2013: The Good and the Bad

Well, it was no 2012, but I'm not sure how it could have been. 2012 took me and Dan to South Africa, Paris, and the Napa Valley. Dan's last semester of business school was a nonstop funfest . My brother got a great job, while my sister finished college and went off to save lives in Peru. 2012 was pretty much perfect.

2013 brought a lot of changes. Higher highs, lower lows. I'm ready for it to be over. Bring it on, 2014. Let's make it a good one.

Top Ten Bites of 2013

In no particular order.

1. Okay, I guess this is in some kind of order, because this sushi roll at Tojo's in Vancouver just might be the best thing I've ever eaten.

There are eight kinds of fish inside, all local to the Pacific Northwest, and it tasted like vacation in Vancouver. Tojo himself made it for us. I do not want to know what it cost.

2. "Bonne Bouche" cheese course at The Elm in Williamsburg.

I have mixed feelings about The Elm, as its courses are tiny and the service is bad. But the food is exceptional. I stole the above photo from Flickr of their cheese course, which I ordered in lieu of dessert. A wedge of "Bonne Bouche" cheese with various gels and powders to heighten its perfection even further. I was near tears over this cheese.

3. Fish Tacos at El Jakal in Sayulita, Mexico.

El Jakal is a little permanent cart in the town of Sayulita, and the cooks take Michelin-level care in crafting each component of their tacos. It pays off. They were crispy and fresh, with all the right notes of sweetness and spice. This platter cost $3. A close second would be their coconut shrimp, which were to what all coconut shrimp should aspire.

4. Tacos in a Bag, The Calgary Stampede.

I'm not saying this was a great meal, but for one bite, crunched-up Doritos with ground meat, taco seasoning, sour cream, salsa, and lettuce is hard to beat.

5. Vanilla Bean Souffle at Olives, Union Square.

Dennis and I went here after a screening of Catching Fire. I was tired and didn't want to go, but Dennis strongarmed me and I'm so glad he did. The gorgeous bartender, Merly, is his friend and headshot client, and she fed us free drinks, ordered us an incredible meal at a ridiculous discount, and introduced us to Todd English, the owner/chef. It was a really special night. But the highlight was the souffle.

I can't even get into it. It was eggy vanilla perfection, smothered in, essentially, melted vanilla ice cream. Can't. Even.

6. Little Skookum oyster, Grand Central Oyster Bar.

Dan and I went to the Grand Central Oyster Bar a couple of times this year. As a restaurant it's just okay - basic, overpriced seafood with bland vegetables - but as an oyster bar it's unbeatable. The selection is massive and the atmosphere is wholly unique. My favorite was the Little Skookum, a creamy West coast oyster that makes your shoulders drop three inches.

7. Uni thing, Neta, West Village, birthday dinner.

This here thing is grilled scallop, mushrooms, garlic soy butter, and UNI. I LOVE uni. Heaven in a shell.

8. Lobster Roll, Festival of the Sea, Point Pleasant, NJ.

I don't have a photo of this one, sorry. One of the stands at the Festival of the Sea in Point Pleasant featured steam pans of torn lobster, just hanging out in a three-inch deep pool of melted butter. When you ordered, they would scoop of the lobster, plop it into a hot dog bun, and then spoon some of the lobster-flavored melted butter on top. We got one, I took a bite, I started jumping up and down in excitement, and then we ordered another. I think it was $10.

9. The Hellboy, Paulie Gee's Pizza, Greenpoint.

Paulie Gee's is - wait is it? Yes, it is. Paulie Gee's is the best pizza place in New York. There. I said it. It is not a secret, and there is often a wait, but it's worth it. Dan and I are going there tonight!

Paulie Gee is Paulie Giannone, who, at 56, quit his decently-paying IT job to follow his dream of opening a world-class pizzeria. He and his wife are a constant presence in the dining room, glad-handing everyone and making sure you're having a nice time. It feels good to eat at Paulie Gee's, friendly and warm. It helps that the pizza is SO FREAKING GOOD. The Hellboy, a must-order, is thinly layered with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, Berkshire sopressata piccante, Parmigiano Reggiano, and - this is the key - a generous drizzle of spicy honey. Go. Do it. It's the best.

10. Pretty much everything at Mission Chinese Food, Lower East Side.

You could forgive my friends for being sick of Mission Chinese Food. I suggested it for every meal. When I was biking to and from work after Sandy, I would detour to get takeout on the way home, riding back over the Williamsburg Bridge with a plastic bag of thrice-cooked bacon with rice cakes and smashed garlic cucumbers swinging past my handlebars.

Well, I'm glad I overloaded while I could - some nearby construction issues caused a massive rodent infestation and they've had to close. Griz-oss.

Not griz-oss? That first bite of a chongquing chicken wing, tossed in almost enough Sichuan pepper to render it inedible. The ma po tofu with braised shitakes and face-melting chili paste. The Mongolian long beans, ordered in a vague nod to health. The aforementioned smashed cucumbers, which haunt my dreams and remain frustratingly opaque to recreate at home. Mission Chinese is (was?) not a traditional Sichuan restaurant, but I'm grateful to it for getting me interested in Sichuan food. So far that's been limited to dandan noodles, but it's a start.

So there you have it! My best bites of 2013. May 2014 bring in even more new gastronomic treasures and surprises.

FOMO

This lunchtime selfie gives a reasonable impression of someone in the Christmas spirit, right?

You can make anything seem real on social media.

Cookie Time

I'm heading home for the weekend to bake Christmas cookies with my mom. Alex, my brother's girlfriend, will also be joining the fun. The December Bon Appetit, with images of painted, modernist sugar cookies, got me extra pumped.

See, I'm bad at decorating cookies. For real. I suck at it. Panicky had a cookie decorating party two years ago and I didn't even take any of the cookies I'd decorated home with me; it was too embarrassing (I probably just stole a bunch of Panicky's professional-looking creations and then passed them off as my own). Here's a blob of frosting that I declared an "Edward Cullen cookie."

Profesh, right? But I think that PAINTING a cookie sounds much easier. So I went to NYC Cake over lunch and spent way too much money on "luster dust," called for in the BA recipe, and edible glitter. NYC Cake, BTW, is the answer for when you ask, "where do you even get that?" after watching a pastry challenge on Top Chef (or, frankly, after reading a recipe in Bon Appetit). Five pounds of green-tinted white chocolate, suitable for melting? They have that. Cardboard baking rounds for your DIY tiered wedding cake? Yup. Hot pink sanding sugar? A six-inch cake ring? Cookie cutters shaped like lightning bolts? "Disco dust"? Multiracial cake toppers? Pre-made sheets of fondant? Pastry bags with a #5 tip? NYC Cake has it all. The first time I went, a few years ago, I had to go back outside after a few minutes to clear my head; the assortment of exotic baking supplies had made me lightheaded.

Anyway, hopefully my cookies this year will be blogworthy. Wish me luck.

Best Deal Ever

I know you've been gnawing on your cuticles about those shoes I bought. To recap, I purchased a more or less perfect pair of expensive shoes at a hefty discount, perfect save for the fact that they were too small. I tried breaking them in. Didn't work. Did I therefore throw $30 into the sea? I did not! I ran into the ocean and skipped back out with sixty-five bucks! Or rather, my mother ran into the sea for me and sold the shoes on a Facebook "garage sale" website for $95.

She texted me a photo for proof.

Money is so great.

The Littlest, Furriest Pilgrim

Marty hopes you had a lovely Thanksgiving.