Reverb 13 · Prompt 14 · Feast

#Reverb13 is a prompt-a-day series for the month of December that is meant to give participants the chance to reflect on the past year and take the opportunity to write down some hopes for the coming year.

Prompt 14: What was the best meal you had in 2013?  Was it slurped standing over the kitchen counter?  Was the menu written in a language you understood?  Were you alone?  Or at a table filled with family and friends?

I'm not sure that there was one full meal that was "The Best."  So many delicious foods and so many delicious meals.  We've been fortunate to break bread with friends and family throughout the year.

So instead of a one best, here's my look at The Best Of, broken into categories.

Best single plate: braised pork belly over julienned cucumbers, mangoes, and carrots

Best breakfast: chilaquiles at Liberty Market

Best Homage Meal: homemade version of Dirty Dave's Gay 90's Special Pizza and Jake Sandwich

Best "Hey! Let's See What Happens" Dinner - cheesy seafood risotto with blackened shrimp and collards

Best Burger - smoked pork burger topped with an egg at Angel's Trumpet Ale House

Best Nachtisch - salt river bar at Liberty Market

Best Reason to be Wrong - chocolate cupcakes with milk chocolate buttercream frosting

Until this frosting, I preferred my cake naked.

Best Weekend Lunch - BLfgT (bacon lettuce fried green tomato)

Best Meal from the Smoker - hoja-wrapped sausage and peppers

Best One-Dish - Shakshuka

Favorite Better-Than-the-Restaurant Meal - street tacos with pork belly, cabbage slaw, avocado, and cotija cheese with jicama-cucumber salad

Most of these meals weren't really "special occasions," but rather for simple meals with friends/family or "let's go out for a bite."  Good food, regardless of the company, is good food, but it's the company that makes good food The Best.