by SARAH MUSGRAVE

Another omnivorous odyssey has come to an end, filled with adventures in eating that pretty much covered the globe. There were lots of great restaurants to choose from over the last 12 months, but these top five picks of 2002 are places that offer something just unusual enough to set them apart. Don’t let another year go by without checking them out!

Nonya

Opened in 2002, this Indonesian restaurant brings together the best of all worlds - authentic eats, style and cheap prices - a combination that’s not as easy to find further up on the Main. In a funky setting, explore artfully presented skewered meats, seafood and rice, perfumed with tamarind, coconut milk, anise, chillies, garlic and ginger. Start with delicate lumpia rolls or udang mangga, grilled shrimp with mango salsa. For a main course, try nasi goreng, seasoned rice layered with egg and shrimp, served with beef satay and a big, crispy shrimp cracker. Also excellent are the marinated lamb skewers, served with delectable peanut sauce. For the taste of childhood in Jakarta, get susu soda gembira, a bright pink DIY cream soda.

Address: 1228 St-Laurent; 875-9998
Hours: Tues–Sun noon–3pm; 6–10pm; closed Mon
Price: $13/person

Au Pied de Cochon

This new, upscale bistro is a celebration of carnivory, using meat from small, “artisinal” farms and handling it with skill and tradition. Offerings consist mostly of alternatives to beef, such as venison, duck, fish and chips, and, of course, pig’s feet. Begin by nibbling on exquisite cubes of cromesquis de foie gras, then move on to the cochonnailles platter that shows off all sorts of different pork products. Rustic yet refined, the brandade is a hearty fish casserole made with cod, potatoes and cream. The côte de cochon heureux is a huge, tender perfectly cooked chop served with fresh sauerkraut, onions and mushrooms in a divine wine sauce. You get an Opinel knife to better cut into it, which makes the experience both more pretentious and more primal.

Address: 536 Duluth E.; 281-1114
Hours: 5–11pm; closed Mon
Price: $28/person

Café Sinonet

Occupying a second-floor space in Chinatown, this Internet café is a treasure trove of bubble tea, a dessert-drink-sugar-fix made popular by the teen set in Taiwan in the 1980s. The bubbles are actually somewhat soft and chewy tapioca pearls that you suck up through an extra-wide straw. The drink menu here takes up two full pages and is divided into several sections. Options under “foamed teas” include tropical punch, mint, peach and lemon. The creamy black and green teas come with different flavourings like wheat germ, red bean, egg yolk, sesame and peanut. This is a friendly place with all the ambiance of an after-school program, and more Taiwanese snacks to boot.

Address: 71 de la Gauchetière W.; 878-0572
Hours: Sun–Thurs noon–midnight; Fri–Sat noon–2am
Price: $3–$3.50 a glass

Le Georgia

This ultra-authentic, no-frills eatery features dishes from Russia, Poland and the Balkan republic of Georgia. Almost everything is under $5 and it’s all homecooked, including the bread. In terms of soups, both the borscht and the ocrochka, a cold milky concoction of potatoes, egg, ham, green onion, dill and cucumber, are delicious. For something else out of the ordinary, satsivi is a traditional Georgian dish made of chunks of chicken in a thick sauce of ground walnuts and subtle spices, which is served cold and eaten with the hands. Beef stroganoff, stuffed crêpes, a meat and vegetable stew called tchanaki, veal aspic, red beans and eggplant caviar round out the options, along with different variations on dumplings like pelmeni, pierogi and varenekes.

Address: 5112 Décarie; 482-1881
Hours: 6am–10pm daily
Price: $8/person

Do-Ré-Mi

An old-style ballroom blitz awaits in this dinner and dancing venue above a bingo hall. The regulars are in their golden years, but that doesn’t stop anyone from getting down and dirty to the music. You eat the easy-to-chew grub off plastic trays under an illuminated sky of globe lanterns and twirling atoms, while neon signs flash to announce the upcoming dance style. The food is edible but unremarkable, usually a meal that could be found in just about any basic cookbook: chicken cacciatore, beef teriyaki, veal parmigiana, pasta trio, roast beef or stuffed cabbage. But where else can you eat, exercise and be royally entertained for as little as $12?

Address: 505 Bélanger; 274-5456
Hours: Wed 6–11:30pm; Fri 6pm–1:30am;
Sat 6:30pm–2am, Sun 4pm–midnight
Price: $12–$15/person