Sweet Sue's Breakfast Pasta: As if breakfast pizza wasn't amazing enough, we've found a new brunch favorite in this wonderful carb-filled bowl of fresh pappardelle with smoky bacon, earthy portabella mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes all topped with cheese and a perfectly poached egg. The moment that velvety egg yolk breaks and coats those beautiful strands of pasta is magical. Once you twirl a forkful into your mouth, you'll want to shovel the rest.
DeFazio's Linguini with Clam Sauce: 2014 was the year of tasty carbs. DeFazio's is well-known for its pizza, winning the 2014 All Over Albany Tournament of Pizza Championship. But it was the pasta that left a memorable impression. Made in-house and from scratch, this pasta doesn't get any fresher or better, except maybe with some tomato sauce and a few shakes of freshly-grated parmesan cheese.
Cider Belly Doughnuts: The classic cinnamon sugar doughnut topped FUSSYlittleBLOG's 2014 Tour de Donuts but it's the glazed ones that we can't get enough of. With rotating flavors like butter rum, apple cider glazed, and German chocolate among a slew of other unique flavors, you'll quickly find yourself filling up an order for a dozen or two. It's not easy picking a favorite but the coffee-flavored ones are stellar. The Stacks Caffeinator Belly was an extra special pick-me-up treat; made with Stacks espresso and glazed with coffee, it was the ultimate jolt of flavor.
Casa Dominica Cuban Sandwich: J's been obsessed with cubanos ever since watching Chef The Movie. Casa Dominica makes a mean pernil, translating to a juicy and flavorful Cuban sandwich. Yes it's a Dominican restaurant but the roast pork is key to this dish. One bite of this sandwich is an explosion of flavors. It's pork on pork action with shredded pernil and slices of salty ham; the combination of meat with melted swiss cheese, zip of mustard, and briny pickles blows any other ham and cheese sandwich out of the water. As an added bonus, you'll even find bits of crispy pork rind throughout each bite adding extra texture and flavor.
Council Rock Brewery Burger: More 607 than 518 but Council Rock Brewery in Cooperstown churns out good beer and good food. This hands down was the best burger of 2014: maple-glazed angus, topped with brie, pickled green tomatoes, on a pretzel bun. It's a lot of unorthodox ingredients but they all complement each other very well creating a satisfying salty and sweet flavor combo. Sadly it's not on the regular menu.
More Top Bites:
+ Top Bites of 2013
Whoah. That breakfast pasta looks incredible. I'm jealous.
ReplyDeleteOne other observation. That Cuban may be delicious, but all the sandwiches I grew up with in Miami are made with sliced pork (and no cracklins). Also, like banh mi, it's one of those sandwiches that really requires a very specific roll to be the real deal. Cuban bread is made with lard, and it has a crust results from trying to bake bread in a climate where the humidity is off the charts.
Great list. And thanks for mentioning the Tour de Donut.
One of these days we'll get to Miami for the real deal. The search for authentic bread is such a constant struggle around here! Dominica's Cuban bread is by no means authentic per say but the sandwich itself is one of the better variations for Albany. I can't even begin to tell you the monstrosity they served up at World of Beer.
Delete