skinned Tai snapper was set upon fennel puree, chickpeas and black olive sauce. The late great R.W. Apple, Jr. praised pastry chef Nicole Plue during her prior stint at nearby Julia’s Kitchen. With good reason. Her cheesecake panna cotta was topped with diced rhubarb and paired with fluffy rhubarb crepes “suzette.” Even better was the Citrus Tasting: feathery Meyer lemon cake with a sweet Meyer lemon glaze, a tangerine float with tapioca pearls, and a single S’more with grapefruit-crusted marshmallow. After dining at five high-profile Napa Valley restaurants, including Keller’s Ad Hoc, my thoughts kept returning to one restaurant: Redd.
2. Pizzeria Bianco – Phoenix, AZ – April 7, 2007
In 1996, I ate at Pizzeria Bianco for two straight meals. Eleven years later, Chris Bianco’s wood oven-fired pizzas haunted me (in a good way). Eleven years is an eternity for a restaurant. Would Bianco’s current pies match the pizzas of my memory? No. They were better! We ordered one pizza with sauce and one without. The sauce-laden Sonny Boy held a thin layer of robust tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, Gaeta olives and salami shipped from New York, made crispy in the oven. The crust was excellent, with a good chew, and not a dry centimeter to be found. Our sauce-free selection was the Wiseguy, topped with candy-sweet wood-roasted onions, phenomenal house-smoked mozzarella, and spicy cuts of fennel sausage from Schreiner’s Fine Sausage in Phoenix. We expected to encounter serious pizza, but were blindsided by the Spiedini. Skewers of incredible Italian fontina were wrapped in crispy prosciutto di Parma. No chance I wait another decade for a return trip.
3. Crosstown BBQ – Elgin, TX – May 12, 2007
Located across town from Elgin’s other barbecue big guns, this relatively anonymous metal building has plenty of character. To demonstrate how rugged Crosstown BBQ is, one five-foot patch of wall featured a mounted wild boar head, incisors bared, plus framed photos of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. There were also multiple wall-mounted deer heads. In one instance, deer hooves were even used to prop up the rifle that killed the animal. When we stepped up to the counter to order Crosstown’s oak-smoked meats, pitman Traco Fowler lifted a metal lid, revealing a bin of sausage links, each a yard long. We got half a yard of sausage, which was gritty and greasy, with a taut, pepper-flecked skin. The sausage links are all stuffed in-house. Ribs were rubbed with a spice mixture and smoked for about two hours, until bronzed and caramelized, with a tremendous chew. We also got several slices of tender brisket, plus a couple slices of the ultra-smoky, chewy, smoked-until-black burnt ends. House-made sauce was served hot, orange, spicy and vinegary. Crosstown BBQ might not be as old or storied as fellow Elgin smokehouses Southside Market and Meyer’s, but it still proved to be our favorite of the three.
4. The Salt Lick BBQ – Driftwood, TX – May 13, 2007
The Salt Lick BBQ has become a Lurie family tradition. My father first ate at the now-legendary Hill Country barbecue establishment while attending grad school at UT in the late ‘60s. My father, brother and I now convene in Austin each spring to eat obscene amounts of barbecue, and the trip always ends at The Salt Lick. No need for a menu. Unless you’re a half-wit, the only viable option is to order family style ($15.95 per person) - unlimited portions of sliced sausage links, pork ribs and beef brisket. All the meats came slathered in burnt-orange sauce. The ribs were especially succulent, with bronzed skins and tender meat that was infused with sauce and smoke. The brisket was juicy, with a nice quarter-inch smoke ring and caramelized crust. The links could have featured crisper casings, but they were still juicy and had good flavor. The most eagerly anticipated part of the plate is always the burnt ends - prized caramelized brisket crusts that form when the slathered sauce is buffeted with oak smoke. Our meal also included stellar bowls of German potato salad and cole slaw. After 40 years in business, The Salt Lick surprised us with a new accompaniment: habanero barbecue sauce, adding another note of complexity to the original sweet and spicy formula. For dessert, the slice of fresh-baked pecan pie was excellent, topped with candied pecans, with a syrupy filling, and a satisfying crust.
5. Stroud’s Oak Ridge Manor – Kansas City, MO - May 18, 2007
The original Stroud’s on 85th Street in southern Kansas City served their final chicken dinner on December 31, 2005, a victim of a Kansas City roadwork project. Thankfully, the country manor on the north side of the city remains, and they still use Helen Stroud’s original recipes. The menu was surprisingly large, but I didn’t fly to Missouri to eat broiled halibut. Stroud’s is “the home of P-A-N fried chicken,” and there was never any doubt what I’d order. Stroud’s family style chicken dinner ($12.50) included homemade chicken noodle soup, a choice of potatoes, green beans, pepper gravy and homemade cinnamon rolls. The portions could have fed three people, but I put up a good fight. Homemade chicken noodle soup contained thick strips of noodle, cubed carrots, celery and white meat chicken. I was entitled to three pieces of made-to-order, pan-fried chicken: a breast, a thigh and a drumstick. The golden bird could not have been improved. The skin was crisp, locking in the poultry’s sweet juices. Fluffy mashed potatoes were accompanied by incredible pepper gravy. When my friend John is on his deathbed, he wants the doctors to supply him with an IV drip of Stroud’s gravy. It took one spoonful to see why. The magicians in Stroud’s kitchen were even able to coax greatness from green beans. The warm cinnamon rolls were especially phenomenal. And since they weren’t drowned in sickly-sweet icing, they weren’t heavy. My waitress was even kind enough to give me a bag of four hot rolls to go.
6. Burma Superstar – San Francisco, CA – July 14, 2007
From the few examples I’ve managed to find in Los Angeles, Burma’s blend of Indian, Chinese and Thai cuisines has been more enticing in concept than execution. Thankfully, Burma Superstar is only 400 miles away, serving as a Stateside beacon of what the rarely seen Southeast Asian food can be. The restaurant is crowded at almost any time of the day, with good reason. Salads are a Burma Superstar specialty, and we split two different styles, both prepared by our waitress at the table. The Rainbow Salad is made using 22 well-balanced ingredients, including four types of noodles, green papaya, tofu, onions, dried shrimp, peanuts, diced tomatoes and a piquant tamarind dressing. Tea Leaf Salad centered on a finely chopped mound of imported Burmese tea leaves, which impart a subtle tea flavor. This greens-based salad also included diced tomatoes, dried shrimp, powerful fried garlic, sesame seeds, peanuts, and split yellow peas. Burmese Style Curry is a Burma Superstar specialty. We were given a choice of shrimp or catfish and chose the former. We spooned the rich, spicy Burmese Style Curry over a side of Coconut Rice, hosting toasted coconut shreds. Pumpkin Pork Stew featured fork-tender chunks of pig meat and pumpkin slabs. The waitress recommended a side of Big Leaf Pea Shoots, a broccoli rabe-like stir-fry of Chinese greens, wine and garlic that was surprisingly addictive. The big finish was the Classic Burmese Chicken Casserole with Cardamom Cinnamon Rice, an entire braised thigh and leg, baked in a clay pot with spice-topped raisin and nut biryani. The meat was fall-off-the-bone and the pea-capped rice had a nice blend of savory and sweet notes.
7. Jai Yun – San Francisco, CA – August 4, 2007
Nanjing native Nei Chia Ji specializes in Chinese banquet dining. He prefers to prepare whatever he finds on his daily strolls through Chinatown. Diners who reserve one of his six tables understand that their stomachs are in his hands. Our waitress offered us meals with price points ranging from $45 to $150 per person. We opted for the $65 option. Minutes after we ordered, the cold courses started arriving in four-plate waves. Our waitress announced each dish succinctly. “Cucumber, “Smoked Fish,” Jellyfish” and “Tofu.” She didn’t speak English, so we were left to extrapolate possible ingredients and preparations. ROUND ONE included razor-thin cucumber slices, luscious slabs of smoked fish, ethereal whisps of jellyfish, and pull-apart sheets of fried tofu. ROUND TWO contained finely diced tofu tossed with cilantro and oil, thin-sliced beef with al dente baked beans, a heap of enoki mushrooms, and snap-fresh marinated lotus root. ROUND THREE centered around tiny marinated red radishes with nice crunch and a mild sweetness, relish with finely chopped green peppers and onions, crisp cabbage strands tossed with chile oil and julienned red chilies, and luscious sliced duck served on the bone. After 12 cold dishes, we finished with a dozen more HOT DISHES, highlighted by miraculously-tender abalone slices scrambled with egg whites; soy beans with razor-thin strands of tofu, greens and the tiny red Chinese dates known as jujubes; osso bucco-like pork leg with an inch-thick layer of fat protecting tender nuggets of hog meat; translucent flat noodles stir-fried with scallions and rich, thin-sliced barbecue pork; and eggplant cooked with brown sauce, sesame seeds and chile oil until crispy and caramelized at the edges. After twenty-four dishes, we were all impressed with Nei Chia Ji’s less-is-more approach, and how he deftly alternated rich and light, mild and spicy. Nei Chia Ji was so skilled that he even managed to convert me to tofu. Well, for one night anyway.
8. Seablue – Las Vegas, NV – September 10, 2007
San Francisco based Chef Michael Mina is currently in the midst of building Mina Group into a national culinary power. Mina owns four top-flight restaurants in Las Vegas alone, all with unique concepts. Seablue opened in the MGM Grand in 2003, specializing in Mediterranean seafood. Mina protégée Stephen Hopcraft delivered an unusually compelling take on house-made bread. A metal cone was overflowing with perfect naan – soft inside, crispy outside - brushed with olive oil and dusted with fenugreek, zatar and salt. The Indian flatbread came with three Middle Eastern dips: smoky roasted eggplant dip studded with roasted tomato, whipped feta spread, and spicy hummus blended with red bell pepper. The Raw & Marinated Tasting Trio included three dazzling tastes. “Tuna Kibbeh, Pocket Bread, Pinenut, Pomegranate” showcased flawless raw diced tuna crusted with crunchy pine nuts and bulgur. “Yellowtail ‘Jack’ Crudo, Shiitake Mushroom, Radish” featured silky yellowtail with Shiitake mushrooms. “Cured Salmon, Mini-Bagel, Summer Truffle” played on a New York classic: open-faced bagels holding rosy salmon, set on a vortex of chive-dill oil. Flaky Loup de Mer fillets were grilled over apricot wood until the skin was crispy. The plate featured garbanzo bean and lentil studded rice, green and yellow patty pan squash, broccoli rabe and five kinds of roasted mushrooms. For dessert, the Plum Tart was another Mediterranean triumph: sweet diced plum with a crisp kataifi disc, tangy yogurt sorbet, pluot segments and caramel port wine reduction. With my check, I received a little white cardboard treasure chest holding a curry-infused coconut macaroon, a single Madeleine and a cluster of black Mission fig, shaved almonds and pine nuts, bound with melted white chocolate.
9. L.C.’s Roti Shop – North Miami, FL – November 24, 2007
At L.C.’s Roti Shop in North Miami, Elsie Chin and her husband Chin are turning out truly exciting Trinidadian cuisine, specializing in the rotis and curries that her great grandparents brought with them from India to Trinidad when they became indentured servants. Chin cooks the feather-light, pull-apart roti on a griddle behind the counter. Elsie cooks everything else in back. It’s possible to get the roti folded around the ingredients like a burrito, or to have the ingredients served on a separate plate, where the roti itself becomes a utensil. The chopped conch meat was tender and addictive, as were the succulent on-the-bone nubs of goat and duck meat. To drink, Elsie offered cinnamon- and spice-soaked sorrel, made from dried hibiscus flowers, and mauby, a non-carbonated root drink with a sweet lead-in and bitter finish.
10. Hiro’s Yakko-san – North Miami Beach, FL – November 25, 2007
On the fringes of a residential North Miami Beach neighborhood, Hiroshi Shigetomi’s pub is producing Japanese comfort food on a level I’ve never found in Los Angeles. Though not a sushi restaurant, Hiro and his staff approach local seafood like hog fish, tile fish and squid with surgical precision. After selecting our hog fish (a variety of snapper) from a silver tray brought to our seats, I was blown away by the “nitsuke” preparation. By steaming the fish in a sweet brown sauce, the skin became caramelized and the flesh retained its moisture. I liked the fish so much that after the meat was gone, I started eating the fins, which were startlingly good. Our tilefish fillet was pan-fried with scallions and ginger and nearly as delicious. The simply prepared grilled whole squid with ginger-flecked soy sauce was the height of cephalopod cookery, and cubes of chicken liver stir-fried with chives and bean sprouts were equally spectacular.
11. Woodlands Resort & Inn – Summerville, SC – December 24, 2007
The charcuterie plate alone is enough to justify a visit to Woodlands’ Resort & Inn, with twelve house-made varieties (made from eight different animals) and an equal number of condiments, a dazzling display of color and texture. This was my family’s eighth consecutive pilgrimage to Summerville to celebrate Christmas Eve at one of the crown jewels in the Lowcountry dining scene. Once again, we were treated to warm cheddar biscuits and Sommelier Stephane Peltier’s “beautiful wines.” Beyond the jaw-dropping Grand Tasting of Homemade Charcuterie, I was impressed with the Sea Urchin “Royale” with Monkfish “Foie Gras,” a sea urchin shell cradling seared monkfish liver, cool sea urchin and roasted green onion foam. Juniper Scented Venison Loin featured seared medallions of burgundy-hued Bambi plated with Rorshach-like streaks of Salsify Puree and hacks of Sausage “Crumble.” For dessert, ethereal Seckel Pear Soufflé was poured with Brown Butter Anglaise, the plate decorated with a peeled Seckel pear and a mix of pastry “leaves” and actual leaves, all edible. Based on the creativity and flavor that Chef Tarver King was able to generate, he clearly deserves a post in one of the nation’s best kitchens.
12. Sienna – Daniel Island, SC – December 27, 2007
Don’t discount Sienna just because it’s situated in a planned community outside Charleston. Chef Ken Vedrinkski is still producing astoundingly good Italian food. Pastry Chef Caitlin Kelly baked a dazzling variety of breads: Parmesan flatbread, ciabatta and garlic sage biscuits, joined by a dish of bocconcini, diced tomatoes, olive oil, Kalamata and green olive slivers. Chef Vedrinski’s signature Crudo of Maine Bluefin Tuna in Four Preparations was innovative, accenting the prized fish’s natural advantages. Calamarata “Duck Bolognese” featured a zesty tomato sauce studded with crumbled duck and al dente pasta shaped like conveyer belts. For “Berkshire Pork in Two Preparations,” a rich braised pork cheek was strewn with roasted salsify slivers and crispy bits of pancetta and set on a bed of farro “risotto.” Two crispy slices of pork tenderloin Parmagiana were topped with mozzarella, toasted pine nuts and sweet pear compote. Both preparations utilized spinach. The Ultimate Dessert Tasting from Chef Kelly included a milk chocolate panna cotta cylinder with peppermint “bark”; Tiramisu Moderno, Stile di Sienna, a chocolate torte with mocha panna cotta, chocolate espresso semifreddo and white chocolate cream; Mascarpone panna cotta surrounded by a shallow pool of espresso cream; Sigaro della Mandorla, a fried almond “cigar” with Marsala zabaglione (sweet custard); and Panettone bread pudding plated with cider sauce and a fruit compote of apple, pear, raisin and cranberry. After a meal this devastating, I may be ruined for single preparations.
Related Food GPS Lists:
2008 Top 15 Dishes in Los Angeles
2007 Top 10 Dishes Outside Los Angeles
2007 Top 10 Dishes in Los Angeles
2007 Top 10 Restaurants in Los Angeles
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