FALL RIVER, Mass. — Four restaurants in New England recently earned high praise, landing a list of the “best American dishes” that was published by the New York Times.
The news outlet scouted eateries across the United States last year and recently compiled a list titled “23 of the Best American Dishes of 2023″
“Some are high-concept — a Dungeness crab doughnut, for instance — while others are just perfect examples of beloved familiars like brisket tacos or fried chicken,” the Times wrote. “What they have in common, though, is that months later they still jump to mind when we’re asked, ‘What were your favorite dishes of this year?’”
Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa at Portugalia Marketplace in Fall River was the lone representative on the list from Massachusetts.
“Portugalia has always been known for bacalhau. That’s been true since it opened in a three-car garage behind a tenement house in the 1980s, through to its current incarnation, where the codfish counter is across a handsome grocery store from the wine department,” wrote Brett Anderson, Food Desk contributor for the Times. “So it logically follows that one of the few dishes you’ll always find at the prepared food counter is this classic bacalhau casserole, a rustic, salty favorite in this Portuguese stronghold on the New England coast.”
Honey Road in Burlington, Vermont, was spotlighted for its Halibut Chraimeh.
“Cara Tobin, Honey Road’s chef and co-owner, honed her voice and technique cooking at Oleana, in Cambridge, Mass., a modern pioneer in its celebration of eastern Mediterranean and North African flavors and dishes,” Anderson wrote of the dish. “Halibut chraimeh, a special that ran this fall, is a Tunisian stew that the chef de cuisine Elliot Sion modified to include ingredients, like beets and walnuts, found in the Jewish American dishes he grew up with.”
Times food reporter Julia Moskin recognized the Fried Chicken dish at Tavern on State in New Haven, Connecticut, as one of her favorites.
“I will always order the fried chicken at a promising new restaurant like this one,” Moskin wrote. “Its fried chicken thighs with green tomato relish and radish salad was the best of many dishes I loved this year in the growing ‘tavern’ category — a much-needed bridge between pub grub and tweezer food.”
Patrick Farrell, the newspaper’s deputy food editor, gave a shout-out to Matunuck Oyster Bar in South Kingston, Rhode Island, for its Littlenecks and Chouriço.
“‘Local’” translates to ‘right over there’ at this bright waterside perch, which farms its own oysters just a short swim away in Potter Pond,” Farrell wrote. “But nothing on the menu sums up the location as smartly as its snappy garlic-and-white-wine sauté of sausage and Rhode Island clams, a tribute to the state’s sizable population of Portuguese Americans — and of mollusks.”
To see all of the dishes named by the Times, click here.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
