The burger at Holeman & Finch. Photo: Garnish Photography courtesy of Green Olive Media.

YOUR PICKS

1. The burger at Holeman & Finch
In the latest Southern Living magazine, Holeman & Finch’s burger, served at 10 p.m. nightly and during Sunday brunch only, was named the best late-night burger, To quote the restaurant’s website, “Each night, 24 exquisite, double patty cheeseburgers are assembled on house-made buns and served alongside hand-cut fries and homemade ketchup, mustard and pickles — only 24.  Some nights they sell out in under a minute.”

2. Lobster bisque at Chops
3. Salmon chips at Two Urban Licks
4. Pork belly buns at Super Pan Latino Sandwich Shop
5. Three Little Pigs at 4th & Swift

The sticky toffee pudding at 4th & Swift. Photo: Jon Watson

OUR PICKS

Sticky toffee pudding at 4th & Swift

The AJC dining team’s Popular Eats specialist Jon Watson says, “4th & Swift’s Sticky Toffee Pudding easily takes the top slot of my favorite dishes in 2010. This rich toffee cake swimming in a pool of buttery caramel sauce can make anyone grow a sweet tooth.”

Eggplant calabrese at Bocado
Chief Dining Critic  John Kessler says, “Warm eggplant calabrese — a deeply flavored compote — arrives over cool, super-creamy burrata mozzarella at Bocado. It’s an incredibly rich few mouthfuls with one of those subtle temperature contrasts that sears in your memory.”

The bbq beef rib at Pura Vida
The AJC dining team’s specialist in Southern and Neighborhood Fare Jenny Turknett says, “My favorite dish of 2010 was the bbq beef rib at Pura Vida, made by the ‘habanero whisperer,’ Hector Santiago. These short ribs with an adobo rub are extremely tender and full of flavor, radiating sweet heat from the orange-chipotle barbecue sauce. The thinly-sliced carrot slaw adds freshness to the dish. Paired with one of Pura Vida’s signature mojitos garnished with a stick of real sugar cane, this dish succeeds on all levels.”

The Sinhgoku oysters at Tomo. Photo: Gene Lee

Shigoku oysters on the half shell at Tomo
The AJC dining team’s specialist in International Cuisine Gene Lee says, “My number one favorite food item in 2010 was not anything complicated nor overly engineered. In fact, most of the engineering with Shigoku oysters takes place at Taylor Shellfish in Washington State. By the time they reached my table at Tomo, they were plated on a formed puck of crushed ice and infused with an Asian mignonette.” For more, check out the Food and More blog post of  Gene Lee’s Top 10 dishes of 2010.

Kimchi jigae at Woo Nam Jeong
Keeper of Best of the Big A Shane Harrison says, “The spicy red broth is still bubbling from the heat as it comes to the table. This pungent, flavor-packed bowl of tofu, pork and kimchi at Woo Nam Jeong (aka Stone Bowl House) is the culinary equivalent of a warm winter parka.”