2025 was a chaotic year.
It started on a cruise ship sailing around Mexico. Continued with a 2 month trip around Nepal and Borneo with a short stint in Thailand. Then we joined another ship which took us around Japan, across the Pacific, and to Alaska for the summer. We had just under 2 months in NYC. And closed it all out with another ship contract that started in Alaska, went to Hawaii, and through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean.
We had epic eats every step of the way, but here are my 5 most delicious meals of 2025.
5. Chopped Cheese Pastrami, Edith’s Sandwich Counter, NYC
New York City is the ultimate melting pot of cultures, and the food scene reaps the benefits. The city is stuffed with chefs that blend various cuisines and cooking techniques to concoct innovative fusion dishes. The result? One-of-a-kind flavor experiences. The chopped cheese pastrami from Edith’s Sandwich Counter is one such dish.
Edith’s is a hole-in-the-wall joint serving up deli-fare with a Jewish twist. We’ve been a handful of times, and are yet to have a bad bite. But the pastrami chopped cheese is the one that has left an indelible impression
The house-smoked pastrami is the star of the show. It’s rich, smoky, and salty with a nice meatiness and perfect tenderness. Lettuce and tomato keeps each bite fresh. And sharp cheddar cheese ties everything together. It’s toasted in a way that allows the cheese around the edges to crisp up, making for a legendary sandwich that’s one of my top eats of the year.
4. Organic Smoothie Bowl and Cafe, Kathmandu, Nepal
As an outsider looking in, Kathmandu is an enigma of a city. It’s aggressively congested, noisy, and polluted. Yet there are little pockets of peace with shrines and gardens sprinkled about in the most unexpected places. We spent 10 days in Kathmandu, and we found our little pocket of peace we dined at nearly every day: Organic Smoothie Bowl and Café.
This spot is tucked away in a courtyard amongst the winding streets of Thamel, and they serve an impressive range of delicious smoothie bowls, toasts, and salads. I can practically hear you gasping, “Katie!!! What about all the delicious Nepalese food?!” Don’t worry. We had our fair share of momo and dal bhat, but the unfortunate truth is that were very careful about what we ate in Nepal to avoid getting sick. This is advice that came to us from the locals we met— avoid street food, be wary of the meat.
Organic Smoothie Bowl and Café gave us our daily dose of vitamins. From avocado toast to green smoothie bowls, everything on the menu was stupendously delicious. And the family beyond the operation was kind and welcoming.
Get the scoop on more Kathmandu spots we liked HERE.
3. Feast from Angel Indian Restaurant in Queens, NYC
Jackson Heights is a one of my all-time favorite neighborhoods for food in NYC. It’s a hub for South Asian and Latino cultures, and you can find some seriously good flavors for reasonable prices. One enclave amongst the neighborhood is “Little India”, and in 2025 we had an epic meal at Angel.
We started with the dahi batata puri and a chaat. The dahi patata puri was filled with potatoes, yogurt, and a tamarind mint chutney, and each bite had a perfect balance of tangy to sweet and soft to crunchy. The chaat consisted of chickpeas, various vegetables, and all types of chutneys making for a wild flavor journey of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy.
The star of the show was the chicken tikka masala. The curry itself was thick and creamy with a soft punch of heat and loads of cumin, coriander, and masala that were all balanced out by a subtle tanginess from the yogurt. The chicken sopped up all the flavors and was the epitome of “fall off the bone” tender. Fresh naan was the cherry on top. A true treat of a meal, and I’m already plotting my return.
2. Conveyor belt sushi restaurant Toppi – Otaru Canal Street branch
Our contract aboard the Noordam began in Japan, and we spent just over a month sailing around the country. Japanese food in Japan is elite, and the sushi is truly incomparable to what you’ll find outside of the country. All the ingredients are astoundingly fresh and the hands crafting each roll and piece are highly skilled. My favorite (and perhaps the most economical way) to consume sushi in Japan is via Kaitenzushi. AKA sushi trains.
From Yokohama to Toyama, we had our fair share of sushi feasts. But the best was from “Conveyor Belt Sushi Restaurant” in Otaru, Japan.
As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with enthusiastic cheers and the entire restaurant was buzzing with people enjoying their lunch break. It just so happened to be my birthday, so we went all in. We enjoyed several types of tuna, several types of salmon, and eel. The sashimi had a melt in your mouth quality with bold flavors that were far from “fishy”.
We ate until we couldn’t eat anymore, and the astounding part was our bill was just under $30USD.
1. Theordora, NYC
Our dinner at Theodora will go down in my books as one of the best meals I’ve had in New York City. The menu is expertly crafted around seasonal produce and dry-aged fish, which are cooked via a charcoal oven and open fire grill.
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To start, we got the hiramasa (yellowtail amberjack) and sourdough. The hiramasa was served raw with limes, avocado, and dashi– a Japanese soup stock made from kelp, dried bonito flakes, dried shiitake mushrooms, and dried sardines. The fish itself had a subtly sweet flavor that somehow paired perfectly with the deep umami from the dashi and citrus from the lime. Mind blowing is an understatement. I wasn’t as wowed by the sourdough. It was undoubtedly delicious. But not overly unique and quite expensive ($16) considering the fact you can get a whole loaf at Thea for $14
The next “course” was the octopus. The texture was beyond tender with a nice meatiness that was anything but “chewy”. Smoked shallots added a unique smokey sweetness that livened up the rich sauce. A 10/10 dish.
Finally, we got the half chicken ($39) and lamb ($46) as our mains. The half chicken isn’t just any chicken. It’s marinated for 3 days in olive oil along with various herbs and spices before being roasted in the Jospar oven. It’s juicy, salty, and smokey, dispelling any myth that chicken is boring. The lamb is served on a freshly baked flat bread and served with tahini, amba, and shifka as dips. Like everything else, the layers of flavor are nothing short of mind boggling.
This meal at Theodora easily gets the #1 spot on my most delicious meals of 2025 list!
Cheers to another delicious year! May 2026 be just as tasty.
Find out what make my list last year HERE!
