Best bites: It was a year of firsts — and a whole lot of fantastic

It's been a very good year. One in which I ate, for the first time, fried avocado, cold jellyfish and grilled kangaroo. This also was the year that offered the definitive answer to the question, "What's the best meal you've ever eaten?" The answer: an extravaganza of exquisiteness at Masa in New York, where I bowed deeply — and paid dearly — to dine at the altar of sushi master Masayoshi Takayama.

Here's a look back on the many dishes (and a few libations) that helped make 2005 a memorable year for this food critic.

January

Joining the hip-parade of Vietnamese food fans at Tamarind Tree in Seattle's Little Saigon, I was wowed by bon bon salad. This new taste sensation brought together the bright flavors and crunchy textures of roasted peanuts, fried shallots, pickled jicama, slender slivers of the Asian fruit langsat and skewers of grilled shrimp with their heads and tails intact.

February

At Chez Shea and its casual sibling Shea's Lounge in Pike Place Market, the menu dances in a variety of ethnic directions. Witness such dishes as tinga chipotle de pollo, a spicy Mexican-accented chicken stew that had me stamping my feet. And the far less rustic but no less impressive Hokkaido sea scallops sauced with a blood-orange beurre blanc and served over "Moroccan" couscous flecked with pecans and mint.

March

As if the corned beef and cabbage served at Paddy Coyne's South Lake Union pub wasn't enough to make me want to raise a pint to the Emerald Isle, its side of chunky mashed potatoes with grated horseradish and complement of housemade soda bread certainly did the trick.

Small is big at Elemental, the tiny restaurant-disguised-as-a-dinner-party hidden away near Gas Works Park. "Big" also describes the sweet, earthy flavor of roasted garlic wafting from chef Laurie Riedeman's garlic-scented waffle — a savory bed for her luscious braised beef.

April

At Pioneer Square's Ibiza Dinner Club, the list of bar-noshable tapas included papas fritas — whose sensational spices punched up the bet-you-can't-eat-just-one quotient of these bodacious potato boats. Crisp outside, creamy within, these were terrific without their dual dose of aioli sauce and even better when dippity-do'd.

May

Chef Jason Wilson's short ribs with potato gnocchi were a lush reward at Crush, the stylish Victorian near 23rd and East Madison. Slow braising allowed the well-marbled beef to render its fat, leaving behind sticky sweet edges of richer-than-rich meat and a sauce all too perfect for gnocchi dredging.

When the world-ranging menu at Impromptu Wine Bar Café in Madison Park stopped Down Under last spring, I jumped at my chance to try kangaroo, never suspecting it would taste like a prime cut of filet mignon. Sauced with a green peppercorn demi-glace, the steak came with a side of dreamy risotto, heralding spring with fresh peas, fava beans and asparagus.

June

At Volterra in Ballard, Chef Don Curtiss' swoony polenta with wild mushrooms borrows the molten-chocolate cake concept, then replaces the cake with silky-soft polenta, the gooey chocolate with fontina cheese and the whipped cream with fresh porcini and morels with truffle oil.

And at 94 Stewart in Pike Place Market, chef Celinda Norton's fried avocado is a Northwest-meets-Southwest inspiration presented in a margarita glass rimmed with salt; layered with sweet fresh Dungeness crab, corn relish and tomato; then topped with a whole creamy avocado, sliced and panko-fried.

July

What could be better than a perfect summer day spent in the sun with my son at the Third Annual Samish Bay Bivalve Bash at Taylor Shellfish Farms? Not much. Here in beautiful Bow, Skagit County, we watched the messy-fun low-tide mud run, made jewelry out of oyster shells, competed in crab races and ate plenty of amazing fresh-shucked Totten Virginicas served as they should be: buck (a piece)-naked on the half-shell. And who could resist the scent of curried Mediterranean mussels wafting from the booth manned by the ever-cheerful Xihn Dwelley from Xihn's Clam & Oyster House in Shelton, Mason County? Not us.

At Joeys on Lake Union, the California sushi tacos (with fresh crabmeat, cucumber, avocado and rice) and their Hawaiian cousins ahi tuna tacos (crowned with wasabi-lime aioli and resting on an Asian-inspired slaw) were a bar-snackable stroke of genius and an adventure in cross-cultural cuisine.

I'm all for creative cocktails, especially when they're rooted in the classics. Witness the Dirty Martini at Spice, the restaurant and lounge under the Monorail at Fifth and Bell. A chili-salted rim and floating pickled pepper fueled my love affair with this not-so-coy combo of vodka spiked with olive brine.

August

When Cousin Mike from Dallas called to say he was in town on business and wanted to treat me to a "great seafood restaurant with a view," I knew just where we should go: Ray's Boathouse. The smile on Mike's face was as big as the Lone Star state when I showed off the view of Shilshole Bay and introduced him to that Northwest novelty, singing scallops, steamed in their gorgeous salmon-colored shells.

When I walked into the Whitehorse Trading Co. hidden along Post Alley, I thought I'd dreamed the place up. Is this a bar? A bookstore? A British pub? Whatever it is, it's filled with characters of the first order — chief among them Joe the publican, who swiftly fixed me up with his house special. He calls it a Pimm's, but this refreshing red wine-stained lemonade for grown-ups bears no resemblance to London's favorite summer drink. I stayed for the Pimm's. I've been back for the company.

September

The rabbit braised in Arneis with Ligurian chickpea crepe at Café Juanita in Kirkland is a menu mainstay. As well it should be. Chef Holly Smith's classic was every bit as oh-my-God-this-is-delicious as it was the first time I ordered it — five years ago.

October

At eats market café in West Seattle, I had the best matzo ball soup I've ever eaten in a restaurant, tasted autumn in a bowl of pumpkin ravioli with sage and browned butter and nearly cried over the perfect pot roast — slow-braised beef brisket with lacy potato cake. Seeing (three) stars, I took my spoon to a most extraordinary caramel sauce meant for dripping over molten chocolate cake, courtesy of pastry chef and owner Toby Matasar.

November

Boy, was I glad to find Walter Pisano back home in his kitchen at Tulio Ristorante in the Hotel Vintage Park. And to learn that his talented crew is capable of producing such knockout dishes as roasted chicken with lemon risotto. Even better (how could that be?) was their braised Snake River Farms pork shank showered with horseradish gremolata. Among their remarkable desserts? A towering chocolate panna cotta, and creamy coffee and cinnamon gelato nestled in a praline cup.

December

Among the many bravo-worthy bivalves raising the bar downtown at Oceanaire Seafood Room were Effingham Inlet oysters shipped south from B.C.'s Barkley Sound. Just-shucked, those deep little cups gave up their "special sauce" — which tasted like brine on a breeze. I almost ordered another half-dozen for dessert.

What's big and boozy and spread on homemade melba toasts? The all-too-generous slab of chicken liver pâte served at Boat Street Kitchen — now in its new location where Western Avenue meets Denny. Read all about it this Friday in Ticket. After that, I'll be off for a holiday break and will return — ready to eat-and-tell-all once more — after the New Year.

Nancy Leson: 206-464-8838 or taste@seattletimes.com.

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