1. Steak tartare with caviar at The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, Conn.

If you live by the Connecticut border – or are willing to travel – you should absolutely to go to The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic. Chef David Standridge, who was named the 2024 Best Chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation, has made it his mission to focus on sustainability, particularly when it comes to fish. Despite my love for seafood, one of my favorite dishes there was his steak tartare on a bed of potato mille-feuille. The potatoes looked like golden strips of Texas toast, but they were crunchy on the outside and soft and smooth on the inside. Add a little bump of caviar. It’s worth it.

2. Raw fluke aquachile at Courtland Club in Providence, R.I.

Whenever I go to Courtland Club to eat food prepared by chef Nikhil Naiker, I make sure to start with some sort of crudo or other raw fish. Naiker, who cooks under the Nimki pop-up brand, has a one-year residency at Courtland Club, where he’s serving a rotating selection of bright and flavorful plates that sing to those with palates favoring citrus and salt.

Well, my heart was singing with this raw fluke aquachile this past summer. It was plated beautifully, with slices of onion adorning the white fluke.

3. Potato curry cakes at Comfort Kitchen in Dorchester, Mass.

The food at Comfort Kitchen is largely a celebration of the ingredients and flavors of the African diaspora. But some dishes draw from other international influences, such as the potato curry cakes I tasted for dinner recently. They’re seasoned with a hot, Indian-inspired spice blend and served with lemon yogurt and a savory tomato jam. Read my colleague and Globe food critic Devra First’s five-star review of the restaurant here.

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4. Green curry ramen at Pickerel in Providence, R.I.

Pickerel is still considered a newcomer to Providence. The dark and intimate ramen shop on the West Side of the city, in the former Big King restaurant space, is co-owned by Spencer Smith, a longtime bartender, and Scott LaChapelle, a chef specializing in ramen and soups. I recently enjoyed a few ramen bowls with a dining companion, and their green curry ramen was quite a standout. It was a special, and Smith told our table that the recipe came from a ramen master LaChapelle previously trained under.

5. Crispy eggplant at Hangry Kitchen in Pawtucket, R.I.

While antiquing on a miserable, rainy day this past summer, I stopped into Hangry Kitchen for a late lunch and had a full spread. Out of all the dishes I tried, these crispy eggplant pieces with mole sauce were memorable. I ate them like thick steak fries, dunking and scraping the bottom of the plate to get as much mole as possible.

6. Corn ribs at Palo in Providence, R.I.

Palo, a tapas bar that has become one of my go-to spots to grab a bite in Providence, has these costillas de maíz (corn ribs) that I may have a slight addiction to at this point. They serve you a basket of them and you can customize all the fixings — paprika salt, roast lime aioli, and queso fresco — to your own liking.

7. Salt and pepper chicken from Rubato in Quincy, Mass.

Rubato is an interesting Hong Kong-style fast restaurant that opened in Quincy, Mass., in 2022. I went this past winter to taste some bao and had an incredible, well-seasoned salt-and-pepper fried chicken dish with bok choy and rice.

8. Potato croquettes from Frank & Laurie’s in Providence, R.I.

Do not sleep on the specials at Frank & Laurie’s, the new brunch spot on Doyle Avenue in Providence. The pancakes were fabulous — fluffy, with solidly sweet maple syrup. But what truly stood out to me was their puntarelle and potato croquettes, which was a special on the menu this past fall. They were perfectly crispy, filled with juicy shreds of delicious bitter greens. They were served with a side of Anchoïade, a classic French dipping sauce made from capers, olives, and anchovies.

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9. Haiga-mai rice risotto with shellfish from Oberlin in Providence, R.I.

Everything about Oberlin is excellent, but there are certain dishes and specials that make you remember them months later. In February, they served a haiga-mai rice risotto with shellfish, chili and parmesan that I enjoyed with a dinner party at their chef’s counter. When it comes to flavor, haiga-mai rice falls between white and brown rice. It has a nuttier texture, like brown rice, but is chewier, like white. Haiga-mai rice goes through a special milling process that removes the bran but not the germ, which gives it a quick cooking time, makes it tender in texture, and easy to digest. Open shellfish were laid on top of the risotto as if the risotto was the bottom of a sea floor and the clams and mussels were in their natural environment.

10. Pork dumplings in chili sauce from Chong Qing House in East Providence, R.I.

Chong Qing House in East Providence is unassuming if you’re standing outside on Taunton Avenue, but inside is an authentic Szechuan restaurant. Their pork dumplings are steamed and delicate, and are served submerged in a bowl of chili sauce that’s so spicy it ignites the tongue and makes your lips numb. You’ll most certainly have leftover chili sauce. I took it home and used it in a rice bowl I made with leftover hanger steak and asparagus.

11. Spicy beed salad at Central Provisions in Portland, Maine

I dream about this dish every year until I am able to taste it. The beef carpaccio at Central Provisions packs heat, and is elevated by bits of crushed peanuts and brightened by cilantro and onions. When I go to Central Provisions, I order this dish before I even order a drink. When I’m at home in Providence, I often consider how much it might cost — and if it would even be possible — to have this dish delivered on ice.

12. Beef empanadas from The Port of Call in Mystic, Conn.

The Port of Call has become a favorite dining room around New England, where chef Reneé Touponce continues to raise the culinary bar in the tiny village of Mystic. I’ve gone into this restaurant and shared a few plates at a time with the rest of my table. But there’s one thing I can’t get out of my head: just how good the beef empanadas were. They were stuffed with sofrito, cheese, olives, and beef, and served with sides of chimichurri and charred chili aioli.

13. Pasta al Forno from Rino’s Place in East Boston, Mass.

Sometimes you just need a big bowl of pasta, particularly as the weather grows chillier. While in college, I lived right next door to Rino’s Place in East Boston, and could always smell the basil and garlic wafting into my apartment’s windows from their kitchen. I recently returned to my old stomping grounds to bring a lifelong Bostonian there so they could see what they’ve been missing out on. The pasta al forno is homemade rigatoni with mini meatballs and ricotta, topped with mozzarella and baked. It’s less than $25 and an absolutely ridiculously huge portion. I had leftovers for days.

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14. Nashville hot chicken from Honeybird in East Providence, R.I.

This past fall, I sat at the bar at Honeybird in East Providence for some Nashville hot fried chicken tenders and too many sides for just two people. If you haven’t been there yet, this was a concept from Nick and Tracy Rabar of Avenue N fame that opened in August 2022. It’s located inside a restored gas station, and there are some fun tributes to the location’s former life with a backdrop of ‘90s hip hop.

16. Uni hand rolls from Mr. Tuna in Portland, Maine

In Portland, Maine, it’s hard not to root for Jordan Rubin, aka Mr. Tuna himself. The chef is an alum of Boston’s famed Uni, and has spent the better part of the last two decades nurturing his passion for Japanese cuisine. In 2017, he introduced his Mr. Tuna concept to Portland. It started as a sushi food cart and grew to a food truck and then brick-and-mortar space. The growth has been organic, and has blossomed into sister restaurant Bar Futo where they are focused on binchotan-fried cooking. At Mr. Tuna, grab a spicy tuna hand roll, sunomono salad with dashi pickles and wakame, and scallop sashimi with matsutake, pickled shiitake, shiso, and puffed rice. But my personal favorite is a DIY uni hand roll set up for $55. It includes 60 grams of uni, nori, shiso, fresh wasabi, and sushi rice. It’s pure, but also interactive and fun.

17. Pork Schnitzel from Frankie’s in Burlington, Vt.

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Frankie’s was where I had one of the best meals in 2024 overall. The restaurant opened in April by some of the same folks who previously led Hen of the Wood, another Burlington staple, and offer a unique and upscale farm-to-table dining experience.

Their menu changes daily and offers things like pickled sweet corn, whole wheat brioche, and littleneck clams. But the pork schnitzel, surprisingly, was my favorite dish, with its crispy edges and juicy center. End the night with a dessert, which is always a creative version of the Vermont creemee.

Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.