Paper's food editor Julie Besonen on her 10 favorite meals of the year.
1. Alder's luscious New England clam chowder with oyster crackers, and I mean crackers made of oysters. Genius.
2. Bone-in burger at M. Wells Steakhouse, a cuckoo presentation and insanely delicious.
![20111108-dominique-ansel-sandwich-roasted-pork-club.jpg]()
3. Go ahead and camp outside Dominique Ansel for a cronut; I'd rather breeze in at lunch for the six-hour roasted pork shoulder club with pickled eggs and spicy mayo on sourdough.
4. Ignacio Mattos' kohlrabi salad with hazelnuts, mint and rich fossa cheese at Estela was a revelatory combination.
6. At the new Franny's I tried to stop eating the wood-fired pizza with prosciutto cotto, peppers, garlic, chilies and caciocavallo. I couldn't.
![mightyquinnsbakedbeans.JPG]()
Photo via 1. Alder's luscious New England clam chowder with oyster crackers, and I mean crackers made of oysters. Genius.
Photo via 2. Bone-in burger at M. Wells Steakhouse, a cuckoo presentation and insanely delicious.
3. Go ahead and camp outside Dominique Ansel for a cronut; I'd rather breeze in at lunch for the six-hour roasted pork shoulder club with pickled eggs and spicy mayo on sourdough.
Photo via 4. Ignacio Mattos' kohlrabi salad with hazelnuts, mint and rich fossa cheese at Estela was a revelatory combination.
5. At Marco's, which replaced Franny's, the succulent, wood-grilled lamb chops were pure bliss.
6. At the new Franny's I tried to stop eating the wood-fired pizza with prosciutto cotto, peppers, garlic, chilies and caciocavallo. I couldn't.
Photo via VillageVoice.
7. I was sad when Vandaag closed but when I tasted the burnt-end baked beans at Mighty Quinn's Barbeque, its replacement, the sadness went away.
8. The fiery, ungloppy cold sesame noodles at the East Village's Han Dynasty are the best version in town, anything but ho-hum.
![tumblr_mwtldrcAb61qg37rao1_500.jpg]()
8. The fiery, ungloppy cold sesame noodles at the East Village's Han Dynasty are the best version in town, anything but ho-hum.
Photo via Poplipps.
9. Wondrous pork meatballs with soppressata, shiitakes and bonito flakes at Pearl & Ash made me rethink the genre.
10. Three breads vie for being so great I could forget about the rest of the meal: monkey bread with whipped lardo and seaweed butter at Piora, bacon brioche at The Musket Room and the pain de campagne at Lafayette.
10. Three breads vie for being so great I could forget about the rest of the meal: monkey bread with whipped lardo and seaweed butter at Piora, bacon brioche at The Musket Room and the pain de campagne at Lafayette.
SEE ALL OF PAPER'S YEAR-END COVERAGE HERE