Mike Winston’s Best Meals of 2015

Yes, I know this year-end list is beyond belated. Actually, I’m probably over a month late. Normally, I’m not one to make these kinds of excuses, but my life has been pretty hectic lately.

As you may or may not know, I’m getting married in a couple of months, so my time has recently come at an extreme premium and I haven’t been able to commit as much attention as I’d like to this little publication obsession. With that being said, over the next couple of months, I’ll be playing around with post style and formatting a bit in an attempt to find new ways to rapidly pump out awesome food articles with fewer publishing limitations on my end. Please feel free to give me feedback on the new content — I’m planning to review this little experiment in a few months and we can take it from there.

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Your Next Date Night Should Involve SF’s Very Best Burger

I love that we live in a time where the modest and familiar burger is treated with the same skill and care as a seared duck breast or other fancy-sounding entrée. These impressive creations are no longer haphazardly assembled by slapping together unwanted scraps and trimmings and are no longer regarded just as greasy pub food. These burgers come a pedigree. Brilliant chefs now utilize custom butcher blends of meat and have truly mastered the art of balancing and enhancing those bold, rich, cheesy flavors while still retaining the burger’s undeniably attractive gutbomb essence. These cherished burgers have now become a highlighted menu staple at most high-end restaurants and while many claim to serve the best in San Francisco, I think the title belongs safely to the one I’ve had at Stones Throw.

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Asian Inspired Brunch at Kitchen Door in the Napa Oxbow Market

Here’s the thing about Napa. It’s pretty freaking expensive everywhere. Between the wineries and their extra pricey tastings and the extremely high-end eateries, it’s pretty easy to burn through a lot of cash quickly in Napa. Even if you actually want a meal on the cheaper side, it’s not so easy to find anything that’s actually good so it takes a bit more digging and information than most places and you’re still likely to end up disappointed. But, I do actually know of some great meals that can be had in Napa for less than an arm and a leg and I’m happy to share this info with you.

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Seafood Serenity at Cindy’s Waterfront in the Monterey Bay Aquarium

If you’re headed to Monterey, you’re inevitably going to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. And you should. It’s absolutely one of the best aquariums in the country. All of the exhibits are extremely well designed – I especially loved the one with the jellyfish. The aquarium is located in the most touristy section of town called Cannery Row which is full of now-defunct anchovy-canning warehouse factories that have been resurrected mostly as mediocre chain restaurants. Sure, you could eat at one of those places, but I think your best lunch option in the area is actually inside the aquarium.

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Mike Winston’s Best Bites of 2014

What a year!! I did something like this last year too, but oh boy was 2014 a doozy. I started off living in NYC, then a started a new job that whisked me off the San Francisco and Silicon Valley for a few months before ultimately relocating to San Francisco permanently. And along the way, I squeezed in a couple of vacations too.

Sooooo, I did a LOT of epic eating this year. And truth be told, I found it particularly difficult to narrow down my list as concisely as last year’s, but I somehow managed. So, without further ado, I present the winners (and runner-ups) broken down by category. I tried to cluster similar dish types together, but really they are in no particular order. Let’s begin!

And if you wanna hear about the 2014’s Best Cocktails, read more here.
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The Very Best Airport Food I’ve Ever Eaten

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It’s getting to be that time when we look back on the year in review and 2014 was a very big year of travel for me. Between working remotely in Silicon Valley while still officially living in NYC, moving from NYC to SF, and other miscellaneous leisure travel, I spent a lot of time in airports.

I know that airports get a bad rap when it comes to dining options and you know what, most of the time the food really does suck. But, every now and then I’ve been able to come across some truly excellent dishes. Beyond that, I’ve even managed to find a number of dishes served in airports that blew me away – the overacheivers – the kinds of things I would get even if I wasn’t stuck eating in an airport. Without further ado, read on below to see the best of the best to eat before you fly in the sky. (more…)

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Read more about the article Rare Xi’an Region Chinese Specialities at QQ Noodle in Cupertino
Rare Xi’an Region Chinese Specialities at QQ Noodle in Cupertino, CA

Rare Xi’an Region Chinese Specialities at QQ Noodle in Cupertino

I drove 20 minutes across Silicon Valley to quench a Xiao Long Bao craving at Shanghai Dumpling and was sternly turned away at 8:35 by a strong “we’re closed”. The restaurant was still full and running at full speed, which led me to wonder if my blatant whiteness got me rejected from the nearly entirely Asian-filled restaurant. Um, hello, Yelp says you’re supposed to be open until 9:30 on Sunday nights! Way to be racist, Shanghai Dumpling. I acted quick on my feet and went elsewhere to get my Asian food fix that night.

As it turned out, this particular shopping center was a sort of Cupertino Chinatown with a number of Asian dining options to choose from. Directly next door to Shanghai Dumpling there was a similar looking restaurant called QQ Noodle. Sure, why not. It was bright and clean looking and had pretty standard Asian restaurant decor. I figured I’d give it a shot and try to remedy my Asian dinner dilemma.

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Read more about the article Extremely Excessive Burgers & Fries at Brown Chicken Brown Cow in Campbell
Extremely Excessive Burgers & Fries at Brown Chicken Brown Cow in Campbell, CA

Extremely Excessive Burgers & Fries at Brown Chicken Brown Cow in Campbell

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After having a really great experience at Liquid Bread in Downtown Historic Campbell, I knew there was more great dining to be found. While there are many restaurants that line the main drag, I’m fairly certain that most are not worth my time or money, but if I looked hard enough I could find some gems.

Brown Chicken Brown Cow (best pronounced like “Bow Chicka Wow Wow”) definitely makes you look hard to even find it. Armed with Google Maps and their address and I still struggled to find the restaurant on this single-street downtown area. But it was worth the extra effort and their silly name is perfect for the downright pornographic I consumed.

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Read more about the article Great American Comfort Food & the Biggest Burger in NYC at Delicatessen
Great American Comfort Food & the Biggest Burger in NYC at Delicatessen

Great American Comfort Food & the Biggest Burger in NYC at Delicatessen

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Delicatessen is a really interesting place. Located in the heart of Nolita, it’s definitely a scene. You know, the kind of place where the cool people hang out. The ground floor is a nice, spacious, sunlit restaurant known for its classic American comfort foods like mac & cheese and burgers. These qualities also make it a very popular brunch destination. On top of all of this, the basement below Delicatessen is a sort of loungey nightclub that regularly fills up with models and the rest of the cool crowd.

In general I try to avoid popular, sceney places like this, but I’ve found the food and experience at Delicatessen is great every time. They serve really good, quality food in a casual atmosphere without any of the pretension you might expect. They serve nice cocktails, have a good wine list, and serve big, hearty dishes making it a great spot for a date night or a meal out with the family.

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Read more about the article How I Almost Missed Out On an Awesome Burger at Burger & Barrel
How I Almost Missed Out On an Awesome Burger at Burger & Barrel

How I Almost Missed Out On an Awesome Burger at Burger & Barrel

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Let me tell you a story about how one awful waitress nearly ruined a great restaurant for me. On a random, spur of the moment Saturday evening, Amy and I decided we wanted to go out for date night dinner and drinks.

We had each heard nice things about Burger & Barrel and were particularly excited to try Josh Capon’s food because we frequently watch him on TV fixing awful kitchens on Bar Rescue. I also had heard that a few months back at this year’s NYCWFF Burger Bash, Josh’s burger was voted the best in the city. For all of these reasons, Amy and I were excited to experience Burger & Barrel for ourselves.

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