2012 was a mixed year of food trends. The meaty obsession with butchering was balanced by a softer new communion with root vegetables and wild herbs. But the best bites of the year soared because they did what good food always does: layered flavors and textures in surprising ways. For our globetrotting correspondent, there are 15 for which he'd gladly break his New Year's resolution.
Raphael Kadushin is a regular contributor to Epicurious, Gourmet Live, National Geographic Traveler, and Condé Nast Traveler
Pictured: The Pig in Hampshire, England, one of the year's best restaurants -- Courtesy of The Pig
A lot of really sloppy sushi gets dished up these days, all gumdrop rice and wilted fish, but this simple tour de force of smokey grilled eel, chopped into an almost mousse-like cloud, sits on two silky slices of avocado and ranks as my favorite bite of the year. I could eat it every day—and did, three days in a row.
Chef: Masatoshi Sugio
Pictured: Gari's diced sea eel and avocado sushi -- Courtesy of JPellgen via Flickr
This salad, which should have its own hashtag by now, deserves all the hyperventilating fandom. Who knew kale—at least crisped kale smartly tossed with kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, and peanuts—could be this good?
Chefs: Joseph Ogrodnek and Walker Stern
Pictured: Battersby Kale Salad -- Photo by Tuuka Koski
The best smørrebrød is a pure stack of flavors in one supremely elegant open-face sandwich, and the one at Aamaans is an example par excellence: a malty, yeasty, and dense slice of rye bread daintily piled with juniper-smoked cod, apple compote, soft hazelnuts, and dill.
Aamaans-Copenhagen, New York City
Chef: Adam Aamann
Pictured: Aamanns-Copenhagen Smoked Cod Smorrebrod -- Photo by David Erwin
Sicilian food is one baroque casserole—a mix of the island’s busy Roman, Arabic, French, and English incarnations—and chef Sultano plates a clean version of a very regional dish by laying briny sardines against a pyramid of freshly rolled spaghetti, then dressing it with a pine nut and raisin sauce and a frizzle of breadcrumbs. Seasonal dish (Spring through Fall, Summer is best)
Ristorante Duomo, Ragusa, Sicily
Chef: Ciccio Sultano
Pictured: Pasta with sardines -- Photo by Roberto Gennari Felsikenian
Mathias Dahlgren is the best kind of Scandinavian: less interested in delivering some locavore lecture than plating sensuous food. His herring plate is all bracing Nordic flavors, with sweetly acidic majtes herring (young fillets brined in vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices), meaty sliced beets, and a fat egg oozing a very yellow yolk over everything. Seasonal dish (Spring)
Mathias Dahlgren, Stockholm, Sweden
Chef: Mathias Dahlgren
Pictured: Herring -- Courtesy of Mathias Dahlgrens Bistro
Carribean and Mexican flavors find the perfect union in this moist and light dulce de leche that’s been molded into a firm little bundt cake and framed around a fat nugget of roasted plantain.
The Great Room, Sugar Beach Resort, St. Lucia
Chef: Cupertino Ortiz
Pictured: Roasted Plantain Cake -- Photo by Christian Horan for Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort
A nice antidote to 2012's obsession with meatier offal, this velvety, buttery monkfish liver finds its perfect partners in persimmon and turnip mustard, all laid out on sweet brioche.
Benu, San Francisco
Chef: Corey Lee
Pictured: Chefs hard at work -- Courtesy of Benu via Facebook
Any dedicated diner was bound to bump up against a taco this year and a lot of them were good, but these iterations—pillowy pockets filled with duck tongues and fresh lychee or braised baby pig, crunchy pork rinds, and spicy salsa verde cruda—justifies the craze. And their $5.50 price tag.
China Poblano, Las Vegas
Chef: José Andrés
Pictured: Silencio Taco (duck tongue) at China Poblano -- Photo by Thomas Schauer
Australian chef David Thompson’s apotheosis of clean Thai flavors—too often muddied for Western palates—may be this salad of prawns, crispy squid, lemongrass, fried pork, and toasted coconut. Its sweet meets tart dressing of lime juice, coconut cream, palm sugar, and fish sauce manages to tease every tastebud.
Nahm, Bangkok
Chef: David Thompson
Pictured: Lemongrass Salad -- Courtesy of Nahm
Tromping through one very fertile shire and foraging everything he can lay his hands on, Chef Golding delivers the full regional larder in this big plate of pheasant breast and leg confit heaped with cabbage, chestnuts, and bacon. A New Forest mushroom sauce finishes it all off. Seasonal dish (menu changes constantly)
The Pig, Hampshire, England
Chef: James Golding
Pictured: From forest to table, foraging determines the menu at The Pig -- Courtesy of RCFerdin via Flickr
The kitchen at this new Covent Garden bistro heads straight for the heart of Mittel European cooking and finds its essence in a classic schnitzel, the veal pounded into tender submission and coated with a crispy, light golden batter. Cut with a spritz of lemon, the whole thing dissolves into a duet of milky meat and melting butter, good enough to make an old-school dish stylish again.
Chefs: Christopher Corbin, Jeremy King
Pictured: The Delaunay dishes up classic Wienerschnitzel, like this one -- Courtesy of Garrett Ziegler via Flickr
This very patrician dish proves that langoustines, served here with knuckle of veal, apple jelly, and Vadouvan mayonnaise, are always better (and sweeter) than lobster.
Vinkeles, The Dylan Hotel, Amsterdam
Chef: Dennis Kuipers
Pictured: Langoustines -- Courtesy of Vinkeles
Synonymous with rich London oligarchs and a very bougie vibe, the Miami Hakkasan doesn’t deserve all foodie snark it's received—especially because its baroque take on haute chinoiserie food works. Take this addictive salad of shredded duck tossed with pine nuts, plum dressing, and brightly acidic pieces of pomelo and pink grapefruit as proof.
Hakkasan, Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami
Chef: Ooi Soon Lok
Pictured: Hakkasan's duck salad -- Courtesy of Fontainebleau
This deceptively simple dish helps explain how Copenhagen became a global culinary epicenter by locating the rousing flavors of even the most homeliest ingredients. Chef Bo Bech manages to turn the clunkiest clod of a veg into a downright juicy, almost fruity thing that doesn’t even need its black truffle flourish—though truffles never hurt.
Geist, Copenhagen
Chef: Bo Bech
Pictured: Chef Bo Bech prepares some kitchen alchemy -- Courtesy of Geist
While Avec's departed chef Koren Grieveson’s legendary truffled focaccia made its contemporaries look like leaden loofahs, her successor Erling Wu-Bower performs his own rescue mission on the too-often-abused bruschetta. The result: roasted leeks, romesco, hazelnuts, tarragon, and charred endive crowning a perfectly grilled slab of bread. It's perfectly balanced so all the busy toppings melt into one seamless, gooey bite.
Chef: Erling Wu-Bower
Pictured: Bruschetta at Avec -- Photo by Rachel Dow
Even the most hardened New Year's Resolution doesn't stand a chance against these unforgettable bites