The Foodie Awards: 2009 PART I

By nearly any foodies standard's, 2008 was a banner year for The Foodie. For once, I made a New Year's Resolution I actually kept. In the name of filling out my Culinary Bingo Card, I vowed to go to a highly rated Michelin/ZAGAT rated restaurant at least once a month for 2008. Well, not only did I KEEP my resolution, I completely pwned it :D

By my count, the places I dined at had over 25 Michelin Stars combined in what have to be two of the best foodie regions in the nation: S.F. Bay Area and Vegas. I ate at the only 2-Star rated restaurants in The City. I ate up and down Washington Street (pat your culinary boner on the...um...back if you got that reference). I traveled an hour in commute traffic to eat BBQ at a strip mall. I tasted the old (One Market, Boulevard, Aqua), the new (Orson, Luce) and everything in between. Keller, Mina, Batali, Robuchon. Check, check, check and check. I earned well over 10,000 Opentable points. I avoided anything associated with Bobby Flay like the proverbial plague. I ate at The French Laundry...TWICE!

“Okay, okay. We get it Foodie.”, you say. “Your Epeen is huge...good for you.” Ah, but it's good for you too. For without further ado, I give you my Foodie awards for 2008. If not entirely education, I hope you'll find them at least mildly amusing. If not, there's always ihazahotdog. Awards are for restaurants The Foodie dined in in 2008 EXCEPT for The French Laundry. TFL is in a class by itself. The whole bringing-a-knife-to-a-gunfight thing. It just wouldn't be fair.

MOST DISAPPOINTING DINING EXPERIENCE:

WINNER: CRAFTSTEAK

We'll start with the bad news first and piss off the Bear Community in the process but, sadly, there's no other way to describe my -not one but- two visits to Craftsteak in '08. Now, I love Tom Collichio. I respect what he stands for in American Cuisine, I've watched EVERY episode of Top Chef (even dreadful Season Two), I own his cookbooks and I liked what I had at his lone S.F. Offering: 'wichcraft. BUT, I had steak for 3 straight nights in Vegas: L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Bouchon and Craftsteak and Craftsteak's was the clearly the odd man out...and it's supposed to be a STEAK place! I was so surprised that it had under delivered that I gave it a second chance when we went back a couple of month's later with The Meat Guy. But even The Meat Guy -an unabashed steak lover- had the same take. Three consecutive nights of steak at miX, Bouchon and Craftsteak and the beef there was his least fave.

Now, keep in mind, this isn't the award for 'Worst Dining Experience' - Far from it. Craftsteak is a solid restaurant, BUT in a town with SO many other dining options it's not really worth a special trip. We had high expectations and they simply weren't met. In the end, both me and The Hottie were far more impressed with the very simple (and tasty) Arugula Salad we ordered as a side than any of the meat we sampled at Craftsteak. And, if this were Top Chef, even Tom would blast somebody for making a steak dish that was out shined by a simple side of leaves, oil and seasoning. Tom. Please pack your knives and go.

FIRST RUNNER-UP: RUBICON

Forgive me for piling on a dead horse (and mixing metaphors) but Rubicon was easily the least impressive One-Star Michelin place I ate at in '08. You remember that VISA commercial about the couple that got their reservation at the impossible-to-get restaurant and got served teeny-tiny portions? Well, that was Rubicon in a nutshell: Elf food. Overpriced and Undersized is a bad combo, so I can't really say I was surprised to hear that they closed their doors for good.

Oh yeah, and the chairs were uncomfortable too :p

IN THE CONVERSATION: N/A. Of all the places I went to eat in 2008, those were the only two that truly failed to deliver.

BEST. CHICKEN. EVER. AWARD:

WINNER: BOUCHON AT THE VENETIAN

Straight off: I am NOT a chicken guy unless I'm counting calories. And when I'm at a place like Bouchon, I'm sure as he|| NOT counting calories. It's not that I dislike chicken, it's just that I could easily name a dozen proteins off the top of my head that I'd rather have than chicken. That being said, the chicken at Bouchon in Vegas is not JUST the best chicken I had in 2008...IT'S THE BEST CHICKEN I'VE HAD...EVAH!

Not surprisingly, I didn't even order the chicken, The Hottie did. I got the Steak Frites 'cause I'd seen Bourdain go on and on about how frelling good the frites were at Bouchon (and they are, indeed, quite tasty). So when The Hottie went OMG IRL upon tasting the chicken I had to try some and, yes, it was OMGWTFBBQ delicious. Lots of times when we go out to eat, we trade bites of the dishes and The Hottie will simply say, “You Win”, meaning I picked the better dish. Well, this time she won. By a wide margin. And I was having steak. At Bouchon. The same one Anthony Freaking Bourdain practically licked the plate on national TV (well...extended basic cable, at least). This was the same steak that made the buffalo at Craftsteak seem like the $9.99 special at Sizzler. And this chicken pwned it's @$$. So, if you're keeping score at home: Bouchon Vegas Chicken > Bouchon Steak Frites > Craftsteak.

It's also worth noting that The Meat Guy had the exact same reaction. He was dubious about our claims that the chicken could possibly be THAT good. He too ordered the Steak Frites on the merits of the Bourdain Vegas episode. The Hottie, once again, got the chicken and, once again, she won. All the stunned Meat Guy could do was chuckle in disbelief, mutter something along the lines of “Wow. That's reallllllly good chicken” and look dejectedly at his steak that, somehow, didn't taste quite as it did moments earlier.

Note: The chicken at Bouchon in Vegas is different than the o/g in Yountville. We were saddened to learn this. And, while I'm reasonably sure the chicken itself is brined/cooked in the same manner, the presentation and ingredients differ enough to make the Vegas version superior.

FIRST RUNNER-UP: LUCE

Dominique Cren likes to take risks, culinarily speaking. Sometimes she hits it out of the park and sometime she strikes out swinging, but she's always aiming for the fences and is never an easy out. Well the Chicken and Waffles she had as part of her four-course “Farm to Table” Sunday Supper was a Grand Freaking Slam . It's also one the the best deals in The City at only $45, but I digress.

If you've sampled Cren's fare before, you'd know well in advance that this wouldn't be the Chicken and Waffles traditionally served in the south or at Roscoe's on the left coast. No, it was a huge boneless, skinless chicken breast, marinated in yogurt and Indian spices and perfectly cooked with some sort of crispy, corn-flake-esque coating that you'd SWEAR was deep fried chicken complete with skin. To this day, I'm still not sure how she got the coating to stay on so well. But, the goodness didn't stop there, of course. The waffle had a chickpea batter and was served with...wait for it...wait for it: Maple Bacon Ice Cream! If there's one Universal Truth in the universe, it's that EVERTHING is better with bacon, and this was no exception. EVERY individual component was outstanding (if a little bizarre sounding) but, when combined, it was truly one of the single best courses I had in 2008. Sadly, the concept behind the Sunday Suppers at Luce is that they cook what's in season at it's peak. As such, the menu changes weekly, so the odds of getting it again are very, very slim. /cry

IN THE CONVERSATION: N/A. You're joking, right? You're lucky I even TRIED two chicken dishes worth having in 2008. Don't push it.

Still To Come: Restaurant That Most Deserves a Michelin Star (But Doesn't Have One), The Best Thing To Happen at a Restaurant That Doesn't Involve Food and...The Incredible, Edible Egg Award?

Coi didn't get it's second star until the 2009 guide...so don't quibble with me. You'll get pwned.

Read more...