As the sun sets over the San Gabriel Superstore complex, a slew of food purveyors and trucks set up shop along its perimeter down Valley and San Gabriel boulevards. The months-old Chinese night market happens daily at around 6 p.m. and has been slowly gathering steam each week attracting more vendors and attendees. I was alerted to this tremendous gastronomical gathering by SGV queen @kristiehang.
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As I departed from Eater before our annual roundup, I tried to resist the urge to recount my favorite dishes of 2024. But looking back on Gastronomy’s archives, I see that it was futile to deny myself the opportunity to “taste life twice.” It’s baked into my DNA at this point.
Back in 2010, the golden age of food blogging, I highlighted the year’s best bites by sweet and savory. My yearend retrospective simplified starting in 2017 with singular dishes that made the biggest impression: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Continuing this grand, self-satisfying tradition, here are 10 unranked, brain-bendingly delicious dishes from 2024.
Vietnamese bò né at Nep Cafe in Fountain Valley, California
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Haitian salt cod patty at Alamod Caribbean Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
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Khmer beef stew at Kim Sun Kitchen in Long Beach California
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Every year around this time (or sometimes even months later), I look back at my favorite features published on Eater. These stories resonated most because they challenged me to dig deep to find the most fitting angles and words. It’s always the tougher reports that are the most satisfying to publish. From a retrospective on mid-aughts food blogging to a profile on the sometimes inhospitable nature of hospitality, here are my editorial darlings from 2024.
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