Worldwide Favorites: food & shelter

When people initially learn that I blog about the New York City dining scene, they always ask me what my favorite restaurant is. Unfortunately, I don’t have one spot that satisfies my every whim, taste bud or desire. In my experience, I’ve found that in order to create the perfect meal from start to finish (bread basket, appetizer, entrée and dessert), I would have to stop in to four separate NYC restaurants (whom I feel excel in each category). In the five years that I’ve lived here, there have only been three occasions where I truly had a flawless meal from start to finish: Pylos (August 2007), Peter Luger Steakhouse (January 2008), Dhaba (March 2009). This got me thinking: If NYC is one of the top “food cities” in the world, why is it that I don’t have more “perfect meal” experiences?

I decided to create a list of my favorite restaurants outside of the Big Apple. In doing so, I realized that while NYC excels at many different cuisines/techniques (Italian, molecular gastronomy, French, Japanese, pastry, Asian fusion), I’m still a Southern girl at heart (for the most part) on a quest to find the Mexican and comfort food that I grew up eating (1000 miles South of Manhattan). So until the Yankee’s get it right, or I open a restaurant of my own, I won’t ever be (OK, rarely be) 100% satisfied.

Now if you ever find yourselves in one of the cities listed below, check out some of my favorite restaurants/treat shops (use Google to find specific addresses, menus, reviews, etc.) Without further ado:

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Arkansas

• Southern Cook’s Kitchen  Pine Bluff, Arkansas

California

• George's California Modern  La Jolla, California
• Juanita’s Taco Shop  Encinitas, California
• Nine-Ten  La Jolla, California
• Rudy's Taco Shop  Carlsbad, California
  
• Sprinkles  Southern California
• The Third Corner  Encinitas, California
  
• VG Donut & Bakery  Cardiff, California

China

• Din Tai Fung  Hong Kong, China
• Red 8  Macau, China

France

• Berthillon  Paris, France
• Laduree  Paris, France
• Le Parisien  Paris, France
• A La Petite Chaise  Paris, France

Hawaii

• Chip & Cookie  Honolulu, Hawaii
• Island Snow  Kailua, Hawaii

Ilinois

• Lou Malnati's  Chicago, Ilinois

Massachusetts

• Devon’s  Provincetown, Massachusetts

New Hampshire

• Bedford Village Inn  Bedford, New Hampshire

New Mexico

• Chope’s  La Mesa, New Mexico

New York

• The Meeting House  Amagansett, New York

Rhode Island

• Cafe Zelda - make sure to order the unique, delicious "Chicken Fried Lobster," and ask for a side of lobster gravy  Newport

Tennessee

• Arcade  Memphis, Tennessee
• McEwen’s on Monroe  Memphis, Tennessee

Texas

• The County Line  Austin, Texas
• The Little Diner  Canutillo, Texas
• Brother’s Pizza  Dallas, Texas
• Mia’s  Dallas, Texas
• Sonny Bryan’s  Dallas, Texas
• Avila’s  El Paso, Texas
• Chico's Tacos  El Paso, Texas
• Luby’s  El Paso, Texas
• The Riviera  El Paso, Texas
• The State Line  El Paso, Texas
• Joe T. Garcia’s  Fort Worth, Texas

Washington

• Belle Epicurean  Seattle, Washington

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Now that you've seen a list of my most favorite restaurants, here's a lineup of my personal picks for the best places to rest your head:

California

• La Costa Resort & Spa  Carlsbad, California
• La Valencia Hotel  La Jolla, California
  

China

• MGM Grand  Macao, China

France

• Hotel Negresco  Nice, France
• Villa Florentine  Lyon, France

Hawaii

• Hilton Waikoloa Village  Waikoloa, Hawaii
• Hilton Hawaiian Village  Honolulu, Hawaii

Mexico

• Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan  Mazatlan, Mexico

New York

• The Waldorf Astoria  New York, New York

Peru

• Inkaterra  Machu Picchu Pueblo, Peru
• Sol y Luna Lodge  Urubamba, Peru

Comments

[to be in hawaii]

i love island snow shave ice, obama made a stop there during his last vacation. they even have an obama t-shirt. next time you're in kailua, check out boots & kimo for breakfast. great macadamia nut pancakes.