TONY - Halftime Review

TONY Summary

At the half-century mark on the TONY list and I thought it would be appropriate to take some time and reflect upon the quest, think about the highs and lows and try to provide some insight to anyone trying to determine what is the best of the best from the list. As it is with my inability to choose between members of the upper echelon of burger greatness, I find that the best way to sort out the winners is not to rank each place, but to sort the restaurants into tiers. With that in mind, I present to you what I consider to be Tier 1, mind you that they are in no particular order:

1. Artichoke Slice from Artichoke Pizza
2. Chicken-liver bacon sandwich from JoeDoe
3. Bacon peanut brittle from the Redhead
4. Hot buttered rum from Little Branch
5. Sticky bun from Amy’s Bread
6. Panelle from Ferdinando’s Focacceria
7. Wylie dog from PDT
8. Fried pork sandwich from Sophie’s
9. Calzone from Anthony’s
10. Prosciutto from Salumeria Rosi



Notable Mention (Tier 2): Porchetta sandwich from Porchetta, Sliders at Little Owl, Whoopie pie from Cake Shop, Pie in a Box from Park Avenue Winter, Herring salad from Café Katja

Still have about 40 or so left and I hope that what is now Tier 1 will be bounced to Tier 2. Some of the items that I’m most looking forward to include goat at Cabrito, foie gras ravioli at Scarpetta, face bacon at Blue Hill and duck-fat fries at the Harrison.

Want to come with me to one of the remaining places on the list? Think that my tiers are wrong? Want to suggest something for the 2009 AmuseMyBouche list? Post a comment!