The Stew's favorite foods of 2010

You might remember that I declared after only 24 days of 2010 that I was pessimistic about what the rest of the year might hold.

I had good reason.

Food Network was faking ingredients that it said came from the White House garden for its "Iron Chef America" battle. New York City was regulating salt like a hyperactive nanny. And we were all being told in advertisements there was such a thing as a healthful "Taco Bell Diet."

I am happy to report that the year redeemed itself quickly from a culinary standpoint.

The best flavors from 2010 that I ran across included:

• Chocolate truffles with cardamom and citrus paired with Maduro "Cubano Espresso" brown ale during a Cigar City brewery dinner at SideBern's in Tampa.

• Chef Sean Murphy's medley of foie gras, oysters and lobster at the Beach Bistro's pre-James Beard House dinner in Bradenton.

• Chef Jeannie Pierola's Soft Lobster Scrambled Eggs with caviar, chives and brioche at KitchenBar in Tampa.

• Venezuelan-style Picada El Caney, a mix of delicious assorted fried meats, cheese, yucca and plantains served at El Caney restaurant in Tampa. I believe I declared at the time that this equated to "fried love."

• A loaf of guava and cheese bread at La Antioquena Bakery on Waters Avenue in Tampa.

• A bowl of Gamberetti Saltati Con Pomodoro E Rucola , which is just a hoity-toidy way of saying sautéed shrimp with tomato and arugula at Jolly Restaurant in Sarasota.

• A Blackphire Martini, featuring a mixture of fresh blackberries, St. Germain Elderflower and lime by Shannon Massie at Ocean Prime.

• A gooey, sweet, decadent PB&J panini by chef Marty Blitz at Sono Café at the Tampa Museum of Art.

• A hunk of perfectly crumbly sweet cornbread at Stacy's Corner Café in Ybor City.

• A cup of Ethiopian Harrar coffee at Buddy Brew Coffee in Tampa.

• Chef Greg Baker's bowl of Poutine (Yukon Gold fries, pulled pork, chicken gravy and ricotta cheese) at The Refinery in Tampa.

• The Captain's Dinner at Fish House in Ruskin. It's hard to beat dining on fried fish, shrimp, oysters and clam strips at a picnic table outdoors.

• Strips of tepertő , crispy Hungarian fried bacon seasoned with paprika, at First Quality Sausage House in Safety Harbor.

• The tamarind-braised beef short ribs with an ancho chili ginger pan sauce, coconut jasmine rice croquette, and jicama and celery root slaw with toasted cashews and cilantro served by chefs Clinton Combs of 400 Beach Seafood & Tap House and Tyson Grant of Parkshore Grill during the Fork Fight for Feeding America dinner in Tampa.

• The crab chilloria served during the SeaBreeze Restaurant Night at the Marti-Maceo Club in Ybor City.

• The Krispy Kreme cheeseburger sold at the Florida State Fair. God help me, this was good.

• Casa 1921 Tequila Cream served by Dori Bryant of The Polished Palate during Red Mesa Cantina's Tequila Night.

Good luck, 2011. You've got your work cut out for you.