For the third year in a row, I’ve spent all December celebrating the rest of my favorite bites and sips from the past year. These are all dishes from 2014 that I didn’t have a chance to cover as Best Bites when I originally enjoyed them. You can check out all 30 below, listed in chronological order.
 |
Here’s to another great year of eating and drinking!
As always, thanks for reading – see you in 2015!
For the third year in a row, I’m using each day in December to celebrate the rest of the best bites (and sips) that I didn’t get to blog about in 2014, posted in chronological order. Browse all of this year’s Best Bites, or look back at year-end Best Bites from 2012 and 2013.
Why it’s another 2014 Best Bite: I’m a bit of an avocado fanatic, so when I saw this tempura appetizer on Oiistar’s menu, I knew I had to make a return trip to try it. The umami in the portobello worked well with the creaminess of the avocado, and the pesto shiso mayo made a bright dipping sauce – that is, once I found it under the heavy dusting of parmesan and parsley.
View another Best Bite from Oiistar.
The details: Oiistar, 1385 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.
[googlemaps width=300 height=300]
Why it’s this week’s Best Bite: When a ramen craving struck me on a snowy afternoon, I popped over to Oiistar, a relatively new Wicker Park spot I’d been eyeing. Bypassing all the tempting varieties of bao, and even the avocado tempura – next time! – I zeroed in on a mussel-centric ramen. Besides at least a dozen plump mussels, the giant bowl also contained an umami-rich seafood broth with chewy noodles, two kinds of onion, and tons of garlic. Moderately spicy chiles also upped the soup’s warmth factor. Happily rotating between slurps of noodles, mussels, and broth, I settled in with a book and soaked up the sounds of the restaurant’s catchy R&B playlist.
The details: Oiistar, 1385 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.
[googlemaps width=300 height=300]
