2010 by the Numbers

I remember, back when I used to have more functioning brain cells than I do now, how much I used to enjoy reading the "Harper's Index" that was in every issue of the lefty-leaning Harper's magazine. As a final sendoff to 2010, here's my take on the year just past in the same format, except I may have made up at least 50% of the statistics in this list (including that one):

Food For Thought's Index

South Florida restaurants (or food trucks) written up in FFT in 2010: 38^[1]

Non-South Florida restaurants written up in FFT in 2010: 18^[2]

Cobaya - Gourmet Guinea Pig dinners written up in FFT in 2010: 7

Number of dinner experiences in 2010 I enjoyed more than III Forks: 364

Number of contemporary Asian restaurants opened in Miami in 2010: 9^[3]

Percentage of restaurants opened in Miami in 2010 that are contemporary Asian restaurants: 79%

Number of steakhouses opened in Miami in 2009: 8^[4]

Number of steakhouses opened in Miami in 2010: 3^[5]

Number of seafood restaurants opened in Miami in 2010: 6^[6]

Number of big-name outsiders to open restaurants in Miami in 2009: 11^[7]

Number of big-name outsiders to open restaurants in Miami in 2010: 3^[8]

Number of South Florida food trucks on Twitter in December 2009: 2^[9]

Number of South Florida food trucks on Twitter in December 2010: 35

Percentage of South Florida food truck menus featuring burgers and/or tacos: 90%

(continued ...)

South Florida restaurants on Twitter: 179

Average number of tweets per day by @sugarcanerawbar: 8.66

Rank of "Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill" among most viewed posts on FFT in 2010 overall: 1

Menu items at Sakaya Kitchen that include "kimchi" or "ssamjang": 10

Menu items at Michael's Genuine that include "crispy" or "egg": 7 (20 if you include the brunch menu)

Number of restaurants I was disappointed to see close in 2010: 2^[10]

Visits by me to Hiro's Yakko-San in 2010: 12

Visits by me to Sakaya Kitchen in 2010: 15

Visits by me to Japanese Market in 2010: 16

Visits by me to Prime 112 (ever): 0

Burgers eaten by Burger Beast during National Hamburger Month: 41

Months since New Times' Lee Klein promised an exposé on Whole Foods' lack of support for local farmers after criticizing local chefs for accepting their sponsorship: 15

Number of bourbons at the Bourbon Tasting @stevebm invited me to: 10

Number of bourbons @thechowfather was in a condition to drink when he showed up at the Bourbon Tasting late after a party: -2

Times Sam Sifton allowed the use of the word "delicious" as a descriptor while editing the New York Times Dining Section: 0

Times Sam Sifton used the word "delicious" as a descriptor in a restaurant review in 2010: 20

Times I used the word "delicious" as a descriptor in a FFT restaurant writeup in 2010: 20

Number of times I used the word "yummy" on FFT in 2010: 0

Number of times I used the word "handjob" on FFT in 2010: 1

Rank of "handjob" post among most single-day views on FFT in 2010: 2

Thanks to everyone who made 2010 such an enjoyable year - all the chefs, line cooks, waitstaff, sommeliers, bartenders and busboys, all the farmers, fishermen and foragers, all the winemakers, brewers and distillers, all the guinea pigs who supported our Cobaya dining experiments, and all the great people I've had the good fortune to share meals with, both at the table and vicariously through reviews, blogs, tweets and pictures. Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy 2011.

^[1]Vino e Olio, Gigi, American Noodle Bar, Dim Ssam a Gogo, Jefe's Original, Norman's 180, Fin, Over Easy Cafe, Holy Smoke Barbecue, Island Cow, Chow Down Grill, Mad Hatter, Key Lime Bistro, Shake Shack, Zuma, Nobu, Bourbon Steak, Sakaya Kitchen, D. Rodriguez, The Forge, III Forks, Altamare, Red Light, El Rincon Asturiano, Setai, Versailles, Enriquetas, Luis Galindo's Latin American, La Camaronera, El Mago de las Fritas, Bin No. 18, Puerto Sagua, Sugarcane, Su Shin Izakaya, gastroPod, Latin Burger, Buena Vista Bistro, Hakkasan.

^[2]Koy Shunka, Arzak, elBulli, Asador Etxebarri, Casa Senra, Mil Catas, Hidalgo 56, A Fuego Negro, La Cuchara de San Telmo, Solo Bistro, Squire Tarbox Inn, Duck Fat, Street and Co., Fore Street, Stella, Cochon, Dante's Kitchen, Luke.

^[3]Sakaya Kitchen, Gigi, Pubbelly, Chow Down Grill, American Noodle Bar, Soi Asian Bistro, Sugarcane, Zuma, Miss Yip.

^[4]5300 Chop House, Argentina Steakhouse, Barcelona Steakhouse, BLT Steak, Chicago's Steakhouse, Gotham Steak, Rare Steakhouse, Red the Steakhouse.

^[5]1500º, The Forge, STK.

^[6]Blue Door Fish, Catch 10 Seafood Bistro, De Rodriguez Ocean, Fin, Rickenbacker Fish Company, Sea Bar.

^[7]Scarpetta from Scott Conant (actually opened December 2008), Eos from Michael Psilakis, BLT Steak from Laurent Tourondel, Gotham Steak from Alfred Portale (also a late '08 opening), all from New York, Hakkasan from London's Alan Yau, Au Pied de Cochon (now closed) and Caviar Kaspia from Paris, Area 31 from Boston's John Critchley (now gone), Red the Steakhouse from Cleveland, Apple from L.A.'s Bryan Ogden (now closed), Mr. Chow from London by way of New York, and his evil twin Philippe.

^[8]Daniel Boulud (DB Bistro Moderne), Christopher Lee (Eden), David Burke (Strike Miami), all via NY.

^[9]gastroPod, Latin Burger

^[10]Talula, Pacific Time.