Eater Boston's Top Stories of 2015

As we close out the final day of 2015, we're looking at our analytics for the year — it's always interesting to dive into the depths of Google Analytics and discover things like which bizarre search terms led readers here. Earlier this month, we also took a look at which interviews you read the most.

Today, here are the news stories and maps that caught your attention the most this year, from social media smackdowns to hot new brunches.

1. Our signature maps, the Eater 38 (essential restaurants) and the Heatmap (hot new restaurants), get a special place near the top of our homepage, and as such, they top the most-read list this year. We update the 38 quarterly, while the Heatmap gets an update every month, highlighting the newest spots that are gathering enthusiastic crowds. Keep an eye out for the next update of both in January.
2. Who doesn't love to hear about a chef's revenge on people who make threats involving Yelp? Whichever side you fall on regarding Michael Scelfo's epic Instagram takedown of a couple of diners who (allegedly) acted rudely in his restaurant, this story stole the spotlight for a little bit of 2015.
3. Dollar oysters: essential. And lucky for oyster lovers, Boston's got plenty of them. You kept clicking on this map, so we'll keep updating it. Keep an eye out for a big update in the spring, and shoot us an email if you know of any that we're missing.
4. It can be easy to fall into a brunch rut, so we keep our Brunch Heatmap updated every month or two to highlight the hottest new brunches in town.
5. Here's a rundown on every restaurant that opened in fall 2015. Keep an eye out next month for the first edition of our winter 2016 opening guide, which we'll keep updating throughout the season. Know of a winter restaurant opening that should be on our radar? Hit up the tipline.
6. Seems most of you like to drink. Our other major Heatmap, focused on new cocktail destinations, gets seasonally updated, so an early spring edition will be coming your way a few months down the line. We've just got to get through winter first.
7. This map of 20 essential coffee shops should meet most of your caffeination needs, but we're always interested to hear about other spots that should be included.
8. This little story about the opening of a hotel rooftop bar got lots of traffic this year. Takeaway: Boston needs more rooftop bars.
9. Tacos.
10. You were also interested to read about a new restaurant opening in Reading. Tell us: Do you want more suburban news? When Eater Boston began a few years ago, it was meant to stay focused pretty hyper-locally on Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, mostly. Over the last year or so, though, we've made an effort to expand further out. Let us know what you want to read.
11. Our Airport Dining Guide gets updated a couple times a year. Have you got family or friends traveling through Logan? Hopefully this will help them eat as well as possible.
12. You couldn't wait to look inside Mario Batali's first Boston restaurant, Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca. Don't worry — 2016 will surely be full of Eataly coverage.
13. Locke-Ober's closing was a big one, so it's fitting that the opening of Yvonne's in its space got lots of attention this year.
14. Kaze Shabu Shabu got a little bit of a fake facelift in order to appear in Ghostbusters.
15. We don't normally cover farmers' markets, but we made a bit of an exception to mention the long-anticipated opening of the Boston Public Market, which includes a variety of prepared food options as well. You've tried a cider doughnut, right?