By Larry Levine –

Can you name 132 countries?

I can’t. I tried it recently and topped out somewhere in the mid-80s. The venture was precipitated by information that came to me by way of Google Analytics: The online food magazine you currently are reading has been read in 132 countries and on every continent.

I founded this magazine several months after Gourmet Magazine folded because I thought the world needed a high quality online replacement that was more than just the web site for a print magazine. I didn’t imagine that less than three years later Table Talk atLarrys.com would have attracted readers in 3,513 cities.

No, I haven’t tried to name that many cities.

As we have each year, we are presenting here the list of most read articles from the last year. Which leads me to another lesson learned from this venture: an online magazine is its own archive. Among the 15 most read articles of 2012 and pieces we published in 2010 and 2011, as well as in the last 12 months.

Also below is a listing of the top 15 restaurants visited by readers of the online restaurant recommendation web site atLarrys.com,

TABLE TALK 2012 MOST READ ARTICLES
1. Louvar – a fish you may never taste, or even see
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2012/01/louvar-a-fish-you-may-never-taste-or-even-see/
2. Philippe vs. Cole’s – A Downtown French Dip Showdown
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2011/03/philippe-vs-coles-a-down-town-french-dip-showdown/
3. Fall Off the Bones BBQ Ribs – The Detachable Meat Mystery
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2011/08/fall-off-the-bone-bbq-ribs-the-detachable-meat-mystery/
4. Radioactive Albacore Tuna from Fukushima Are Arriving in U.S. Waters – How great is the risk to you?
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2011/08/fukushima-radioactive-albacore-tuna-japanese-fish-us/
5. My Most Memorable Meal – A Dinner With Family Behind the Iron Curtain
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2011/03/my-most-memorable-meal-a-dinner-with-family-behind-the-iron-curtain/
6. Why are Some Eggs Brown & answers to other of life’s great mysteries
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2011/03/why-are-some-eggs-brown-answers-to-other-of-lifes-great-mysteries/
7. A Come Back For The Perfect Manhattan
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2010/07/a-come-back-for-the-perfect-manhattan/
8. Pork Meat Cuts and the Fall of Quality – a Cook’s Illustrated article explores pork cuts and pork fat content, including taste tests
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2011/07/pork-meat-cuts-and-the-fall-of-quality-a-cooks-illustrated-article-explores-pork-cuts-and-pork-fat-content-including-taste-tests/
9. Al the Wop’s – Restaurant of the Week – 7/5/10
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2010/07/al-the-wops-restaurant-of-the-week-7510/
10. Musso and Frank Grill – Where history meets the future in Hollywood
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2011/05/musso-and-frank-grill-where-history-meets-the-future-in-hollwyood/
11. In Quest of a Substitute for Foie Gras / desperation sets in after just two days
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2012/07/in-quest-of-a-substitute-for-foie-gras-desperation-sets-in-after-just-two-days/
12. Remembering David Shaw / a hot dog retrospective
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2012/08/remembering-david-shaw-a-hot-dog-retrospective/
13. Best Use Yet for Peppermint Candies
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2010/12/best-use-yet-for-peppermint-candies/
14. A Food Lover’s Journey / Bob’s Big Boy Double-Decker Hamburger – We found a Southern California institution by a highway in Michigan https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2011/08/bobs-big-boy-double-decker-hamburger-we-found-a-southern-california-institution-by-a-highway-in-michigan/
15. Lessons from Fukushima / the nuclear threat to California’s agriculture and the world’s food supply
https://www.tabletalkatlarrys.com/index.php/2012/03/fukushima-a-lesson-for-california-the-nuclear-threat-to-the-states-agriculture-and-the-worlds-food-supply/

atLarrys.com MOST VISITED RESAURANTS OF 2012
1. Wine Expo Tasting Room – Santa Monica, CA  http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=197
2. Al the Wop’s (Al’s Place) – Locke, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=75
3. The Mug – San Bernardino, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=85
4. Poor Red’s BBQ – El Dorado, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=77
5. Dos Arbolitos – West Hills, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=40
6. Chalet Edelweiss – Westchester, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=94
7. Jamie’s Broadway Grille – Sacramento http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=82
8. Mama Kim’s Eats – Sacramento, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=245
9. Alborz – Woodland Hills, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=225
10. Capital Seafood – Irvine, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=159
11. Enotria Restaurant – Sacramento, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=243
12. Angelini Osteria – Los Angeles, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=22
13. Iron Steaks – Sacramento, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=130
14. Panzanella – Sherman Oaks, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=16
15. Monterey Fish House – Monterey, CA http://www.atlarrys.com/recommendations-detail.php?Recommendation_ID=34

There you have it. If you haven’t read some of the Table Talk articles before, or want to read them again, just click on the appropriate link. The restaurant selections were a bit of a surprise, with 40% of them in and around Sacramento and some of our own personal favorites not making the list.

So, as 2013 gets off to a start, let us wish you happy dining, with good food, good wine and good company for the year ahead.

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