As editors of The Age Good Food Guide, we double-dinnered on several occasions, most notably a Nigerian-Mexican quinella.
We queued for burgers, we queued for Korean beef soups, we queued for clandestine tacos, and obviously, we queued at bakeries. (Do you even write about food if you don’t queue up for laminated pastries?)
We drove up the Hume, we jumped on light planes, we luxuriated on the V-Line, we caught buses to the deep north in search of Turkish grilled meats. Then, we collapsed in delight.
And what did we see dotting every table in Victoria in 2026? Well, meat. Meat and potatoes. Protein – and a little starch – as far as the eye could see.
Some classics never die, and this year saw steak and chips rebrand to steak frites at hatted restaurants, neighbourhood pubs and everywhere in between.
As for potatoes, we ate them as fat, crunchy pucks – the perfect vessel for anything creamy and salty; chipped and fried in beef tallow for a shattering exterior; and in what was one of the most unexpectedly delicious moves of the year, we ate them mashed, buttered and supercharged with a decadent sauce of crab roe and claw meat at one of tonight’s double-nominees, Little Rose.
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