Our favorite Eater stories of the year

A look back at Eater in 2018 | [View on the web]( CHEF'S SPECIAL [AMERICA’S 38 ESSENTIAL RESTAURANTS]( The fine dining stunners, neighborhood charmers, and regional vanguards that show us who we are and how we eat. [2M Smokehouse]( Photo: Bill Addison Entrée [Inside the world's largest water-tasting competition]( In a state where dozens of towns don't have clean tap water, the world's largest water tasting is still going strong after nearly three decades. [Why is hospital food so disgusting?]( Soggy cheeseburgers and goopy soups are the last thing we should be feeding to patients with little appetite to begin with. [Homophobia almost made me quit being a chef]( For men who don’t fit a narrow definition of masculinity, gay or not, restaurant kitchens can be a place of daily harassment. [If it’s really ‘women’s moment,’ why are we still failing female chefs?]( Horrible men like Mario Batali still command a spotlight. The reckoning, so far, has not reckoned with our inability to tell women’s stories. [Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat changes the rules for who gets to eat on TV]( The quiet radicalism of showing [Eater Chef of the Year Samin Nosrat]( eating with gusto. [Is Disneyland's $15,000 dinner the most magical meal on Earth?]( A table at 21 Royal includes a butler, Osetra caviar, and Champagne, but what diners are really here for is a premium taste of Walt Disney wonder. [How Kerrygold earned its cult following in America]( The golden-wrapped bricks of butter are considered a step up from other brands in supermarkets. toast of the town [THE EATER GUIDE TO ROME]( While the Colosseum is nice, the carbonara is better — so start planning your pizza, pasta, and gelato odyssey in the Eternal City. [spaghetti]( Photo: Nadia Shira Cohen EYE CANDY [WATCH: DIVING INTO WARM CAMBODIAN NOODLES AND PRAHOK KTISS]( Eater Young Gun Nite Yun is not only [the breakout star of the year]( but her Oakland restaurant Nyum Bai was also named one of the [best new restaurants of 2018](. [Nite Yun]( GIF: Eater Video Did a friend [forward]( you this email? [Subscribe now to get Eater in your inbox](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving emails from Eater. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.