A week after I started my new job, I was standing in the grocery line getting increasingly annoyed by slow people at the self-checkout when it hit me:

“I forgot my blogiversary,” I said aloud.

Well, shit.

A wave of guilt washed over me, the same guilt I’ve been feeling for awhile now. I’m sorry blog, I haven’t forgotten about you, it’s not like I don’t go to a new restaurant and think about delectable phrasing for a new post, because I swear I do — life has just gotten in the way. I moved to a new city, spent the summer in Turkey, and started a new job, all within a few months, and writing has became more of a chore than anything.

I can’t buy you flowers or chocolates, and saying there are a dozen half-written posts in the lineup isn’t going to make up for lost time, but enough of the excuses.

Without further ado, here is year three in delicious retrospect.

The best new restaurant

The best new restaurant review is The Adelaide Oyster House. It opened last fall, and while I was home in St. John’s for Christmas last year I sampled the deliciousness — small plates, fresh oysters, and crazy good tacos — with my dear girlfriends. It’s been nominated for enRoute’s Best New Restaurants of 2015, and I’m sure it will make the esteemed list when it’s released in a few days. You read about the yum here.

The best brunch

I know, I know, the last thing you want to hear about is brunch. We get it Gabby, you like brunch. Well sorry, but you’re going to be hearing a lot more about brunch: My cousin Sheila gave me a copy of the Toronto Brunch Map, and I’ve made it a personal mission to eat at all these restaurants in the next year. That’s a lot of eggs benny and I  freaking can’t wait.

Le Petit Déjeuner was just one of the first stops, but man it’s going to be hard to top. Read all about the cheesiness here.

The greasiest thing I ate all year

Walking down the street, I could smell the butter. After a long season on the Anatolian plains, Marica, Alicia and I were finally sitting down to a meal in a restaurant in Ankara, and Alicia’s mind was on one thing:

Iskender kebap.

This traditional Turkish dish consists of thinly shaved lamb with tomato sauce. The best part?

Piping hot melty butter is poured all over the meal tableside.

This was the most distinctive, greasy, life-shortening thing I ate this year, maybe ever (probably tied with the foie gras double down from Joe Beef). The butter and tomato sauce mix to make the most savoury of sauces and the whole plate just melts in your mouth. Man, it does not photograph well, and honestly I can’t fully describe the taste — but it’s fucking delicious. I want to eat this again. right. now.

There will be a blog post about this meal, I promise.

The surprise viral post

I guess journalism school taught me well; this (fully intentioned) click-bait title got the most views ever in one day, though I wholeheartedly stand by what it says. Read about The Most Underrated Restaurant in Halifax.

The coolest event I attended

This category had to be a tie, for a few reasons.

The first being ANTHONY BOURDAIN.

Last year at Devour! The Food Film Festival, I sat 10 feet away from the king of adventuresome eating while he spoke at the opening of the festival. I won’t gush more about it, you can read about it in this post. Full disclosure, I don’t talk much about the food — I got to eat some great dishes prepared by local chefs — but it was an all around awesome time, and I am very sad I won’t be at the festival this November.

I was also lucky enough to attend Dine By Design East, an amazing event where local interior designers and chefs join forces to make amazingly whimsical food and lovely spaces to eat it in. Who doesn’t love a real live toast wall featuring Miley Cyrus paired with some molecular gastronomy? Have a look here, and get ready to drool.

The best meal (and the sexiest)

There are no photos or long descriptions for this meal. Adam and I went to Edulis when we first moved back to Toronto for a no holds barred, all-out celebration meal. Sometimes Adam will look at me and say “is this a blog meal or an ‘us’ meal?” and this was definitely an ‘us’ meal —  to celebrate our new city, our new adventure, so there was no Instagram or note taking.

I can’t even recall all of the seven insatiable courses, but I will tell you it was the sexiest meal I’ve eaten ever. Scallop ceviche with unripened strawberries were swallowed in seconds, we slurped on full crayfish to get every morsel of their juicy insides, and the veal three ways was simply seductive — followed by two dessert courses, with a potently delicious rum cake that was brought to us where more rum was sublimely poured tableside. The combination of soft mood lighting, great music, and the slow and well-thought out progression of the meal made for the most sensuous four hours I have ever spent at a restaurant.

After the frightening realization that I had forgotten my blogiversary, I went back to my very first blog post to see how much the blog has changed over the past three years — and while I am proud to say my writing skills, the design of the blog, and certainly the photography have improved over time, my main goal has not. I started the blog to explore, to eat, and to repeat, and after three years, this is still what I want to write about. Having started The Food Girl in Town after moving from Toronto, it feels as though things have come full circle and I’m excited to be back writing about new food adventures in this great city.

Here’s to a delicious (and consistent) year 4.