Our 10 Best Restaurant Openings of 2009

Saltie turned out some spectacular sandwiches in 2009. But did it make our top 10?

During the past couple of weeks, food publications have thrown our year's-end lists like so many cords of wood onto the fire. Now, it's our turn. We've decided to end the year with a shout-out to the 10 best restaurant openings of 2009. To do this, we had to cast a gimlet eye all the way back to the dark days of January, before people started talking about fried chicken like it was foie gras, Michael Huynh turned into Robert Moses, and everyone and your mom decided to open a food cart.

Obviously, all best-of lists are subjective and shaped in part by the whims of digestive memory. Also obviously, a ton of restaurants opened in New York over the past 12 months, and we certainly can't claim to have tried them all. That said, here in no particular order are the places that served us some of our most enjoyable meals this year and, most importantly, that we're looking forward to visiting again in 2010.

M & T's sauteed corn and pine nuts were exquisite, but did the restaurant make our top 10?

The runners up:
Bark Hot Dogs (artisanally minded hot dogs), 474 Bergen Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-789-1939; Saraghina (Italian, pizza), 435 Halsey Street, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 718-574-0010; Rye (contemporary American), 247 South 1st Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-218-8047; Co. (pizza), 30 Ninth Avenue, 212-243-1105; Golden Steamer (steamed buns), 143A Mott Street, 212-226-1886; The Brooklyn Star (American comfort food), 38 Havemeyer Street, Willamsburg, Brooklyn 718-599-9899; Num Pang (Cambodian sandwiches), 21 East 12th Street, 212-255-3271; Metro Cafe (Sichuan), 4924 Eighth Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 718-437-7980; Locanda Verde (Italian), The Breslin (meat-centric comfort food), 1186 Broadway, 212-685-9600; Thailand's Center Point (Siamese), Woodside, Queens, 718-651-6888.

Golden Steamer's pumpkin bao.