Chronicle critics pick favorite dishes

Anyone who says that eating for a living isn't all it's cracked up to be has some serious issues with the truth.

Eating is an obsession for The Chronicle's Food and Wine staff. Sure, as in any job, there are some drawbacks - such as not getting invited to friends' homes for dinner because they're petrified to cook for us. That only forces us to ferret out even more culinary hot spots.

Each member of the staff has distinctive tastes, yet despite our differences there are some things that we're collectively crazy about. Fresh Dungeness from Swan's Oyster Depot means crab season is here. The lemon meringue cake from San Francisco's Tartine is our dessert of choice for birthdays. The Bostini cream pie from Scala's Bistro has us going back for seconds. We'd drive to Yountville every day if we could for a fix of the "Oreo" cookie at Bouchon Bakery. And we all agree that the burrata from A16 is pretty much as close to heaven as we're likely to ever get.

What about our individual choices? We've come up with a list, each one of us choosing our five favorite food items. Agree? Disagree? Chronicle readers have always been an opinionated lot - so bring it on.