The food desk at The New York Times is a powerhouse when it comes to reporting on culinary world happenings and crafting great recipes, so it's worth a look when they make a best of the year list. The team outlined the 26 best dishes they ate at U.S. restaurants in 2024, and one dish from a Washington, D.C. restaurant made the cut.
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The dish in question? Bò lá lốt from Moon Rabbit, decorated chef Kevin Tien's inventive Vietnamese restaurant in Penn Quarter. Tien serves the well-known Vietnamese street food with "a dipping sauce of labneh crowned with lemongrass-chile crunch, a nod to his love for dolmas," Times writer Brett Anderson writes. "A similar swirl of influences animates all of the food at Moon Rabbit. "But this dish of juicy grilled beef wrapped in perilla leaves is one of the only items you can plan to find on the always-evolving menu." Good news for those who want to try it, because Tien told the Times he doesn't expect this dish to leave the ever-changing menu since it's so beloved.
The list includes 26 dishes from restaurants around the country that Times staffers tried in 2024. Other dishes on the list include fried chicken from Idaho, green garlic and clam pasta from Rhode Island, a pie filled with toasted honey custard from San Francisco, and a stacked ham sandwich from Detroit. The team also created a separate list of the best dishes they ate in New York in 2024. Check out the full list below, and here.
The 26 best dishes The New York Times food staff ate in the U.S. in 2024:
- Molotes de Plátano at Komal in Los Angeles
- Tonnarelli With Green Garlic and Narragansett Clams at Giusto in Newport, R.I.
- Suadero Taco at Paprika at Austin in Texas
- Ham Sandwich at Mike’s Famous Ham Place in Detroit
- French Onion Soup at Little Sparrow in Atlanta
- Foieberry at Lazy Betty in Atlanta
- Birria at Birrieria Ocotlan in Chicago
- Fried Chicken at Stanley Supper Club in Stanley, Idaho
- Bò Lá Lốt at Moon Rabbit in Washington, D.C.
- Corn Mash at the Lobbyist in Memphis, Tenn.
- Chochoyotes at Acamaya in New Orleans
- Trúng Và Trúng at Sap Sua in Denver
- Arroz Caldo at Kultura in Charleston, S.C.
- Horchata Berlinesa at Ema in Houston
- Burnt Honey Pie at Grand Opening in San Francisco
- Goat Chops at Aga’s in Houston
- Lamb Posole at Paloma in Santa Fe, N.M.
- Tuna de Tigre at Mr. Tuna in Portland, Maine
- Mushroom Breakfast Taco at Ocotillo in Portland, Maine
- Croissubi at Bake Sum in Oakland, Calif.
- Pierogi z Dynia at Little Walter’s in Philadelphia
- Cherries Jubilee Sundae at Sugarpine Drive-In in Troutdale, Ore.
- Mussels With ’Nduja Butter at Heavenly Creatures in Portland, Ore.
- Beef Empanadas at the Port of Call in Mystic, Conn.
- Lebanese Sundae at Leila in Detroit
- Mozzarella Sandwich at Bread Head in Los Angeles