Gastronomic Highlights of 2012

Makphet

Vientiane, Laos— At this modest but exceptional restaurant, I especially enjoyed the smoked eggplant with tamarind-peanut sauce (above). A flawlessly balanced dish, it was a perfect expression of the Laotian kitchen. Wood smoke permeated the eggplant, which was dressed with a lively sauce of crushed peanuts, tamarind and red chili peppers. It is served as a main course and as a side dish with grilled beef or chicken.

Cafe Beaujolais

Mendocino — Located in this picturesque Northern California town, the Cafe Beaujolais has long been noted for its simple but flavorful cooking. Our most recent visit confirmed that its reputation is eminently justified. A charming little place, the Cafe serves American/French cuisine that is very much in keeping with locavore sensibilities. The dish that won our unqualified admira- tion was pan-roasted California sturgeon fillet, with house-made tagliatelle, wild mushrooms, beets and snap peas. It offered a rich interplay of earth and sea flavors and textures.

Grevenbroecker cheese

Limburg, Belgium — Made by Peter Boonen, Grevenbroecker (Achelse Blauwe) cheese is deeply veined cow’s milk blue cheese that looks like marble when it is cut open, and its creamy richness has a gentler bite than most blues. It has recently won awards all over Europe and is found on the cheese trolley at Antwerp’s excellent two-star ‘t Zilte restaurant.

De Godevaart

Antwerp, Belgium — This small, chic restaurant displays the culinary imagination of young chef Dave De Belder. I particularly relished the carpaccio of scallops with crushed macadamia nuts (below), an elegant dish that contrasts the sweet, gently briny taste of the scallops with the salty, buttery richness of macadamia nuts and borage flowers.