Alexis Loinaz, Restaurants Editor
Pork belly in miso-butterscotch sauce / Tailor
The year’s most overhyped restaurant turned out to be hit-or-miss, but this beautifully calibrated opus justifies the Masonic temple of gastro-hype: sweet-salty bonbons that marry robust porcine gusto with a grainy-sweet veneer that begs the next bite. 525 Broome St. 212-334-5182

Smoked squab a l'orange with Asian pear and candied tamarind / Jean Georges
You can’t go wrong with JG’s criminally affordable $28 prix-fixe lunch, which includes this deft exercise in balance. The delicate squab, robbed of all gaminess, plays touch-and-go with the Korean pear’s crisp, aromatic flavor and the tamarind’s sweet-and-sour pop.
1 Central Park West, 212-299-3900

Pulled-pork sandwich / Daisy May’s BBQ
Is there room for two pork dishes on a best-of list? When faced with this smoked behemoth, who cares? The luscious pork shoulder, which is smoked for 14 hours using hickory wood and applewood, swims in a tangy mustard-based Carolina-style barbecue sauce that never fails to please, year after year. 623 11th Ave., 212-977-1500

Dessert tasting menu / Kyotofu
When an avowed tofu hater includes a tofu-intensive menu in a story like this, it marks a personal seismic shift. Kyotofu’s three-course tasting menu is a grab bag of goodies that showcases the dessert bar’s clean, subtle flavors, from a sake-liqueur tofu cheesecake to a maple-soy parfait. 705 Ninth Ave., 212-974-6012


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Matt Rodbard, Associate Restaurants Editor
Smoked Coke / Tailor
The subterranean bar at Tailor is a mad (and drunken) scientist’s lab disguised as a turn-of-the-century social, with cocktailor Eben Freeman playing the part of Dexter. Forget the bubblegum cordial, Freeman’s setpiece here is smoked Coke, a complex mixer that reminds of the delicious campfire aroma and burn from sipping Laphroaig—but without the fireworks (and booze). Order it straight without the adultering whiskey. 525 Broome St. 212-334-5182

Foie gras and caramelized eel  / L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Franco-Asian lasagna anyone? I admittedly only sampled this dish (maybe a couple times) at the Starchef’s Rising New York chefs awards and was not only impressed by the uber-decadent ingredients (freshwater eel and cold-smoked foie layered like a trifle cake), but how a dollop of heavy cream can bring it all together—while somehow not landing leaden. 57 East 57th St.; 212-350-6658       

Sweet sausage and talagio panini / Bocca Lupo
Only the owner of an upscale juice bar would pay this close attention to raw ingredients. Fresh Sullivan Street bread encases the piping-hot innards of this standout sandwich—tangy sausage, broccoli rabe and salty taleggio combine for the perfect balance of crust and filling. When dining with four at this Carroll Garden sleeper spot, I order two, which usually leads to a third or fourth by night’s end. 391 Henry St., 718-243-2522   

Braised short rib / Grayz
Gray Kunz riffs on an American steak-house classic by serving his short ribs (and rich braising liquid) along side a scoop of creamed spinach. Kunz is a precisionist and cooks his meat with the aptitude and confidence of neurosurgeon, keeping the dish butter-knife tender and built around one single bone (which bobs triumphantly in the rust-colored liquid at meal’s end). 13–15 W. 54th St., 212-262-4600 


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Joshua M. Bernstein, writer
Hand-pulled noodle soup with Fujianese dumplings / Sheng Wang
Belly-warming excellence reigns at this underground, no-English eatery, where brawny men hand-stretch and flash-boil baby-soft noodles, before tossing a tangle in a plastic tureen swimming with savory broth and about 10 bobbing wads of pork encased in translucent wrappers. 27 Eldridge St., 212-925-0805

Carnitas tacos / Rico’s Tacos
This tiny taqueria sizzles up heart-cloggingly scrumptious nibs of crispy pork loaded atop griddle-warmed corn tortillas. I prefer to paint my overstuffed tacos with the free velvety guacamole, as well as a sinus-clearing application of vibrant green salsa. 510 51st St., Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 718-633-4816

Vegetarian duck / Pam Real Thai
No fowl were harmed for this faux-meat masterpiece, featuring generous slabs of chewy, ersatz duck dressed in a spicy red slick of chili-basil sauce served aside a mound of fragrant jasmine rice. The duck’s a plate-licker that even carnivores would adore. 404 West 49th St., 212-333-7500

Small cup of pistachio gelato / Grom
Gelato reaches skyscraping artisanal heights at this Italian import, where I’ll brave lengthy lines—and offer up my first-born son—for a heaping scoop of pistachio gelato, a creamy dream infused with the flavor of fresh, just-roasted nuts. 2165 Broadway, 646-290-7233


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Jeremy Cesarec, writer
Poached egg popovers / Chestnut
Does brunch count as a really early appetizer? There's no better way to start a day of noshing off right than with this little firecracker of a dish. It may be hard to improve on the classic eggs Benedict, but these moist, slightly sweet popovers are vastly better than the oft-dry English muffin, and regal prosciutto trumps provincial Canadian bacon any day. 271 Smith St., 718-243-0049
 
Deviled eggs / Resto
Eggs shouldn’t be reserved exclusively for breakfast, they’re both incredible and edible all day long. Sure, traditional deviled eggs may not be cardiologist approved, but Resto's treatment of the cocktail party standby takes things to a whole new level. These artistic little creations come balanced on a sled of fried pork toasts, adding some rich, crunchy goodness to the clean flavor of the egg happily riding atop. 111 E. 29th St., 212-685-5585
 
Berkshire spare ribs / Fette Sau
While the Sau has taken some lumps for its underwhelming sauce, these dry rubbed pork ribs are so flavorful sans adornment, the debate is rendered moot. The sweet but not cloying rub creates a perfect crust to seal in the moist ribs. Since the sides here are nothing to write home about, try to smuggle in an order of Five Guys’ French fries (one of 2007's best editions to the culinary landscape) to complement your swine. Fette Sau, 354 Metropolitan Ave., 718-963-3404; Five Guys, 138 Montague St., 718-797-9380
 
Truffle honey / Otto Enoteca and Pizzeria
My favorite dessert actually requires a loose interpretation of the term. If you order a cheese course at Mario's affordably priced enoteca, prepare yourself to encounter one of the most delicious condiments known to man. The truffle honey that accompanies the cheese, bread, and authentic Italian breadsticks is so delectably indulgent it would make even the most Bacchanalian eater swoon. Essentially any food covered in this sweet, black-truffle flecked concoction—whether it’s a wedge of parmigiano reggiano or a Ritz cracker—will immediately put even Jacques Torres' best offering to shame. 1 Fifth Ave., 212-995-9559


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Jane Lerner, writer
Espinacas Catalana  / Mercat
The best dish of greens I had all year (sautéed pea shoots with pine nuts and golden raisins). I love the salty-sweet of the raisins and pine nuts luxuriating in a generous dose of olive oil; this is a classic Spanish preparation updated by the use of just-bitter-enough pea shoots instead of spinach. 45 Bond St., 212-529-8600

Migliorelli's winesap and Mutsu apple salad / Momofuku SSam Bar
A perfect meeting of cold-and-sweet with fatty-and-meaty. Crisp apples and crumbled Benton’s bacon are the best of friends here, joined by small bits of peanuts and a lychee gelee, which is akin to the weirdest, most delicious tropical Jell-o there ever was. 207 2nd Ave., 212-254-3500

Green mango paneer / Graffiti
This one gorgeously hits that savory note and resonates there for a long while. Served with thin strips of toasted flatbread, this is a small dish of cubed, homemade paneer (Indian cheese), tossed with a mysteriously spicy sauce and given a puckering jolt by bits of sour green mango. 224 E. 10th St., 212-464-7743

Coconut cookie / Birdbath ; Cappuccino / Ninth St. Espresso (in the Chelsea Market)
The best dessert is on the go: Start at Birdbath, the eco-friendly City Bakery offshoot and get the gigantic coconut cookie, which is not-too-sweet but absurdly buttery and rich in its tropical flavor. Save a bite or two to go with the greatest cappuccino in all of New York—what do they do to it to make it so good? Best coffee in town, no arguments allowed. Birdbath, 175 7th Ave., 646 722-6570; Ninth Street Espresso, 75 Ninth Ave., 212-228-2930


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Fabiana Santana, writer
The Queens candy apple / Borough Food and Drink
A decidedly less sweet take on the apple martini is served up at Zak Pelaccio’s market style resto. This adaptation is made with Liquor 43 and Bacardi Apple – thankfully, no green stuff here - and garnished with a slice of fresh apple, no doubt a nod to the Big Apple and maybe the nearby Green Market, too. 12 E. 22nd St., 212-260-0103

Frito misto / Gemma
Shocking but true, frying can be a bad thing, when done improperly that is. At Gemma, rings of calamari and plump shrimp are prepared perfectly crisp courtesy of a light batter and a quick dip in olive oil. Bowery Hotel, 335 Bowery, 212-505-9100   

Truffle mac and cheese / Crave 42nd
“Top Chef’s” Dave Martin’s version of this universal comfort food dish arrives with a golden, crispy crust that gives way to a mound of creamy, luscious, truffle-specked mac and cheese. May force you to revise your sharing food policy. 650 W. 42nd St., 212-564-9588

Chianina steak / Maremma
Not only is he your chef, but Maremma’s Cesare Casella is your farmer too. Giving new meaning to the word locavore, Casella raises his own Chianina cattle for this specialty dish available only three days every six weeks. Juicy and tender, with a tremendous beefy taste for a meat so lean, you can even get to select your own cut before dinner. 228 W. 10th St., 212-645-0200