#7: The best 15 bites & sips I had in 2023
I didn’t start this post with the goal of distilling down hundreds of eats and sips into a definitive best-of list, but looking back at my 2023 food log with its 370+ eatery visits, certain standout bites and sips organically rose to the top. Read on for the 15 dishes and drinks that made 2023 incredibly delicious in my little corner of New York (and Oaxaca City, Houston, and Austin). I should note that dining at restaurants is part of what I do for a living, but everything on this list was paid for with my own guap. I have strong memories tied to each meal and want to say that if I’ve had the privilege of sharing any of this year’s meals/drinks with you, I thank you for being part of this delectable journey.
Superiority Burger
Superiority Burger was always my little vegetarian paradise, jam-packed into a tiny takeout storefront on the LES. Brooks Headley would grab whatever prime produce he spotted at the farmer’s market and work magic in his shoebox kitchen. We’re talking about the guy who whipped up a vegan burger so good it was dubbed New York’s best— meat or no meat. After being closed for over a year, Superiority Burger is back in a space 10x larger, located in the former Odessa diner. Now his culinary prowess can reach its full potential. I dug into an apricot tart with labne ice cream, sweet potato with labne, a collard green sandwich, and the Sloppy Dave, just to name a few. I’ll be returning for their new brunch before year’s end (so, tomorrow).
Angel’s Share
Call me obsessed, but no question Angel's Share is my forever favorite cocktail bar, and this is compared to any cocktail bar I’ve ever visited. The original location was tucked behind a Japanese restaurant in the East Village and from my first visit has never left me wanting. Even when they had to move outdoors at the peak of lockdown and lost that hidden speakeasy thrill, the drinks were so good none of that mattered. I just about shed real tears when they shuttered last year— but they’ve reopened at a new space in the West Village, which I visited this summer. One sip of the Take You There told me they were back—the butter fat washed whiskey, spiced agave and curry-laced pineapple is my favorite drink. The only drink that came close was the Fool Me Once, with coriander infused reposado, mint, coconut milk, jaggery, lime, and served with a cute little panipuri. Every time I’ve tried to visit since there’s been a line down the block.
Claud
After 16 years as a pescatarian, I welcomed chicken back into my diet last year. My body clearly craved a return to the familiar meat, because soon I was regularly craving liver (I think all those years only eating fish/beans/eggs I became kind of iron deficient?) I was euphoric upon discovering Claud’s chicken liver agnolotti, a dish that may top the list of my greatest bites this year. The silken liver melted into unctuous oblivion inside savory pasta pillows, ending my 16-year land animal hiatus with a bang.
Tatiana by Kwame Onwauchi
Fine dining in NYC has rarely made room for African or Caribbean flavors, but that changed with the opening of Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi late last year in the posh Lincoln Center area. The entire experience felt both novel and comforting and I especially loved the egusi dumplings and coquito cocktail. Onwuachi himself was there the night I visited, fully immersed in a flirtatious conversation with the women at the table next to mine. I’d love to see more chefs giving African and Caribbean flavors the upscale dining treatment.
Ddobar
This little tasting menu counter inside Olly Olly Market specializes in yubu tarts, which is raw fish on top of deep fried and sweetened tofu pockets. I’m still amazed this 11 course meal, which featured flavor bomb after flavor bomb was only $75, which is much less expensive than comparable omakase meals/tasting menu across the city. It’s hard to pick my favorite bite, but I loved their take on a cacio e pepe, served in a little glass and made without pasta, the course with roasted scallop with pickled blueberry, or one of their many yubu tarts, whether topped with everything seasoning flavored salmon, caviar topped amberjack, or botan ebi.
Bangkok Supper Club
After a lifetime of expecting icy granitas solely for sweets, I was so impressed by BSC’s Hokkaido Scallop Ceviche. On top of sashimi-grade Hokkaido scallops lay a ruby-hued ice made from watermelon juice and capped with a spicy chili kick. Also in the dish were tangy tidbits of pickled watermelon rind, garden-ripe melon cubes, and minty garlicky notes to finish. The acid, salt, and heat magnified the different textures on the plate, and while there was no dessert the night I visited, I felt like that void was filled with the creativity of this icy dish.
Levadura de Olla
Everything I ate in Oaxaca City had roots in ancestral cooking techniques, which all live on in modern interpretations at restaurants like Levadura de Olla. The star of the meal was undoubtedly this resplendent heirloom tomato salad, which highlighted at least 7 varieties of tomatoes native to the Oaxacan terrain on top of a beet puree and drizzled with mint vinaigrette. Presiding over this feast is chef Thalía Barrios García, who’s culinary mastery belies her mere 27 years.
Crudo
After several days of enjoying Oaxaca's culinary heritage of memelas, tlayudas and other iconic fare, we searched for something a bit different. Our search led us to Crudo, an intimate six-seat omakase counter melding Japanese flavors with Oaxacan ingredients. The bite that exemplified this marriage best is the bluefin tuna, served up with a dollop of grasshopper paste. It had an earthy flavor and mole-like richness, which complemented the tuna's soft texture. Other courses continued this melding of flavors in fun variations, like with the chepiche (a native plant) with ikura, and unagi's sweet and smokey notes elevated by mezcal's own smokiness. I’ve had Mexican-Japanese fusion food before but none as good as at Crudo, which clearly sets the standard.
Dirt Candy
Dirt Candy is only one of two vegetarian restaurants in NYC with a Michelin star, if that means anything to you. More meaningful to me is this woman-owned restaurant offers their employees paid time off, paid sick leave beyond what’s mandated by law, health insurance, continuing education, and their wages start at $25/hr. All that aside, their kitchen is focused on making vegetables taste extraordinary, and they’re damn good at it. I went during sugar snap pea season, and was impressed that even the ice cream and cocktails were made with this legume. I love that sugar snap pea ice cream was actually so good.
Cafe Chelsea
French bistros don’t usually wind up on my hit list, but when I saw a photo of Café Chelsea’s ravioles du Dauphiné, I couldn't resist a visit to this stunning restaurant. Like the gorgeous dining room, these little pasta pillows were a sight for sore eyes—24 perfect squares blanketed across the plate, each filled with comté cheese and covered in a buttery vin jaune sauce that seeped into every nook. Everything else I tried from the menu held its own too, but there was something special about the simplicity of the pasta. Each velvety bite reminded me of my own homemade pasta efforts, which I have to step up in the new year.
Jazba
Despite the lukewarm reception from critics of this ode to India’s roadside eateries, I adored my meal here. Sampling a half-dozen dishes, one is undoubtedly my favorite - Aslam's famed Butter Chicken, which is nothing like tikka masala. The aroma of the spiced butter and cream came out really strong on the grilled chicken on the bone, and I delighted in ripping off pieces of fresh roti to scoop up the saucy bits on the plate.
Stretch Pizza
I’m sad I never got to visit wd~50, Wylie Dufresne’s now shuttered restaurant that was the training ground for many of the world’s most celebrated chefs. At least now we have the new Stretch Pizza, which he opened this year with Gadi Peleg of Breads Bakery fame. The pizza toppings get the fine dining and laboratory treatment Dufresne is known for, like in the Nellie, where he serves up shallots 3 different ways— roasted, pickled, and fried. The Oddfather, with zucchini, smoked eggplant, tempura crumbs, and garlic cream was another star composition. While the pizza had major wow factor, Stretch saved their piece de resistance for the vanilla soft serve, with your choice of Toblerone dip with cocoa crumble or peanut butter dip and babka crumbs. My dining companion and I were groaning in so much pleasure that the table next to us flagged down their server to order one as well.
929 LIC
I rarely say no to a craft cocktail, but after one too many tamarind jalapeño margaritas and new twists on the old fashioned even the fanciest drinks start blending together (lol sorry, obnoxious). I found something more inventive at 929 LIC, a bar celebrating Cantonese and Mandarin pop music from the 1980s. I’ve tried several of their Chinese ingredient inspired drinks and each one genuinely impressed me. Everyone sings the praises of Not the Melon You Know, and the hype is real. They're working green tea-infused vodka, winter melon syrup, osmanthus and freshly squeezed lime together. The menu is stacked top to bottom with knockouts—you really can't make a bad pick. Unless you pass up the melon drink, that is.
Sofreh
After chef Nasim Alikhani was up as a finalist for James Beard’s best chef award, I hustled to score a reservation before it would become impossible to do so. A day later, I was dining in her amazing Persian restaurant famous for Tahdig, pan fried crispy rice made at the bottom of a pot. I was worried it might crack my teeth, but theirs is so perfectly crispy, and shattered into a thousand flavorful shards fried up in saffron butter. Every single dish sang, from the date salad with lemony tahini dressing, to the roast chicken and cilantro rice, to the grilled asparagus and flatbread. It’s no wonder this Iran-born chef was invited to cook at the White House this year and one of 10 chefs at the Met Gala in 2021.
Hakka Cuisine
By some winding bloodline my cousin's cousin’s wife opened this beautiful restaurant in Chinatown last year, and I had the pleasure of enjoying a meal there a few months ago, mere weeks before Pete Wells wrote an emphatic review for them in the New York Times. The owner kept insisting I order the Hakka Blossom Chicken, which uses such advanced cooking techniques you used to have to order it a day in advance for its lavish preparation. It’s made by cleaving off the chicken skin, stuffed with shrimp and taro, and then fried to a crisp. I’m so glad she insisted, because it was incredible. No doubt her chef’s prodigious skills alone renders my blood ties irrelevant and seals Hakka Cuisine into the ranks of a certain caliber of restaurant.
Honorary Mentions (okay I tricked you, this list is way longer than 15)
Okiboru
Soupless, dipping noodle ramen spot with only 2 items on their menu.
Maxi’s Noodle
The wontons here are made with only shrimp, and the broth is so flavorful I regularly fantasize about it.
Breakfast by Salt’s Cure
Had a perfect little breakfast here mostly because of their crispy edged oatmeal griddle cakes.
Koffeteria
This bakery in Houston had a crawfish and sticky rice grits danish and salted yolk mochi I was very excited about.
Lula Mae
Spicy and savory Cambodian food in a trendy space in Clinton Hill.
Oakberry
I was never a huge fan of açaí bowls until I had the ones from Oakberry. Their toppings and the way they layer them make it a snack I seek out monthly.
Veracruz All Natural
One thing Texas gets right are their breakfast tacos, and the Migas Poblano taco was filled with crispy tortilla chips that really brought the eggs, poblano peppers, red onion, queso fresco, and avocado together.
Hav & Mar
Balled out with a seafood tower at Marcus Samuelsson's (of Red Rooster fame) Chelsea seafood restaurant and had zero regrets.
Ariari
As an uni fan, I fully expected to like the Dolsot Al-Bap, basically an egg souffle in a stone pot mixed with fish roe and uni, but the way they mixed it up really diluted any discernible flavor of uni, sadly. What I did love was the Scallop DIY Gimbap, with so much fresh slivers of scallop and a hand roll station set up I had a lot of fun with.
Jua
Fantastic Korean food with French culinary technique. The caviar and seaweed course was my fave.
Syko
The owners are Syrian and Korean, hence the name, and have both Syrian and Korean food on the menu (no fusion food, just 2 different cuisines on one menu). I loved the fried chicken kimbap.
Sugar Monk
Advanced cocktail magic in the heart of Harlem
And that’s all for 2023, friends! This was the year I really started opening up about my views on relationships & non-monogamy, beauty standards, and 2nd gen immigrant issues, and since those topics struck a chord with many of you I’ll get back to writing about them in January.
Big shout out to everyone following along on these adventures of mine—especially my paid subscribers. Every post takes way more time than I anticipated to put together, so knowing the effort lands matters so much.
However you’re spending the New Year, I hope it’s just how you wish to spend them. Thanks so much for reading ❤️