The challenge gets much more doable when thinking about my favorite meals of the year. This doesn’t mean I didn’t have terrific meals all over town, but that these restaurants served dishes that eclipsed other meals that I enjoyed.
There are other great restaurants that you won’t see here, but again, these are the meals that made a lasting impression on me that I am still thinking about as the year comes to a close. It was another great year for dining and this list speaks to it.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Silver Slipper
1105 Wayne Ave., Dayton
www.instagram.com/silverslipperwinebar
To say that I am obsessed with this spot would be selling it short. And I’m not alone — it’s developed quite a following despite being cramped with seating that is short on supply most nights. Housed in a 1890s carriage house it has become known for its oysters and impressive seafood offerings. The latest menu has a bay scallop ceviche and lobster crêpes as well as their signature oysters and a paddlefish caviar. There’s French chicken and a few other options for the friends and family you may find yourself with that aren’t on board with seafood, but the seafood is where it’s at. Some of my favorite meals this year took place at this sweet little hole in the wall including an octopus dish that I still think about. This is such a fantastic spot and has quickly turned into one of my favorites among favorites locally.
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Jollity
137 E 3rd St., Dayton
Far too many restaurants breed a familiarity with the menu that can be tiring. Jollity is the exact opposite — the menu is always changing and the chefs are always pushing limits to innovate. I love eating at this restaurant. It’s playful and is a destination that keeps you guessing. Head over with someone that is willing to share food as ordering a number of small plates to try multiple dishes is the way to go. This swanky spot in the Fire Blocks District downtown delivers the vision, flavor and food experience that chefs Brendon Miller and Zackary Weiner dream up every day. The food is interesting, dramatic and layered with flavor on top of flavor that surprises and delights. It’s playful, captivating, and, most importantly, really, really good. For New Year’s Eve they are rolling out a 12-course tasting menu with seatings at 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. drawing inspiration from the 2001 Hayao Miyazaki film Spirited Away which took home an Oscar for best animated feature. It was Japan’s highest-grossing film for 19 years overtaking Titanic. If you haven’t heard of this restaurant or this film, take action to remedy both they had several of my favorite meals in 2024 and Spirited Away remains one of my favorite films of all time.
Credit: E.L. HUBBARD
Credit: E.L. HUBBARD
Coldwater Café
19 E. Main St., Tipp City
There are so many reasons to head to Coldwater Cafe in Tipp City starting with Executive Chef Katy Evans who is immensely talented. The Miami County restaurant, founded in 1994, is a quick 20-minute jaunt from downtown Dayton. Housed in a regal former bank building, the exterior doesn’t even begin to hint about what’s inside. The charming, cozy décor, peppered with flourishes of European-inspired flair, is broken up into several rooms with distinct personalities — a warm, inviting bar, a main dining room, the bank vault, the board room, a private outdoor deck and a second floor that can be rented out for exclusive dining events for larger parties. The setting is sweet, welcoming, easy and lays on the charm. The serving staff is helpful and lovely. This is a destination that, once discovered, will continue to beckon and call. Right now I am in love with their shrimp and grits dish featuring seven large shrimp sautéed with shallots, garlic, and fresh tomatoes in white wine sauce resting on top of Anson Mills roasted garlic and cheese grits with house made andouille sausage, hot honey, and scallions. It’s the perfect dish for this time of year and immensely satisfying. The lobster crab cakes are also a great choice topped with a spicy Cajun corn remoulade. This is a quant destination boasting flavorful food and delightful service that work together in a symphony to ensure a meal that is more than satisfying — it’s memorable.
The Winds
215 Xenia Ave., Dayton
One of the dishes I look forward to every year is the Figs, Pigs and Goats ($14) dish at The Winds. For years I’ve enjoyed fresh figs stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with Nueske’s bacon rubbed with cumin, black pepper and brown sugar. Broiled to tasty perfection until the bacon crisps, the goat cheese melts and the figs caramelize. Drizzled with Italian saba, a velvety syrup made from cooked grapes aged in wood barrels, this is a seasonal treat that delights every time it makes its way to the menu this time of year and one that I will never tire of. But the Winds menu always has highlights like these no matter the month or the season. My husband and I recently enjoyed the squash and pumpkin lasagna drizzled with a roasted shallot cream, sage oil and squash caponata and were in heaven. The “Duck You Can Eat with a Spoon” is a another all-time favorite dish that is currently being featured. Using French techniques that would make Julia Child satisfied this dish is a savory braised treat worth seeking out.
Speakeasy Ramen and Speakeasy Miso
365 Ludlow Ave., Springfield
101 W. Main St., Troy
I am obsessed with the Hakodate Ramen, a black pepper and yuzu flavored chicken broth with a pile of noodles, fried chicken, bean sprouts, cabbage, bamboo shoots, brined egg, narutomaki, seven spice butter, sesame seed, lemon, arugula and shallot. It has layers of flavor ranging from the bright lemon and peppery bitter arugula to the savory broth. All their ramen is exceptional, but I keep coming back to this dish at Speakeasy Miso and am never disappointed. The ribs at Speakeasy Ramen are spectacular and the Tonkotsu Ramen featuring a bone marrow broth that takes three days to prepare is fabulous. Both of these restaurants are gems serving up great, memorable meals time and time again.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
Linh’s Bistro
5532 Airway Road, Dayton
This has been one of my favorite restaurants since the time my first stories on food and drink appeared in the Dayton Daily News 20 years ago. Vietnamese specialties including a bevy of meal-sized soups, stir fried noodle dishes, vermicelli salads as well as a long list of Chinese dishes. You can’t go wrong with one of their soups that could feed a family. I also love the com tay cam (clay pot rice) that is one of the best dishes on the menu featuring shrimp, chicken, beef, Vietnamese sausage, and mixed vegetables. The portions across the board are large and there’s not a bad dish on the menu.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
El Meson
903 E. Dixie Drive, Dayton
When it comes to restaurants that hit the mark with consistently delicious food, exemplary customer service and a setting that strikes the right tone for the meal, El Meson is a dining destination that always hits the mark. The restaurant opened to the public on July 15,1978 as a small pizza parlor called Pizza Queen and today seats a whopping 450 people in five different dinning rooms. For me, the Chilean salmon stack, Manchego cheese puffs and chicken tortilla soup is a dream that, like the rest of the menu, they execute on so well. You can’t beat the setting and it’s the best spot to go for tapas with friends in town. This is a restaurant not to take for granted — it’s so special and there’s nothing like it in town. Every time I go there I am reminded of what a gem it is and how lucky we are to have the Castro family continuing to share their flavors and dishes from around the world with us.
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Salt Block Biscuit Company
115 E. 3rd St., Dayton
www.facebook.com/SaltBlockBiscuitCo
This spot helmed by the immensely talented owner and chef Justin Mohler just celebrated its fourth year. I recently had the maple smoked salmon cakes over roasted sweet corn and black bean salsa drizzled with a chipotle crema which was fantastic, but so has everything else I’ve had there in the last calendar year. This stick to your ribs comfort food is wonderful and is the what you’d expect the southern grandma you never had to serve you when you walk through the door. The hand pies are phenomenal, the specials are always a hit and biscuits and baked goods are everywhere you look. This is relatively still new to the dining scene, but it feels like it’s always meant to be, a staple of brunch and lunch that never gets old.
Grist
46 W. 5th St., Dayton
When Centerville chefs Casey and Patrick Van Voorhis relocated their restaurant and specialty pasta shop Grist Provisions from the edge of the Oregon District to 46 W. Fifth St. downtown in early 2021 the idea was to expand their business. And expand they did. They launched a dinner menu in late 2022 and the restaurant always seems to be busting with activity. This little piece of heaven is not only a restaurant, but a spot to grab specialty homemade pastas and sauces to bring home for dinner to make mouth watering meals that bring the best Italian flavors to kitchens at home. But if you really want it done right, you’ll eat it there. From a classic bolognese to a walnut and taleggio risotto with crispy prosciutto and a pear reduction, there is so much on the rotating menu to like.
Meadowlark
5531 Far Hills Ave., Dayton
https://www.meadowlarkrestaurant.com
With a menu that flows with the seasons, the specials at Meadowlark are very special indeed and have served up some of my favorite moments dining out in 2024. Earlier this year they featured a Tuna Niçoise sandwich ($15.95) on the menu that I was obsessed with. All of the elements from the classic salad from Marseilles on the southern coast of France are brought to a sandwich. Superior-quality canned tuna mixed with olives, capers, olive oil and a dab of mayonnaise is layered on grilled bread with slices of Dale Filbrun’s Organic hard-boiled egg, homegrown tomato and house-pickled green beans. It was a fresh, meaty, briny tuna sandwich bursting with flavor. I also love the shrimp and grits and the hoppin’ John as well as the ricotta tacos with green chiles, capers and spicy tomatoes. Their elevated comfort food always satisfies.
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