Okay, I realize it’s not exactly the same, but if Saveur can find 100 extraordinary food finds around the world every year, we should be able to list at least 25 of our favorite dishes, restaurants, markets, chefs and more here in Southwest Virginia.
I’ll go first. Here are five picks. Give me yours!

1. Carlos Brazilian’s Artichoke-Brie Soup.
2. El Palenque desserts (which are still available, in case you didn’t know.)
3. Southwest Virginia Farmer’s Markets. The fingerling potatoes! The heirloom tomatoes and beans! The tiny cabbages! The fresh peaches! The possibilities are endless.
4. Floyd County. Face it, they rate high in fine local food producers.
5. Roanoke- and Blacksburg- area ethnic markets. Must explore more.

Next Wednesday’s Front Burner column will have a rundown of the top food news from 2007. While I was preparing to write it, I jotted down a list of all the restaurants that have opened and closed around Roanoke during the past year.

The list was much longer than I thought (and way too long to print). Surprisingly, the list of eateries that opened was about twice as long as the “closed” list. So it seems that every time a restaurant closes around here, two more open to take its place.

Maybe this is why we’ve been lucky enough to see an increase in the diversity of cuisine around town. We have three Thai places, three Indian places, a Caribbean/Creole joint, three new barbecue eateries, a handful of sushi places and much more.

I’m sure I didn’t come close to thinking of every single restaurant that moved in or out of Southwest Virginia this year, and that’s where you come in. Tell me what I forgot. And while you’re at it, tell me which new restaurant you think is the best of the bunch! Or at least the most beautiful, or the most likely to succeed…

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