Each year as we travel the country to scout out candidates for our many best-restaurant lists — whether the big national listing in the early fall or the new “best of” city lists we’ve begun rolling out — our reporters and editors eat hundreds of meals in dozens of states. Inevitably we come across that one dish that we almost wish we’d ordered two of, and wish we could find closer to home.
Some are high-concept — a Dungeness crab doughnut, for instance — while others are just perfect examples of beloved familiars like brisket tacos or fried chicken. What they have in common, though, is that months later they still jump to mind when we're asked, “What were your favorite dishes of this year?”
And if we’re back in Denver, Seattle, Burlington, Vt., or Grand Rapids, Mich., you can be sure we’ll seek them out — and you should, too. BRIAN GALLAGHER
Fried Chicken at Tavern on State
New Haven, Conn.
I will always order the fried chicken at a promising new restaurant like this one. Its fried chicken thighs with green tomato relish and radish salad was the best of many dishes I loved this year in the growing “tavern” category — a much-needed bridge between pub grub and tweezer food. JULIA MOSKIN
Thai Red Curry Yellowtail at the Katherine
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The Katherine is what happened when Timon Balloo realized that a neighborhood bistro near his home in Broward County, comfortably removed from the pressures of Miami, was exactly the kind of restaurant he needed at this stage of his life. The restaurant opened last year and is named after Mr. Balloo’s wife and business partner, Marissa Katherine. This curry seafood dish nods to Ms. Balloo’s Thai-Colombian heritage and is a delicious example of the kitchen’s worldly South Florida sensibility. BRETT ANDERSON
Brisket Taco at Garcia’s
San Antonio
A juicy, crisp-edged slab of brisket, a blanket-soft tortilla, some pico de gallo — when the basics are executed this well, there’s no need for any other adornments. PRIYA KRISHNA
Whole Grilled Dorado at Clandestino
Portland, Ore.
It takes a brave chef to serve a whole fish, skeleton intact, but when done right the payoff is big. At Clandestino, Lauro Romero grills whole dorado until the skin blisters, suffusing the tender white flesh with a smoky charred flavor that’s brightened with a pile of fresh herbs and pickled red onions. Earthy beans and warm tortillas round out this brilliantly executed — and rarely found — dish. MELISSA CLARK
Mulhwe Noodles at Bansang
San Francisco
In a chilled pool of ruby-tinged, fermented chile broth, strands of capellini peacefully rest beneath slices of seasonal fish and beautiful tangles of pickles of shaved mu (radish) and cucumber. Distinct at first, everything gets mixed together, synchronizing in a bite that’s deeply invigorating and bright any time of the year. ELEANORE PARK
Tostada Raspada at Cenaduria Elvira
Oakland, Calif.
Air snapping in half sounds like an imagined achievement of atmospheric physics, but it occurs when biting into this impossibly thin, crackling tostada raspada. The owner, Elvira Varela, gets the corn directly from Zapotlanejo, Jalisco in Mexico, transforming the bounty into foot-long toboggans slathered with flavorful beans and topped with a shower of cabbage and a smattering of queso fresco. The dish doubles as the best home-cooked meal of the year as well, given that Ms. Varela delivers all of this culinary sorcery directly from her home patio. ELEANORE PARK
Chicken-Fried Steak at Reba’s Place
Atoka, Okla.
The chicken-fried steak at the country singer Reba McEntire’s restaurant is brilliant in its unfanciness. It has an appropriately high ratio of heavily seasoned crust to meat, a slightly sweet gravy to balance and, unlike many versions of the dish, you can actually taste the flavor of the steak. PRIYA KRISHNA
Free-Range Bison With Wine-Poached Pear and Demi-Glace at Cochineal
Marfa, Texas
First-time visitors invariably note the improbability of finding a restaurant like Cochineal, with its prix-fixe menu and specialty cocktails, floating in the vast expanse of West Texas flatlands that surrounds the remote (if artsy) town of Marfa. Yet the restaurant manages to convey a sense of place that doesn’t feel contrived. Large credit for that goes to the forthright, proudly regional cooking of the chef and co-owner Alexandra Gates, who last spring served a filet of free-range bison, rich in mineral flavor, that justified my daylong drive. BRETT ANDERSON
White Prawns With Hawaiian Finger Limes and Coriander at Ethel’s Fancy
Palo Alto, Calif.
Simply grilled and sparingly adorned with coriander flowers, this pared-back but elegant prawn dish hews to fashion’s reminder to “look in the mirror and take one thing off.” It achieves much more accessorized with less. ELEANORE PARK
Halibut Chraimeh at Honey Road
Burlington, Vt.
Cara Tobin, Honey Road’s chef and co-owner, honed her voice and technique cooking at Oleana, in Cambridge, Mass., a modern pioneer in its celebration of eastern Mediterranean and North African flavors and dishes. Halibut chraimeh, a special that ran this fall, is a Tunisian stew that the chef de cuisine Elliot Sion modified to include ingredients, like beets and walnuts, found in the Jewish American dishes he grew up with. BRETT ANDERSON
Dungeness Crab Doughnut at Boat Bar
Seattle
A crab doughnut might sound like stunt food at first. When you think about it, though, it makes some sense: the oceanic wash of sweet crab meat married with crème fraîche and mayonnaise, the pliant chew of the brioche-style doughnut and a zesty grating of Parmesan and fresh horseradish over the top. When you taste it, though, it makes perfect sense. It’s not always on the menu, but if it is, get it. BRIAN GALLAGHER
Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa at Portugalia Marketplace
Fall River, Mass.
Portugalia has always been known for bacalhau. That’s been true since it opened in a three-car garage behind a tenement house in the 1980s, through to its current incarnation, where the codfish counter is across a handsome grocery store from the wine department. So it logically follows that one of the few dishes you’ll always find at the prepared food counter is this classic bacalhau stew, a rustic, salty favorite in this Portuguese stronghold on the New England coast. BRETT ANDERSON
Littlenecks and Chouriço at Matunuck Oyster Bar
South Kingstown, R.I.
“Local” translates to “right over there” at this bright waterside perch, which farms its own oysters just a short swim away in Potter Pond. But nothing on the menu sums up the location as smartly as its snappy garlic-and-white-wine sauté of sausage and Rhode Island clams, a tribute to the state’s sizable population of Portuguese Americans — and of mollusks. PATRICK FARRELL
Stuffed Cabbage at Prosperity Social Club
Cleveland
This barroom’s roots run to the 1930s, when immigrants from Eastern Europe were an established presence in the city’s Tremont neighborhood. The working-class legacy is still evident in Prosperity’s gritty décor, gruff hospitality and signature stuffed cabbage rolls, draped in paprika-stained sour cream-sauerkraut sauce. BRETT ANDERSON
Hanger Steak at A Restaurant
Newport Beach, Calif.
Though it’s tempting to think of the hanger steak as the Toyota Camry of cuts — ubiquitous, reliable and broadly uninspiring — the one I had at this 98-year-old Orange County spot was surprisingly perfect. Hefty char on a buttery but strongly beefy steak unfussily served. The atmosphere, a dimly lit, voluminously boothed room amid the sun-washed surroundings, only added to the experience. BRIAN GALLAGHER
Spicy Pork Adobo at Kilig
Seattle
The sibling restaurant to Musang (which is on our 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle list), Kilig is only two months old. But it has already found its modern-Filipino comfort zone. This dish — a perfect balance of unctuously fatty pork, vinegar tang and a warm wisp of spice — was a standout on a rainy afternoon. BRIAN GALLAGHER
Hearth Bread at Brutø
Denver
Fresh-baked bread service is fairly common these days, but the version here is something special. Made from Colorado grain milled nearby, the personal-size boules are popped into an oak-fired oven for a mere minute and a half before being handed across the counter to you, piping hot, dotted with char and served with rotating pairings like housemade achiote butter or mole blanco dipping sauce. BRIAN GALLAGHER
Golden Prawn Toast at Yangban
Los Angeles
The “golden” could refer to a few things here: the double dips in butter the local sourdough toast takes, the rich aioli-like sauce or the cured egg yolks grated over the top to finish. Or even the feeling you’ll have when you taste how it all wraps beautifully around the sweet deep-sea prawns that Yangban gets from just one family on Kauai. Going back to just shrimp toast will be a challenge. BRIAN GALLAGHER
Hire Katsu Curry at KCM
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Perhaps you live in a part of the country where katsu curry is abundant, and thus does not turn heads. Grand Rapids is not such a place, which is part of the reason my visit to KCM was so memorable. Larger reasons were the crisp perfection of the fried pork and the chef-owner Jason Kim’s convivial, prideful hospitality. BRETT ANDERSON
‘BBQ’ Whole Shrimp at Burdell
Oakland, Calif.
A take on New Orleans barbecue shrimp, these head-on creatures bathe in a sauce ramped up with stock made from the shrimp shells, Vietnamese dried shrimp and fish sauce. It’s all brought back topside with a bit of the house-fermented hot sauce. You’ll wish there was twice as much on the plate. BRIAN GALLAGHER
Rosette Cookie with Fresh Farmer’s Cheese and Walla Walla Onion Jam at Atoma
Seattle
Rosette cookies, formed on a mold and fried to a pleasing golden crisp, are common in Scandinavian confectionery, which makes them perfectly at home in the Pacific Northwest. But as an appetizer? Well, since this version hides a creamy cheese and allium sweetness hidden inside, absolutely. BRIAN GALLAGHER
Chicken Long Rice Croquettes at Mud Hen Water
Honolulu
Bite into one of these craggy golden orbs and you get a hot gulp of gingery, soul-reviving chicken noodle soup. The “long rice” is the noodles: skinny, slippery, translucent bean-thread vermicelli. LIGAYA MISHAN
Rocky Road Ice Cream With Macadamia Nut Dragées at Fête
Honolulu
The chocolate, produced locally, is extra dark. The crunch comes from buttery macadamia nuts, dipped and sealed in more chocolate. And the marshmallows, homemade, achieve the perfect texture between cling and surrender. LIGAYA MISHAN
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