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I ate so much good food this year coming up with only 10 favorite dishes was something of a chore. (I know, can’t get much sympathy for that.) But with apologies to all those worthy contenders I just couldn’t fit in, these 10 dishes were special enough to merit end-of-the-year honors.


Gnocchi,
Caruso Ristorante. Most versions of these classically Italian potato-and-flour dumpings are like lead weights. These are like air. And you can get them with any sauce you like.

“Liver surf ‘n’ turf,” Kubo Asiatic Cuisine. Perhaps not for the faint of palate but wickedly luscious nonetheless is this duo of monkfish liver and foie gras that combines both luxury and adventure.

Snowy grouper Morimoto, Sushi Simon. Don’t even think of eating here without ordering this ravishing dish of impeccably fresh grouper anointed with a delicate sauce and briefly blasted with a blowtorch.

Loaded potato chips, LOLA. What makes crisp-fried potato wafers even better? Chunks of pungent Maytag blue cheese, lots of smoky bacon bits and a scattering of chives, that’s what.

Tuna ceviche, Cabo Flats. Ceviche is now the tiramisu of seafood but this version tweaks the usual by “cooking” cubes of tuna in a cilantro-flecked “tomatillo broth” with bits of jicama, cucumber and mango.

Mariquitas, Cabana Las Palmas. Call these irresistibly crispy plantain chips the Latin version of LOLA’s potato chips, except they come with plush avocado mash and outrageously garlicky mojo.

Asparagus frites, Wild Olives. Completing our trio of fried delectables is this stellar appetizer that pairs crunchy-tender spears of asparagus with sweet-tart honey mustard aioli and peppery arugula salad.

Sweetbreads, La Cigale. Calories and cholesterol never tasted so good as in this classical preparation, where creamy-crispy sweetbreads luxuriate in an unctuous chanterelle cream sauce.

Roasted artichoke, La Cigale. A veggie delight is this giant artichoke that’s steamed, then grilled and doused with olive oil, red pepper flakes and Parmesan, and finally served with a mustardy remoulade.

Donuts, The Office. Who doesn’t love a donut? Who doesn’t love maple frosting? Who doesn’t love bacon? Who doesn’t love a maple-frosted donut scattered with crisp nubbins of bacon? No one, that’s who.