Candice: We could, but I like prime numbers. They're my favorite kind. Let's stick with what we have.
Paul: Well, since this is a favorites sort of post, 19 it is. Though, I believe your Brio post summarizes your food philosophy nicely.
Candice: Thanks, Paul. It was more of a sad rant to me, but I appreciate your thought.
Paul: Always welcome, friend....So as the year wraps up, let's talk about the best food we've eaten this year.
Most Viewed Review!
Candice: Let's start with a purely objective category: Most Viewed Review. Which review was viewed by more people than any other?Paul: That's an easy one to calculate. Numbers don't lie. Number 3 on that list is Da Levee, our favorite Cajun place.
Candice: Is there another Cajun place on the list?
Paul: No, but it would still be our favorite Cajun place. Number 2 is Merlion Rice and Noodle.
Candice: Saigon Palace, moved to Worthington.
Paul: And the number 1 viewed review is...
Candice: Drum roll, please.
Paul: ... 89 Fish & Grill!
Candice: Our very first review. Makes sense it would have the most views.
Best Potsticker!
Paul: Any long-time reader of our reviews knows we love a good potsticker.Candice: We do, indeed. We're always on the lookout for the best potsticker ever.
Paul: We've narrowed the list down to these three nominees.
Candice: Even before we started reviewing, we loved Nida's potstickers. Too bad the day we went to review wasn't one of the best for the restaurant.
Paul: It wasn't the best, but it was still a great potsticker.
Candice: Though I vowed never to return to Moshi after our lunch, through a twist of desperate Christmas Eve hunger fate, I went back and had the potstickers a second time. They were bland and the sauce was too sweet.
Paul: The potstickers from Merlion were okay: homemade, but a little overcooked.
Candice: Tough choice, but the winner is... Nida's!
Paul: Which doesn't mean we won't end our quest for the perfect potsticker.
Candice: That quest never ends.
Most Wins!
Paul: Here's another objective one. At the end of each lunch, we informally decide who 'won' the lunch.Candice: That is - who had the best overall lunch experience.
Paul: It doesn't always get into the review, but we keep score anyway.
Candice: Because we're like that.
Paul: I've tallied the winners, and you win 7 to 4.
Candice: Wait, that adds up to only 11.
Paul: I ignored buffets and places where we ordered the same thing.
Candice: Ah, I see. Well, as long as I win the winning, works for me.
Best Dessert!
Paul: We didn't always have time for dessert, and lunch should be a lighter meal.Candice: Still, we managed dessert a few times. The nominees are:
- The Baklava and Brownie at Dirty Franks
- The Strawberry Shortcake at Third & Hollywood
- The Chocolate Pot de Creame at Third & Hollywood
Candice: You are correct. It was absolutely fantastic. 10/10 would do again.
Best Soup!
Paul: We ordered a lot of soup this year and this category shows it.Candice: There's six nominees here:
- The Chicken Pho at Nida's Thai on High
- The Tom Yum at Nida's Thai on High
- The Seafood Champon at Akai Hana
- The Black Bean Chili at Third & Hollywood
- The Tom Yum at Bangkok
- The Guay Tiew Nam at Bangkok
Candice: My favorite is the Seafood Champon at Akai Hana.
Paul: I will let you crown the winner, but the runner up was the Tom Yum from Bangkok.
Candice: Agreed. We need to go back there. Soon. Hoorah for Akai Hana and that awesome Champon.
Best Service!
Paul: Sad to say, but this is not a long list.Candice: Yeah, service seldom stood out for us and often detracted. There was only one server who stood out as phenomenal.
Paul: That would be Jack at Third & Hollywood
Candice: He was the best server we had all year. Yeah, Jack!
Best Value!
Paul: This category is for the most food for the least cost.Candice: Lunch is a budget meal for many.
Paul: The nominees are:
Candice: The winner here is Basil, with its lovely three-course lunch special for $8.50.
Paul: The other two had good prices too, but the quality and quantity for the price makes Basil the winner.
Most Likely to Come Back for Dinner.
Candice: Our focus is lunch, but these places serve dinner too.Paul: The question is - based on lunch, which one of these establishments would we like to visit for dinner?
Candice: The nominees are:
Paul: Explorer's Club had an interesting menu for dinner. Too bad lunch wasn't as good as it could have been.
Candice: The Nicola lunch buffet wasn't a winner, but the locale and owners' enthusiasm encouraged us.
Paul: But, by far the restaurant that tantalized us with its dinner (and brunch) menus was Third & Hollywood.
Candice: The service was excellent and the food was delicious. My mouth is watering right now.
Best Indian Food!
Paul: We hit a lot of Indian places this year.Candice: Three to be exact. Here are the nominees, all of them pretty darn tasty:
Paul: The winner -- and it was a tough, very close call between all three-- is Amul India. Great buffet with a wide selection of great food.
Candice: Yes, it was tough. All great places.
Paul: The nominees are:
Candice: Our pick is Taj Mahal. The selection was the best, by far, and the setting -- in an old house on High Street -- was beautiful.
Candice: Our pick is Da Levee, with its small, cozy feel and its interesting, visually appealing Mardi Gras decor and art displays.
Paul: And its front booths lend themselves to prime people watching.
Candice: Maybe we can make a people watching blog? Too weird? Yeah...moving on...
Paul: We do. And we've had a lot of them this year.
Candice: Can we narrow down the list?
Paul: I have it down to five:
Paul: But there's one that stands out, isn't there?
Candice: Yes, I can taste it right now.
Paul: The grilled artichokes at Third & Hollywood.
Candice: They were scrumptious.
Candice: I do love sushi. Here are the nominees:
Paul: You had less sushi this year than I expected.
Candice: True and the choice to make here isn't great. The best was Tora with its nice presentation and its ample portions.
Paul: We'll have to seek out some more sushi for you next year.
Candice: Make it so, Number Two.
Paul: Number Two?
Candice: Yeah...?
Paul: Right. Sorry - again...moving on.
Paul: Oh, very tough choice. We've eaten some good food.
Candice: We've narrowed the nominees down to:
Paul: Da Levee is so consistently awesome. The menu is always changing and always good.
Candice: The magic bread is ever present. Bangkok was a pure surprise. Walking in, we weren't expecting much, but the quality and amount of food was staggering.
Paul: We need to go back. But the winner, hands down is Third & Hollywood!!
Candice: The service was excellent and every course of the meal was superb.
Paul: It was simply the best lunch we've ever had.
Candice: Agreed.
Paul: Let's hope it isn't the last.
Candice: On to next year.
Paul: May we find the best potsticker ever.
Candice: And many excellent lunches along the way! Happy New Year, everyone. Thanks for reading our ramblings.
Best Buffet!
Candice: And speaking of buffets, we saw a lot of those as well.Paul: The nominees are:
Candice: Our pick is Taj Mahal. The selection was the best, by far, and the setting -- in an old house on High Street -- was beautiful.
Best Decor!
Paul: Which leads us to Best Decor. The nominees are:Candice: Our pick is Da Levee, with its small, cozy feel and its interesting, visually appealing Mardi Gras decor and art displays.
Paul: And its front booths lend themselves to prime people watching.
Candice: Maybe we can make a people watching blog? Too weird? Yeah...moving on...
Best Appetizer!
Candice: We love a good appetizer.Paul: We do. And we've had a lot of them this year.
Candice: Can we narrow down the list?
Paul: I have it down to five:
- The Cheese Plate at De-NOVO
- The Grilled Artichoke at Third & Hollywood
- The Combination Platter at Bangkok
- The Big Pretzel at Wurst und Bier
- The Crispy Roll at Basil
Paul: But there's one that stands out, isn't there?
Candice: Yes, I can taste it right now.
Paul: The grilled artichokes at Third & Hollywood.
Candice: They were scrumptious.
Best Sushi!
Paul: This category is for you. I don't eat a lot of sushi, but you do.Candice: I do love sushi. Here are the nominees:
Paul: You had less sushi this year than I expected.
Candice: True and the choice to make here isn't great. The best was Tora with its nice presentation and its ample portions.
Paul: We'll have to seek out some more sushi for you next year.
Candice: Make it so, Number Two.
Paul: Number Two?
Candice: Yeah...?
Paul: Right. Sorry - again...moving on.
Best Lunch!
Candice: We're down to the final best-of: the Best Lunch we had all year.Paul: Oh, very tough choice. We've eaten some good food.
Candice: We've narrowed the nominees down to:
Paul: Da Levee is so consistently awesome. The menu is always changing and always good.
Candice: The magic bread is ever present. Bangkok was a pure surprise. Walking in, we weren't expecting much, but the quality and amount of food was staggering.
Paul: We need to go back. But the winner, hands down is Third & Hollywood!!
Candice: The service was excellent and every course of the meal was superb.
Paul: It was simply the best lunch we've ever had.
Candice: Agreed.
Paul: Let's hope it isn't the last.
Candice: On to next year.
Paul: May we find the best potsticker ever.
Candice: And many excellent lunches along the way! Happy New Year, everyone. Thanks for reading our ramblings.
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