Luscious Memories A Look Back Over The Year, Not At Specific Meals, But At Special Moments Of Culinary Luxury.

When I think back upon a year of meals and try to single out the best, thousands of well-dressed plates spin into a dreamy blur. Oh yes, I can smell a whiff of musky North African spice, the minty fragrance of Thai basil, or the earthy tug of porcinis and truffles caressing the depths of my hunger. I can still feel a giant slice of steak convincing me with tenderness, or the sweet vapors of moonshine tickling my nose.

But what really surfaces from my memory as clear as consomme, more than any one dish or brush with luxury, are specific moments, like postcards of an eventful and beautiful journey.

I can see myself walking the Wildwood Boardwalk with my friend Howard, reliving his '70s childhood through a junk-food nostalgia tour. Mack's plain pizza was his madeleine, with its salty cheese and flour-dusted crust. A bucket of Curley's fries was still a revelation, banishing frozen impostors with zig-zag sticks that tasted inside like real spuds. At Giovanna's Goodies I, the heat of Mary Difranco's fresh funnel cakes burned our fingertips, covering them with a molten snow of liquefied powdered sugar.

Back in town, the pleasure of casual neighborhood dining was never better. London Grill maintained its leading role as the overachieving pub, with awesome duck spring rolls and a soulful take on osso buco, this one being pork, nestled with dark gravy into a cushion of barley risotto. At the New Wave Cafe, once most noted for Quizzo and its proximity to Dmitri's, chef Ben McNamara (formerly of Isabella's) was suddenly turning out escargot wrapped in puff pastry, and Key lime tarts topped with clouds of meringue. You can also get the best chicken wings I've ever tasted.

The boom in French bistros seemed more contrived, but had its highlight, too. Namely, the return of the hanger steak - or "onglet" - a raveling skein of sinewy beef that makes up in flavor what it lacks in looks. Under a bushy pile of crisp fries at The Blue Angel, it made a beautiful steak-frites, indeed.