The 10 Most Crazy, Over-the-Top Foods of the Year
By Lauren Le Vine, REDBOOK.
It's often said that every story has already been told, and new ones are just variations on the same themes. Transfer that analogy to food and put it in the competitive pressure cooker of 2013, and you've got the year in food. No one seemed content to create simple, new recipes. Instead, the culinary-minded combined already complicated foods and drinks, with each iteration adding on more and more to one-up the previous ones. Here are 10 epic concoctions that had us talking this year.
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1. The Opening Day Bloody Mary
This was the stunt that started it all and made us pay attention. O'Davey's Pub in Wisconsin created this epic cocktail to celebrate the Milwaukee Brewer's Opening Day. For only $5, patrons could get a Bloody Mary topped with a soft pretzel, cheeseburger, nachos, bacon, cheese curds, popcorn, and more.
2. The Cronut
Could anyone have predicted the hysteria that would result when pastry chef Dominique Ansel combined a croissant and a donut? Definitely not, but that's the only word that properly describes what happened. It also helped that Ansel only made a certain number of cronuts every day and put a cap on the number people could purchase, which led to early-morning lines of cronies trying to get their pastry fix outside his New York City bakery.
3. The Do'sant
Similar to a cronut, the do'sant from New Orleans bakery Manhattanjack comes in unique flavors like Boston cream, Bananas Foster, Irish car bomb, and crème brûlée.
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4. The Ramen Burger
Burgers really had their moment in the sun this year thanks to creative chefs like Keizo Shimamoto , who molded Ramen noodles into the shape of a patty and used them in place of a bun. Voilà, a new burger sensation was born, often garnering longer lines to obtain than the cronut.
5. The Umami Burger
While not as crazy as some of the other stunt foods on this list, foodies rejoiced when beloved West Coast chain Umami Burger expanded to eastern shores. Their signature burger is topped with the chain's addictive "Master Sauce" and Parmesan Frico.
6. The Mac & Cheese Burger
Building on the whole pasta-as-bun phenomenon started by the Ramen burger, Chicago's Rockit Burger Bar combined comfort food fave macaroni and cheese with a classic American burger for the "MacAttack."
7. The Deep-Fried Twinkie Burger
Philadelphia's PYT restaurant, which is known for its "stunt burgers," outdid themselves in October with this creation. It has two deep-friend Twinkie buns, a pork-belly patty, American cheese, and extra bacon.
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8. The Souped-Up Snickers Bar
Created by teen food blogger Tieghan Gerard, these DIY candy bars have all the components of a regular Snickers bar, plus cookie dough and salted pretzels.
9. Deep-Fried Soup
KFCs in Japan now offer deep-fried corn "potage," should you prefer your soup in solid form.
10. The Thanksgiving Burger
Thanksgiving is one of the most American holidays. Hamburgers are one of the most American foods. Put 'em together on a bun, and you've got a downright patriotic burger with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce.
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