No matter how stuffed I feel at the end of a meal, I’m always game for a dessert (or two). Heck, I’m down for a sweet treat at just about any hour of the day! Whether the dessert was Taiwanese, Spanish, or Belgian, I was an equal opportunity sugar fiend this year. Without further ado, here are the ten best sweets that I ate in 2010…

Shaved Snow from Class 302 in Los Angeles, CA

Shaved snow is a very distant cousin of Hawaiian shaved ice. Its unique ribbon-like texture is achieved by freezing huge chunks of flavored water and milk, and then shaving it using a special machine. The resulting sheets of snow are gloriously creamy and dissolve ever so quickly on the tongue. One of my favorite varieties pairs green tea snow with red beans, mochi, and condensed milk. The snow was perfectly balanced, not too sweet and not too bitter, and tasted even better with the array of toppings. I was fighting my friends for the limited number of sticky mochi balls.

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Chocolate y Churros from San Gines in Madrid, Spain

The bittersweet brew was just as I had hoped—dark, warm, thick, and dreamy to sip and dip. The crisp and hot churros provided the perfect vehicle for delivering more richness down our gullets. The Astronomer and I polished off our mugs with ease.

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It’s hard to believe that after all these years of blogging, this is my first time posting a year-end retrospective. From coast to coast and to Spain and back, I ate like a champion these past 365 days. Thank you for joining me on this journey, and I look forward to sharing many more meals in this space.

Without further ado, here are the ten best savory dishes that I ate this year…

Camarones Aguachiles from Mariscos Chente in Los Angeles, CA

Magdalena Garcia, the restaurant’s owner, takes a bus down to the Mexican coast several times a month to bring back fish and shrimp for the restaurant. While that initially struck me as a lot of unnecessary work, one taste of the camarones aguachiles and it was clear that the extra effort was worth it. Flash marinated with lime, salt, and jalapeno, the raw shrimp were supple and crazy delicious.

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Ethiopian Kitfo from Zenebech Injera in Washington, D.C.

The kitfo (raw ground beef) was mildly spiced so that the meat’s natural flavor was front and center. It was accompanied by a mound of dulet (lean minced beef), a tomato salad, house made cottage cheese, and a bit of mitmita (ground African Birdseye chili peppers, cardamom seed, cloves, and salt) for dipping.

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