Best of Boston Dining 2008

Boston Magazine's yearly Best of Boston came out back in August, and since then, they've been throwing parties for the different selections (such as Best of Fashion, and Best of Boston North and Best of Boston South). Last night, though, was Best of Boston Dining at the 808 Gallery at BU, and man was it a great party.

Many of the winners were on hand with samples of their dishes that helped bring them to the top. And while I didn't (and still don't) agree on some of the choices, there were many restaurants there last night that truly brought their A-game to the show.

The Beehive (winner for Best Family-Friendly Brunch and Best Pickup Bar, oddly) featured a killer roast pork with foie gras stuffing - so tender that the dinky little plastic forks could cut through it, and they even gave us some of the ribs to get every last morsel of goodness off of.

Diesel Cafe (Best Coffeehouse) presented sandwiches, spreads, and drinks that were much better than I remember from my time spent in Davis Square - the Lil' Piston (their version of a caprese sandwich) was so intensely flavorful that I can't imagine eating a whole one for lunch, and their jasmine limeade was a very refreshing choice.

Hungry Mother (Best Comeback) offered up little biscuits with ham and pepper jelly - sweet and salty, they were perfect little snack bites.

Church (Best Neighborhood Brunch, Fenway/Symphony) offered some un-brunchy options, like the Vanity cocktail and fantastic shrimp ceviche on tortilla chips - I've been meaning to make my way to Church for a while, but this cemented my desire... I guess I'll have to order a Gluttony when I do go.

ChocoLee Chocolates (Best Chocolates) had some of the most perfectly balanced chocolate flavors I've seen in ages, such as dark chocolate with salted caramel and dark chocolate with fig filling.

This party was a great way to get introduced to some places I had never heard of (hello, ChocoLee), to get peeks at places I've been wanting to visit (Beehive, Hungry Mother, and Church), and to revisit places I had previously brushed aside (Diesel Cafe). I'm definitely looking forward to visiting all those places!