2014 is here, but my 2013 may have been the best year of eating in the history of the world, so it’s time for another Unvegan Best of. The past year included a honeymoon, an epic month-long road trip and a move from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh, so my list has broadened beyond LA and narrowing down the awesome was quite the process. Nonetheless, I encourage you all to go back through my Reviews section to see what didn’t quite make the cut. Remember that the list only includes places new to The Unvegan and bear in mind that Honorable Nods this year would probably be winners any other year. Without further ado:

Best Burger

Plan Check (Los Angeles)

Double cheese, double bacon and an egg and patty cooked to perfection made the Chefs Favorite burger a winner in a very tightly contested category.

Honorable Nods to Edgewood Corner Tavern (Atlanta) and Matt’s Bar (Minneapolis)

Best BBQ

The Smoke Joint (Brooklyn)

Don’t waste time thinking about what to order. Just order everything. And the Beef Ribs.

Honorable Nod to YinzBurgh BBQ (Pittsburgh)

Best Steak

Delmonico Steakhouse (Las Vegas)

The Bone-in Ribeye here is like butter, which may be because it is cooked in butter, but I don’t care.

Honorable Nod to Taylor’s Steak House (Los Angeles)

Best Wings

Buffalo Blues (Pittsburgh)

I admit that these wings earn extra points because of their Buffalo Blue Fries, but the wings are still quite delicious.

Honorable Nod to Hot’s Kitchen (Los Angeles)

Best Hot Dog

Franktuary (Pittsburgh)

Grass-fed, snappy and with all sorts of good toppings, as long as you go with hot dogs, you can’t go wrong here.

Best Sandwich

Joey Broadway (Vancouver)

Somehow, Joey Broadway made an adult grilled cheese without ruining all the joy that comes with that most comforting of foods.

Honorable Nods to Primanti Brothers (Pittsburgh) and Philippe’s (Los Angeles)

Best Pizza

Mercato di Vetro (Los Angeles)

Blackberries and bacon on pizza. What could go wrong? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Honorable Nod to Lucifer’s Pizza (Los Angeles)

Best Breakfast/Brunch

Zingerman’s Roadhouse (Ann Arbor)

Grits and bacon in a waffle. If anyone still thinks Zingerman’s is just about sandwiches, it’s time to get to the Roadhouse.

Honorable Nod to Pamela’s (Pittsburgh)

Best ‘Merican (Formerly Gastropub)

North End Caffe (Los Angeles)

Everything this place churns out is gold (including their spelling of Caffe) and the staff there know it and love it even more than the customers do.

Honorable Nod to Buckhead Diner (Atlanta)

Best Mexican

Mexicali (Los Angeles)

Somehow Mexicali found a way to innovate Mexican food to a level Taco Bell still hasn’t thought of.

Honorable Nod to Leo’s Taco Truck (Los Angeles)

Best Random Ethnic (by region)

Africa

Arnold’s (Cape Town)

Best warthog ribs ever.

Asia

Night + Market (Los Angeles)

The Thai you’d eat if you were Thai.

Europe

Point Brugge (Pittsburgh)

Belgian Fries FTW!

Middle Eastern

Cafe Turko (Seattle)

The touch, the feel of Turkey. In Seattle.

South/Central American

Peru Chix (Los Angeles)

Who knew Torrance was a hotbed of Peruvian delights?

For 2013 Only:

Best Place to Stop on a Coastal Drive

We have a tie!

Splash Cafe (Pacific Coast Highway)

The best damn chowder.

And:

Chapman’s Peak Hotel (Chapman’s Peak Drive)

The best damn calamari.

And that’s a wrap. Meanwhile, you can also check out 2012 and 2011 for more listage.

As we began our road trip, we had one rule for meals: No more than $10 per person. It was a relatively simple rule, but still frightening when considering how much that would cost for two people for three meals a day. With this in mind, a buddy of mine recommended Splash Cafe in San Luis Obispo (also known as SLO for the cool kids). He had heard great things about their clam chowder, so I was excited to get clammed up there.

But beforehand, I should probably confess that I had never eaten clam chowder before and wasn’t sure what I was getting into. The chowder came in a sourdough bread bowl despite the fact that we were still hundreds of miles from San Francisco, and there were also options for toppings. While bacon and cheese was one of them, the woman behind the counter recommended crab meat and we followed her instructions. Then, for good measure, I ordered grilled cheese with cheddar to ensure that I went all-out carby.

Well, as my first chowder, I have to say that Splash Cafe truly set the bar high. Each bite was incredibly delicious, whether it was filled with clam, crab or just chowdery bread. The bread itself was baked in-house and nothing short of stellar. The grilled cheese was delicious as well, although almost pedestrian when compared to the majesty of the chowder. Anyone looking for a fantastic meal on a budget while driving the Pacific Coast Highway would be wise to stop at Splash and get clammy.

For a nice little seaside lunch, we headed to Moonshadows in Malibu. I couldn’t stop myself from humming Cat Stevens as I pulled my car up next to the Pacific Coast Highway and headed in for my meal. Although the outdoor seating area was full, we found ourselves a nice little ocean view window with a door open nearby so we could get a little taste of the ocean breeze. I took a look at my menu and immediately knew what I had to order.

This would be the Niman Ranch Wild Boar and Cranberry Sausage with Stone Ground Grits. As if that wasn’t enough, it also came with Fuji Apple raisin gravy and fried hickory smoked bacon chips. I was deeply intrigued by wild boar being from a ranch. In my mind, that would make it a domestic boar and no longer wild, but maybe I just don’t know the first thing about farming swine.

I enjoyed my company and view as I waited for my boar, and when it came, it looked beautiful, except for the couple of pieces of green on top of it. I flicked these off and stared at my manly meal. There were two full sausages and plenty of grits to keep me happy. My recent grits experience had left me disappointed, so I hoped these would be better. I dug into this boarish concoction and was quite pleased. The boar was decent on its own, but tasted great with that gravy and those grits. The grits were nice and creamy and blended well with the gravy. The bacon was also a nice touch. It was perfectly crispy and there wasn’t too much of it to overwhelm the taste of the wild boar.

I was pleasantly surprised by my Moonshadows experience. A lot of the time, restaurants with great views can get away with having subpar food, but Moonshadows definitely delivered.