Of all the food pieces I write for this fine publication, none burden me with as much agony as cataloging the most remarkable things I’ve eaten in any given year. Paring the list down to just 12 bites is an exercise in selective ruthlessness, mind-flavor remembrance and thumb-swiping endurance (yes, I snap a pic of every dish laid before me). This past year was an extraordinary one for restaurant openings, and the caliber of dishes plated by Coro, Ômo by Jônt and Smokemade Meats + Eats, to name but a few, really made an impression. So, here they are: a dozen of the most memorable bites I enjoyed in 2024.

Gordita at Reyes Mezcaleria

Chef Wendy Lopez made my list last year with her hamachi aguachile, and she makes this year’s list with a dish from her $75 Raiz tasting menu: a gordita fashioned from mushito rojo masa from Michoacan stuffed with lengua, red onion and cabbage. A chunky cataract of salsa rojo washed over the tongue (the gordita’s and my own). Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Montanara at Piazza Italia

It takes a skilled pizzaiolo to manipulate Neapolitan pizza dough, but a master to deep- fry it, then bake it off in a wood-fired oven to yield a beautifully poofed and crisp cornicione. The fried Neapolitan montanara pizza cements Piazza Italia’s position as the finest pizzeria in Orlando; the pizza margherita and this one with provola cheese are (proofed) proof positive. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Tilefish at Ômo by Jônt

Chef Ryan Ratino cooks with the exacting hand of a surgeon and plates with the artistry of a Renaissance master. We probably stared at this presentation of Nagasaki tilefish crowned with dark Kaluga caviar for a good minute before knifing into a quenelle of koji buttermilk and swirling the fish in onion soubise. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Squab at Sorekara

Many of chef William Shen’s Japanese-leaning dishes at Sorekara veer into French territory, and nothing says French fine dining more than squab. His marinated and seared breast is served along with a squab terrine, squab forcemeat and squab tea. It feels like Titanic fine dining and it’ll go down as one of the year’s best bites. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Lamb at The Acre

Put chefs Jason Campbell and Nick Grecco together and culinary fireworks are bound to happen. The dynamic duo behind culinary ops at Team Market Group borrowed an enormous outdoor cowboy grill from John Rivers and set it up at The Acre for an unforgettable Holy Week cookout. Dangling from that towering ring of fire was a carcass of lamb charred to divine magnificence. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Lamb at The Acre

It was ultimately chopped up and served with a host of sauces and sides. I can’t wait for them to resurrect this dish. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Temaki at Seito Sushi Baldwin Park

Chef Huy Tin oversees one of the finest restaurants in Orlando at Seito Sushi Baldwin Park, but the temaki he served at this year’s Cows ’n Cabs set the throngs at the annual wine-and-dine walkaround abuzz. Inside the crackly nori wrap was wagyu yukhoe tartare, a doenjang truffle yolk sauce and truffle caviar. These handrolls, unsurprisingly, went real fast. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Ribs at Smokemade Meats + Eats

These Black Angus beef ribs are rubbed with a blend of black pepper, salt, garlic and onion powder, smoked for 10 hours in a 1,000-gallon Primitive Pit smoker, and rested for 10 hours before being sliced to order. Needless to say, the resulting charred slab of brontosaurus rates high on the gnaw-ability scale. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Squid at Lamp & Shade

A signature dish from Lamp & Shade’s menu has squid dredged in seasoned flour with squid ink powder before being flash-fried for a min- ute. The result: crisp, beautiful black curls resembling incinerated onion rings — and at our table, they were gone in 60 seconds. They’re chef Ryan Stewart’s favorite dish and they’re one of mine too. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Duck at June

Chefs Jason Campbell and Nick Grecco once again wowed, this time a with a preview dish from June (the soon-to-open Thornton Park restaurant, not the month): duck burnt ends gleaming with ancho-cola barbecue glaze and crunched with corn-nut furikake. The star of the dish was a pumpkin mole I fell head over heels for (literally). Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Snapper at Coro Restaurant

This entire list could be comprised solely of dishes crafted by Tim Lovero and his team at Coro in Audubon Park. Yeah, Coro’s that good. But I selected this citrus-cured snapper and grapefruit served over salsa matcha and garnished with Egyptian star flowers. Gorgeous. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Oxtail at Kaya I love oxtail, but I’ve never had it the way Lo Lalicon prepares it at Kaya. A braised square of the tender meat sits in a thick “kare-kare” stew fashioned from peanut butter sauce garnished with string beans and breakfast radish. It’s as restorative as it is progressive. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara
Bihari at Koyla Pakistani BBQ Plush morsels of marinated eye-of-round grilled over hot red coals is a Sunday-night tradition at this PBBQ pit stop in Kissimmee. The beef’s crusty exterior gives way to a soft, almost creamy texture redolent with garlic, ginger, chilies and treasured family secrets. Suggested pairing: puri paratha, a flaky deep-fried bread rarely seen around Orlando. Credit: photo by Faiyaz Kara

Orlando restaurant critic. Orlando Weekly restaurant critic since 2006.