BRIAN’S 100 BEST ’19: Top Ten (Numbers 5-1)

I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019…

Wow! Not only are we down another year, but we are putting an entire decade behind us. And now that we are well into the 21st Century, I have been eating my way around New York officially for 10 years. Whew! So perhaps I am somewhat qualified to unveil another top ten list of my favorite dishes of the year. There are a few amazing vegetarian creations here, quite a few new hot spots, and more beef dishes than I expected. But the one thing that ties these ten together is that they were perfect ways to close out another ten years of eating.

NUMBER 5: MUSHREUBEN at WEST~BOURNE

For this satisfying vegetarian take on the classic deli sandwich, west~bourne uses maitake mushroom. Maitakes have a woodsy earthy flavor and a delicate meaty texture. Perfect for a meat substitute. Aside from the roasted mushrooms, everything else is pretty standard to a rueben sandwich: the tangy sauerkraut, swiss cheese, buttery rye bread, and a secret special sauce that is somehow better than Russian dressing. This is seriously something for both Rueben lovers and mushroom lovers to try. Fortunately, I am both. While one might clog my arteries, at least the other ingredient cures many ailments. Price: $16

NUMBER 4: SQUID CARBONARA at SAINT JULIVERT FISHERIE

This squid carbonara is very different from what I was expecting. I assumed the plate would be a rich creamy sauce layered over some sort of long Italian noodles. I was very wrong. Here the only noodles are thinly sliced tentacles or calamari. They were cooked al dente with a masterful crisp to each bite and a meaty softness further in. Bracing endive was also mixed in with the cephalopod. In place of a creamy sauce, a buttery eggy parmesan foam sat atop the dish and a squid ink sauce was painted on the side. All the flavors of carbonara were there with exhilarating textures and an elegant lightness.Forget rice or zucchini noodles, the best gluten-free substitute for pasta is… squid. Who knew? Price: $19

NUMBER 3: SMOKED BEEF TONGUE at BÜMU

Smoked Beef Tongue is one of the options for skewers at the new upscale izakaya Būmu in Greenwich Village and it’s incredible. Tender is an understatement for this expertly tamed meat. It barely needed to be pulled off the stick. Hints of smoke and pepper were hidden in the beefy chunks. A charred scallion separated the two portions and a wonderfully delicate spiced mustard sauce lingered. If you’re an omnivore, you should be eating more tongue and Būmu is just the place to start. Price: $9

NUMBER 2: ROASTED SHORT RIBS at CROWN SHY

Photo Courtesy of Yelp

Inside a Financial District Art Deco residential building is the unlikely location of Crown Shy, one of the most ambitious restaurants to open this year. The food is refined and brilliant and mostly affordable (for this level of cooking). My favorite dish was a bit of splurge. When I ordered it, it only cost $59 for two people. But maybe due to the high demand, it has been raised to $71. I promise you it is still worth it!! Smoky and soft, the perfectly sliced pieces of short ribs  revealed beautifully marbled beef. They were like meat butter. But to take things even further, they were served with a light and flavorful bowl of quinoa, a complex chimichurri sauce, and a brilliant dish of whipped horseradish potatoes hiding the burnt ends. Crown Shy is a place you will be hearing a lot more about in the years to come. Price: $71

NUMBER 1: BUFFALO MILK CARAMELLE at DON ANGIE

The description of the Buffalo Milk Caramelle at Don Angie literally made me begin to salivate. The fact that the dish far exceeded my expectations was shocking. This pasta isn’t soaked in caramel but rather shaped like a wrapped caramel candy with curled bow ties. It also happens to be beautifully ribboned with black sesame so each pasta wrapping is half white and half black. Aesthetics aside, this is a rarely seen pasta type and the team at Don Angie bring it to New York with a punch of fun and flavor. The “candy” inside is soft sweet buffalo ricotta more delicious than most caramel you can imagine. Sweetness also comes out of the sauce which is a brown butter base with pickled persimmons and delicately garnished basil. It’s a brilliant dish at one of my new favorite restaurants in the city.  Price: $22