One of my favorite things is looking back at all of the places that I've been lucky enough to eat and drink at over the course of the year - here are 50 of my favorite things from 2016...
Olamaie - Austin, Texas
Whole meal
Son Of A Gun - Los Angeles, California
Linguine & clams with sea urchin
Hometown Bar B Que - Red Hook, Brooklyn
All the meat (especially the pastrami bacon)
Parson's Chicken & Fish - Chicago, Illinois
The food's great, but the Negroni Slushy is where it's at
Restaurante Maya-Nah - Puerto Aventuras, Mexico
Fish tacos at an out-of-the-way place in the tiny town of Puerto Aventuras
Gunter Seeger New York - New York, NY
10-course tasting menu
City Market - Luling, Texas
They open at 7am. We like to get there and have brisket for breakfast
Latitude 29 - New Orleans, Louisiana
Any opportunity to have cocktails from the one and only Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. Here's the 'Navy Grog'
Liholiho Yacht Club - San Francisco, California
Anything with that Spam of theirs
Scott's Bar-B-Que - Hemingway, South Carolina
Whole hog barbecue
Mike's Taco Club - San Diego, California
Octopus taco, shrimp taco, fish taco
Macon Road Bar-B-Cue - Columbus, Georgia
Pork sandwiches
The Spotted Pig - New York, NY
Roquefort burger
Valentina's Tex-Mex - Austin, Texas
Brisket taco
Fisher's - Orange Beach, Alabama
Murder Point oysters
Emporio - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Buffalo chicken meatball sandwiches
Sushi Nozawa - Los Angeles, California
Octopus
Midway BBQ - Union, South Carolina
Chicken stew and beef hash sandwich
Genuine Liquorette - New York, NY
Cocktails made with airplane bottles
Kinmont - Chicago, Illinios
Octopus, pork belly and kimchee
Dixie Pig BBQ - Englewood, Tennessee
We just happened upon this trailer in east Tennessee - they don't skimp on the slaw
Pier 76 - Staten Island, New York
Pizza with the classic 'pepperoni cups,' as well as the seldom-seen sausage cups
Company Burger - New Orleans, Louisiana
Double cheeseburger
Duff Brewery - Orlando, Florida
Beer...
Hattie B's - Nashville, Tennessee
Hot chicken
Black's BBQ - Lockhart, Texas
Beef rib & brisket
Otto Enoteca - New York, NY
Tip: just have Mario send out all the pizzas
Nu-Way Weiners - Macon, Georgia
Chili cheese slaw dog is a must-order
Marea - New York, NY
Anything and everything on the menu
White Swan - Seattle, Washington
'Poutine Of The Sea'
Cole's - Los Angeles, California
'Originators of the French Dip'
James Beard House - New York, NY
Nashville's Peg Leg Porker & the folks from Hog & Hominy / Andrew Michael in Memphis teamed up for a stellar meal at the Beard House
Ironside - San Diego, California
They just kept sending out oysters
Tiki-Ti - Los Angeles, California
Mai Tais!
Fox Bros & Taqueria del Sol - Atlanta, Georgia
The pastrami short rib taco at the 'Foxeria del Sol' event
Beto's Pizza - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Yes, the cheese and pepperoni are uncooked. That's how they do it, and it's fantastic
Acre - Auburn, Alabama
Chicken fried bacon with gravy & syrup
Viceroy Hotel - Riviera Maya, Mexico
Chilaquiles
Matt's El Rancho - Austin, Texas
Enchiladas are top-notch, but the Bob Armstrong dip is a no-brainer
Momofuku Ssam Bar - New York, NY
The bo ssam - enough pork to feed a small army (or some of the Green Olive staff)
Ted Peters Smoked Fish - St. Petersburg, Florida
Mullet dip and a frosty beer
Emmy Squared - Brooklyn, NY
Detroit-style pizzas
Rusty's Bar-B-Q - Leeds, Alabama
Their barbecue is great, but we can't stop ordering the burger
Taylor Grocery - Taylor, Mississippi
Their catfish has a permanent spot on our 'top meals' list
Chai Pani - Decatur, Georgia
Bombay chili cheese fries
The Amigo Room - Palm Springs, California
All of the cocktails
Cochon Butcher - Nashville, Tennessee
'Le Pig Mac'
Hog & Hominy - Memphis, Tennessee
The pepperoni pizza with honey
Baroo - Los Angeles, California
Kimchi fried rice with slab bacon
City House - Nashville, Tennessee
Belly ham pizza, with 'The Moose' to drink