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Good light, interesting lines, smart framing: Plenty of considerations go into making a quality photo, but god, more than anything a great food pic always comes down to spectacular food. Photography is as much of part of my job as eating and writing — my habit is to edit photos during plane rides, and the flight attendants always lean in to tell me I’m making them hungry. These are the shots from my past year of travels that make me downright ravenous.See more from Bill's time on the road in our America's Essential Restaurants package.
"Crazy tostada" (that’s the actual name — two tortillas loaded down with shrimp, octopus, swai (Vietnamese catfish), mussels, and oysters) from the Mariscos Nine Seas food truck in San Diego. 3030 Grape Street, San Diego; (619) 279-0010
The "Everything Salmon" (smoked salmon on Danish rye with caper crème fraiche, egg, and chives) at Happy Gillis — the first thing I ate when I arrived in Kansas City in April. happygillis.com
A double stack burger deluged with gruyere, caramelized onions, crispy pastrami, Russian dressing, and homemade pickles, a dinner-only item (and gloppy good time) at The General Muir in Atlanta. thegeneralmuir.com
LA Woman pizza oozing burrata at Jon & Vinny’s in Los Angeles (a big exception to my burrata fatigue). jonandvinnys.com
Mourad in San Francisco serves duck basteeya, a variation on a traditional Moroccan dish rolled in feuille de brick pastry. mouradsf.com
Daniel Humm’s famous roasted chicken for two at The NoMad in Manhattan, scented with truffles, enriched with foie gras, displayed tableside, and then whisked away to be made into separate presentations for the white and dark meat. thenomadhotel.com
Later in the year, at Humm’s home base, Eleven Madison Park: caviar in a tin with poached quail egg, bacon gelee, bits of ham, and corn puree. elevenmadisonpark.com
Porchetta in springtime motif at SPQR in San Francisco. spqrsf.com
Hot chicken biscuit at Oddbird, a short-lived dinner pop-up Atlanta’s breakfast and lunch favorite West Egg Cafe; returning for one night on February 10. oddbirdatl.com
Stuffed pizza with peperoncino, dill, and lamb’s quarters made by Rick Eason, a national baking star on the rise, at his Pittsburgh bakery Bread and Salt. breadandsaltbakery.com
Christopher Kostow's lamb in marigold sauce with plum at St. Helena, California’s Restaurant at Meadowood, one of the most elegant things I beheld and ate this year. therestaurantatmeadowood.com
Flan with candied violets, consumed on the patio of Knife & Fork Restaurant by the train tracks in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. knifeandforknc.com
Chorizo-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates, a classic at Chicago’s Avec. avecrestaurant.com
Lobster tartine with radishes, hijiki seaweed, and celery leaves at The Honey Paw, the little sister establishment to Eventide next door, in Portland, Maine. thehoneypaw.com
The simple but profound biang biang noodles, dressed only in hot oil and handfuls of chiles, at Miah’s Kitchen in Redmond, Washington. 2022 148th Ave NE, Redmond, (425) 644-6090
Restorative pho (amped with brisket and meatballs) at Seattle’s Ba Bar, where friends took me after a long overseas flight. babarseattle.com
Anything that’s fried at Chicago’s Big Jones, I’m on it: Paul Fehribach’s "Old Virginia fried steak, circa 1824," with creamed barley and sherry-scented onion gravy. bigjoneschicago.com
A blueberry dessert of dreams at Balise in New Orleans (blueberry upside-down cake with sweet corn ice cream, blueberry compote, and popcorn). balisenola.com