My Best Restaurant Meals of 2023

Posted on by


I was all over the map in 2023. Literally so. In January and early February, the whole family was in India, spending time in Delhi, Agra and Goa. In March, I went off to Seoul for a week. In late-April I was in New York and New Jersey for a few days. In the summer we all went off to Europe for an extended stint, spending three weeks on vacation in Italy and another six on work in Ireland. And then, finally, in October, the missus and I took a weekend trip to New York. That’s a lot of traveling and a lot of restaurant meals. And, of course, we ate out at our usual once-a-week clip while in the Twin Cities metro. So my selections for my best restaurant meals of 2023 draw from a wider geography than usual (the really unusual thing is that we did not get to Los Angeles at all this year). I’ve divided the list up first to separate more expensive/formal places from less expensive/more casual places but the top five list draws from both categories. A few more Twin Cities-centered lists follow after that.

I am obviously not including outstanding meals eaten in homes of family and friends in Delhi. Nor am I including an excellent meal we ate in a home in the old city of Agra as part of a walking tour; I’ve also not included our second visit to Palacio do Deao in Goa, as I just realized I unaccountably failed to write it up on the blog (you can read about our first visit here). And though I’m not listing them here, I also want to say how much we enjoyed the casual meals we made at our various rentals in Italy of salumi, cheese and bread purchased from not particularly fancy markets in the cities/towns we visited.

Formal Restaurants

In chronological order:

Casual Restaurants/Markets

In chronological order:

Top 5 Meals Out in 2023

I should say that, taken together, my four-night residency at Gwangjang Market in Seoul was probably the highlight of my year in eating out. This is not because the meals involved a steady stream of highlights (though the food was all good) but because of the larger experience and atmosphere. But picking individual meals that were excellent from top to bottom, these would be my top five.

  1. Indian Accent, New Delhi
  2. Foxface Natural, New York
  3. Pizzeria da Attilio, Naples
  4. Santo Palato, Rome
  5. Bastible, Dublin

And since I’m making lists, here are a few more.

Top Twin Cities Metro First Experiences of 2023

These are some other places and things we ate/at for the first time in 2023 and enjoyed very much indeed.

  1. The special dishes at Pho Tempo in Burnsville
  2. The Burmese menu at Friends Cafe in St. Paul
  3. El Itacate in Maplewood

Old Favourites Not Listed Above That Kept The Faith in 2023

In alphabetical order:

  1. 112 Eatery in Minneapolis
  2. Cafe Lota in New Delhi
  3. Homi in St. Paul
  4. Krungthep Thai in St. Paul
  5. Tenant in Minneapolis

Twin Cities Restaurants I’m Looking Forward To Trying in 2024

  1. El Sazon Cocina & Tragos
  2. Gai Noi
  3. Hot Grainz
  4. Kim’s
  5. Vinai

Okay, those are the lists for 2023. 2024’s list will likely have a lot of places from Bombay and Seoul on it. We’re about to leave for an extended sojourn in both cities. Reports from both cities will appear on the blog while we’re away and also on my Instagram. We’ll look forward to eating in the Twin Cities again when we’re back.

7 thoughts on “My Best Restaurant Meals of 2023”

  1. I’ll only comment on twin cities restaurants:

    I was disappointed at Kim’s.

    I second your opinions on the old fave’s except Homi. I’ve never a meal I’d like to have again at Homi.

    I enjoyed Gai Noi’s jeows. Did not care for the cucumber salad done in style of papaya salad. Papaya is superior imo.

    Friends was good. Not Burma Superstar good, but I didn’t need to buy a ticket to SFO.

    Thanks for Krungthep. We really enjoyed it twice.

    Like

    Reply

    • Re Kim’s, let me say that after our meals at Young Joni and Sooki & Mimi, I am looking forward to Kim’s more in hope than with conviction. I would just like there to be more high-end restaurants that do for more Asian cuisines what Ann Ahmed has done with Lao food or Gustavo Romero has done with Mexican food. Which is also why I am looking forward to finally getting to Gai Noi when we’re back (and also why I’m hopeful about Vinai).

      Shocked to hear that’s been your experience at Homi!

      Like

      Reply

  2. We ate at Porzana last night, my first and possibly last meal there:

    First off, the steak was very good. And the list of cuts makes me want to go back and try some of the others. There’s a Japanese A5 Wagyu on the menu at $85 for 4 oz. That’s roughly $340 per pound before tax and tip. Cheap compared to airfare to Tokyo. I had the Entrana, a strip steak. And unlike Manny’s, Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris, this was NOT a situation where I felt like I could have done the steak at home just as well or better.

    The salad was nice.

    The wine was not bad. I wasn’t with wine drinkers and I’m trying to cut back, so I limited myself to the wines by the glass. Tried both Malbecs.

    The side dishes were not to our liking at all. The carrots and mushrooms seemed to have higher fat-content than the steak. The mashed potatoes were blah. The oyster with bone marrow was not as good as the oyster plain. The tuna crudo was ok, but the tuna was overwhelmed by the 3-ring circus of accompanying sauces and garnishes. The sweet breads were breaded and deep fried and could have been deep fried mushrooms for all the
    sweet bread character exhibited. The chorizo was bland and disappointing compared to similar argentine-style chorizo’s from Whole Foods meat counter. Steve Raichlen’s recipe for Chimichurri is more to my liking (more acid, more herbs). https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/real-chimichurri/

    Service was friendly, not overly intrusive. Very professional.

    If I go back, I’d just get a steak, a salad and a glass of wine.

    Like

    Reply

  3. Visiting my son, he insisted on Gai Noi; I would rate it many dishes as very good and you should certainly visit it. At about $30 a head it’s definitely a great deal. Godavari tonight, because of course.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.