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Learn about the Top 12 Restaurants I enjoyed outside Los Angeles in 2007, regardless of cuisine or price point. Since it’s an arbitrary number anyway, why limit myself to a Top 10 list? My chosen meals appear by date of consumption.

9. L.C.’s Roti Shop – North Miami, FL – November 24, 2007

At L.C.’s Roti Shop in North Miami, Elsie Chin and her husband Chin are turning out truly exciting Trinidadian cuisine, specializing in the rotis and curries that her great grandparents brought with them from India to Trinidad when they became indentured servants. Chin cooks the feather-light, pull-apart roti on a griddle behind the counter. Elsie cooks everything else in back. It’s possible to get the roti folded around the ingredients like a burrito, or to have the ingredients served on a separate plate, where the roti itself becomes a utensil. The chopped conch meat was tender and addictive, as were the succulent on-the-bone nubs of goat and duck meat. To drink, Elsie offered cinnamon- and spice-soaked sorrel, made from dried hibiscus flowers, and mauby, a non-carbonated root drink with a sweet lead-in and bitter finish.

Focus on the signature dish at L.C.’s Roti Shop, but add phulourie with mango chutney to your order.

10. Hiro’s Yakko-san – North Miami Beach, FL – November 25, 2007

On the fringes of a residential North Miami Beach neighborhood, Hiroshi Shigetomi’s pub is producing Japanese comfort food on a level I’ve never found in Los Angeles. Though not a sushi restaurant, Hiro and his staff approach local seafood like hog fish, tile fish and squid with surgical precision. After selecting our hog fish (a variety of snapper) from a silver tray brought to our seats, I was blown away by the “nitsuke” preparation. Our tilefish fillet was pan-fried with scallions and ginger and nearly as delicious. The simply prepared grilled whole squid with ginger-flecked soy sauce was the height of cephalopod cookery, and cubes of chicken liver stir-fried with chives and bean sprouts were equally spectacular.

By steaming hog fish in a sweet brown sauce, the skin became caramelized and the flesh retained its moisture. I liked the fish so much that after the meat was gone, I started eating fins, which were startlingly good.

11. Woodlands Resort & Inn – Summerville, SC – December 24, 2007 [CLOSED]

The charcuterie plate alone is enough to justify a visit to Woodlands’ Resort & Inn, with twelve house-made varieties (made from eight different animals) and an equal number of condiments, a dazzling display of color and texture. This was my family’s eighth consecutive pilgrimage to Summerville to celebrate Christmas Eve at one of the crown jewels in the Lowcountry dining scene. Once again, we were treated to warm cheddar biscuits and Sommelier Stephane Peltier’s “beautiful wines.” Beyond the jaw-dropping Grand Tasting of Homemade Charcuterie, I was impressed with the Sea Urchin “Royale” with Monkfish “Foie Gras,” a sea urchin shell cradling seared monkfish liver, cool sea urchin and roasted green onion foam. Juniper Scented Venison Loin featured seared medallions of burgundy-hued Bambi plated with Rorshach-like streaks of Salsify Puree and hacks of Sausage “Crumble.” For dessert, ethereal Seckel Pear Soufflé was poured with Brown Butter Anglaise, the plate decorated with a peeled Seckel pear and a mix of pastry “leaves” and actual leaves, all edible. Based on the creativity and flavor that Chef Tarver King was able to generate, he clearly deserves a post in one of the nation’s best kitchens.

Woodlands chef Tarver King plated hay smoked swordfish with braised Swiss chard, Winter mushrooms and beurre rouge.

12. Sienna – Daniel Island, SC – December 27, 2007 [CLOSED]

Don’t discount Sienna just because it’s situated in a planned community outside Charleston. Chef Ken Vedrinkski is still producing astoundingly good Italian food. Pastry Chef Caitlin Kelly baked a dazzling variety of breads: Parmesan flatbread, ciabatta and garlic sage biscuits, joined by a dish of bocconcini, diced tomatoes, olive oil, Kalamata and green olive slivers. Chef Vedrinski’s signature Crudo of Maine Bluefin Tuna in Four Preparations was innovative, accenting the prized fish’s natural advantages. For “Berkshire Pork in Two Preparations,” a rich braised pork cheek was strewn with roasted salsify slivers and crispy bits of pancetta and set on a bed of farro “risotto.” Two crispy slices of pork tenderloin Parmagiana were topped with mozzarella, toasted pine nuts and sweet pear compote. Both preparations utilized spinach. The Ultimate Dessert Tasting from Chef Kelly included a milk chocolate panna cotta cylinder with peppermint “bark”; Tiramisu Moderno, Stile di Sienna, a chocolate torte with mocha panna cotta, chocolate espresso semifreddo and white chocolate cream; Mascarpone panna cotta surrounded by a shallow pool of espresso cream; Sigaro della Mandorla, a fried almond “cigar” with Marsala zabaglione (sweet custard); and Panettone bread pudding plated with cider sauce and a fruit compote of apple, pear, raisin and cranberry. After a meal this devastating, I may be ruined for single preparations.

Sienna’s Calamarata “Duck Bolognese” featured zesty tomato sauce studded with crumbled duck and al dente pasta shaped like conveyer belts.