2016: The Year So Far (Top Meals and Other Memorable Events).

With June soon drawing to a close, I thought it would be a good time to check in on some of the awesome meals and dishes I’ve had so far in the year.  Leaving my corporate job in January and relocating to Dubai, it took the better parts of February and March to get into the groove of what I wanted to do (there were some other bad decisions related to my food blogging, but live, learn and move on).  By April, when I attended the Zomato Bloggers conference, I made a wonderful connection with Zoe (of Table no 7 fame) and from there, I haven’t looked back!

Although it’s only June, I’ve been fortunate to have experienced a number of incredible, stand out dishes, and meals.  These are ranked in order (and would make for an interesting combination):

1. The soup at Enigma.  Sure, it’s just soup, you say, but imagine the best soup you’ve ever had in your life.
2. The greens at Kimball House.
3. The gin night at the St. Regis Saadiyat.
4. Brunch at Intersect by Lexus (my favorite brunch in Dubai).
5. The dynamite shrimp at Farzi Cafe.
6. The Campfire s’mores at The Hide (my favorite dessert in Dubai).
7. The Lobster poutine at Weslodge.

Of course, with this half of the year done, there are still a number of restaurants I can’t wait to try!  In no particular order:

• Jean Georges (both the kitchen and the dining room)
• Crust
• The cellar experience at Boca
• Junoon
• Whoever the new chef at Enigma will be
• Any international trip I can make happen (I’d love to get to a Michelin rated restaurant this year).

Other goals for your local A to Za’atar team?

• Two posts a week (minimum).
• Top 20 Zomato (Dubai).
• More hotels!
• Start pitching more.  Honestly, what am I waiting for?
• Meet up with more local foodies.
• More guest bloggers.
• A podcast?
• Can I reach 1K Instagram followers by the end of the year?

So, there we go.  What do you have in store for the second part of the year?  Where do you want to go?  What has been your favorite meal so far?

Happy eating!