AaravC’s Top 5 Foods of 2016: A taste of Argentina, NY, Californian mountains (Tahoe), Danish in Central CA and Palo Alto

Hello,

My name is Aarav Chandrasekar. I live in Palo Alto, CA. One of my biggest passion’s in life is food. I travel with my parents a lot, and have tasted some great food all over the world. I am going to be blogging once a month and feature the most favorite food I have had that month. In each of my blogs, I will highlight the dish, the restaurant and the city where its based.

To get started, my introductory blog is about the top 5 foods of 2016.

Today I’m writing about the top foods in 2016 that I have tasted. Well, now that I think of it, I could do food only from California, which has some top quality food of it’s own, like the fish and fried rice at Tai Pan (Palo Alto) or even the gravy and biscuits at the Succulent Café (Solvang, CA). To be more specific, I could even do the best foods that my mom cooks on a daily basis. The problem with both these lists is that I would be missing the amazing food that is not in California or at my house. This is why I have made a list of the top five foods in 2016 from around the world.

New York Pizza in NY, NY

What’s better than a dish with ooey gooey fresh mozzarella cheese, a thin dough on the bottom, and a crust as crispy as bacon right off the hot pan at Inatteso Pizzabar Casano. If you’ve had pizza there before, you’ll know the answer. Nothing. After all of this description, if this dish still sounds boring, there’s always the tomatoes and basil from Italy or freshly grown in a farm that is owned by the restaurant. The tomatoes are so juicy, you could make a whole cup of juice with just a few slices of tomatoes. On top of all of that yummy goodness, the basil will cleanse your palate after each and every bite. These are most of the reasons why Inatteso Pizzabar Casano pizza’s are so good, but the main reason is the water. The best New York Pizzeria’s can spend up to $10,000 a year on water. So, I’ve told you so much about why I think New York Pizza is so good, If you ever go there, you tell me why it is so good. Is it the water in the ingredients, the ooey gooey cheesey fresh mozzarella, or even the delicious dough and thin crust.

Lamb cured in Malbec Wine, in Mendoza, Argentina

This past christmas (2016) I went to Mendoza, Argentina, it was a very private town but bustling with happy people. I tasted lot’s of great food, but this one stood out. The lamb cured in Malbec at the Park Hyatt, Mendoza. The winning piece of the dish was the Malbec. There was no taste of wine (according to my dad) but it still had a amazing sweet taste to it and also made the lamb have a chary taste that you would only get if you barbecued the lamb. Another great piece was the lamb itself, it was slow cooked in the oven for four hours. This made it nice and chewy, and best of all, juicy and meaty.

Biscuits and Gravy at Succulent Cafe

The Succulent Cafe is in a small but beautiful Danish Town, called Solvang, in California. When I ate their food… WOW was my first reaction. WOW was the best and only way to explain what I ate. I have had Biscuits and Gravy only a few times, but I know this is the best of it’s kind and will be like that for a long time to come. It was unhealthy, but worth every calorie. The way the chicken was cooked was outstanding. The way the biscuit was crunchy and the sauce was just outstanding. The one thing that the dish was lacking was the spice. There needed to be a little more kick to it. This is one dish that I will never forget.

Tavern 6330’s Scallops

If you like skiing, Tahoe is a great destination. If you like skiing and food, then go to Truckee, Northstar which is right near Tahoe, and go to the Tavern. If you go here, get the Scallops. Imagine, In your wildest dreams, Scallops that are chewy but at the same time melt in your mouth, the asparagus is bought straight from the farm, and I don’t even know what else. If you want those wildest dreams to come true, than go to the Tavern. The ambiance is also very beautiful. There is a private area near the side of the building where if you look out of the window’s, you can see the heart of the Northstar village. This is THE place to go after a tiring day of skiing on the slopes of tahoe.

Frutti De Mare in Palo Alto, CA

The dish that means all of the sea stands true to it’s meaning. Not literally, but almost. This is the Signature dish in Vero. Vero is in Palo Alto,CA, in the middle of downtown. The Frutti De Mare boasts of a wide variety of seafood ranging from, calamari to salmon. Each of these pieces of seafood are cooked to perfection and bring their own flavors and textures to the dish. To top all of that off, well I guess bottom it off, is the tomato broth. It absorbs all the flavors of the seafood and makes the perfect finishing to the dish. Every time I drink the tomato soup at the bottom, I make a loud slurping sound. Only after I make the sound, I realize i’m in a fine dining restaurant.