an early and abbreviated best-dishes-of-the-year post

Sitting in Mercat tonight, stewing over my second chance at the fideua negra--such a creamy, briny pleasure--I started thinking about what other dishes I've consumed this year that were comparable in stature and taste to this standout. And then it hit me.

I've got two slots open in my top 5.

So I turn to LTH, where I learned about the dishes comprising my top fiv--er, three, and ask: with 3/4ths of the year in the can, what are your early favorites for "best thing you ate this year?" I'd like to pursue some of them, if I can.

What I've got, at least for the moment (in order of my memory, not worthiness):
1) squid ink pasta and aioli at Mercat
2) huaraches con tinga at Huaracahes Dona Chio (greasy masa goodness; it was the best deep dish pizza I had all year, if you know what I mean. Great horchata, too.)
3) Beijing Duck at Sun Wah (making tacos out of bao, duck skin, duck sauce, and some pickled vegetables--just about the best thing ever. I'd probably say this was #1)

Honorable consideration would go to the shrimp and vegetable egg noodles at Sun Wah, the #4 at Nhu Lan, the bo le lot at Pho Xua, the salmon in caul fat dish at Avec, veal sweetbreads at Blackbird, and carne asada tacos at Asadero. These I all discovered in '08, but they're pretty much all--except for the Blackbird/Avec dishes--old news to the board.

Talk amongst yourselves.

A root beer float at Scooter's.