The Best Things We Ate in 2012

It has been such a good year for eating in New York! Here, the Fork team looks back at some of the best things we ate in 2012, from rice porridge with uni in the West Village to dreamy cheese fries upstate.

Share your best bites in the comments or tell us about them on Twitter (we're @forkintheroadvv).

Bone marrow with snails at M. Wells Dinette
I'm so glad M. Wells is back and serving this excellent dish from the archive. It seemed like there was a boring halved marrow bone on every menu this year, but Hugue Dufour's over-the-top version stuffed with snails and topped with golden fat-soaked bread crumbs really broke the monotony. -- Tejal Rao

Robert Sietsema

Green pozole from Sabor a Mexico
This verdant soup, said to be served in the state of Guerrero only on Thursday afternoons, is loaded with shredded chicken and the slaked corn called pozole, with a roster of add-ins that let you customize the soup, including almost-crunchy Mexican oregano, avocado, raw onions, and deep-fried tortillas. Nothing better on a winter afternoon. -- Robert Sietsema

Cold sesame noodles from Sammy's Noodle House
I remember eating these once when I was kid and knew I had to have at them again when I moved to the city. They were just as good as I remembered: thick noodles covered in what tastes like pure peanut butter. -- Jess Goodman

Liz Barclay

Remojón at La Vara
La Vara was easily one of my favorite new restaurants this year with its strong point of view and warm, unfussy style. The menu changes constantly, as it should, but the dish that first drew me in was the remojón, a clutter of blood orange, house-cured salt cod, pistachios, olives, pomegranate, and hard-boiled eggs. Lots of good olive oil. It was colorful and messy, but balanced. I've thought about it a bunch of times over the year, and will probably think about it a little next year as well. -- Tejal Rao

Lobster roll from Pearl Oyster Bar
Until this year, I thought I suffered from a shellfish allergy. Turns out, I don't. This roll was my initiation into the world of seafood and it felt like a historic moment to enjoy such a widely known and loved dish. The giant chunks of sweet lobster meat yielded to the crisp, buttery roll. I felt like a kid tasting ice cream for the first time. -- Mallory Stuchin

Robert Sietsema

Kung pao pastrami from Mission Chinese
Pow! This fiery dish is so full of heat and flavor that many turned away from it, with its additional salty smokiness and gravel of peanuts. Fork in the Road ate it in two cities last year and, regional differences aside, found it enthralling, and worth munching again and again. Yes, there's some ketchup in there. -- Robert Sietsema

Chinese broccoli from Zabb Elee
A friend claimed this place was the best Thai food in New York, and after this dish, I have to agree. The pork is deep-fried and heavenly with a sweet brown sauce. If you're not wont for spice, beware of the whole menu here. -- Jess Goodman

Robert Sietsema

Bacon and cheese fries from Hot Dog Charlie's
This venerable frankfurter stand, founded in 1921, represents fine dining in Cohoes, New York. And what could be finer than good fries topped with Whiz and plenty of crumbled bacon? -- Robert Sietsema