10 best dishes our Neighborhood Eats writer ate around the Seattle area in 2022

Say on average you eat three meals a day, every day, all year. That’s nearly 1,100 meals and that’s not counting that handful of nuts around 2:30 p.m. on weekdays, or that surprise doughnut you ate while at coffee with a friend. So we’ll round up — and say you’ve got about 2,000 opportunities each year to make a choice about what you eat.

Sadly, not every choice is a winner. There are limp salads, unripe fruit and risks we take in the kitchen that don’t quite pan out (I’m still catching grief for a smashed potato “nachos” experiment in 2018). But as I like to say, the clock starts over at midnight and tomorrow is another day for us to get it right.

As you’re making those 2,000 choices over the next year, I’ve got 10 no-brainer wins for you: the best of the best of the choices I made over the past year while traversing the Greater Seattle area for Neighborhood Eats — sweet, spicy, crunchy, meaty and vegetarian options. Just reading over this list has me hungry, and eager to venture out there again, finding even more amazing food in 2023.

The cake from Deep Sea Sugar and Salt

I think just about everything Charlie Dunmire and her staff at Georgetown cake shop Deep Sea Sugar & Salt does is magic, but I especially loved the grapefruit olive oil cake from last February. The cake has six layers of tender ricotta olive oil cake, each soaked with grapefruit juice and given a smear of grapefruit curd and mascarpone cream. The exterior of the cake is frosted in a tangy cream cheese. It’s perfection and I can’t wait to see if it comes back this February.

Deep Sea Sugar & Salt 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Sunday; 6601 Carleton Ave. S., Seattle; 206-588-1186; deepseasugarandsalt.com

The cruciferous tacos from Centro Kitchen

If I lived in Burien, this taco would be on weekly rotation for me. The vegan taco features roasted broccoli and cauliflower, topped with pickled red onions, a smattering of slivered almonds for even more crunch and a drizzle of chipotle-cashew sauce. You can get it on flour or corn tortillas, or on a “tortilla” of crunchy-ish melted cheese.

Centro Neighborhood Kitchen noon-8 p.m. daily; 643 S.W. 152nd St., Suite A, Burien; 206-420-7227; centroburien.com

The stewed pork with handmade noodles at Núodle

The next time that bone-chilling dampness sets in, I am heading straight to Bellevue noodle shop Núodle and ordering a bowl of the incredible stewed pork and noodles, topped with enough chili sauce to make you forget just how cold it is outside. As if that weren’t reason enough to go, be sure to order a side of the flaky crispy beef patty.

Núodle 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily; 14603 N.E. 20th St., Suite #6, Bellevue; 425-395-9999

The seafood boil at Bag O’ Crab

If you have a good friend you haven’t connected with in a while — this is your sign. Take them to Bag O’ Crab in Shoreline. Order Combo #4 with Dungeness crab, shrimp, crawfish, clams and sausage and dig in. The act of cracking crabs and separating meat from shell is the perfect opportunity to catch up. Order it Atomic Sauce-style, meaning a mix of garlic butter, lemon pepper and Cajun spices, and get your hands dirty.

Bag O’ Crab 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 1295 N. 205^th St., Shoreline; 206-546-8988; bagocrabwa.com

The breakfast tacos from Good Morning Tacos

There’s nothing else exactly like these puffy breakfast tacos in Seattle, each with a layer of blistered cheese hugging the toppings. You’ll find Good Morning Tacos at area farmers markets; they also pop up at breweries, the menu a rotating list of four taco options. If the poblano — with a smoky roasted pepper, crumbly cotija cheese and a cloud of scrambled eggs — is available, that’s a must-order. However, all the tacos hit the spot.

Good Morning Tacos goodmorningtacos.co

The ribs from Fat Pig BBQ

I swear, if you merely look at it too long, the meat falls off the bone from the ribs at this hole-in-the-wall BBQ spot in Edmonds. Slathered with a sweet/spicy/tangy sauce that hits all the right notes, you can order half or full racks of ribs, plus all the usual barbecue sides.

Fat Pig BBQ 11 a.m.-7:30 Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 7533 Olympic View Drive, Edmonds; 425-361-7640; eatfatpigbbq.com

The fried tofu from Fang’s Noodle House

The beef hand-pulled noodles get a lot of kudos at this little noodle bar in Kirkland’s Totem Lake neighborhood, but the dish that stole my heart was the fried tofu, where a creamy interior is shellacked with a pebbly, crunchy coating slicked with chili oil. At only $6.99 for a basketful, the tofu is as much a bargain as it is delicious.

Fang’s Noodle House 12085 124^th Ave. N.E.; 425-608-1258; fangsnoodlehousewa.com

The crispy spicy fish from Szechuan First

It’s beginning to seem like chili oil has been a theme of 2022 for me, so I’m leaning in with the crispy spicy fish from Szechuan First in Kent. What I loved about this fish was the sheer delicacy of its coating. It was dry and crackly, the salt and spice applied with a deft hand creating a dish that was nearly impossible to stop eating. I also loved the dry fried green beans mixed in, which provided a great texture break from all the breading.

Szechuan First 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-9:15 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9:45 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 18124 E. Valley Highway, Kent; 425-656-0889

Dinner at Finistère

I know it’s vague, but I want to go back to Port Townsend’s Finistère and order my entire meal over again, starting with the blistered shishito peppers and ending with the perfectly cooked salmon with sunchoke chips and miso beurre blanc sauce. In between, I’ll share a bowl of rigatoni Bolognese and a crisp green salad with buttermilk dressing with whoever wants to go there with me. In fact, I think I might start checking the menu now to see what dinner in January there might look like; it could be even better.

Finistère 3 p.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 1025 Lawrence St., Port Townsend; 360-344-8127; restaurantfinistere.com

The chicken stick at Chicken Supply

I have loved The Chicken Supply since it opened October 2021, but since my oldest daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease in September, I have become even more grateful for the genius of the gluten-free chicken stick. In a sea of GF things that feel less delicious than their gluten-filled counterparts, this is one thing that doesn’t feel like a compromise. It feels special and delicious and I am so grateful for it.

The Chicken Supply 4-8 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday; 7410 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle; 206-257-4460; thechickensupply.com