The 11 Best Things I’ve Eaten Lately

People often ask me for restaurant advice, and I can certainly give some, but I get more enthusiastic when I recommend specific dishes. In no particular order, here are the best things I’ve eaten in recent months.

Burrata is rarely the most interesting or inspired item on a menu, but Aperitivo proves an exception to the rule. Chef Brian Dodero reinvents the dish in ways that taste as good as they look.

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Helena Avenue Bakery takes the classic bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich and upgrades it with scallion butter and a buttery brioche. The restaurant’s ham-and-egg sandwich with green harissa is also a worthy contender.

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Having only ever ordered Merci‘s chicken paillard to go, I had no idea that it’s served hot at the restaurant. And it’s even better, which is saying something. P.S. It’s gluten-free.

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While I firmly believe that gin and tonics do not belong in stemmed glassware, Sama Sama Kitchen‘s gets a pass because of the addition of leaves and peppercorns from local pepper trees.

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The croissants at Alessia Patisserie & Cafe are excellent, particularly if you’re lucky enough to score one still warm from the oven.

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Satellite doesn’t get enough credit for its food, which can be both creative and satisfying—a rare feat, even more so at a mostly-vegan establishment. This toast was a terrific surprise, since I don’t tend to like strawberries in savory dishes and I wouldn’t have bet they’d work with the mushrooms (which were soaked in balsamic and brined in salt). The toast is no longer on the menu, so consider it an incentive to try something you might not otherwise.

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When you have the steak au poivre at Bell’s in Los Alamos, be sure to let some of the fries soak in that voluptuous sauce.

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I picked up a bunch of barbecue from Bell’s sister endeavor Priedite Barbecue during its special Father’s Day preorder and invited friends over for dinner. And it was all terrific. But I remember most fondly the smash burger I devoured out on the sidewalk.

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The food at The Lark has turned less Southern-inflected and more Mediterranean, with flavors—za’atar, dukkah, Aleppo pepper, et al—popular in Middle Eastern cooking. A current standout: the grilled prawns with black lime, tahini yogurt, cilantro zhug, marinated cucumber, and mint.

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On paper, a peach-and-pepper pizza sounds like a disaster, but it’s one of my favorite seasonal pies at Bettina, along with the English pea one, and the potato-and-date one, and the recent asparagus-and-leek one….

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Whenever I order the Biscoff ice cream at Rori’s, the staffers look a little surprised. I guess people don’t get the flavor that much, and can’t say I blame them, because unless you know Biscoff cookies (which I grew to love on many Delta flights over the years), you’d skip right over it. Your loss.

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