Categories
Best Bites

Recap: 30 More Best Bites of 2014

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.

Chocolate with olive oil, sea salt, and toast
Chocolate with olive oil, sea salt, and toast

Iced mélange
Iced mélange

Paratha tacos
Paratha tacos

Banana biscoff pocket and coffee
Banana biscoff pocket and coffee

Savory almond crepe
Savory almond crepe

Grilled cheese flight
Grilled cheese flight

Blue Cubby Crunch ice cream
Blue Cubby Crunch ice cream

Mapo tofu
Mapo tofu

Spring vegetable orecchetti
Spring vegetable orecchetti

Fried chicken and waffles
Fried chicken and waffles

Goat cheese and fig jam crostini
Goat cheese and fig jam crostini

Smoked salmon bagel plate
Smoked salmon bagel plate

Potato pancakes
Potato pancakes

Salted caramel pretzel shake
Salted caramel pretzel shake

Breadsticks and goat cheese
Breadsticks and goat cheese

Elotes
Elotes

Bone marrow
Bone marrow

Portobello & avocado tempura
Portobello & avocado tempura

Passionfruit beermosa
Passionfruit beermosa

Tagliolini nero
Tagliolini nero

Red chile enchiladas
Red chile enchiladas

BBQ jerk chicken with mac & cheese
BBQ jerk chicken with mac & cheese

No. 21 juice
No. 21 juice

Skate wing
Skate wing

Southern Tier Crème Brûlée imperial stout
Southern Tier Crème Brûlée imperial stout

Turkey pot pie poutine
Turkey pot pie poutine

BBQ brisket bibimbap
BBQ brisket bibimbap

The Gobbler burger
The Gobbler burger

The Grill Club
The Grill Club
Fried brussels sprouts
Fried brussels sprouts

Here’s to another great year of eating and drinking!

As always, thanks for reading – see you in 2015!

Categories
Best Bites Chicago

2014 Best Bite #27: BBQ brisket bibimbap, Smalls Smoke Shack & More

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.

BBQ brisket bibimbap, Smalls Smoke Shack and More
BBQ brisket bibimbap with soy/maple/sesame glaze, assorted vegetables, steamed rice, fried egg, kimchi, pickled daikon, and Korean chile paste

Why it’s another 2014 Best Bite: Much like yesterday’s post, this dish represented a partnership between two foods I’m crazy about: Korean bibimbap and BBQ beef brisket. The brisket came glazed with a umami-rich blend of soy, maple, and sesame, and was joined by pickled veggies, crunchy kimchi, and the healthy dab of gochujang-style hot pepper paste that’s always necessary when mixing bibimbap together. I was just as impressed by the other side of the tray: the rice was flavorful and pleasantly sticky, and the egg on top may have been the most perfect consistency I’ve ever had on bibimbap, with a soft, well-seasoned center and lots of crispy pieces around the edges.

The details: Smalls Smoke Shack & More, 4009 N. Albany Ave., Chicago.

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