29 of the best food photos from 2013

Over this pretty damn great year, our editors and friends consumed a ton of meals in messy whirlwinds of unfettered gluttony. But before doing that, they took some of the most beautiful (and literally tasteful) food photographs we've ever seen -- and we've seen your college roommate's Instagram account! So, we compiled our favorites into this list for you to drool over. Here's our who's who of gorgeous food pin-ups from 2013.

im so baked roll shiku sushi bar san diego
Sara Norris

"I'm So Baked" Roll, Shiku Sushi Bar
San Diego
Spicy crab, spicy tuna, and cream cheese wrapped with white fish, topped with lobster and jalapeño, and baked with garlic-crab dynamite sauce. Pairs well with a 14min live version of the Phish song "Divided Sky".

steak tartare charlemagne new york
Andrew Zimmer

Steak Tartare, Charlemagne
New York
Raw steak, egg yolk, crusty bread, Catalan aioli. Not to be confused with steak tartar sauce, which might actually be good on this, now that we think of it.

ceviche de salmon desnuda new york
Andrew Zimmer

Ceviche de Salmon, Desnuda
New York
Salmon, shaved almonds, Thai chili oil, orange slices, sweet potato, totally badass flames.

scotch egg biscuit sandwich empire new york
Andrew Zimmer

Scotch Egg Biscuit, Empire Biscuit
New York
Biscuit, soft-boiled egg wrapped in sausage and deep fried, whole-grain mustard, cheddar. Scotch egg goes down, down into your belly.

dirty pigeon tacos exchange alley new york
Andrew Zimmer

Dirty Pigeon Tacos, Exchange Alley
New York
Deep-fried pigeon, Creole dirty gravy, pickled chilis, lettuce, tortilla. These tacos are just further evidence that most "dirty" things are actually awesome.

italian ramen brucie new york
Andrew Zimmer

Italian Ramen, Brucie
New York
Smoked short rib meatball, chili-marinated chicken, confit tomato, soft-boiled egg, pistachios, sautéed radish greens, pickled raisins, dill, Parmesan, red onion, bacon-infused broth. Served with Negroni shot and Sapporo. The best Italian-Japanese crossover since Mario.

blood orange donut dough loco new york
Andrew Zimmer

Blood Orange Donut, Dough Loco
New York
Blood orange icing, poppy seeds, donut. Don't eat one before your drug test, Elaine.

pork belly atrium new york brooklyn
Andrew Zimmer

Pork Belly, Atrium
New York
Crispy pork belly, roasted peach with brown sugar, natural jus, roasted baby corn with mint. The fanciest bacon you will ever lay your eyes on.

distilled wings new york
Andrew Zimmer

Distilled Wings, Distilled New York
New York
Twice-fried chicken wings, sweet/savory beer sauce. Recommended with: blue cheese, reckless disregard for cleanliness while eating.

chicken chorizo burger roost london
Jason Allen

Chicken Chorizo Burger, Roost
London
Chicken, spicy chorizo, aioli, chipotle ketchup, watercress, sesame bun. Those crazy Londoners will call anything a burger, but we'll allow this one because it's so damned delicious.

the beef royal burger bbqwhiskybeer london
Jason Allen

The Beef Royal, BBQWhiskyBeer
London
Beef burger, short rib, bacon, cheese, onion rings, mushrooms, sesame bun. OK, so this one's an actual burger. Sorry for doubting you, London.

chocolate caramel cake butter midtown new york
Andrew Zimmer

Dobosch Torte, Butter Midtown
New York
Layered sponge cake with chocolate buttercream and dripped hot caramel. Uh, yeah. This one's just not even fair.

sex on the north beach roll tanuki chicago
Sean Cooley

Sex on the North Beach Roll, Tanuki
Chicago
Octopus, crab meat, mango, avocado, spicy mayo, seared salmon, tuna, raspberry sauce, chili mayo. Kinda like an ocean reunion. With raspberries!

chicken and waffles sweet chick new york
Andrew Zimmer

Chicken and Waffles, Sweet Chick
New York
Sweet tea-brined fried chicken, buttery waffles, maple syrup. Damn, look at those thighs!

sausage biscuit bang bang pie shop chicago
Sean Cooley

Sausage Biscuit, Bang Bang Pie Shop
Chicago
Biscuit, gravy, sausage, poached egg, Concord grape jelly. Poaching, in most cases, is wrong, but we'll allow it in this case.

jerky fries sweet chick new york
Andrew Zimmer

Jerky Fries, Sweet Chick
New York
Shoestring fries, "jerky dust", herbs. The jerky dust is ground-up jerky. The herbs are still herbs.

pork rib tips cannonball san diego
Sara Norris

Pork Rib Tips, Cannonball
San Diego
Plum-glazed pork ribs, sesame seeds, green onion. Rib tip of the hat to you, San Diego, for creating these.

half dungeness crab rock creek seattle
Chona Kasinger

Half Dungeness Crab, Rock Creek
Seattle
Dungeness crab, garlic, chili, basil, tomalley aioli, hot sauce. This is just half. That means you need to order two to get the full effect.

virginia air-cured ham the old sage seattle
Chona Kasinger

Virginia Air-Cured Ham, The Old Sage
Seattle
Virginia ham, malted mustard. You'd better eat this one before Lady Gaga wears it.

lobster roll luke's lobster philadelphia
Adam Robb

Lobster Roll, Luke's Lobster
Philadelphia
Lobster knuckle and claw meat, buttered bun, secret six-spice blend. While the spice blend may be a secret, we do have the scoop that this sandwich is incredibly beautiful. You're welcome.

porchetta ascolana casa luca washington dc
Leo Schmid

Porchetta Ascolana, Casa Luca
Washington, DC
Four-day fennel-pollen-marinated porchetta, herbs. Three-day fennel-pollen-marinated porchetta is for squares.

tomato and egg yolk bruschetta broders terzo vino bar minneapolis
Drew Wood

Tomato & Egg Yolk Bruschetta, Broders' Terzo Vino Bar
Minneapolis
Grilled bread, tomato, egg yolk, microgreens. You can practically taste the egg by looking at that photo now, can't you?

potato chip encrusted fried chicken on a stick baton creole austin
Dan Gentile

Fried Jambalaya on a Stick, Baton Creole
Austin
Cajun rice, chicken, Andouille sausage, green peppers, garlic, tomatoes, breading, remoulade sauce, stick. Please don't eat the stick.

p scary burger p terrys austin
Dan Gentile

P. Scary Burger, P. Terry's
Austin
Four beef patties, grilled onions & jalapeños, six rashers of bacon, American cheese, mustard, special sauce, seedless bun. For when you ever want to scale a mountain of meat.

crobrio la patisserie austin
Dan Gentile

CroBrio, La Patisserie
Austin
Brioche dough, butter, vanilla pastry cream, cinnamon-sugar, chocolate frosting. This cronut clone was particularly photogenic, and that's why it made this list. Good on you, CroBrio!

burnt caterpillar roll tag raw bar denver
Lee Breslouer

Burnt Caterpillar Roll, TAG | Raw Bar
Denver
Spicy crab, avocado, cucumber, tobiko. You don't have to be an amateur entomologist (like us) to know that this sushi is awesome.

cro-bar donut bar san diego
Sara Norris

The Cro-Bar, Donut Bar
San Diego
Croissant-style layered dough, cinnamon sugar, raspberry glaze. 2013 was the Year of the Cronut, as you can plainly see.

vanilla bacon flurry burke's bacon bar chicago
Sean Cooley

Vanilla Bacon Flurry, Burke's Bacon Bar
Chicago
Vanilla ice cream, whiskey-soaked cherries, chocolate shavings, chocolate sauce, bacon brittle. Yeah. This exists.

pan roasted duck heaton butler and bayne london
Jason Allen

Pan-Roasted Duck, Heaton, Butler & Bayne
London
Roasted duck breast, rösti (Swiss potato pancake), beetroot, jus. Daffy? We're so sorry.

Adam Lapetina is a food/drink staff writer at Thrillist, and wholeheartedly believes that the best things in life are fried. Read his musings on Twitter at @adamlapetina.