JEFF TAKACS

Jeff Takacs hosts the underground music podcast Rocket Fuel.

What was the food highlight of your year?

I had a number of different highlights that made 2014 a good food year for me, mainly centered around eating at places that were either new or that I hadn't had a chance to try. In the Orlando area, the BBQ chain Four Rivers has grown to legendary status and I was able to find out why. Locals say that each location always has a line that stretches out of the door every day come lunch and dinner time and I can tell you that their Southern style side dishes and brisket (that is so good and juicy that you don't need any sauce) were well worth the wait. This lunch was extra special because it was with my brother from another mother Rob, who got married later that day.

Closer to home, I was able to enjoy the variety of burgers at Midtown Caboose and Tucker Duke's Lunchbox for the first time and was extremely happy with both. Also, since donuts are all the rage these days, I have to mention that the red velvet doughnut at Donut Kingdom here in Tallahassee is an amazing item to stuff your face with.

What was the food highlight of your year?

In recent years, it seems that my music highlights come from Riot Fest and The Fest, and 2014 was no different. Getting to see Hot Snakes and Weezer (who played the Blue Album in full...YAY) for the first time was a blast and well worth the trip to Chicago. In and of itself, going to Gainesville, Florida every year is a music highlight because there are so many great friends who attend and awesome bands that play. This year at Fest, the standout for me finally getting to see The Marked Men. They were so darn tight musically and everything that I had hoped they would be and more. Oh, and since the Descendents played both Riot Fest and Fest this year, getting to see this seminal band, one of my favorite bands ever to grace the planet, twice in the span of six weeks was mind-blowing.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

A couple of months ago, I went to the aforementioned Tucker Duke's Lunchbox on my lunch break with my friend and co-worker Matt. While we were having a great meal, our conversation turned to music, as our conversations often do. We were talking about bands we were into and the 90s, when we discovered that we both had a love for the 90s Gainesville, Florida band For Squirrels. Matt was in college there at the time and had heard them through the local scene and as a kid who grew up in and was in Philadelphia at the time, I had heard them from watching MTV's 120 Minutes. This obscure band, which had a very tragic ending, had a big impact on the two of us and it was cool to geek out about that over burgers, mac and cheese and sweet potato fries.

@rocket_fuel

JOSH MODELL

Josh Modell is Editor In Chief of The A.V. Club.

What was the food highlight of your year?

This is a damn hard question, but I think it's gotta be incredible meals at Next and Alinea that were four days apart. The Next menu (it changes three times a year) was "best of Trio," which is the restaurant Grant Achatz cooked at before he started Alinea. The preparations were considerably simpler than what he's doing at Alinea now, but just so incredibly tasty and balanced. But then going to Alinea four days later... I hadn't been in five years, and the menu was completely different and fun and slightly less stuffy than I remembered it. Highlight I think was this corn preparation that was basically like the best elotes you've ever had x1000, served in a husk whose silk had just been on fire. The aroma and the taste together were amazing.

What was the music highlight of your year?

I can't even remember what happened last month, man! Let's see... This sounds like a cop out, but we put on a really fun festival this year, so I got to see Death Cab For Cutie with Chris Walla one last time, along with other oldies like The Dismemberment Plan. Oh, and Jack White--who I haven't been all that interested in in recent years--put on a blazing live show.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

There's this guy who makes Ćevapčići, which are these crazy amazing Serbian kebabs, and basically only sells them at music festivals (as far as I know)... I was sad that he wasn't at Pitchfork Fest this year, but he was at Riot Fest, which was honestly kind of a highlight. (I'm getting too old for hanging around 50k 15-year-olds.) So I popped in for one afternoon, saw Superchunk, Naked Raygun, and Hot Snakes, got a yummy sausage and went home!

@joshmodell

SOHRAB HABIBION

Sohrab Habibion plays guitar in Obits.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Dinner with my wife at Zahav in Philadelphia. It might be weird to freak out over a plate of hummus and a glass of red wine, but this place is so much more than that. When it comes to using cumin, garlic, lemon and parsley, chef Michael Solomonov knows how to make it seem like a dark art. And though I didn’t previously know that Lebanon is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, one sip of a Cinsaut blend from the Bekaa Valley will make anyone a convert.

What was the music highlight of your year?

That’s always tough to gauge because there are different kinds of highlights, so…

1. Our show at the Lawnya Vawnya festival in St. John’s was probably the craziest set we’ve ever played. It was chaotic in a way that ended up working, but could’ve easily gone completely off the rails. We also stayed with an amazingly generous couple, Rick & Susan, who cooked us a delicious meal.

2. Going to Kiev was definitely a peak of this year. The show itself had the vibe of a house party, which is alway fun, but our host, Sasha, and the walking tour of the city he and his girlfriend, Nastya, gave us was really special.

3. There are lots of music festivals all over the world these days, but the best one I’ve been to is the one we played in June that was put together by Silver Rocket. It’s held in a 14th century castle with a breathtaking view of the Czech countryside, just an hour southwest of Prague. There are no sponsors and all the food and drinks are made and/or served by local folks. Everyone cleans up after themselves and there’s a genuine sense of community. It’s inspiring.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

Every time we play in San Diego we make an effort to go to Las Cuatro Milpas before leaving town. It’s a bare bones operation near Chicano Park that’s been churning out incredible Mexican food since 1933. The tortillas and hot sauce are more than worth the wait.

@obitsband

TOMMY HABETZ

Tommy Habetz is co-owner of Portland’s Bunk (multiple restaurants, one bar/music venue, and a truck) and Trigger. His take on the cuban sandwich is the subject of many a television show, magazine article, and road trip.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Wow! Is it the end of the year? What a weird, anxiety ridden, fun, delicious year it’s been. We started a mobile Bunk Truck, opened up Trigger (our new Tex Mex place) and I became a father (again) to the most beautiful baby girl, Vivienne.

The food highlight for me was probably going to NYC for the Oregon Bounty Food Assault, a precursor to our Portland Feast inaugural event. I got to see first hand that people really do dig what we’re doing in Oregon. I also got to eat at Roberta’s in Bushwick, which was pretty mind blowing. I also got to meet Danny Bowien and watch a bunch of famous chefs and food media folks devour a sheet tray full of Doritos and Fritos chili pie, made at the hands of Danny.

What was the music highlight of your year?

My favorite musical moment has got to be The guys from Built to Spill surprising us with a free show at Bunk Bar. It was crazy, packed to the gills and filled with friends that I have never seen smile so much. What a great band.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

Sitting at a table at Bunk Bar, talking with John Reis from Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From The Crypt, etc. about Tex-Mex food. He couldn’t understand why we were opening up a Tex-Mex place, because he thought Tex-Mex sucked. But, of course, he’s from San Diego. I knew what he was talking about, though. He and his band mates had had many many bad experiences eating at bad Tex-Mex places. And, oddly, that’s what’s been inspiring me lately. It’s been fun to tackle the opposite of haute cuisines, get in there and find the sweet spots. To me, it’s endlessly more fascinating than seeing a grape deconstructed, then reconstructed as a grape.

All in all, a beautiful and inspiring year. I look forward to eating Jimmy Albee’s Queso Deluxe in the post-Apocolyptic, hopey changey, zombie wasteland of 2013!