Jesus, Mary and Joseph… we can’t surely be entering the last few days of December already? Where the flippity-jibbit did this year go?!
It doesn’t seem a hot minute since I was compiling my list of 2017 Best Bites and yet here I am, staring 2019 straight in the eye and preparing to bid 2018 a fond farewell.
Well, a fond farewell on the food and drink front at least because in many other ways Twenty-Eighteen, you’ve been a bit of a bitch. Credit where it’s due though because the last 365 days have thrown some pretty tremendous edible opportunities my way.
So, without further ado, here is my 2018 Best Bites: My Year in Delicious Dishes…
I started the year as I meant to go on with the best plate of sweet breakfast pancakes I’ve ever had the pleasure of scoffing. Read more about the fluffy tower of White Chocolate & Raspberry Pancakes at Aubergine Cafe, West Kirby.
After an indulgent Christmas and a January which very much followed suit, February was all about Mother Nature and walks in the wilderness followed by good grub. This month’s highlight had to be Sunday Roast at the Fishpool Inn in Cheshire.
March was all about eating my way through as much of the Blind Tiger Liverpool food menu as humanly possible. Clearly. This big ol’ steaming bowl of crunchy Pad Thai came out on top.
Now April is a tricky one because you might remember, it was the month I went on a double-destination jaunt to Reykjavik and NYC. So back home, my plate of the month would have to be the stunning Pistachio Souffle I ate off the Brasserie Blanc dessert menu.
However, April’s crown needs to also be shared (Mean Girls-style) with the miniature Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup scoops I had at the incredible Beauty & Essex restaurant in New York City.
May? Oh that’s easy! It has to be the crunchy, deep-fried Broccolipops with vegetarian gravy for dunkin’ I devoured at Down the Hatch, hands down.
As the pioneers of vegetarian/vegan junk food in Liverpool, DTH has certainly set the bar at a bloody lofty height for those intending to follow in its footsteps next year.
In June, I discovered Marmite’s distant relative – Parsnip & Paneer Pancakes at the Shankly Hotel Bastion Restaurant in Liverpool. You’d either love ’em or hate ’em. I loved them and they actually transpired to be one of the most memorable dishes of 2018.
My birthday month! Boy, did I celebrate in style with one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten in my 27 years here on Planet Earth. It took the form of a Malteser Creme Brulee the size of my head and came from the geniuses in the kitchen at Hanover Street Social.
With the sun cracking the flags, August was the perfect excuse to check out the new Sunset by Australasia restaurant in Manchester’s Spinningfields. The beautiful Bento Boxes were every inch as fabulous as they look and don’t even get me started on that Green Apple Martini!
September inspired a reshuffle of my favourite places to eat as I experienced The Refuge restaurant in Manchester’s Principal Hotel on Oxford Road. It’s hard to pick just one dish from the plethora of incredible small plates but with a gun to my head, it would have to be the Red Wine & Cinnamon Chorizo.
In October, I became a fully fledged member of the Dockleaf Sunday Roast Club and I urge – no, implore – you all to do the same. Like a great big cosy cuddle of your mum but in uber cool, history-steeped surroundings that will balance out your street cred.
November was a noodle narrative, when I toddled along to Wagamama in Liverpool ONE to learn all about the history of ramen and emerged with an insatiable new appetite for Miso Cod Ramen (and sparkling Sake).
Never would I ever have thought that anything green would have wormed its way onto my edible highlight reel… Lo and behold, here we have the Harissa & Salted Ricotta Green Beans I was completely enamoured with at Liverpool‘s new Castle Street eatery, Rocket & Ruby.
All in all, it’s been an epic year for my spoilt little taste buds. Here’s to another year of great grub, delectable cocktails and blabbering endlessly about them to you lot, who seem to quite enjoy my ramblings.
Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year – may your bottles be bottomless and your bellies full to the brim!