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Best Bites

Best Bites of 2023

Here are 30 of my favorite things I ate this year — across 7 states and 2 countries, with friends, family, coworkers, and solo. I feel very fortunate to have another year of making delicious memories.

Seven-herb butter and white butter ribbon with black cypress salt
Ever, Chicago, IL
Snack spread including a trifle and the famous kale-apple-Garlic Expressions salad
Bon Vivant Cakes, Chicago, IL
Earl grey french toast
Lula Cafe, Chicago, IL
Chilled and grilled oysters with grilled escarole and beet salad
Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette, Marina, CA
The Kahala Koa Rum Barrel
Kahala Koa, Arlington Heights, IL
Shrimp and grits
Big Bad Breakfast, Birmingham, AL
Hanoi fries
Uptown & Humboldt at Cherry Creek Food Hall (formerly Grange Hall), Greenwood Village, CO
Ahi tuna tartare and tater tots
Quail + Crane at Grand Hyatt at SFO, San Francisco, CA
Egg, meat, and cheese breakfast sandwich on Manchini’s raisin bread
DeLuca’s Diner, Pittsburgh, PA
Smoked & seared hangar steak, cauliflower steak, and potato puree
Smoque Steak, Chicago, IL
Chicken and shrimp okonomiyaki
Gaijin, Chicago, IL
California Sunrise pizza with green goddess dressing, chicken, grape tomatoes, bacon, avocado, and spinach
Slackwater, Sandy, UT
Butterscotch pudding
Purple Sage, Park City, UT
Biscoff potato donut
Spudnik Donuts, Provo, UT
Lox toast, breakfast potatoes, and bruleed grapefruit
Scratchboard Kitchen, Arlington Heights, IL
Tiramisu croffle (croissant waffle)
Straw and Bubbles Tea Bar, Mt. Prospect, IL
Acai bowl
Boa Acai Bowls food truck, Mt. Prospect, IL
Blue crab claws
Bob Chinn’s Crab House, Wheeling, IL
Creme fraiche scrambled eggs, s’mores crepes, and blueberry blue corn danish
Levain Cafe at Google MP2, Sunnyvale, CA
Assorted smoked meat and sides
Hard Eight BBQ, Coppell, TX
Flaming Turtle dessert fondue
The Melting Pot, Schaumburg, IL
“Deluxe” focaccia and chorizo-stuffed medjool dates
Avec River North, Chicago, IL
Pomegranate glazed daikon with smoked cabbage, pear, and pork sung,
Txa Txa Club pop-up at Hopewell Brewing, Chicago, IL
Tamarind-guava glazed baby back ribs
Maxie’s, San Pedro, Belize
Classic margarita and guacamole with chips
Caliente Restaurant, San Pedro, Belize
Smoked chocolina old fashioned
The Purple Pelican, San Pedro, Belize
Red Sky at Night cocktail
The Foxtail on the Lake, Des Plaines, IL
Homemade sage, sausage, and apple Thanksgiving stuffing
Champaign, IL
Langoustine & sea urchin with sauternes glacage, lobster bottarga, and torched egg yolk, and pressed asian pear saison
The Dining Room at Moody Tongue, Chicago, IL
Roasted squash and stracciatella salad
Cooper’s Hawk, Arlington Heights, IL

Cheers to more dining adventures in 2024!

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