F&W Editor Picks 2011: Top Food Products

F&W’s editors try hundreds of products each year while researching stories. Here, they name 20 cheeses, spreads and other top finds for food lovers.

Farmhouse Kitchens Butter
Mary Bess Michaletz discovered this hand-formed butter, made by third-generation Wisconsin farmers, in an unlabeled wrapper at a local shop. Loving its lush creaminess and sweet flavor, she partnered with the farmers to launch the butter as a brand. It’s currently not for sale online, but email her to find it. From $6 per lb; farmhousekitchens.coop.

Tomr’s Tonic
Made with organic ingredients, including bark from the cinchona tree (the original source of quinine), this pleasantly bitter, woodsy tonic syrup is great for mixing with its classic gin partner or even just with soda water. $13.50 for 200 ml; amazon.com.

Feudo delle Ginestre Amarena Mosto Cotto
Blended with Italian Amarena cherry juice, this stellar mosto cotto (a syrupy, reduced unfermented grape juice) is fantastic mixed in cocktails, drizzled on salty cheeses or served over desserts, like this brandy semifreddo. $20 for 7 ounces; ditalia.com.

Tcho Milk Chocolates
Chocolate snobs often think milk chocolate is inferior to the superdark, intellectually challenging stuff. San Francisco–based Tcho, however, took a brainy approach to two new bars they call SeriousMilk. "Cacao" is rich and fudgy, while "Classic" is a bit sweeter and creamier. Both redefine how good milk chocolate can be. $10.95 for two 2-ounce bars; tcho.com.

Anything from MarxFoods.com
Whether I’m looking for soft, fragrant Tahitian vanilla beans; gorgeous, obscure dried chiles; or fantastic meat and game birds, I find them at marxfoods.com. Prices might seem high, but what you see is what you pay—shipping is included. marxfoods.com.

Khazana Hot Lime Pickle
This fiery, super-limey paste is complex and compellingly tangy. It’s great on meats, fish and sandwiches, and with fried foods and warm dosas. $4 for 11 oz; ranisworldfoods.com.

Busha Browne’s Authentic Jerk Seasoning
This brand captures real jerk flavors and delivers an authentic, scorching Scotch-bonnet kick. It’s the real deal. $5 for 4 oz; caribbeanonlinegoods.com.

Stonewall Kitchen Salsa Verde
A salsa that’s got it all: mild tartness from tomatillos, serrano heat and a great background of cilantro and garlic. For when you need a change from traditional red salsas. $7 for 16 oz; stonewallkitchen.com.

Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
It’s my go-to Dijon mustard. I rated this #1 in a blind tasting and have never looked back. It has a good strong mustard taste, it’s creamy and perfectly seasoned and it makes the best vinaigrettes. $5 for 8 oz; amazon.com.

Belmont Aji Amarillo pepper paste
The amarillo pepper is prized in its native Peru. It has a pretty yellow color and a sweet heat that lingers. Great for spreading on grilled shrimp or fish, or for marinating chicken breasts. $4 for 7.5 oz; amigofoods.com.

Whole Truth Healthy Beauty Bath Bars
The new line of bath bars from Whole Truth Solutions is crafted from herbs, tea leaves, fruits, veggies and organic oils. My favorite is the Cinnamon Girl, scented with fiery and warming fall spices. I also love the thyme-inflected Pomodoro Sapone soap, which is like an aromatic tomato sauce in a bar. Yum. $6.50 per bar; wholetruthsolutions.com.

Courtesy of Savane Organic Skincare

Savane Gentle Exfoliant
The organic, fair-trade rooibos tea leaves in this new South African exfoliant buff and smooth the skin. It’s also got a fabulous and uplifting orange-peel scent, and it’s gentle enough on skin to use twice a week. $44; savaneskin.co.za.

Lush Toothy Tabs
I was nervous about trying the new solid toothpaste from Lush, which comes in flavors like Atomic and Ultrablast—ingredients like wasabi made it seem potentially painful—but the pellets are actually incredibly fresh tasting, not spicy. They’re fantastic for travel. $3.95; lushusa.com.

Kiss My Face Cranberry Orange Lip Balm
Sticky, flavored lip products are my personal pet peeve, but this new lip treatment from the popular natural-body-care line delivers a bright, citrusy scent without syrupy flavor or yucky texture. $3.49; kissmyface.com.

O.N.E. Olive Oil Nourishing Treatment
I’m obsessed with this new skincare product and have been using it as part of a luxurious post-bath ritual. Geranium and lavender oils combined with organic olive oil nourish skin, hair and face, and it smells clean and natural. $30; one-skincare.com.

Bellweather Farms Basket Ricotta; Sonoma, California
This ricotta cheese is made traditionally, using the farm’s leftover whey from its cow and sheep cheeses. The ricotta drains in Italian-style baskets, and it’s so thick that it tastes almost buttery. From $8 for 12 oz; bellweatherfarms.com.

Maplebrook Farm Burrata; Vermont
With its liquid center of fresh cream and stracciatella (shreds of mozzarella), burrata is like the molten chocolate cake of cheese. It’s best when it’s fresh, fresh, fresh—and this Vermont version, made by a Puglian cheesemaker, is as good as it gets. $13 each; murrayscheese.com.

Carr Valley Cheese Casa Bola Mellage; Wisconsin
This 100-year-old Wisconsin cheese company ages its new, nutty cheese—made with sheep, goat and cow milks—for two years, so it’s super-complex. More than one F&W taster called it "phenomenal." $15.70 per pound; carrvalleycheese.com.

Andante & Noble Ballad; Petaluma, California
The partnership between cult cheesemaker Soyoung Scanlan of Andante Dairy (whose fans include Thomas Keller and Daniel Humm) and Noble Handcrafted (makers of bourbon-barrel-aged syrups and vinegars) yielded a delicious, semi-firm aged goat cheese. Its rind is washed with Noble’s maple syrup, so the cheese is less tangy than many goat cheeses. $27 per lb; mikuni.com.

Kapiti Kikorangi; New Zealand
This New Zealand cow-milk cheese is not as pungent as most blues, most likely because it’s a triple cream, meaning that it has more than 72 percent butterfat. It’s richly creamy and slightly nutty, with just enough barnyardy blue-cheese funk. kapiticollection.co.nz.

Kaffir Lime Leaf
This uniquely aromatic leaf is a staple ingredient in Southeast Asia. Recipe to try: Curry Lobster Rolls.

Opah The Test Kitchen team and I fell in love with this fish in 2011. With a clean flavor and tender texture, it’s like no other species of tuna. A bonus: It’s also sustainable. Recipe to try: Grilled Opah with Olives

Quinoa Flakes
Quinoa—an increasingly popular specialty grain—can now be found in flake form. Recipe to try: Incan Super Power Bars.

Kamut Berries
This whole wheat berry is said to be an ancient relative to durum wheat. Recipe to try: Warm Shrimp Salad with Kamut, Red Chile and Tarragon.

Maitake/Hen-of-the-Woods Mushrooms
This interesting-looking mushroom has a meaty texture and mild flavor. Recipe to try: Grilled Hen-of-the-Woods Mushrooms with Sesame

View the original article here

F&W Editor Picks 2011: Best Wine and Beer

Food & Wine’s tasting room pros, Ray Isle and Megan Krigbaum, reveal the year's most exceptional wines and beers.

2007 Terrien Chardonnay ($33)
Winemaker Michael Terrien fashioned this new Chardonnay (this is the inaugural release) with fruit sourced from Hanzell Vineyards, one of California’s greatest Chardonnay producers. He makes the wine using no malolactic fermentation and very little new oak, then ages it several years before release, allowing its innate crisp intensity to develop layers of flavor and distinctive floral aromas.

2002 Mt Eden Cabernet Estate ($55 for current vintage)
I had this wine at Gilt Restaurant in New York with a group of friends, and when I tasted it I thought, Wow. Then, wow, again. And several more wows after that. Tobacco and tea leaf notes, silky texture, fresh black currant flavors with a bit of sweet dried fruit—a stellar example of how well top-notch California Cabernet can age, and a steal at the price. And the current release, 2007, will be just as good, if not better.

2002 Dom Ruinart Champagne ($140)
The 2002 vintage is a great one for Champagne, and there are some extraordinary wines out there. But for whatever reason, I find my taste-memory returning to this one. Dom Ruinart isn’t the most expensive nor the most famous tête de cuvée out there, but thereés something about the way that it plays its blanc de blancs citrus-green apple delicacy (ités 100 percent Chardonnay) against its substantial caramel-brioche richness that is just weirdly impossible to get out of your head.

1993 Nikolaihof Grüner Veltliner Vinotek ($165)
There are all sorts of reasons why I love this wine. Amazingly fresh, with an intense, kaleidoscopic aroma of honeysuckle, pea shoots, exotic spices, resin, and remarkably powerful, lasting flavors, it is, amazingly enough, also a current release. The wine spent 15 years in a 3,500-liter wooden cask before the Saahs family bottled it. I tasted it at the end of a five-day road trip through Europe’s wine regions, and it seemed to me to sum up the point of the whole endeavor. But since it’s very pricey and also hard to find, here’s an alternative: the pear-and-peppery 2009 Nikolaihof Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Im Weingebirge ($60). It may be nigh-on impossible to pronounce, but it too is a drop-dead gorgeous wine.

2007 Clos Erasmus ($175)
Yes, it’s wildly expensive. It’s also not that easy to find. But what a spectacular expression of what Spain’s Priorat region has to offer. Made almost entirely from the Grenache grape, Clos Erasmus comes from four small, biodynamically farmed vineyards near the tiny town of Gratallops. It’s a powerful yet graceful wine, complex and intensely aromatic, with spicy black cherry fruit supported by that spine of minerality that makes Priorat reds so distinctive.

2006 Raventós i Blanc de Nit Rosé Cava ($22)
Ever since I first met this wine at the bar at Joseph Leonard, I’ve been unable to get my hands on a sufficient number of bottles. I talk incessantly about how much I love it. The lively rosé cava tastes just like those teeny, tiny wild strawberries that only last for a day or two on a sunny lawn and are almost as easy to spot as four-leaf clovers. It’s fantastic on its own and wonderful with food. I could drink it every day.

2008 Occhipinti Frappato ($38)
I was lucky enough to find myself in Arianna Occhipinti’s Sicilian cellar last spring, and this ruby-red wine reminds me so much of that visit. It was a cold, rainy day, and we sat by Arianna’s stone fireplace all afternoon. She is an incredibly serious, diligent person, but there’s also a little glimmer of something mischievous about her, paired with a big, wonderful laugh. This wine has elements of all of that—it’s focused and intense, but with bright, dazzling red fruit. And, happily, it’s sold in magnums as well as the normal bottle size.

2009 Gaia Wild Ferment Assyrtiko ($18)
Assyrtiko, a Greek white wine, tends to have lots of citrusy notes and great acidity—making it terrific with seafood and vegetable dishes. This one, fermented with indigenous yeast in oak barrels, has all that as well as enough richness and depth to go with heartier foods—even some meat dishes.

2010 Chateau Grand Traverse Whole Cluster Riesling ($15)
I’ve been going to this winery in Grand Traverse, Michigan, with my parents since I was a toddler, but the quality of the wine has grown significantly in recent years. This affordable Riesling is the result of an experiment begun by winemaker Sean O’Keefe about five years ago. It’s faintly sweet with ripe fruit and great acidity.

NV Vouette et Sorbée Blanc d’Argile ($110)
This Blanc de Blancs (Chardonnay) from a teeny grower Champagne house is remarkably good—brilliant and minerally, with toasty vanilla notes. There’s not much of this wine available, so I get it whenever I have the chance.

Wandering Star Mild Heart, English Dark Mild Ale
About once a year, it seems, I come across a brew that tastes like a beer version of a chocolate milkshake. Last year’s was Geary’s Winter Ale from Maine. This year’s comes from Wandering Star brewery in Massachusetts, which was started by a superstar cast including the current and former presidents of New York City’s Homebrewers Guild and an editor at Ale Street News. The beer is rich and malty, but remains somehow light on the palate.

Courtesy of Anchor Brewing Company

Anchor Brewing Humming Ale
There are days that just call for a beer—just a straight-up refreshing, slightly bitter beer like this one. Released for the first time about a year ago, it’s fresh and citrusy and relatively low in alcohol, making it a true everyday brew.

Magnolia Kalifornia Kolsch
From a spectacular brewery in San Francisco, this light, bright, zesty kolsch is as refreshing to beer lovers as Gatorade is to marathoners.

Short’s Brewing Company Bellaire Brown
In August, I spent my annual week in northern Michigan and made my first visit to Short’s in Bellaire. After tasting through about a dozen different brews, this simple, classic brown emerged as my favorite. I just wish I could get it here in NYC.

Köstritzer Schwarzbier I’ve been really hooked on black lagers this year, and this German one—although not new at all—was new to me in January. It’s everything I love about these deceptive beers: It looks dark and hefty, but instead it’s just simple, malty and clean…and way too easy to drink.

2007 Terrien Chardonnay ($33). Photo courtesy of Terrien.

View the original article here

F&W Editor Picks 2011: Top Cookbooks and Best Recipes

After a year of testing and tasting, F&W’s editors reveal their favorite cookbooks, recipes and cooking techniques of 2011.

Shiitake and Swiss Chard Soup with Hand-Cut Noodles
What I love about this soup from David Chang is how staggeringly fast and easy it is to make the noodles, and how incredibly chewy and delicious they are. Dried noodles just won’t cut it. Plus, I had a great time working on this recipe in the kitchen with him.

Chocolate Wafers with Ginger, Fennel and Sea Salt
Dark chocolate can be super-good-for-you in moderation, but it’s the modest amounts part that gives us trouble. I created this clever chocolate bark using healthy Finn crisps, antioxidant-rich dark chocolate and candied fennel seeds to satisfy my chocolate cravings.

Thai Chicken and Watermelon Salad
Thai flavors are ubiquitous these days, but I never get tired of them. When the weather is hot, this salad of watermelon, grilled lemongrass chicken and Thai dressing is a refreshing yet substantial meal.

Dry-Aged Duck Breasts with Golden Beet Panzanella
I never knew duck breasts could taste so amazing until we tested this aged-duck-breast dish from Chicago’s Paul Kahan. He lets the breast sit uncovered in the fridge for up to a week. This intensifies the flavor, making the duck taste even more beefy than it already does.

Chocolate Mice
Working on this Halloween story was just so much fun. These funny little chocolate mice are icky-cute and super-chocolaty. I vary the shapes for different occasions.

Tender, by Niger Slater
If I had to pick one book to consult for cooking vegetables (the "it" food of the year), it would be Nigel Slater’s Tender. Slater’s personal diary of cultivating and cooking from the garden makes me wish I had a backyard. It’s full of gorgeous pictures and tons of excellent, doable recipes.

Courtesy of Random House Publishing

My Vietnam, by Luke Nguyen
I’ve never been to Vietnam, but Luke Nguyen’s book (equal parts travel and food) is completely transporting. And it’s so beautiful. This is one book that I would have a hard time deciding between keeping on the coffee table or the kitchen counter.

The Art of Living According to Joe Beef, by Frédéric Morin, David McMillan and Meredith Erickson
The owners of the Montreal restaurant Joe Beef are completely obsessed with Canadian food and French wine, and they are masters of unconventional French food. I love the way they think and cook, even if it’s over-the-top at times. Their pork schnitzel recipe is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.

Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food, by Sam Mogannam and Dabney Gough
When I shop, my head spins with choices: hormone-free, antibiotic-free, steroid-free, heritage breed, non-GMO, etc. So I love a book that teaches you how to shop smart. What’s best: Bi-Rite’s owner, Sam Mogannam (and his team) know how to make some truly great prepared foods, and their recipes are foolproof.

© John Kernick for The Meatball Shop Cookbook

The Meatball Shop Cookbook, by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow with Lauren Deen
Single-subject books make me happy, especially when the subject is one I adore, like meatballs. If you buy this book for just one reason, it should be the recipe for chicken meatballs, but there are plenty of other reasons, including more than 20 additional stellar meatball recipes, the 10 Commandments of a Great Sandwich and some seriously good salad recipes.

Smoking salmon on the stove
I always thought I’d need elaborate equipment to make lox at home, but chef Jason Alley of Comfort restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, set me straight with his awesome stovetop method. He hits a fillet of salmon with an intense blast of smoke just long enough to flavor it—but not long enough to cook it—and then cures it with salt and other aromatics, just like gravlax. It’s an amazing shortcut. Now I just need someone to show me how to make New York–caliber bagels on the fly. Try: Smoked and Cured Salmon with Orange Zest

Operating a pressure cooker
When I had the chance to pick Nathan Myhrvold’s brain earlier this year, I could have asked him anything. After all, he’s a former Microsoft CTO, a trained chef, an inventor, a cosmologist, a paleontologist, a patent guru and an overall mad genius. I had him explain the science of pressure cookers and the best way to use them. One useful tip: Regulate the heat to prevent steam from blasting out of the cooker’s vent. According to Myhrvold, vigorous steam is a sign of too much pressure, and the consequences include an unwanted drop in cooking temperature and possible damage to the device. It’s good to know, but in retrospect, maybe I should have asked him for his secrets to becoming a billionaire.

Making tofu
What the heck is tofu? It’s a question that had plagued me for years. I mean, I knew it was made from soybeans, but how exactly? I finally got an answer from Douglas Keane of Cyrus and Shimo Modern Steak in Healdsburg, California. The thing that amazed me the most is how similar the process is to cheesemaking: Coagulate soy milk, break up the curd, drain the whey and eat. Tofu suddenly seems so much more indulgent.

Finding a tamale shortcut for the lazy Gastronaut
I love masa, the maize dough that’s used to make tamales. But let’s be honest, assembling and steaming tamales in banana-leaf wrappers is a bit of an undertaking. Thanks to New York’s Alex Stupak, chef at Empellon, I now have the lazy man’s solution: the Tamal Pie. It’s basically a giant skillet filled with layers of masa that sandwich a delicious filling. Bake it, slice it and enjoy, hardly any assembly required.

Learning to prepare sushi, from rice to roll, with Morimoto
After learning to make sushi from Masaharu Morimoto, I don’t think I’m capable of singling out the most important technique—they’re all so cool and, frankly, essential if you want to make great sushi at home. From toasting the sheets of nori to fanning the seasoned rice and marinating fish like salmon in vinegar and salt, it’s all just really helpful stuff.

Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars
From Cookies for Kids’ Cancer: Best Bake Sale Cookbook, by Gretchen Holt-Witt
In this recipe, a chocolate chip cookie crust sandwiches a crazy-good fudgy filling. Proceeds from the book support the fight against childhood cancers.

Chicken Skin Tacos
From The Art of Living According to Joe Beef, by Frédéric Morin, David McMillan and Meredith Erickson
These indulgent tacos are filled with impossibly crispy chicken skin and topped with a clever "potato de gallo"—Joe Beef’s riff on fresh Mexican salsa.

Brisket Burgers
From Odd Bits, by Jennifer McLagen
Succulent, beefy and seasoned with just salt and pepper, these are possibly the best burgers ever.

Black-Eyed Pea and Kale Chili with Monterey Jack Cheese
From American Flavor, by Andrew Carmellini
Hearty and healthy, this delicious, quick-to-make chili is loaded with vitamin-packed kale and black-eyed peas. It’s my new go-to dish for New Year’s.

Grilled Okra Skewers with Roasted Jalapeño Dipping Sauce
From Basic to Brilliant Y’all, by Virginia Willis
This super-simple recipe showcases the best characteristics of okra—its fresh taste and crisp texture—without any of the typical gooeyness.

Vegetable Stock

A good friend recently introduced me to "freezer composting"—collecting onion skins, carrot ends and other trimmings in your freezer, then dropping them off at a neighborhood compost center. Now, before that phase, I’m getting even more mileage from vegetable scraps by using them to make stock. I fill a pot with the scraps, cover them with water, toss in a few bay leaves and simmer for an hour. With a bit of salt and a good strainer, it’s instant vegetable stock. It keeps in the freezer forever and makes homemade soup outrageously flavorful. Recipe to try: Vegetable Stock

Snack Bars
When I miss a meal on the go, I sometimes turn to commercially prepared energy bars—but they’re often packed with a scary list of unpronounceable ingredients and chemicals. At home, I mix dried dates, apricots, almonds, unsweetened coconut and tahini in the food processor and roll out super-tasty cookie balls. They make an awesome snack with tons of protein and fiber, and they have enough natural sweetness to satisfy afternoon dessert cravings. Recipe to try: Incan Super Power Bars

Applesauce
My new favorite fall tradition is buying a huge bushel of apples to cook down with my mom, who still uses the same food mill she had when she prepared baby food for me. We keep it simple: just apples, water and a few cinnamon sticks. It freezes well, so we can have fresh applesauce all winter long. Recipe to try: Ivor’s Pink Applesauce

Chips
It’s true, sometimes store-bought potato chips really do hit the spot, but I’d take crispy kale chips over deep-fried junk food any day. They’re salty and tangy and satisfyingly crunchy, and you can eat a ton of them without feeling guilty. Recipe to try: Crispy Kale with Lemon-Yogurt Dip

Hummus
I am notoriously picky about my hummus—the texture, the amount of lemon (it can never be too citrusy), the garlic (roasted versus raw). When I make it myself, I can totally control the flavor, and I add in bright notes with fresh basil or cilantro when my fire-escape herb garden is going crazy in the summer. Using dried chickpeas instead of canned makes it incredibly inexpensive. Recipe to try: Easy Hummus with Tahini

View the original article here

F&W Editor Picks 2011: Best Restaurants and Meals

Here, editor in chief Dana Cowin reveals six incredible meals she had in 2011, and restaurant editor Kate Krader spotlights five top breakfast spots.

Next, Chicago
I got to go to Grant Achatz’s genius new restaurant, which changes every few months, and experience Thailand—including pad Thai and green papaya salad. nextrestaurant.com.

Noma, Copenhagen
I made a pilgrimage to Denmark just to eat at chef René Redzepi’s visionary Noma. The experience was pure pleasure—from the service to the 13 courses—and it made me rethink what I know about food, restaurants and the natural world. noma.dk.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London
Blumenthal’s restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental has few of the hallmarks of his molecular gastronomy. Instead, the menu focuses on historical dishes, like a saffron risotto circa 1390. dinnerbyheston.com

Yam’tcha, Paris
The magnificent blending of French technique, Asian aesthetic and international ingredients led to an extraordinary meal, with a different tea for each course.

Red Rooster, New York City
Food, art, style and scene all come together at Marcus Samuelsson’s excellent Harlem comfort-food spot. The Yard Bird fried chicken is perfect. redroosterharlem.com

Tertulia, New York City
Seamus Mullen’s super tapas include specials like smoky mackerel from the must-see custom grill. I love going at lunch when it’s quiet, and you can have an excellent fried seafood sandwich. tertulianyc.com.

The Breslin, New York City
Grapefruit doesn’t often play a starring role in my best breakfasts. But at the Breslin (which is better known for whole suckling pigs at night than citrus fruit in the a.m.), they have an amazing version topped simply with ginger & mint—as well as sublime ricotta pancakes with marinated berries.

Huckleberry, Los Angeles
If you can make it to Huckleberry by 11 a.m., which I finally did, you can take advantage of the breakfast menu. It features phenomenal green eggs and ham: basil-pesto-topped fried eggs with prosciutto, all on an English muffin.

Nightwood, Chicago
Bacon-butterscotch doughnuts are at the very top of Nightwood’s brunch menu, and they’re absolutely scrumptious. If I could, in good conscience, eat a whole breakfast of just these doughnuts, I would.

Mile End, Brooklyn
As hard as it is to face a crowd of ravenous Brooklyn locals first thing in the morning, the reward is worth it. "Eggs mish mash" is a scrambled-egg dish packed with house-made lox or salami (it’s a super-hard choice). A more meat-oriented friend of mine goes crazy for the house-smoked meat hash.

Empire State South, Atlanta
The breakfast menu here isn’t big (in fact, it’s tiny). But the build-your-own-sandwich option makes it possible to have a fresh-baked biscuit with fried chicken and pimento cheese—add scrambled eggs for an extra $1. Plus, the restaurant serves Counter Culture coffee.

F&W’s Dana Cowin loved tapas at Tertulia in New York. Photo © Evan Sung.

View the original article here

F&W Editor Picks 2011: Best Restaurants and Meals

Here, editor in chief Dana Cowin reveals six incredible meals she had in 2011, and restaurant editor Kate Krader spotlights five top breakfast spots.

Next, Chicago
I got to go to Grant Achatz’s genius new restaurant, which changes every few months, and experience Thailand—including pad Thai and green papaya salad. nextrestaurant.com.

Noma, Copenhagen
I made a pilgrimage to Denmark just to eat at chef René Redzepi’s visionary Noma. The experience was pure pleasure—from the service to the 13 courses—and it made me rethink what I know about food, restaurants and the natural world. noma.dk.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London
Blumenthal’s restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental has few of the hallmarks of his molecular gastronomy. Instead, the menu focuses on historical dishes, like a saffron risotto circa 1390. dinnerbyheston.com

Yam’tcha, Paris
The magnificent blending of French technique, Asian aesthetic and international ingredients led to an extraordinary meal, with a different tea for each course.

Red Rooster, New York City
Food, art, style and scene all come together at Marcus Samuelsson’s excellent Harlem comfort-food spot. The Yard Bird fried chicken is perfect. redroosterharlem.com

Tertulia, New York City
Seamus Mullen’s super tapas include specials like smoky mackerel from the must-see custom grill. I love going at lunch when it’s quiet, and you can have an excellent fried seafood sandwich. tertulianyc.com.

The Breslin, New York City
Grapefruit doesn’t often play a starring role in my best breakfasts. But at the Breslin (which is better known for whole suckling pigs at night than citrus fruit in the a.m.), they have an amazing version topped simply with ginger & mint—as well as sublime ricotta pancakes with marinated berries.

Huckleberry, Los Angeles
If you can make it to Huckleberry by 11 a.m., which I finally did, you can take advantage of the breakfast menu. It features phenomenal green eggs and ham: basil-pesto-topped fried eggs with prosciutto, all on an English muffin.

Nightwood, Chicago
Bacon-butterscotch doughnuts are at the very top of Nightwood’s brunch menu, and they’re absolutely scrumptious. If I could, in good conscience, eat a whole breakfast of just these doughnuts, I would.

Mile End, Brooklyn
As hard as it is to face a crowd of ravenous Brooklyn locals first thing in the morning, the reward is worth it. "Eggs mish mash" is a scrambled-egg dish packed with house-made lox or salami (it’s a super-hard choice). A more meat-oriented friend of mine goes crazy for the house-smoked meat hash.

Empire State South, Atlanta
The breakfast menu here isn’t big (in fact, it’s tiny). But the build-your-own-sandwich option makes it possible to have a fresh-baked biscuit with fried chicken and pimento cheese—add scrambled eggs for an extra $1. Plus, the restaurant serves Counter Culture coffee.

F&W’s Dana Cowin loved tapas at Tertulia in New York. Photo © Evan Sung.

View the original article here

Our Pumpkin Picks

Pumpkin Recipes: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com Close Close Subscribe RECIPES + MENUS GOURMET LIVE APP GOURMET LIVE BLOG SPECIAL EDITIONS COOKBOOKS + PRODUCTS COOKING VIDEOS Subscribe to Gourmet SEE OUR
SPECIAL EDITIONS Gourmet Recipes + Menus Print E-Mail Feeds Share This Play Slideshow Pause View Larger View All Thumbnails Previous 1 of 12 Next Orange Pumpkin Cloverleafs Classic shape plus not-so-classic flavors gives these rolls an element of surprise. That’s not to say the wintry blend of pumpkin and orange is overpowering; it’s actually very subtle, so the rolls go with just about anything you put on the dinner table. Leftovers would be awfully good slathered with butter and toasted for breakfast.

Photograph by Romulo Yanes

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