1 Beef salad at Pho 777
The only reason people wait in line to get into Tank Noodle is they haven’t tasted the equally amazing food (like this tart and spicy salad) and experienced the joy of instant seating here. —DT
The trends started popping up as soon as we began compiling the list: pork, classic cocktails, runny yolks, more pork. If there’s one thing this year’s 100 Best Things We Ate (and Drank) proves, it’s that great food is made by a community of chefs and producers who can’t help but be inspired by each other. So for the first time since we started creating this list in 2005, we divided the year’s greatest dishes into their respective trends. Think of it as a yearbook of what you ate and drank in 2008—or, if you don’t recognize a lot of this food, a handbook for what you should have.