Our Favorite Dishes: Winter Edition

Here at Boston, we spend a lot of time trendspotting (so you don’t have to!)—looking for new insights into The Way We’re Eating, scouting new hot spots, keeping a bird’s-eye view on the dining scene.

What we haven’t done in a while, though, is zoom in and talk about the best single dishes we’ve tried of late—dishes that aren’t part of any trend, or necessarily turned out by the newest chef. So let’s have at it. Here is a non-scientific sampling of some truly stand-out foods (in no particular order):

• Pizza Margherita ($12) on the lunch menu; Lemony gnocchi with clams, calamari, and chorizo ($17/$29) and Hay-roasted quail with foie gras pudding ($35) on the dinner menu at Bina Osteria
• Buckwheat panna cotta ($8) at Erbaluce
• Szechuan-style whole fish ($16.95) at Fuloon
• Duck foie gras creme brulee (part of the $19 small-bite sampling) at Restaurant Sensing
• Chicken and veggie roti with apple chutney ($7.25) at Zing Pizza in Cambridge
• Crispy yellow corn polenta ($21) at Craigie on Main (a shout-out to the vegetarians)
• The complementary pastry basked that comes with brunch at Upstairs on the Square
• Tea-smoked spare ribs ($14) at Myers + Chang
• Gnocchi with porcini, peas, and cream ($17 at lunch; $22 at dinner) at Sportello
• The pollo salad with beets and marcona almonds ($7) on the lunch menu at Toro
• Lamb shawarma ($8) at Sofra
• Liberty Ale marinated chicken ($26) at Clink

What are some of your favorites?