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2012: The Year of Fideo?

I rang in the new year with a brand new food I’d never tried before! Way to start 2012 on a decidedly culinary note, huh? Okay, in full disclosure, I ate this at about 11:00pm on 12/31/11, but I actually started 2012 at a house party in which all I consumed was warm Cook’s “champagne,” so I’m just gonna count this. I mean, I was still digesting it after the clock struck midnight.

At this point, you are probably sitting on the edge of your seat, gripping the front of your desk, thinking, “What, Emily? What is this wonderful mystery food you consumed to kick off your amazing year?!” Well, my friends, it is called fideo, described as a Mexican dry soup with a spaghetti-like pasta.

My group was enjoying a leisurely, festive dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle — Poquitos — which I have mentioned in the past. One of the owners, Matt, was bartending, and he suggested we try their new appetizer. Matt is so charming that you can never resist anything he suggests, so we eagerly agreed. He brought over a piping hot bowl. “I like to eat mine with chips,” he remarked with a smile.

Wait, noodles you eat on a fried tortilla product?

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in Restaurants / Trends 2 comments
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Top 10 New Foods of 2011

Another year gone by, another chance to look back fondly at the thousands of things we stuffed our faces with in 2011. After much internal debate, we’ve narrowed it down to just 10 — the very best new things we shoved in our mouths in 2011.

10. Tater Tot Poutine

Montreal’s greasiest, gravy-iest contribution to the food world, poutine officially became a trend back in 2010. It got even more amazing this year when chef Kyle Bailey of D.C.’s ChurchKey had the ingenious idea to replace the french fries with tater tots.

9. Kouign Amann

We first discovered this over-the-top traditional pastry, which is something like a croissant with twice as much butter and sugar, on a trip to Brittany, France this summer. Returning home, we were pleased to find it blowing up in the states. The best version we’ve tasted to far is the one above, from Starter Bakery in Oakland. It has also popped up at Dominique Ansel in New York and Bouchon Bakery in L.A.

8. Nouveau Filipino

Filipino food is among the most far-out in the world, so it was only a matter of time before it got a hipster update. From Adobo Hobo’s Filipino tacos in San Francisco to Maharlika’s spicy arroz caldo in New York (above), we’ll take all the creative Filipino cuisine we can get.

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in Bacon / Desserts / Eggs / Featured / Food Travel / Fowl / Lists / Pig / Rants & Raves / Red Meat / Restaurants / Top 10 Lists / Trends 1 comments
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Grilled Cheese Gone Wild!

Sure, mom’s buttery white bread and American cheese version is a classic, but these days grilled cheese has hit a whole new level. Here are some of our favorite crazy grilled cheese options.

1. Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

Can’t decide between your two favorite cheesy snacks? Have them both with Simply Scratch’s simply amazing jalapeno-cream cheese-onion-sourdough-colby concoction.

2. Fried Green Tomato Grilled Cheese

Fried inside fried? Yes and yes. Life’s Ambrosia has the recipe.

3. Bechamel Grilled Cheese

You thought rubbing a layer of butter on grilled cheese was indulgent? At Firefly in D.C., chef Danny Bortnick’s cadillac grilled cheese has bechamel sauce spread in between white bread, with garlic-herb butter, aged Cabot, and Gruyere.

(Photo: Dakota Fine)

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in Cheese / Featured / Lists / Restaurants / Trends 4 comments
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I Left My Cookbooks In Nebraska

My last two months could be a real life idiot’s guide to how to move to New York City and work at a Michelin star restaurant. (Tip #13: don’t pay for a subway ride until you’re sure it’s going in the right direction.) Carrying two suitcases stuffed with knives, chef pants, white t-shirts, and high heels for abusing my feet on the streets of NYC, I boarded a plane to Newark, NJ. Upon landing, I realized the last time I had been in New York City had been as a financial advisor a few years prior. It was with great pleasure that I deplaned knowing that I would not have to give financial advice or go to a training seminar; I would be elbow deep in sacher torte batter and klimt biscuit.

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in Personal / Restaurants 3 comments
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Perplexing Photo of the Day

Spotted in the window of a store in Adams Morgan (in Washington, D.C.) Because when we see a sign that says “no food,” clearly our next questions is, “what about ice cream?”

in Photos / Restaurants 0 comments
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