The Best Things We Ate in 2025

It’s the end of the year! Time to kick back in a big, comfy chair, hands folded across your belly, and think about how long a 365-day span really is. Why not let visions of Dungeness crab and pickle cocktails dance over your head? 

Today, the COYOTE team is sharing our memories of the best things we ate this year — some in the Bay Area, some in more far-flung locales. “Best” is subjective, of course, and often has a lot more to do with context than what was on the plate: who we were eating with, our blood sugar levels, whether it was raining, and so on. But if anything, we hope this list inspires you to go out and eat something special in 2026. You deserve it after a year like this one.

Dungeness crab lava egg plate at Tanzie’s in Berkeley

On the first day of 2025, my friends and I, bleary-eyed after a very fun party at my place, stumbled over to Tanzie’s (1453 Dwight Way, Berkeley), the Thai brunch spot that rightfully has accolades from everyone right now. The move there is always to get the lava egg, a velvety number cooked in a wok and twirled into a very pleasing, twisty shape with chopsticks as it firms up. The special of the season was one such egg piled high with Dungeness crab meat. The crab was sauteed in garlicky butter — just cooked enough to slightly crisp the fringes of flaky meat — and got a savory punch-up from a sprinkle of fried garlic. Something so rich needs a hit of sour, and Tanzie’s puckery, lime-infused nam jim was exactly right. — Soleil

Fried chicken pot pie at Turkey and the Wolf in New Orleans 

Okay, yes, this will require a trip to New Orleans, but the Bay to NOLA flow is constant, so it’s not totally out of left field to suggest — no, demand! — you visit Turkey and the Wolf in New Orleans. I design my vacations around food, and Soleil suffers my constant requests for recommendations as a result. This funky little spot in the Garden District, best-known for its sandwiches, was on their list, but I forewent their standard fare for a fried chicken pot pie. It wasn’t heavy and stodgy, but piping-hot, salty, rich, and creamy; and it was wrapped in a light and flaky pastry crust. I love a savory pastry, and this one altered my universe and set a new standard for all future chicken pot pies. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I’m already brainstorming how to fit as many as possible into my stomach during my next visit. — Nuala

Breakfast sandwich at Breadbelly in San Francisco

I am late to hop on the Breadbelly train. The nationally celebrated Asian American bakery (1408 Clement St., San Francisco) has made a serious splash in recent years, with critics and foodie influencers praising its inventive pastries and other goodies. One consistent recipient of those accolades is Breadbelly's breakfast sandwich. Now, I've never been too keen on chasing after a great breakfast sandwich, except for the greasy one I'd devour in my college cafeteria on Saturday mornings when I was hungover. It’s just bread, cheese, egg, and ham… what can be so extraordinary? Oh, Breadbelly has proven me dead wrong. 

There is absolutely an art to how you construct a great breakfast sandwich, and this bakery is a maestro at layering the textures and flavors needed for one satisfying bite after another. The pandesal bun is perfectly pillowy with a great chew, the lacy fried egg is squeezed between smoked ham, which adds just the right amount of saltiness, and crisp layers of fresh butter lettuce balance it all out. But my favorite part was the unexpected layer of sweet and sour kale. Bright and complex, it elevated the sandwich into something genuinely distinctive. Hop on the Breadbelly train, folks. It was one of my favorite bites of the year, and it's absolutely worth circling the Inner Richmond for parking like a madwoman. — Cecilia

Miel de ayote at Sikwa in San José, Costa Rica

I’m not a dessert-y kind of guy, but this dish — served at Sikwa, one of the most touted restaurants in Central America, which is rooted in indigenous Bribri cooking techniques and ingredients — was a soul-clarifying experience. Here, the ayote (moschata squash) is deconstructed into three elements: dehydrated, deep-fried, sugar coated rinds; a moschata mousse; and a sweet cream made from the puréed ayote. Each element is arranged in a delicate stack of crunchy goodness with gooey, soft layers in between. More than the careful execution of the dish itself, it was the poetry of the concept and the indigenous principle of using every available part of the vegetable that opened my eyes (or mouth?) as an American eater, who is used to seeing excess waste and overly super-sized portions in ‘Murica. — Alan

Pastrami sandwich at Super Mensch in SF 

As a child of New York Jews, I appreciate Jewish deli fare at a cellular level. Still, whenever a restaurateur announces that they’re doing an “upscale” version of my ultimate comfort food, my knee-jerk reaction is side-eye. It is with that preamble that I tell you: After my first bite of the pastrami sandwich at Super Mensch (2336 Chestnut St., San Francisco) — depending on your appetite, either a half or a full pound of delicately cured, nearly melt-in-your-mouth pastrami that’s been smoked over two weeks, then layered with spicy mustard on house-made rye — I felt actual tears well in my eyes. The last time I remember surprise-crying in public was when the Breeders played “Gigantic” at the Chapel in 2023, so do with that what you will. Super Mensch’s pickle martini and matzo ball soup are also excellent, but their pastrami is a song. — Emma

Pickle Granita Cocktail by my friend Liz

I am a pickle fiend and so the recent rise of pickle-flavored things has been an absolute delight to me. But the best pickle-related item I had this year was made by my friend Liz, who dreamed up the perfect cocktail: a pickle granita topped with a dry cava and finished with a sprig of dill. She gamely served these to the whole dinner party, and I wound up finishing everybody else’s. Salty, cold, briny — I would bathe in this if I could. Pickle me daddy, etc. – Reo