The Year That Was - 2014

The blog is still abandoned, but here's my "Year in Cities" post anyway.

Memorable meals were had:
Chi'lantro (Austin) – Kimchi Fries
Uchi (Austin)
Woodberry Kitchen (Baltimore)
Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop (Baltimore)
Pat's King of Steaks (Philadelphia)
Chaps Pit Beef (Baltimore)
Ripple (Washington, DC)
Teaism (Washington, DC) – Their salty oat cookie recipe still eludes me
GBD (Washington, DC) – The Luther, see below
Thames Street Oyster House (Baltimore)
Peabody's (Goldthwaite, TX)
Bogart's Smokehouse (St. Louis)
Culver's (Valparaiso) – Not all that exciting, but it was my first time
Central BBQ (Memphis)
Tops Bar-B-Q (Memphis)

The trip to DC/Baltimore was the travel highlight of 2014. We had beautiful spring weather and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom around the capital. Food-wise, we stumbled upon GBD near the Dupont Circle subway stop, where we ordered the Luther: a Fried Brioche Doughnut Glazed in Maple-Chicken Jus, with Buttered Pecans, Slab Bacon and a Fried Boneless Chicken Thigh. Completely insane. We've recreated it at home a couple of times.

We took a side trip to Philadelphia, where I was mocked for ordering my cheesesteak "wit Whiz" instead of Provolone or real cheese. Hey, it's tradition!


In travel, I visited new states—Pennsylvania, Delaware, Kentucky, Tennessee. Here's my year in cities:

Seattle, Washington
Austin, Texas (in March, May, and October)
Baltimore, Maryland
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Delaware (just passing through)
Washington, D.C.
St. Louis, Missouri
Nauvoo, Illinois
Waterloo, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Chicago, Illinois (just O'Hare and the charming Penske rental truck location)
Valparaiso, Indiana
Louisville, Kentucky
Memphis, Tennessee

Previous years: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

What's on your 2014 list?