SAVORING MORNINGS: Look, I don’t want to start a whole discourse here, but if you ask me, the only good pastries are savory pastries. That’s why I spent so much time this year at SakuSaku Flakerie, the tiny weekday morning pop-up bakery on Connecticut Ave. (There’s also a location inside the National Building Museum.) Most bakeries load their pastry cases with sweet options, with limited options for salt fiends like me (I think I’ve eaten pretty much every ham and cheese croissant in the city by now). Not so at SakuSaku, where I’ve so far inhaled a decadent truffle mushroom cream pastry, and used roughly a thousand napkins to enjoy a za’atar and gruyere croissant. You’ll also find the reliable ham and cheese croissant, as well as a spinach-feta option and a fig-brie combination (salty-sweet counts in my savory taxonomy!). Luckily for me, a permanent spot is reportedly opening up in Tenleytown – but my savory friends will have to get in line behind me. –Lori McCue, breaking news editor

TACO SURPRISE: One magical afternoon in July while out doing errands I stumbled by chance on Tacos Don Perez at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road in Glenmont. My intention was actually to hit the McDonalds next-door but drawn in by the music and colorful outdoor seating area, I decided to give them a chance.

I was rewarded with hands-down the best Mexican street food I’ve had in the D.C. area. My eyes lit up when I bit into that first al pastor taco with a pop of pineapple. I rushed home to share it with my wife and we were back the next day.

I love it all: the tender lengua, the rich consommé with the crispy birria quesatacos, the sweet delight of a mangonada. I’ve been a dozen times since and they just don’t miss. -Chris Chester, growth editor, content

PERFECT PICNIC: My most memorable meal of the year was a post-Shenandoah picnic at Sumac, a seasonal kitchen-in-a-trailer on the grounds of Pen Druid Brewing in Sperryville. Sumac serves locally-grown and foraged food cooked over a wood fire: think fine dining on paper plates and picnic blankets, surrounded by mountains, fresh air, and people wearing flannel and hiking boots. I’m not sure if the setting makes the food taste better, but it sure does taste great. I’ll especially remember a honeynut squash grilled to perfection with apples, sage, and, yes, sumac – a pretty solid accompaniment to golden hour, mountain-style. Sumac closes for the winter after Dec. 18, but they’ll be back in the spring. –Margaret Barthel, Northern Virginia reporter

CROISSANTS AND COMMUNITY: Sixteen years ago, Praline Bakery opened in my D.C. suburb. My daughter worked there one formative summer, and I followed as retail help, learning a little about professional baking, but even more about the challenges food businesses face — limited public transportation for workers, power outages, water main breaks, and soaring food costs, for instance. In 2020, after a beloved employee was seriously injured in a shooting that killed her teenage son, Praline organized a fundraiser to help. Then came the pandemic. Hoping for seven good years when they began, Praline’s owners celebrated sweet 16 at a packed open house last fall, baking a community, croissant by buttery croissant. -Francesca Slesinger, project manager, WAMU Workforce Culture Taskforce

HAPPY HOUR: On many a Wednesday morning of spring and summer 2022, I’d send — or receive — a similar text: “are you doing anything tonight?” If I or my roommate answered no, the subsequent text without a doubt read: “Meze?”

A Turkish restaurant located on 18th Street NW — conveniently a short walk from our home —Mezè became our monthly ritual. Despite living two bedroom doors away from one another, my roommate and I looked forward to setting aside intentional time to laugh, or vent, or unpack whatever silly ideas were swimming around in our brains that week over Mezè’s reasonably priced and delicious happy hour menu ($7 mojito, $5 beer, $6 dollar hummus) in the company of John, their excellent cook, server, and bartender. It’s predictable, familiar, and homey, but sometimes that’s what makes a place — and its people — memorable! -Colleen Grablick, general assignment reporter

ALWAYS TIME FOR THAI: Regent Thai in Adams Morgan has been our lifeline during the pandemic. Before that, it was on the shortlist of places my wife and I took family and friends for a great meal. Since 2020, they became our go-to for delivery. Great food aside, the relationship that came with ordering once or twice a month has been a bright spot.

While we enjoyed a variety of dishes in person over the years, we both usually ordered the same thing: cashew chicken. It was a comfort food: it felt good, like eating your mother’s chicken noodle soup. After seeing our repeated orders, the server engaged me in a conversation about food and began suggesting other options — the kind of conversation you might have in a restaurant before ordering, but protracted over months. After trying a number of new things, we’ve since settled back into placing the same order. But it’s a different standby! (Gang Massaman and the Mango Curry.) – Eric Falquero, strategic partnerships editor

A DIFFERENT BEC: Breakfast is particularly vexing for me. Usually I just grab the Raisin Bran (Crunch, of course) and several cups of coffee. But earlier this year, I shared with my partner a very specific craving. A breakfast sandwich – egg and cheese on a buttery brioche bun. Not thirty minutes later did we arrive at Buna Coffeehouse on Georgia Avenue. There I found the sandwich I had been dreaming of. Scrambled eggs and cheese on the pillowy bread. So! Good! My partner and I have returned there many times since our first visit this spring. This sandwich (and the Habesha Eggs) provides a bit of ease, and comfort in a weirdly normal/abnormal year. -Patrick Fort, producer/host, Dish City

PERFECT PIZZA: I’ve been a lot of places in the country on a quest for the best pizza around. A New York slice. Chicago deep dish. Even St. Louis’ debatable square Imo’s pizza. But a new style of pizza has revolutionized my palette … Red Light bar’s Detroit pizza rocked my world. I didn’t realize that Detroit-style pizza was basically the open-faced patty-melt of pizzas. But my first bite of that thick, rectangular “Joe Louis” slice decked with pepperoni, sausage, and savory tomato sauce changed my entire pizza tier list (NY slice is still number one, but this was a close second!) -Aja Drain, general assignment reporter

SATURDAY BRUNCH: I’ve formed a new appreciation for brunch this year, thanks to the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market. I eat with my eyes, which I think stems from all my childhood visits to IHOP with its picture menus. So most Saturday mornings, I’m taking laps around the market, weighing between vendors who sell freshly-prepared food. There’s Mapp’d, who sells hot jianbing (or Chinese inspired breakfast crepes), or Hilana Falafel, who vends “Jerusalem style-falafel sandwiches. The market recently added Tamales Doña Rosa, who sells the best Mexican tamales I’ve tried here yet. (My fav is the squash blossom; They freeze well for lunch!) I’ll top off whatever I get with a coffee from Arkibuna’s. Then, if it’s not too cold, I’ll situate myself at one of the many available public spaces, be it Lamont Plaza where the market is or the neighboring “park” across the street from Argyle Market. -Amanda Michelle Gomez, general assignment reporter

A TASTE OF HOME: Food is an integral part of most popular holidays and the Day of the Death isn’t an exception. I walked into ¡Muchas Gracias! almost by accident, driven by nostalgia for other Dia de los Muertos celebrated in Mexico and Texas. Little did I know I was in for a magnificent surprise. Their version of the pan de muerto tops the traditional sweet bread with Huitlacoche and powdered dehydrated marigolds, served with a good portion of champurrado, a traditional atole with panela, chocolate, vanilla anise, and cinnamon. One bite of that can transport you to beautiful places. -Teresa E. Frontado, executive editor

PRETTY IN PINK: Cafe D Light, which opened in the fall of 2021, was where I fulfilled a little dream I nursed during COVID: sit alone in an elegant cafe and read. I ordered a berry and cream croissant and an iced ‘Pink Dreams’ latte – a D Light specialty – and sat in one of the window seats. I must say I did not get much reading done as I was more preoccupied with how pretty my latte looked in the sun and how its color matched the pink interior of the croissant. The picture doesn’t quite do it justice, and of course doesn’t capture how it tasted – exquisite! The owners are also Ukrainian and all proceeds go to supporting Ukraine. -Sarah Y. Kim, general assignment reporter

ROOFTOP REUNION: The best meal I remember from this past year was on the rooftop terrace at Bar Amazonia in Blagden Alley. I talked my friends into going even though you had to wait until the same day to get an outdoor reservation — not ideal for people who need babysitters. We devoured the cebiche clasico, almost every skewer option on the menu, and a whole fish prepared two ways, one hot and one cold. Each cocktail seemed to top the next, and the weather was one of those rare non-sweltering August nights in D.C. It came after a long stretch where this group hadn’t come together due to summer vacations and other commitments, and I can’t think of a better place to reconnect. -Rebecca Cooper, arts and food editor

BIKE TO BITE: This time of year, the only time I touch a bicycle is to use the occasional Capital Bikeshare when the bus isn’t running. But as soon as the weather starts to warm, I begin plotting my annual ride to Vienna. More specifically, to Vienna’s Caboose Brewing Company & Tavern. It’s a 30 mile round-trip from Adams Morgan, which takes some serious self-encouragement as an amateur biker, but Caboose provides the ultimate motivation: comfort food and cold beer. In June, sweaty as ever at mile 15, I scarfed down a juicy plate of shrimp and grits. The delectable meal was the perfect antidote to my aching legs. The blackberry gose didn’t hurt. -Ella Feldman, freelance writer

HAWKERS: As I reflect on my 2022 food memories, Hawkers Asian Street Food’s debut in Arlington comes to the forefront of my mind. The one dish on the menu that gets my tastebuds salivating is the steak and kimchi fried rice. From the first bite, the saltiness of the kimchi, the perfect sear of the steak and the crunchiness of the rice checks off all the flavor profiles for a perfect meal. I’m not ashamed to say that I usually eat the leftovers for breakfast. – Shenise Foster, freelance writer

FOCACCIA ALL THE WAY: After scrolling through delivery apps for far too long one night this spring, my friend and I finally ordered from Focaccia Sandwiches. We’ve been hooked ever since. I alternate between their mozzarella, tomato and basil, and the roasted eggplant, which is full of kalamata olives and feta. We always get waffle fries and mozzarella sticks, too. It’s reliably comforting and delicious — the kind of place to order from when you don’t know what you want, but when it arrives, you realize it’s exactly what you needed. For a while, Focaccia seemed like such a strange place that we joked it was one of those “ghost” restaurants that only serves customers through delivery apps. I’ve since learned it has a physical location in Tenleytown, but I prefer thinking of it as some hidden, virtual restaurant that exists to make me a massive sandwich whenever I need it most.  -Liam Scott, independent journalist 

BITTERSWEET BITES: The restaurant closures this year have been painful for everyone, and they’ve been particularly poignant for me. I was among the foodies gunning for a reservation at the latest hotspot Magpie and the Tiger. The Petworth restaurant was intimate, with the staff treating me like family while serving up some of the most flavor-bursting plates. The gooey, creamy potato salad wrapped in a crusty, salty taco haunts my dreams, but I feel lucky enough to have a jar of the honey chili crisp in my pantry. After the sudden closure broke my heart, I was surprised with the birthday cake of my dreams from Sugar Fox: a 6-inch chocolate peanut butter round meticulously decorated with cow print. I cried when I picked it up, and the cake just melted in my mouth. But 3 months later, Little Fox’s offshoot is closing, and I’m left with no more bespoke cow cakes. I still eagerly await the next moves from both spots’ owners.  -Emily Martin, freelancer

MEATLESS MARVELS: Vegan food isn’t new, but now it’s hot. This year, I fell in love with the ingenuity of vegan offerings in the city. As an avowed flexitarian, I’m overjoyed to see that Shaw’s inventive Oyster Oyster has received its due, earning one Michelin star this year. DC Vegan, steps from my favorite bars on 17th Street in Dupont Circle, launched a cocktail list, cheese counter, and a full dinner menu with one of my favorite new dishes (hunky meatballs doused in “nonna’s marinara” under a shower of cashew parm). With Asian fast-casual Pow Pow’s expansion from H Street to Dupont, and longstanding diner Fare Well rebranding to Sticky Fingers, vegan dining has firmly planted itself in the mainstream in 2022. -Evan Caplan, freelance writer

AN OCCASION TO CELEBRATE: 2941 has been a go-to special occasion destination restaurant for me for over a decade, so it was exciting to celebrate a milestone for the restaurant itself this year: its 20th anniversary. Chef Bertrand Chemel cooked a multi-course meal in collaboration with several former colleagues. Every dish was delicious, but Chemel’s courses were the stars. I bit into a fondue-stuffed ravioli and immediately told my husband that it was probably the best thing I’d eaten this year. Then I tried his duck dish and it immediately had some competition. It’s probably not surprising that the meal convinced us to host our two-person Christmas celebration there next week. –Missy Frederick, DCist theater critic and Eater Cities Editor

FRENCH IN GEORGETOWN: Lutèce is an intimate French bistro in Georgetown perfect for date night or dining solo. My favorite dish is the Parisian-style gnocchi with decadent amounts of wild mushroom and aged Comté cheese. As you dine, watch as servers navigate near acrobatic feats through a tiny dining room. The highly prized chef’s table is the perfect perch to watch Chefs Matt Conroy and Isabel Cross work magic in the kitchen. Or pony up to the bar. They keep a single seat open for a walk-in diner. There you’ll get to know the talents of wine savant Elizabeth Parker (with an extensive collection of Beaujolais) or bartenders extraordinaire Nick Puzzanghera and Amanda Rose Pedrick. Their “Rhum Away With Me” is a refreshing rum drink accented with oloroso sherry and allspice dram. -Tim Ebner, freelance writer

RETROLICIOUS: There’s a come-as-you-are vibe to Compliments Only. I rolled up to the deli’s new Dupont digs clad in leggings that have experienced the dryer a few too many times. No one batted an eyelash. Crunchy Boi ordered, I parked it at a table, near a framed doodle of Lizzo seated in body-positive glory atop a sandwich. I kept telling myself I’d outgrown old-school subs. But somehow, the garlic mayo did it for me. Or maybe it was the one-two crunch of pickles and ruffled potato chips. The memory has me rethinking the adage that you can never go home again. -Carmen Drahl, freelance writer

INDIAN IN THE NICK OF TIME: Not long after moving into our new home, my partner and I felt we had earned a reward for unpacking everything before summer’s end. I pulled on a sundress while he searched for a t-shirt without holes, and off we went. The first joint we came across was Daru, a swanky new Indian restaurant on the eastern tip of H Street NE. We were immediately seated without a reservation and enjoyed the most flavorful, creative meal we had had in months: sunchoke chaat, scallops moilee, bison momo. Not two weeks later, Bon Appétit deemed Daru one of the hottest new restaurants in America — and we haven’t been able to get a reservation since. -Bridget Reed Morawski, freelance writer