29 Insanely Good Dishes That Aren't Up For a Flood's Award

Curries, crudos, kebabs, and more — these dishes were too good to snub

The 3rd Annual Flood’s Awards are right around the corner. I’ll be kicking off the process next week by announcing the nominees for each category on Instagram. Then, on Dec 22, I’ll be sharing the award winners, along with a write-up for each, right here on Substack. You can read up on last year’s winners here.

Among the awards, choosing nominees and winners for the “best dish” categories has routinely proven the hardest. Top restaurants and favorite songs often fall neatly into place, but paring down every good thing I ate in a calendar year is a different beast. Insanely good dishes that I think about, talk about, and crave sometimes miss the cut. It’s just how it goes.

But this year, rather than chop those dishes, I’m giving them a spotlight of their own. I’ve rounded up the just-off-the-list items as a precursor to the awards to come. They’re dishes worth going out of your way for, from restaurants that seriously impressed me this year.

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29 Insanely Good Dishes That Aren’t Up For a Flood’s Award

01] Raw Sobrassada with Honey — Mountain London, England

50% spicy sobrassada, 50% rye bread — pickled peppers, and a drizzle of honey for good measure

02] Vol au Vent — Ha’s Snack Bar New York, New York

With oxtail and snails — Ha’s is built different

03] Tam Tam Wings — Tam Tam Miami, Florida

Coated in fish sauce caramel — I mean, come on

04] Spicy Fish Fillets & Kung Pao Chicken — Birds of a Feather Brooklyn, New York

05] Confit Duck Leg Udon — Kisser Nashville, Tennessee

Comes with ramen noodles by design, but my server talked me into a swap for udon — incredible call

06] Dal Makhani — Tamil Prince London, England

Everything at Tamil was a winner — a very worthy London hit

07] Bánh Cuốn Hà Nội — Bánh Anh Em New York, New York

Pork and wood ear mushrooms in a bouncy rice roll — a banger

08] Chicky + Ham & Cheese — Salty Lunch Lady’s Little Luncheonette Queens, New York

Chicky — a smashed meatball patty with Bulgarian feta — goes particularly hard

09] Sunday Roast — The Devonshire London, England

Propa roast mate!

10] Italian & American Hams with Zeppole — Torrisi New York, New York

How is this place so good

11] Cardeau Cru, Sungolds — Mon Lapin Montreal, Quebec

That’s French for “damn good crudo.” Topped with preserved sungolds and doused in brown butter

12] Lake Michigan Perch — Oak Parker Oak Park, Michigan

Fish fry!!!

13] Confit Oyster — Penny New York, New York

Impossible dish to photograph, impossible dish to describe — so wildly good

14] Chicken Liver Parfait — Bar Bete Brooklyn, New York

With some big slices of toasty sourdough

15] Seekh Kebab — Angel Queens, New York

Sizzling minced lamb just off the Jackson Heights subway stop

16] Rigatoni in Heritage Pork Ragu — Rolf & Daughters Nashville, Tennessee

More than meets the eye — they’re doing special things at Rolf

17] XO Duck — Bridges New York, New York

18] Trompo Negro Fuego — Tacos del Valle Mexico City, Mexico

Topped with crushed flaming hot taki takis

19] Leavitt Street Smash — Leavitt Street Inn Chicago, Illinois

A truly glorious smash

20] Makhlouta Soup & Fattouche Salad — Le Petit Alep Montreal, Quebec

Paltate cleanser in MTL after two days of being drenched in brown butter

21] Niku Udon — Don Udon Brooklyn, New York

Such a sleeper hit

22] Sea Trout — Heron Edinburgh, Scotland

One of the best raw fish dishes, perhaps ever

23] Crispy Whole Fish — Bong Brooklyn, New York

The first time (iykyk)

24] Tomato Pie with Stracciatella — Elena Montreal, Quebec

On a negative-10-degree day

25] Beef Tongue — Berbena Barcelona, Spain

From my favorite restaurant on earth

26] Muva Fish — Yemenat Brooklyn, New York

Baked in a clay oven, served with tomato feta sauce

27] Kebabs — Dearborn Meat Market Dearborn, Michigan

28] Pad Krapow — Épicerie Pumpui Montreal, Quebec

Best consumed after a sauna hit

29] Peanut Chili Pork Hand-Ripped Noodles — Pomelo Edinburgh, Scotland

An umami-forward affair in Edinburgh

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Somehow, there’s still more to come... follow along on Instagram and keep an eye out for the nominee post next week. And subscribe below to get the Flood’s Award winners hand-delivered to your inbox on the 22nd.