slides: 12 Biggest Food Stories in RI in 2012

#12 Prov Top Burger City

When it comes to burgers, Providence reigned  supreme in May of 2012, according to Travel + Leisure. The capital city snagged the highest honor in the latest Travel + Leisure's America's Favorite Cities survey, naming it the #1 Burger City in America.

"The No. 1 burger city, Providence, may have it both ways, offering both classic and creative burgers, with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients—within reason," according to T+L's Katrina Brown Hunt. T+L gave special love to Harry’s Bar and Burger, where "you can wash down your 100-percent-Hereford-beef sliders with spiked milkshakes, such as the Caramel Twinkie, made with ice cream, vanilla vodka, and snack cakes."

Read the story, here.

#11 Best Mac & Cheese

Every winter, GoLocal's Food Editors Ann & Michael Martini love doing a mac and cheese tour de Rhode Island. "Everything about the warmth of the pasta and the bubbly cheese makes us all happy inside," they wrote in January, when they named the 5 best cheesy, savory, irresistible dishes from around the state.

The winners? Thee Red Fez, La Laiterie (which just nabbed national honors), Mill's Tavern, The Canfield House, and Luxe Burger Bar.

Read why, right here.

#10 Prov Top Food City

Like you had to tell us? In November of 2012, Providence nabbed Travel + Leisure's top food honors in a big way, having now been named the top destination in the United States for “Food/Drink/Restaurants” in the just-released results of Travel + Leisure magazine’s “America’s Favorite Cities” poll.  The city finished just ahead of New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and Portland, Ore., which rounded out the top five.

Providence placed in the top ten in all food-related categories but one – barbecue. Well, there's always 2013...

Read the whole story, here.

#9 RI's Best Burgers

In 2011, Ann & Michael Martini named the best burgers in the state, and their lists were among the most popular stories all year. They returned to retaste, rethink, and update the all-time 5 best for 2012. The result was one of the most popular food news pieces of the year, and one of the most shared on social media.

The 2012 Top 5? New Rivers, Harry's Bar & Burger, White Horse Tavern, Cook and Browne Public House, and Thee Red Fez. Dig in, Rhode Island.

What made these burgers the best in '12? Read more, here.

#8 RI's Best Mexican Food

Rhode Island is a long way from Mexico, but remains today a terrific spot for immigrants to settle. So it is that we have become a very small state with some very good Mexican restaurants.

Rhode Island's Mexican restaurants run the gamut from formal, sit-down restaurants to food trucks--what they all have in common is fresh and delicious fare, at very reasonable prices.

When GoLocal set out to name 5 fun choices from both ends of the Mexican spectrum, Rhode Islanders were lining up to share the delicious news. See who made the Martini's hand-picked list, right here.

#7 Wieners

Wieners always make news--they are one of the most iconic Rhode Island foods there is. In February, the local food blog ForkInTheRhode.com named its best hot wieners and in April, GoLocal's own Martinis named theirs.

Part of wiener-news popularity is that everyone has a favorite--Olyneyville, Smith Hill, Wien-O-Rama in Cranston, among others--and everyone wants to argue and fight about why their's is the best.

Pass the celery salt and check out the story, here. See if you're not arguing over it all over again.

#6 Date Restaurants

Isn't it romantic? In Rhode Island it is, and maybe it's because we love our food so much that we associate eating it with love. In any event, the state's best restaurants for flirting, wooing, making up, or all of the above, was one of the most popular stories of the year.

The best spots for 2012? The Dorrance and New Rivers in Providence, Bouchard in Newport, Bella Restaurant in Glendale, and Trattoria Romana in Wakefield. Pucker up, Rhode Island.

Read the whole article, here.

#5 Restaurant Reviews

Sean DeBobes, GoLocalProv's Dining Critic, has reviewed more than 80 restaurants in the state, and his "5 Things" looks at the five things you need to know about restaurant are high-speed, go-to views of the culinary scene.

In 2012, some of the most widely read and shared 5 Things reviews included Centro at The Westin, Lola's Tequila Bar & Cantina on the Providence waterfront, and Coco Pazzo on College Hill, as well as his first-look visit to Gavin's Pub, also on the waterfront.

#4 Best Pizza Strips

Another iconic RI food made everyone's Twitter feed buzz and Facebook wall light up this February, when Ann & Michael Martini took on a beloved local food--pizza strips.

"Whether it’s a birthday, graduation or religious celebration you can almost guarantee a platter of these saucy delights," they wrote. "This is originally what pizza was in these parts: a cheap, easy to transport street food. Italian immigrants didn’t have a lot, but they could make a basic dough and grow tomatoes in summer for this classic. We set out to find our favorites and we came back covered in sauce and oil."

Who came out on top in this contentious local category? Read here to find out.

#3 Sushi Top Spots

Sushi is one of the most popular, but also daunting, foods on the culinary scene. And GoLocal's naming of five great sushi spots with the freshest, cleanest fish in the state, really got people talking.

Further, this go-to list of the best spots no doubt was saved on iPhones and Blackberries as a quick expert guide to where to grab a top-shelf California roll on a Saturday night.

See which sushi spots earned top praise, here.

#2 Old-School Italian

Things just got personal in food news. Which restaurants on and off Federal Hill, in and out of Providence, won GoLocal's praise as the very best old-school Italian restaurants?

Food Editors Ann & Michael Martini braved the storm and named their top choices: Wakefield's Italian Village, Mike's Kitchen in Cranston, Angelo's Civita Farnese in Providence, Luigi's in Johnston, Sardella's in Newport, and Bella Pasta Ristorante in Pawtucket.

Basta! Read all about them, here.

#1 Food Trucks

Rhode Island loves its food trucks, and they were by far the number one Food story of the year. From coverage of the Food Trucks of New England Festival coming to Newport, to profiles of new food trucks on the scene, to a special college-oriented guide to where the food trucks are near Rhode Island's campuses, everyone couldn't get enough news about the hottest food trend in the state for 2012.

When Ann & Michael Martini named the best food trucks, the story became the runaway #1 food story of all of 2012. Meals and wheels are here to stay in RI. Deliciously so.