Best Things I Ate in 2024
Gotta eat. Might as well eat somewhere that isn’t in your house. From tacos prepared by award winning chefs to tacos prepared by less esteemed cooks, here are ten of our favorite things we ate in 2024.
Tacos at Chicatana, Washington, D.C.
The best tacos in D.C. are some of the most affordable. The best tacos in D.C. are made by chefs that work(ed) at some of D.C.’s finest dining restaurants (Boqueria, Fiola Mare, Oyamel, Unconventional Diner). This place was very popular before they expanded their footprint and now is super duper popular since the food critic at The Washington Post raved about them. The hype is justified. It’s slightly better if you can enjoy the tacos (literally all of them, I’ve tried all of them and enjoyed all of them but the carnitas and pescado tacos are the ones I’ll order every time) in the restaurant and best enjoyed if you’re able to stop by Red Derby or Lyman’s after you eat. -Brandon Wetherbee
French Fries at DC Improv, Washington, D.C.
Hear me out: I’ve done the research, and the DC Improv has the best french fries in the city. Crispy, seasoned, perfectly dipped in a side of ranch dressing if you’re midwestern at heart. They’re even good hours later reheated in your toaster oven (I’m told most people use air fryers now, but we only have so much counter space in the city, okay?). -Jenny Cavalero
Fide on the iconic restaurant row Calle Ponzano was one of our favorite discoveries when my wife and I visited Madrid for the first time in May: a no-frills, standing room only bar that serves a variety of simply prepared seafood dishes that showcase the freshness and quality of the ingredients. The best dish we had there, and likely the best thing I ate in 2024, was the zamburiñas, freshly caught Galician scallops delicately grilled and served on the half shell. We split an order of six and could have spent the rest of the night there gorging ourselves on a few dozen more if our commitment to the tapas lifestyle didn’t compel us to press on and keep exploring. For the rest of the night, despite having several other memorably great bites, my mind dwelled on Fide’s perfectly tender, rich zamburiñas, a dish that I will probably think about for the rest of my life. -Matt Byrne
Heng Heng Chicken Rice’s poached white meat with garlic rice at Heng Heng Chicken Rice, Los Angeles
Heng Heng is a new Thai place in my neighborhood and I ordered this because they were out of fried chicken. I really didn’t anticipate liking their skin-on poached option with its pinkish baby mouse hue, but it was dinner time, and I was a hungry boy. I have no idea what they do to their chicken or the garlic rice or the sauce they use, but this ended up being the best piece of chicken I ate in 2024 (not a small list). Plus if you’re into Thai-level spicy food, they have a devastating chile concoction you can put on there too. -Joe McAdam
L. St Smash at The Leavitt Street Inn & Tavern, Chicago
Out of all the food in all the countries I’ve traveled to this year, I’m surprised that the one meal that came to my mind was a burger. Simple, elegant and unpretentious, per the menu it’s just a 1/3rd lb patty, house sauce, homemade pickles and caramelized onions on a bun. However, I believe this is the burger all other smash burgers want to be having achieved the perfect sear on a thin juicy patty with glass-like meat lacing draping off every edge. Pair with Malort. -Ed Barakauskas
Omani Shrimp Kebabs at Maydan, Washington, D.C.
The Omani Shrimp Kebabs were so good I booked a trip to Oman in 2025. -Afriti Bankwalla
Peach cobbler from the Peach Cobbler Factory, Washington, D.C.
They offer twelve different types of peach cobbler, and I’ve tried them all—twice. Absolutely delicious every single, or second, or third time. -Haywood Turnipseed Jr.
Salt and Pepper Chicken Nuggets at Purple Kow, San Francisco
Now hear me out. These are not just your standard chicken nuggets. These are incredible chunks of juicy chicken coated in a slightly spicy batter and fried to perfection, served in a giant bucket with an incredible dipping sauce akin to spicy mayo. It’s basically karaage (Japanese fried chicken bites), served from a bubble tea shop that constantly has a line out the door. This incredible shop is right next to the Balboa Theater in San Francisco, where I make an annual pilgrimage for the Unnamed Footage Festival, a horror movie fest dedicated to all things found footage. A bucket of Purple Kow’s salt and pepper nuggets and 12 hours in a dark theater with weird horror movies? It’s everything I’ve ever needed. -Mary Beth McAndrews
Royal Daurenki at Rooster & Owl, Washington, D.C.
I had plenty of wonderful bites dining out this year. Only one made me reconsider what I would want my last meal to be — not that I plan on dying anytime soon: Rooster & Owl’s caviar on warm steamed brown butter buns with creme fraiche, pickled onions, pickled daikon, and chives. -Nicole Schaller
Taco Bell cravings box at Taco Bell, The World
If you order via the app you can get a soda (Dr. Pepper, obviously), nachos, one regular taco, and one specialty taco (cheesy gordita crunch, obviously) for $6—an absolute lifesaver in this economy. -Norman Quarrinton
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