best bites of 2010: miscellany

Last of the 2010 roundups!

So of course things don't always fall neatly into categories, and some of the best things I ate this year were neither homemade nor restaurant food. Some were prepared by professional chefs and some weren't. I ate these things sitting on a bench, or walking down the street, or as a guest in someone else's home, or in a cooking class. The world is too complicated to put in two buckets. And everywhere out there, there's something worth eating.

Top 10, no particular order:

1. Pretzel M&Ms. 'nuff said.
2. Pies N Thighs chicken biscuit. This would have been on the restaurant list if I'd actually been out to their Williamsburg restaurant, but as it is, I got addicted to these spicy, sweet, crunchy little masterpieces at a temporary booth next to Madison Square Park, and then again when they took a booth at the Columbus Circle holiday market. Hot sauce. Honey butter. Crunchy biscuit perfection.
3. Lobster tails poached in gewurztraminer & pear nectar. We made these at my first class at the Astor Center, and they are mindblowing. No doubt they'll make the homemade list next year now that I have the recipe.
4. Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies, which I ate at the pop-up CookieBar. Ditto what I said about the lobster.
5. Irish Potato gelato at Capogiro in Philadelphia.
6. Sweet Potato Praline Pecan gelato at Capogiro.
7. Apricot sorbetto at... you get the idea.
8. Weight Watchers Santa Fe Rice & Beans. Don’t judge me.
9. Bacon cheddar scone from Bouchon Bakery.
10. Lamb and chicken mixed platter from the halal cart at 53^rd and 6^th. Extra red sauce, extra white sauce. And in case you ever wondered, the cart with the shorter line is exactly the same as the cart with the longer line. We taste-test so you don't have to. SIX DOLLARS, people, and enough for two people for dinner.

Yes, it's been a very good (and very delicious) year. Here's to the same in 2011!