As is the tradition at Eater, our closeout of the year is a survey of friends, industry types, and bloggers. We've already covered the 2015 restaurant standbys, newcomers and more. Now it's time for best meals.
Q: What was your single best meal in 2015?
Rene Louapre, cofounder of Hogs For The Cause
Meauxbar. What a smart, sexy place with food to match. Essig's food has such a sense of grace, restraint, and refinement, which is rare in the Guy Fieri Lets Add Habanero Blueberry Doughnuts To Queso Fundido ethos of chefs these days.
Lorin Gaudin, Nola Food Goddess, food editor of Where
Lunch at Kenton's, especially the desserts.
Kim Ranjbar, writer, Suck The Heads
My mind keeps swirling with all of the fantastic eats I've enjoyed this past year, but the one that keeps standing out would have to be the "Messi Swine" po-boy I devoured at Bevi Seafood Co. in Mid-City.
Scott Gold, author of The Shameless Carnivore, writer/contributor for Thrillist, NolaVie, and Louisiana Eats!
The chicken and potatoes my fiancee roasted for me on the night we got engaged. Sorry, kids, no restaurant meal topped that this year. If you want the recipe, you can find it here. And yes, it's literally called "Engagement Chicken," and apparently, it works.
B.E. Mintz, founder and editor of Nola Defender and Faux Real Fest
A Hubig's Apple Pie recovered from a friend's freezer. Mind you, I normally don't condone eating three year old food. However, it was worth the risk. Some flavor remained and I did not get ill. The pastry was like sugary shock therapy.That 90 second meal was indisputably my personal madeline moment.
Josh Brasted, photographer
Goat Gnocchi at Compere Lapin.
Nora McGunnigle, beer writer and contributor for Eater NOLA and Gambit
A beer and bbq chef's pairing at Commander's Palace.
Gwendolyn Knapp, editor, Eater NOLA
Shucking and devouring oysters and Dungeness crab in front of the shack at Buck Bay Shellfish Farm on Orcas Island, WA this summer was by far my favorite meal of the year. Also amazing: The special menu Meauxbar created for my brother-in-law's 40th birthday, dining on the farm at La Provence with my mom, watching my dad bite into Parkway's shrimp po' boy for the first time ever, Ba Mien's incredible Vietnamese dinner at August during the SFA summer symposium, a summer night at Paladar with Jessica Lange in the house, and finally getting my hands on some dang Pok Pok wings.