Le Bec-Fin Dining Room, Closing Night, March 2012
Le Bec Fin Kitchen, Opening Night, June 2012
As we come to the end of another year, we look back at our favorite meals of 2012. From standby classics to exciting new favorites, we were lucky enough to experience some of the city and country’s top restaurants in the past year. Be it a hot dog stand or the whitest tablecloth in town, the lowest common denominator of a great night out is always the same. Here are our favorite meals of 2012:
10) Meme- Philadelphia– An entire post could be dedicated as a loving farewell to what was our favorite place to eat in the world outside our own kitchen. We went to Meme for everything and miss it dearly. Take the softshell crabs, a ticking reminder of the coming summer as the days grew longer and the sun did chin ups over Trinity Memorial across the street, illuminating the room in natural filter, instant memories made in batter-fried real time that will never go away. Miss you, Meme.
9) Han Dynasty- Philadelphia– Pound for pound, flavor for flavor, my favorite restaurant in the entire city. I remain unapologetic about the Old City location being my favorite of the bunch, even with the terrific 60% off, 60$ sized lunch we had in University City. Although, the cocktails at U-City are as serious as any. I am considering a standing reservation to the monthly tasting.
Fishcake Sandwich (Photo: Scott Schroeder)
8) American Sardine Bar- Philadelphia-Yeah, they only serve sandwiches. Yeah, they don’t have menus. Yeah, that is a KFC bucket lamp on the bar. All reasons we love it here and you should too. It is nearly impossible to find a more enjoyable and delicious restaurant experience at such an amazing value. Everything we’ve ordered has been a hit. The fishcake, the torta, the pork and boursin, the patty melt, all winners. You can’t beat the fries with dill pickle dip either. Simply a great place.
7) The Flatiron- Omaha, Nebraska– The Flatiron is the gold standard for fine dining in Nebraska and a regular on James Beard ballots in the Midwest. Just as many things in the Great Plains that have stood the test of time and have yet to be polluted by the culture of the coasts, like smiling and tucking in your shirt, fine dining is still fine dining. The table clothes are white and men wear jackets and it is hard to tell if the staff is doing a really good job or are being Midwestern. Almost ironic that the best piece of seafood I had this year was in landlocked Omaha. A beautiful piece of halibut (no skimping with portion sizes in these parts) came perfumed with yuzu and miso. The menu is full of straightforward American classics done with subtle Asian accents. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in South Philly anymore
The magic isn’t cheap
6) The Aviary- Chicago- Ok, not really a restaurant, but it is just so unbelievably awesome. There was fire, ice, slingshots, canteens. It’s a post-apocalyptic drinking experience. I volunteer as tribute!
Stay Tuned for the Top 5 Meal of 2012
Starving, Artist 
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