The first half this covers places within striking distance of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. These make for ideal day trips or overnight stays without requiring you to set aside a whole week to see a new region. The second portion takes the opposite approach, doing a deep dive on maybe my favorite region I’ve been to, Kyushu, which is the southernmost section of the mainland. This is an area you will want to devote a whole week to, trust me.

Proximity to Major Cities:

Terada Honke: Located in Chiba, a bit north of Tokyo, Terada Honke is one of the country’s premier sake breweries–if you’re into the, well, natural side of sake, that is. They’ve been at it for hundreds of years, and their approach, while deeply meticulous, is also a bit more hands off than typical sake production in that it uses ambient yeasts and lets the sake ferment not on a strict timeline but rather when on the bacteria’s schedule. This involves a lot of patience, a lot of listening and tasting and smelling to see when the microorganisms have converted the rice into a vibrant beverage. There are lots of ways to experience their offerings, including brewery tours, a cafe on-site that utilizes sake lees and amazake and more in the food, and even the opportunity to help them plant and harvest rice if you time your visit right. And if you happen to be there in early March, look into their annual festival, which I hear is a remarkably good time.

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This month will focus on the northern section of Honshu, which is the main island. That might sound hyper specific, but it’s actually the rural area most easily accessible from Tokyo and Kyoto, which bullet trains taking only about an hour to get into the mountains and the train line also running directly from Kyoto up the west coast. Later on I’ll publish a second part, which will highlight southern Honshu and also Kyushu.

North & West:

Tonoya Yo: If you gave me one destination restaurant to visit in Japan it would be a tough choice between 3 different options. Satoyama Jujo might forever be #1 for me, but I worked there and am biased. So the other options are a place I’ll mention in part two of this guide, and Tonoya Yo. Tonoya Yo resembles something of a French auberge in that it’s a rustic inn and restaurant, but this restaurant in rural Iwate, a place rarely traveled to by tourists, happens to be one of the most exciting food projects happening anywhere. The chef/owner, Yotaro Sasaki is the fourth generation of his family to run this inn, and has elevated its cuisine to the point where it’s made the World’s 50 Best Discovery list. Expect a kaiseki style menu of hyper seasonal ingredients, and plates that are elegant and meticulously composed but not showy. All of this pairs great with the homemade doburoku (unfiltered sake) that the inn is famous for.

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Tourists don’t necessarily come to this city for history, at least not in the way they do to Hanoi and Hue. Ho Chi Minh is relatively modern entity, a product of Cambodia selling its swampland and the swamp soon being populated by a wide mix of people from across Asia. No, tourists come here more often than not for the food, where you can see all those diverse Asian elements in conversation with one another on the plate. So here’s a list of places to help you plan out your time in this dizzying, spectacular city.

*As a new feature for 2026, you can now see these lists on google maps!

Little Bear: My favorite elevated meal of my last trip was Little Bear, an intimate wine bar nestled in D2. An open kitchen, a big fridge of natural wines, and a lively atmosphere are all part of the deal here, as you get to feel like you’re stepping into a Parisian bistro while the plates that arrive at your table will have a decidedly Vietnamese flair to them. A set menu here, which was plenty of food, was about $55, and the wine pairing costs about $45. Standout dishes were the chawanmushi, the cuttlefish, and the pork chop.

Cuc Gach: For a taste of countryside Vietnamese cooking in the city, head into Cuc Gach and order a variety of small dishes to share. The one problem: the menu is massive, with every section (the salads, the clay pot dishes, the fried dishes) having endless options. I’d recommend asking your server for advice, but making sure to get at least one braised clay pot dish, a couple vegetable dishes, and whatever else they recommend. It’s a popular, somewhat elevated spot frequented by tourists, but I never had an issue getting a table.

Bahn Xeo 46A: a remarkable place for a remarkable dish. Bahn Xeo has long been a favorite of mine but it’s hard to do it right; trust me, I’ve tried many. Leave it to the pros here, who have many of these giant turmeric crepes cooking over the fire at any one time. They come with greens, herbs, and nuoc cham, making it enough for a meal–but there are great spring rolls and more worth ordering here too. See a glimpse below:

Pho Huong Binh: this was my basic bowl of chicken pho, within walking distance from my apartment and my favorite park. It’s not just my favorite, either: the Michelin guide has been recommending this place for years. They do the simple things very well here, with the broth being clean and crisp, the meat being tender, the herbs fresh and fragrant.

Banh Bo Nuong duong thot not Baaboo: if you’re not familiar with Vietnamese pastries, this is a must. You’ll likely wonder where I’ve led you, as this is not as much of a stand alone bakery as it is a house tucked into a mazelike set of streets in D3. But once you’re here you’ll understand the appeal, as the people running this specialize in the heavy hitters of Vietnamese cakes, from the tapioca based Banh Bo Nuong to the mung bean forward Bang Dau Xanh and more. The owner speaks English and will be happy to tell you more about the cakes, though I recommend getting the sampler pack so you can try them all for yourself.

Banh Cuon Nong - Ba Bay Hai Phong: There’s a lot of street food to parse between in Saigon, and it’s hard to go wrong. This breakfast spot stole the show for me after one visit: it’s run by a sweet couple who make one of my all time favorite dishes and make it very well. Banh Cuon is a rice-based crepe that gets filled with a mixture of pork and mushrooms and served with herbs and nuoc cham. Here, it also gets a fried egg and a small bowl of broth with a pork meatball inside of it, reminiscent of Hanoi’s bun cha. It’s a complete breakfast, one that I ate again and again during my time there.

Lac Teahouse: In a country with a strong tea culture, it’s odd to not have more dedicated tea shops in a city of Saigon’s size. That’s likely because much of the best tea growths in the northern parts of the country, and because it’s herbal tea that gets more attention in the south. Lac Teahouse, however, stands out as a great option to sample the country’s many tea offerings, from green to white to puer and more, in addition to some wonderful sweets and matcha. The staff here is all very knowledgeable: tell them what kind of tea you like and let them guide you towards a great experience.

Pho Phu Vuong: beef pho is the star of this shop, which I believe has locations around the city. My local shop was in D3 and I was first drawn to it because all the staff were wearing Santa Clause hats or reindeer antlers. Turns out the pho was pretty excellent too. There’s a variety of cuts of beef to choose from, from the safe and beloved options like flank or brisket we can most often find stateside to other cuts like tripe and tendon.

Cafe Slow: the cutest cafe tucked away in D3, Cafe Slow is a popular option for locals and tourists alike. Great coffee, gorgeous space; fun pastries, occasional pop-ups: the whole shebang. It’s a great place to get some work done or to spend a cozy afternoon with book in hand.

Bep Nguoi Hoi An: If you’re not making it to Hoi An on your trip, consider eating some of its beloved food here in Ho Chi Minh. Hoi An food is celebrated for being elegant and light, and that’s certainly the case at this shop, which serves just a handful of items and does them all really well. There’s Mi Quang noodles, the turmeric noodles with broth, pork, and shrimp; there’s chicken rice; there’s chicken and herb salad; plus a few sides. I had a stomach bug when I first arrived in Vietnam and little of the fishy, funky southern vietnamese hits sounded appetizing, so I found myself here quite regularly for nourishing bowls of the Mi Quang.

Quan Chau Ky: Bun Mam! It’s a dish you have to try in Saigon, and a polarizing one at that because of how fishy it can be. It’s sometimes called the gumbo of southern Vietnam for how it incorporates pork, fish, vegetables, and various influences from around the region. The version you’ll find at Chau Ky, my favorite shop for it, is just right without being overpowering: it’s pushing it on all fronts–salt, umami, sweetness, fishiness–but it’s all tied together in a miraculously harmonious way. It’s a fitting paradigm for a lot of cooking for the region, in fact.

Esta: Saigon is not a city one seeks out for its fine dining, necessarily, when remarkable dishes are to be found for cheap on nearly every street corner. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying, especially when a 9 course tasting menu at a Michelin-recommended restaurant runs you $100. Esta specializes in wood-fired cooking, from grilled meats and vegetables to smoked fish and more. Vietnamese ingredients and flavors shine here while being brought into conversation with global influences.

Yeshi: Who would have thought a Taiwanese restaurant would be one of the trendiest spots in Ho Chi Minh? Yeshi is a fun, playful spot with two locations (D2 and D3) where the food really meets the hype. The popular Taiwanese staples are here, from beef noodle soup to fried chicken to dumplings, with some fun inventive dishes thrown into the mix as well, like salt and pepper shimeji mushrooms. The cocktails here make up about half the menu and are smart and dialed in, incorporating taro and milk tea and oolong and more.

What’s stood out? What kind of food and cooking is really speaking to me right now, in a world in which every kind of cooking under the sun is now available to us? Below is a brief synopsis of my year in food, and moreover a chance to give a shoutout to some of my very favorite places the world over. I’ve listed all the restaurant names so you, too, can seek these places out on your next trip.

where: Onjium, Seoul

what: a whole damn snapper!

why: Korean food gets circulated in the West, I think, as a total flavor bomb. For good reason: barbequed meats, caramelized sugary glazes, intoxicating umami, heavy handed spice. And it is all this, but it’s equally graceful and elegant. Onjium specializes in preserving dishes and recipes from older Korean cuisine, specifically old royal cuisine in the country, and serves a whole myriad of dishes I’d never heard of. This whole snapper had all the hallmarks of a complete Korean dish—seasoning from braised vegetables stuffed inside, richness from threads of egg yolks and whites adorned atop—yet came across as light and refreshing.

where: my Wagashi teacher’s house, but you can find these around Japan (see below)

what: a peach blossom pastry

why: I’m endlessly fascinated by Wagashi, the art of small, delicate Japanese pastries, and few do them better than my guy Baba Hidetake San. He was legendary in Tokyo for his sweets until he was forced to pivot due to heart cancer. Now, the quiet, studious man lives in the mountains and makes pastries in his dedicated kitchen downstairs and ships them to tearooms around Japan. This one, a specialty springtime one based around green peaches and peach blossoms, was shipped down to Yorozu in Fukuoka for the city’s annual peach festival. You can also find his pastries in Tokyo, served alongside tea at Sakurai Japanese Tea Experience.

where: Bowen’s Island Restaurant, SC

what: Frogmore Stew

why: There are few things better in my book than simple Southern food done just right. I went to Charleston for a few days this spring and ate a lot of excellent food (a standout meal at Vern’s, for one) but I don’t think any dishes were quite as memorable as this. A shrimp and potato and corn and sausage boil, with plenty of Old Bay, and a side of fries, all on the docks of an old boathouse looking out over the waterways. It’s simple; it’s sublime.

where: Enoteca L’Antidoto, Rome

what: artichokes with anchovies and bergamot

why: I remember thinking as a 15 year old visiting Italy for the first time that everything—absolutely everything—was going to taste exceptional in the country. The standard is high there, of course, but it doesn’t always mean the food is great, especially in the tourist-packed neighborhood of Trastevere, where many restaurants simply churn out pasta and aperol spritzes with low quality ingredients. It’s a different story at Enoteca L’Antitodo, where Mirko Pelosi has honed in on inventive, modern Roman cuisine with intention at every step. Fish are cured on site, fermentation of all kinds done in house, everything is cooked from scratch. Dishes like this artichoke with bottarga, anchovies, and a paste of preserved lemon and bergamot come across simple and fresh in appearance, but have layers of umami and acidity and texture on the palate. It’s one of my favorite wine bars anywhere.

where: Le Servan, Paris

what: raw shrimp with tomatoes, shiso, and chili

why: I think this may have been my favorite single dish of 2025. I remember having a bite, looking up at my friend Hosanne, and uttering a single “wow.” There's a lot to love about the food coming out of Paris right now, as I wrote about earlier this year, and nowhere impressed me more than Le Servan. The cooking here is distinctly Parisian bistro food, not shying away from butter and protein, but all of that is tempered with fresh touches and vibrant flavors from the Filipino heritage of the Levha sisters. Here, shiso and tomatoes and…was it espelette?…mingle together to highlight the sweetness of the raw shrimp. The real wow factor here, though, was the cubes of jelly of the tomato water, bridging the gap between Filipino textures/flavors and classical French cooking.

where: Berlu, Portland OR

what: breakfast Bahn Xeo

why: Berlu may no longer offer the prestigious tasting menu that won Vince Nguyen the James Beard award for Best Chef: Northwest a couple years back, but the food is just as inventive and thoughtful in its new cafe format. It’s largely a pastry shop, offering traditional Vietnamese pastries with modern twists. What that looks like in practice is some of the most eye opening, naturally gluten free pastries you’ve ever tried, from the tapioca based pandan Banh Bo to the Coconut Egg Custard tart with cured egg yolk flaked on top. Berlu also offers two savory options each day, one being something of an avocado toast and another being a rotating special. All summer it was this Banh Xeo filled with eggs and cheese and sausage, a stunning Americanized take on one of my very favorite Vietnamese foods. Comfort food done with this much thoughtfulness will win me over every time.

where: Ikoi no Kai, Portland OR

what: plate lunch of tempura and potato salad

why: My favorite lunch in Portland is $11 and served in a church basement. Ikoi no Kai operates Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday as a community lunch program for the city’s Japanese American community, and the food being served here is perfect precisely because of its humility and generosity. Local Japanese Americans take turns at the helm, offering their own renditions on Japanese classics; as a volunteer here I’ve learned as much as I have in any kitchen. Each day is a simple and brilliant three course meal: a soup, followed by a full plate, followed by dessert, with refills on green tea bring offered all the while. I could have chosen any number of lunches from this year but this tempura of shiso filled with chicken was particularly playful, accompanied by a potato salad that’s entirely different from the starchy preparations I’m used to. Ikoi no Kai is open to anyone who wants to stop by, but it’s best to make a reservation in advance.

where: Farag’s, in Portland OR

what: melon and manchego

why: A plate I could eat again and again and again. Melon is my favorite summer fruit; Manchego might be my favorite cheese; pile them together in one big tower with a dash of muscatel vinegar and Aleppo pepper and I could eat at least four plates. But the real reason I loved Farag’s was because it was a summer restaurant. By that I mean it’s only open for a few months during the fleeting, glorious Portland summer; but I also mean it’s a celebratory restaurant where these sorts of lavish dishes make sense, especially alongside an incredible selection of mezcal and sake. And great jazz!

where: Hui Hui, north coast of Taiwan

what: Spanish Mackerel with chrysanthemum and fermented cabbage buerre blanc

why: A French-Taiwanese wine bistro overlooking the ocean on the rugged and rural north coast? But of course. Hui Hui and what it represents has become my favorite kind of restaurant: I’ve visited or worked at similar places in Japan, Italy, and elsewhere. A rural restaurant that redefines what it means to offer a taste of place, highlighting the finest local ingredients and incorporating global techniques to do so. Hanyen, the chef here, worked for years in Paris before moving back home to open this, and her husband Jonathan does front of house most days. The food is simple bistro fare but very thoughtful, utilizing the freshest seafood, featuring homemade sausages, plenty of fermentation, and more.

where: Kaiana, east coast of Taiwan

what: a sampling of traditional Bunun foods

why: Glutinous millet stirred for 2 hours over the fire. Tempura’d kabocha and green beans. Tempeh wrapped and fermented in leaves. Soy sauce made from herbs. Fermented, pickled mustard greens. The most succulent smoked pork ribs. Foraged fiddlehead ferns. Lunch at Ibu’s restaurant is a masterclass on modern indigenous cooking in Taiwan, specifically of the Bunun people, and entirely different from the soup dumplings and beef noodle soup people associate with the country. Ibu is a young chef with endless energy and curiosity, drawing upon fermentation traditions from around Asia to bring out umami and depth. If you’re planning a trip to Taiwan and seeking out good food, it’s worth spending many days around Taitung and looking into the Slow Food movement there, and a meal at Kaiana should be at the top of your list.

Chicago was the first city to open my eyes. Growing up in the Midwest, it was our one mega-city, bustling and vast and incomprehensible. There was pizza and hot dogs worth visiting for, yes, but also food from all over the world in the form of inventive fine dining and remarkable budget options and everything in between. I’m lucky enough to go there most every year these days for the James Beard Awards now, and my food friends and I will eat our way around the city in a few days. A few days, of course, is not enough time to try everything Chicago has to offer–but here’s a good list to get you started:

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And yet, when I got further into the culinary world myself, I noticed very few chefs I knew were excited about Seattle. When I was about to graduate college, a chef told me I’d be better served moving to Portland or San Francisco, as Seattle was too held back by its farm-to-table ethos. I had never heard someone talk poorly about farm-to-table before, but I saw what he meant: at that time, in 2016, there were plenty of amazing ingredients in Seattle but a lot of the main restaurateurs were still serving things like cedar planked salmon and kale salads.

In the last handful of years, however, the city’s restaurant scene has been given new life. Part of it was how the pandemic reset food cities the country over. Another part, for better or worse, has been the influx of tech money into the city. And an even larger part of it, quite simply, is that chefs of color have finally been given more of a platform in the city. Farm-to-table now finds a home amidst creative menus and global voices, and the beloved seafood staples of the city are still present too. Here’s a list of my favorite places to eat in the increasingly interesting food city:

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Northern France:

Le Doyenne: like Duniele, this farm and restaurant is the product of urban minds moving just outside of Paris to pursue rural dreams. In this case, it’s two Australian chefs cooking in the stables of a former castle. Go figure. There’s both lodging and meals available here. It all looks sublime, and a friend of mine who is working their currently has assured me it truly is.

Duneile: A sister restaurant to the Parisian standout Septime, this is the rustic, countryside experience, if that’s your thing. Lodging and meals are provided here, and it’s only two hours from Paris. It’s supposed to be an exceptional experience, located on the border of Normandy and the Loire Valley, with a kitchen so rooted to the land around it that they are only sourcing ingredients from their immediate surroundings.

Garde Champetre: One of the more memorable food experiences I ever had happened here, where a friend was formerly working as the sommelier. This restaurant in rural Champagne is housed in an old, defunct train station, with a garden of gorgeous produce right next to it. Various chefs are at the helm during various years, and the current chef is bringing his Japanese roots and techniques to the French countryside. When I was there a few Novembers ago, I had a sensational meal late in the evening, and woke up with the team in the wee hours of the snowy morning to barbeque lamb Patagonia style (crucified, in short) for a luncheon for the 100 top champagne producers in the region. In my head I still wonder if it was a dream or not.

Central France:

Auberge Chassingoles: another rustic countryside destination, this time in central France, a bit west of Lyon. It’s rather rural here, but the design of this space is terrific, and the food is all sourced locally. What rural (and far away from Paris) also means is that this is one of the more affordable places on this list, both for food and for lodging.

Ateliers des Grands Cedres: An artist residency that offers residencies for chefs as well? From pottery to retreats to outstanding meals, it’s all happening at this beautiful spot a bit west and north of Lyon. Chef residencies here last a month or two, so tune in to their website or instagram to see who the current chef is and what kind of offerings are available.

La Dilettante: It often goes like this, doesn’t it: a town is known for some remarkable product, so tourists come in droves, and the enterprising individuals of the area (or those from the outside with enough money to get in on the venture) see a glorious business opportunity in distilling that product into a spendy meal. Beaune, with its claim on having arguably the best wines in the world at its doorstep, can be like this. With countless little stores offering Burgundian wine tastings, it’s hard to know which to choose. It’s not that all those stores are bad, it’s just that if you, like so many others, are coming to the town precisely because you want a sublime wine experience, you’ll want the best. La Dilettante, I can attest, is the one to prioritize. The wine list is simply stunning, highlighting biodynamic producers from the region, and the food, made by a team of French & Japanese staff, is the perfect match.

Southern France:

Inari: more and more I’ve been appreciating the kind of art that cuts right to the core. No need to overthink, no need to process; just honest goodness. Inari, located in enchanting Arles, felt like that kind of meal to me. Celine Pham’s Vietnamese-French-Japanese cooking is not without intense precision and thoughtfulness, but it presents itself on the plate as simple, restrained, delectable. It’s the ultimate form of confidence and quality for a chef to cook this way, I think, and it’s where I want to get to: there’s no fluff to hide behind, just you and the extent to which you’ve respected the ingredients you have to work with.

Maison Bras: Where to begin with this one, if you don’t already know it. If I had to make a restaurant of restaurants I’d like to eat at, this would probably be number 1. Michel Bras was the pioneer of a certain style of cooking that captured the hearts of just about every chef I admire in the last few decades. Magnus Nilsson in Sweden, Sean Brock in the American South, and many more: they attribute much of their inspiration to this guy, who turned a keen lens towards the plants growing around him in rural Aubrac, France. Before a new edition of his infamous cookbook was published a few years ago, there were countless people like me on the hunt for a copy. Now his son Sebastian is at the helm, and the food feels as colorful and inventive as other. Expect to pay a whole lot, but expect it to be fully worth it.

Maison Ailhon: A former chef from Septime has taken the helm at this inventive yet approachable bistro between Lyon and Marseille. Bold asian flavors play in tandem with local produce and animals for a fun menu, complimented by a great natural wine selection. I’d really like to make it here, so report back if you go.

Auberge le Feniere: in the heart of Provence lies one of the country’s most unique dining destinations. Reine Sammut was one of the first female chefs in France to be awarded a Michelin star, and when it was time for her and her sommelier husband to turn over their countryside auberge to their daughter Nadia, the menu had to change as well. That’s because Nadia is a celiac, and wouldn’t be putting any gluten on her menu. The quality of the food remained superb, however, and Nadia was soon awarded a Michelin star herself, the country’s first fully gluten-free chef to receive the honor. Instead of seeing a gluten-free menu as a limitation, Nadia has used it as an opportunity to become closer with her producers and the local ingredients. They mill their own flours from chestnut, oat, and buckwheat in house for example, to avoid any possible contamination with wheat.

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Southeast:

Milk Glass Pie/Old North Farm (NC): You’d be hard-pressed to find a more all-encompassing, multi-faceted project as this, and my friends and Jamie Swofford are showing us all what it looks like to be simultaneously rooted in a regional past while actively building a better future. The two live on Jamie’s family land in Shelby, North Carolina, where he grows some classic crops of the region alongside newer ones he’s fell in love with from his time working in kitchens, including edible flowers, Mexican herbs, and more. From the fruit and herbs here he makes shrub, which you can find at stores all over the region. Keia puts a lot of this produce to use, alongside the amazing fruits of NC and SC, in her beloved pies, which she sells at markets and by subscriptions under the name Milk Glass Pie. On top of all of this, the two host events that bring in chefs from around NC and beyond to showcase their work, a platform that serves to uplift rising culinary voices in the region.

Walnut Family Bakery (NC): A lot of small, rural bakeries used to exist in the States. Most of those have fallen off at this point, a product of migration to cities, the heightened cost of ingredients and labor, and stricter regulations for kitchens to be up to code. Most of all, though, it’s because it’s really hard to draw enough people out to your countryside location to keep your business afloat. At my old baking school in Walnut, North Carolina, Camille Cogswell is trying to change that. Opening soon, Walnut Family Bakery will offer breads, a wide variety of pastries from the brick-oven, and some of the best damn pies you’ve ever had, all out of this magical little bakery in the mountains. For now, find Camille’s baked goods at various pop ups around Asheville and beyond.

Chicken Bridge Bakery (NC): Another remarkable small, wood-fired baking project in NC, run by some of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Rob and Monica, with the help of their kids, have been churning out amazing breads made from local NC flour for years and years, gathering a following at Farmers Markets in the Triangle. I’m a particularly big fan of the stencil-work on their bread, which is both beautiful and, at times, advocates for social justice.

Fonta Flora at Whippoorwill Farm (NC): For beer that could only be made in the Appalachian mountains, visit Fonta Flora’s brewery in Lake James, NC. Even before they opened this location, they were making their brews from foraged plants and terrific produce within the region, but getting a chance to enjoy these beers out at their farmhouse brewery brings everything together. Find beers here with foraged maple bark and native muscadine grapes, others aged in all kinds of barrels, and plenty of classic brews too.

Elliot’s (SC): Asheville folks have followed Elliot Moss’ work for a long time, seeing him run the beloved Buxton Hall BBQ in addition to some of his own projects–and they could tell you that he always carried his South Carolina roots with him, ensuring you could always find hash and bog on the Buxton menu. In recent years he’s moved home to Florence, SC, and opened up a BBQ joint there that I’m dying to visit. The menu has all the BBQ staples of the region, from pulled pork to ribs to fried green tomatoes.

Pacific Northwest:

Barn Owl Bakery & Seabird Bakeshop (WA): Two of my favorite bakeries in the country are just a ferry ride away from one another, in one of my very favorite areas of the country. The San Juan Islands, located in the middle of the Puget Sound, boast an amazing food and agriculture scene, which is fully embodied in the work these two bakeries do. Barn Owl is sort of the holy grail for whole grain bakeries: they grow their own wheat and bake their bread in a wood-fired oven on Lopez Island. Seabird is the weekend project of my friend Brea, and taps into the local produce and flour and plants to make gorgeous pastries every weekend out of the Houlme space on Orcas Island. A perfectmulti-day itinerary for a baker, in my opinion, would be to combine a visit to these two spots with a trip to see either the Bread Lab in Burlington or heading to the Olympic Peninsula to see Chimacum Valley Grainery, which I highlight below.

Chimacum Valley Grainery (WA): There’s a lot of great new flour millers in the country, but few are operating in as many cool ways as the folks at Chimacum. In their fields, they’re growing wheat, rye, spelt, and more here, including doing buckwheat trials for the Bread Lab; in an old barn, they are milling this into amazing flour, and right next to that they are also turning some of it into malt for brewing. Attached to all of this is a small but mighty bakery, which serves the local community by taking that amazing flour (and produce from Stellar J Farm, who they share a property with) and turning it into delicious bread and pastry. While much of this isn’t open to the public, you can get in touch with them about a visit, or register for the baking workshops they teach onsite.

Hama Hama (WA): Where better to eat oysters than from the source? This seafood purveyor, located right along the Puget Sound on the Olympic Peninsula, has set up a large dining area outside for you to try oysters, mussels, fish, and just about anything else you can name from those waters. For colder, rainier months–and their are many in this part of the country–there are heated A-frame sheltered areas, and you can also purchase seafood on ice to take home and cook yourself.

No Clos Radio (OR): I write this as I’m in Italy, and I’m already pining for the type of European lunch or aperitivo that’s hard to find in the states: a couple of leisurely hours sitting outside, lingering over a bottle or a couple glasses of wine, and having some cured meats and cheeses or salads and entrees to accompany it. How nice, almost radical, it feels to not be rushed and to take in a view of the vineyard. Luckily for me, I work at a place that offers just that. This cafe is attached to Maloof Winery, as well as Fossil & Fawn and Monument, and you can try wine from all three here while having your choice of small bites or a fuller meal. It’s just 45 minutes outside of Portland, but amidst the rolling hills and vineyards, it feels like a world away.

Hiyu (OR): Hiyu, too, offers the type of experience I mention above, but in a bit more of a formal setting. The wine here is top, top notch–maybe my favorite in the States–and the food, offered in a tasting menu format or family style dinners, is rustic, comforting, and precise all at once. It’s less about pairing wine with the food here, but rather the inverse of that, with Hiyu’s wines being the true star of the region’s growing viticulture scene.

Foglight Farms (OR): Foglight does a bit of everything in Hillsboro, Oregon, but at the core of their work is growing some amazing vegetables, the kind that inspire you to cook. You’ll find them at the Portland Farmers Market, though a chance to see the full scope of the farm is to attend the events they put on there, ranging from dinners with some of Portland’s top culinary talent to yoga to writing circles to kids activities and more. Their motto is “farming as a creative practice”, and that holds true in all the work they do.

Dao Deli (OR): I’m a bit biased, but I think my good friend Anthony Dao is cooking some of the most exciting food right now on the West Coast. Dao Deli is his current project, and the format changes from time to time, but you can find him serving mediterranean delights each week at Hood River Common House for now in addition to doing various pop-ups in the Hood River and Portland areas. Give him a follow on Instagram to stay up to date on his latest offerings.

Midwest:

Milkweed Inn (MI): Something of a dream project, in my mind. Lane Regan and their partner opened up this BnB in the heart of the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan’s UP a few years back, and it’s been booked up ever since. Here, in a region with great ingredients and serene beauty but few notable restaurants, Regan strikes a gorgeous balance between rustic and elevated, offering thoughtful tasting menus as well as relaxed bonfires. Plus, glamping, kayaking, hiking, foraging, and plenty more.

Krewe (MN): Krewe and it’s adjacent bakery, Flour and Flower, have been the pride of St. Joseph, MN for the last handful of years. The New-Orleans inspired restaurant boasts jambalaya, gumbo, and more in an area that’s come to love the spice and comfort of creole cuisine. The bakery has a wide selection of baked goods that feature local butter from Hope Creamery, plus a great selection of local flowers.

Russ Kendall’s (MN): Minnesotans like me would love to tell you that the North Shore is the Midwest’s best kept secret (though the UP can make a strong case for the south shore as well), a long coastline of Lake Superior that looks a lot different the plains of the surrounding areas, featuring cliffs, waterfalls, small mountains, and evergreens. There’s an amazing niche cuisine here, too, which is that of smoked fish. There’s multiple different smokehouses that dot the shore, but my favorite is Russ Kendall’s, which smokes a variety of Superior fish plus cheese. It’s not a restaurant, but you can sit outside or take your goods to the lakeshore for a perfect picnic.

Tortilleria Zepeda (WI): Corn abounds in the Midwest, which can make someone like me who grew up there wonder why there aren’t better quality tortillas. That was on the minds of Julian and Heidi Zepeda, too, who moved back from Puerto Vallarta to live in the latter’s hometown of Spring Green, Wisconsin. They’ve solved that issue, at least for residents of much of Wisconsin, Southwestern Minnesota, and a small amount of Iowa and Illinois. They also host occasional workshops on pre-Hispanic food and drink.

Driftless Cafe (WI): There are few regions in the country, in my mind, as overlooked as the Driftless region, a small area made up of SW Minnesota, NE Iowa, SE Wisconsin, and NW Illinois where the glaciers that leveled the rest of the Midwest long ago never reached. What that means geologically is hills and valleys, small cliffs, and beautiful vistas. It also makes for some amazing livestock and produce, from small farmers to big dairy producers like Organic Valley. It takes a talented chef, sometimes, to bring all of this together into a coherent vision, and that’s what you’ll find at Driftless Cafe, a James Beard-beloved all-day restaurant that serves unfussy yet thoughtful food. It’s a true celebration of all the region has to offer.

Mid-Atlantic:

Meadow Creek (VA): Where to begin with this cheese? It’s…simply sublime. The best in the region, maybe the best in the country, though I haven’t tasted enough cheese coming out of Vermont and California and elsewhere to make that claim. European methods meet a high mountain climate meet Jersey cows that have been cross bred with both New Zealand and French cows to perfectly fit the region. The result is American alpine cheese that is truly tied to the land it comes from.

The Shack/Maude and the Bear (VA): Staunton, Virginia has been home to one of the region’s most innovative restaurants for a while now. It started with The Shack, a small restaurant doing small plates that celebrated Appalachian produce and techniques, though now this restaurant has shifted into a more casual concept doing homemade pasta and pizza, plus ice cream and vegetables. But it’s more than that: the beets are roasted in the embers from the oven, the gelato has soy lees in it, and miso finds its way into the cacio pepe. This shift has made room for Maude and the Bear, run by the same chef, to become the tasting menu spot in town, and one that was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as one of the country’s best new restaurants. The ethos stays the same, but the plates get a bit more intricate here.

Troddenvale at Oakley Farm (VA): I was stunned by this cider; really, by the whole project. The owners know their stuff, being well studied in wine and cider alike, and apply that knowledge to a project that feels truly of a place. American varietals of apples get processed into ciders that are dry and restrained, not sweet and heavy like they often are stateside, and there are some fun natural wines being made here too. But it was really the emphasis on community that struck me, with the locals coming out to support the project at various events and the shelves of the cidery stocked with cheese, meat, flowers, produce, maple syrup, and more from like minded Virginia producers.

Hickory (VA): There’s few projects celebrating Appalachian cuisine as thoroughly as Travis Milton is doing in Bristol, where his tasting menus at the Inn at Nicewonder features ingredients like sorghum and ramps and collards, and dishes like Apple Stack Cake and Cornbread. It’s an elevated take on a humble cuisine–but not so elevated that it strays from the principles of the region.

Atlanta rarely gets the credit it deserves as a food city. If the South retains a hold over the American culinary imagination broadly, Atlanta specifically has largely been left out of that mix. It is distinguished perhaps by what it is not: it is not the shrimp & grits Lowcountry, nor the cornbread and collard green loving Appalachia, nor the Bayou of Louisiana, with its gumbo and po’boys and etouffee. Atlanta is something different from these places, with few culinary staples of its own we can point to. Yet, as the megacity of the region and one with an incredible amount of diversity, Atlanta contains something from all of these subregions, and a whole lot more.

An Atlanta based journalist at the James Beard Foundation’s media awards last year declared the city to be the next big thing in the American food scene, and the one we all need to turn our attentions toward. The Michelin guide agrees, at least enough to have added Atlanta to its guide in the last two years. I’ve spent an increasing amount of time there over the last few years and am not sure I’d go as far as to tell you Atlanta has the best food in the country right now, but I would certainly tell you it shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s not actually fine dining restaurants that intrigue me here–though to be fair I’ve only been to a couple–it’s the quality of the provisions. Southerners have long prided themselves on a well-stocked larder of jams and pickles and preserves, and in the modern Atlanta that’s expanded to curtidos and salsas, fantastic cured meats and cheeses, sambals and chutneys. Below is a guide of my favorite places in the city to eat simply, and eat quite well.

Osono Bread: the best bakery in Atlanta isn’t a storefront. It’s a farmers market stand. I’m a bit biased, the owner Betsy being one of my best friends, but you’ll find an astonishing array of products from her at the Grant Park Farmers Market that’s largely unheard of for a small cottage bakery. Sourdough breads featuring southern grains are always a hit, and her pastry selection has expanded greatly in recent years. Make sure to try the doughnuts, which are light as a feather, and buy a slice of crumb cake or pie to take home for later.

Tan Brown Coffee: Another small producer doing big things in the city. Marissa and Elyse are turning the spotlight on specialty Asian coffees, from Myanmar to Indonesia and beyond, offering customers and retail shops a chance to experience some coffee regions that are often overlooked. That said, they also will showcase coffees from Costa Rica, Colombia, and beyond from time to time to celebrate friendships they’ve forged with growers over their many years in the industry. You can find them at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market on Saturdays, the Grant Park Farmers Market (right next to Osono Bread!) every other Sunday, or buy their products online.

Little Tart/Big Softie: Little Tart deserves a lot of praise, as a great small bakery that has made waves in the city and now has a few different locations. Here you’ll find terrific breads, comforting pastries, and inventive beverages. But as someone that’s been around a lot of great baked goods, it’s really Big Softie, Little Tart’s soft serve ice cream shop, I can’t get over. Few things feel better on a humid Atlanta evening than a matcha swirl made with local dairy. Try the different hard shells–especially the passionfruit if it’s available.

Gene’s: There is a lot going on at Gene’s, and a lot to love. The thing here is BBQ, but what that looks spans nearly the global gamut of smoked meat and fish. Snacks include wood fired oysters and fish sauce caramel chicken wings. Plates have brisket and pulled pork and boudin and more, and are accompanied by tortillas. A sneaky good list of sides plus a banana pudding for dessert round out the menu. I’ve been here just once, and there were a couple things that were just OK, as you might imagine for a restaurant trying to do so much, but on the whole it was an impressive assortment of great BBQ.

Talat Market: Talat is one of the hotter restaurants in the city right now, part of a wave of hipper, modern Thai restaurants in the States that offer a whole lot more than Pad Thai and what I’ve heard jokingly called the Stoplight Curries (red, yellow, green). The menu changes constantly, but generally offers some lesser known regional specialties from Thailand in addition to whole fish, roast chicken, big ribeye, or whatever proteins they’ve gotten in that week. There’s a reason Parnass Savang was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Southeast last year.

Chai Pani/Botiwalla: Decatur, a neighborhood a bit NE of downtown, is home to a large Indian population, and the fact that many of them adore Chai Pani should be enough of a reason for you to check it out yourself. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Chai Pani’s Asheville location won the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Restaurant award in 2022. You’ll find lots of classic central Indian dishes on the menu here, and if you head over to Botiwalla, their stand in Ponce de Leon Market, you can expect a wide variety of terrific Indian street foods. A pro tip: try anything with the paneer, which is made by a local producer and is amazingly tender and delicious.

Miller Union: this place is an institution in Atlanta. A deep look at the cuisine of the region reveals that the South is a cuisine centered around plants first and foremost, but you wouldn’t have seen that reflected on most menus in 2009, when Miller Union opened its doors. Stephen Satterfield started a kitchen here then that was centered around seasonal ingredients and traditional Southern techniques, but one that also wasn’t afraid to modernize and adapt. The result is one of Atlanta’s longest-standing, beloved restaurants, and one that laid the foundation for all the great food work to emerge in the city since. There’s ample great local meat and fish for the non-vegetarians, too.

Lottafrutta: If I lived in Atlanta I’d be here every other day. It would be dangerous; all my income would be spent on fruit cups and smoothies. I love love love a place where you can eat fruit all day long, a reason I’ve spent a lot of time in Hawaii and Colombia and Ecuador and beyond, and Lottafrutta scratches that itch just west of Inman Park. Fruit cups are a delight, and the coconut whip on top is an absolute must. Smoothies are large, and delicious. Or, do what my friends say to do: build your own fruit cup, drown it in orange juice, add the whip, and experience bliss.

Kamayan: A half day trip idea for you: eating your way down Buford Highway, a paradise for those seeking out just about any cuisine from overseas, but especially for all sorts of Asian cuisines. At the top of your itinerary should be Kamayan, a phenomenal Filipino restaurant that plays all the hits and then some: lumpia and pancit and adobo are great here, but so are the eggplant curry and beef, peanut, and green bean stew. Save room for the ube cheesecake at the end.

Ticonderoga Club: fun fun fun fun. Much like how much of LA’s best food can be found in strip malls, or how some of Portland’s shining stars are food carts, there’s a surprising amount of good food and drink to be found in Atlanta’s food halls. Ponce De Leon Market is home to the aforementioned Botiwalla, and a trip to Krog Street Market will reveal a Little Tart location as well as a dimly lit bar tucked into the back corner of the building, where you might not expect to find of the city’s better food and drink menus. It’s a smart and simple bar menu layered with more depth than meets the eye: the salad is fantastic, the veg small plate is a must (the best dish of the night when I went was this fun lil eggplant number), and there’s almost always some nice larger plates of chicken or fish available. The wine list is killer, and the cocktails are beloved–it’s hard to go wrong here.

Heirloom Market: this one is at the top of my list for next time I’m in town, as it’s hard to think of a more appealing combination: Southern BBQ meets Korean BBQ. Your pulled pork can come with kimchi, your ribs glazed with gochujang, that sort of thing. It’s extremely popular in its Marietta neighborhood, so try to go on off hours or just be prepared to stand in line.

Oaxaca: I’ve tagged this one on my list of must-stops for my next visit. It’s not often you find a Tlayuda stateside, nor a Oaxacan-style quesadilla with zucchini flowers, and the carne asada lunch seems a little too good to be true. If anyone gets there before I do, please report back.

Spotted Trotter: An incredible array of cured meats can be found here, in many different styles, plus cheeses and crackers and more. It’s not a restaurant, just a great butcher, and a worthwhile stop if you’re stocking up on provisions or heading out for a picnic. The spiced salamis are great, but I’m a particularly big fan of the Rosette de Lyon, a more subtly spiced French style sausage that’s hard to find stateside, and one that really lets the quality of the meat shine. For a brush with the sublime, try the duck prosciutto.

What keeps me from putting this essay into writing, however, is that the more time I spend in these places, the more that divide falls apart. Kyoto, for our purposes, has a swelling brigade of younger artisans taking the city's distinct crafts, foods, and style and breathing fresh life into these practices, preserving and modernizing them at the same time. There’s a palpable undercurrent of history and tradition running through the entire city–these craftspeople and chefs are drawn here because of that and embellish upon it in their own ways.

I just visited Kyoto for the second time and enjoyed it thoroughly more than I did the first time. That’s maybe because it’s a bit slower in the winter, before hoards of tourists descend upon the city come spring, but I think the more prominent reason is that a return here allowed me a chance to not treat the city as a checklist of temples to visit and foods to try, but rather a chance to slow down and see what lies below the surface. All the sacred sites you’ve read about in Kyoto are spectacular–and certainly worth visiting–but these restaurants and teashops can serve as a great space to sit down, slow down, and see other sides to this complex and changing city.

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I resisted writing this one for a long time, not wanting to bring more attention to this small island struggling to maintain its own identity amidst waves of tourism. But who was I kidding–this is a small blog with a small audience; few if any folks are reading these city guides and booking flights immediately. I spent a winter on Kaua’i in 2021, when the island had largely kept Covid at bay entirely, meaning life went on pretty much as normal there. It was odd, wonderful, and surreal–and, it was quiet. Experiences there since have been an adjustment, learning to be at peace with all the other haoles like me who go there, and frankly it’s best that I give these locally run, amazing establishments their due so you can spend your dollars there too.

*some important reading to ground your trip to Kaua’i, or any of the islands, if you’d like: Detours and Aloha Betrayed

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For the eager home cook:

Start Here: Know an accomplished cook who is eager to learn more? Look no further. This book won the James Beard Foundation’s best general cookbook this past year for a reason, being both clinical and approachable all at once. Sohla cooks with a meticulous attention to detail in everything she does, from the egg section to the pastry section and more. It’s a book I recommend to home cooks and professional chefs alike.

Four Horsemen: Probably my winner for best restaurant cookbook this year. There’s a lot of restaurants publishing cookbooks right now, but that doesn’t mean you’ll want to get every book. The genre can feel underwhelming to me at times, with chefs publishing books simply to stay relevant. But there are certainly diamonds in the rough, like this book, by one of the restaurants I’ve most wanted to go to for years and years. You’ll learn some restaurant techniques, but they are approachable enough to glean as a home cook too. For the british alternative, in a way, check out the Cafe Cecilia cookbook.

The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: leftovers have feelings too! That’s my plug for this book, by a favorite food writer of mine, Tamar Adler. This book offers us an avenue for any ingredient we have on hand, be that leftover rice or dried fruit that’s been sitting on the shelf for a year or some kale that’s about to go bad. It’s a book to be frugal and creative all at once, cutting down on waste and letting your pantry shine without the need to go seek out the most trendy, expensive ingredients.

For the baker in your life:

Perfect Loaf: The number one bread book I’d recommend, for advanced and beginner bakers alike. It’s a flawless book, covering all the science of sourdough, covering a variety of bread recipes as well as soft breads, some pastries, doughnuts, and more. If you know someone who wants to get into sourdough, or a sourdough baker looking to take the next step, this is the one. If you want to dig into the archives instead and seek out an utterly foundational bread book, check out Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes; if you know a baker who is interested in grains above all else, seek out my friend Tara Jensen’s Flour Power.

More than Cake: A favorite pastry book of mine from this last year. Natasha Pickowicz’s aptly named book will be your guide to cake baking from scratch, but more than that it covers the fundamentals of composing a dessert. It’s not afraid to delve into the salty, the somewhat savory, the floral, and the funky. You’ll find great cookie and quickbread recipes here too, and it’s one of the most beautiful cookbooks I own.

The Last Bite: I wish more Americans knew about this book. The book sells itself as a “revolutionary approach to making desserts,” which I would scoff at if it weren’t true. Spend some time cooking in the UK and you’ll hear Anna Higham’s name thrown around often, largely for her pastries and desserts but also for her savory cooking these days. In this book, she’s presented dessert as my favorite chefs approach savory food: as a way to highlight and celebrate seasonality. Think tree blossoms in spring, abundant fruit in summer, cream in winter–and most of all, think, as she does, of desserts as a layering of vibrant, balanced components.

Regional cooking

Masa: ah, the single subject cookbook. Is there anything more satisfying when it’s done right, at least for the nerds among us? A deep dive on an ingredient, a family of ingredients, a technique, or a piece of kitchen equipment. When given proper attention, the book is a history lesson, a regional guide, an entire manual, or some combination thereof all at once. Few things excite me more than masa, and this book by the Masienda owner does it justice, cataloging all the myriad masa preparations you’ll see across Mexico and offering ample instruction on how to make them at home.

Japan: The Cookbook:

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I’m writing this one to convince myself to return. I was getting drinks with friends the other day and somehow we were talking about the food from the Yucatan. They asked me what the area is known for, and a minute later I realized I had gone on a long winded monologue of love for the panuchos, the Cochinita, the Relleno Negro, the floral flavors of Habanero and acid of pickled onions and earthiness of Sikil Pak. 

The Yucatan was, and still is, the land of the Mayas, a culture and cuisine very distinct from the Aztec kingdom that reigned over much of the rest of Mexico. The area is hotter, more humid, and accordingly the flavors and colors more vibrant, spicy, bright. This is a calling card of cuisines in hot, lowland climates the world over, like southern India or southern Thailand: food meant to make you sweat, so as to cool you down; food light and punchy and hydrating.

I visited Merida once, for a span of about 4 days, and it wasn’t enough time. Nonetheless, I went to many of these places, and more have opened up since I was last there. My original guide to the city was passed along to me by some Scottish chefs who I worked with, and was about a decade old (if you’re a friend of mine and planning a trip, text me and I’ll send it your way). It was veeery detailed, and a godsend for my time there, though I found that many of those places either no longer existed or had morphed into new concepts. Here’s an updated list of where to eat in the city of Merida, one of the most underrated food cities in the world. 

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US, Mexico & Canada:

Cocina de Humo: A meal that left me speechless, on the verge of tears. Chef Thalia Barrios leads a largely woman-run kitchen, cooking the specialities of the matriarchal lineage of her rural Oaxacan upbringing. That means moles, salsas, pipians, and more simmering for hours; it means utitilizing the comal, the metate and the molcajete for salsas and seasonings; it means fresh tortillas and corn-based beverages and more. It’s one of those rare places where fine dining celebrates the remarkable, unsung expertise of rural cooks, and it’s all prepared in front of you while smoke (humo) billows up from the comal. If you’re in Oaxaca for this, you should also make a reservation at Alfonsina as well, which is a similar celebration of Oaxacan foodways in a different setting.

Jon G’s: There’s a lot of BBQ worth seeking out in NC, and if it is your first time visiting the region you should make sure to seek out some classic pork based BBQ too, but the most memorable meat I’ve had there is actually a Texas-inspired spot around Peachland, NC, right next to the SC border. Jon G, a smiling, burly man, will tell you he spent time studying and appreciating the brisket and sausage based BBQ of Texas, and wanted to open his own spot back home. What’s unfolded is much like what one expects of a trip to Franklin or Snow’s or any of the other iconic Texas joints: you arrive early, you stand in line in the sweltering sun for a long time, someone (maybe you) brings beer to throw in a communal cooler while you wait, and a few hours later you, a bit dazed, wade up to the counter and have some of the best BBQ you’ve ever had. Don’t miss the sides, which are great too (one telling sign of a great BBQ joint, for me), and don’t miss the chance to pick Jon G’s brilliant brain if you see him ambling about. 

Neng Jr’s: Consider the fruit plate. The season’s fresh fruit, served as a crudite of sorts, with a simple but sublime dipping sauce, something of a Filipino Nuoc Cham. It’s an easy, effortless dish, but it’s crafted with love and care and a delicacy you won’t often find in Asheville, city of grits and biscuits and beans and more. Neng Jr’s, for me, is a statement about the breadth and potential of food in the Southeast. Southern and Filipinx cooking traditions blend seamlessly here as part of Silver Iocovozzi’s vision-made-reality. Fishy flavors from the coast, phenomenal pork, local rice (!), great produce, amazing drinks, all in a very sexy, intimate setting. 

Blooms End: There’s sort of a holy grail I tend to seek out on my travels: rural projects, in gorgeous places, done with extraordinary thoughtfulness. It can be tricky to find that interplay stateside, where in a culture without a distinct food culture, culinary precision is often left to the cities. But my friend Mary Denham has accomplished both in her project outside of Petaluma, called Blooms End, an immaculately curated pastry trailer where she somehow cranks out a wide array of pastries weekly (croissants, cakes, scones, more). While the Bay Area has a great array of breads and pastries, it’s worth a trip up to Marin to see such a singular vision enacted so well. Shouts out to her partner, Jason Cryer, for the great design work and the merch. 

Hiyu: Hiyu is one of the American food world’s best portals. You walk in one person, you feel a shift of sorts, you walk out another. That’s been my experience on a few occasions, at least, but maybe that’s just the wine speaking :). This is some of the country’s very best wine, and the setting–an open dining room and kitchen, the animals and fruit trees and vines out the window, and Mt. Hood looming over everything. Few folks that I know are doing natural wine quite as naturally as Hiyu, where vineyards aren’t weeded, fertilizer is made from animal manure, and hogs–the same you’ll find featured on the menu–forage on plum and apple trees. The wine is simply sublime: it’s ethereal and haunting, funky but for all the right reasons. And the food! Pairing food with wine, especially this level of wine, is a delicate dance of complimenting their subtleties but not overpowering them. The food at Hiyu is delightfully rustic, featuring produce and herbs from the garden, homemade sausages over beans, lots of light bites and small stews, floral pavlovas, and more. For a similar experience nearby, check out Antica Terra. 

Lula Cafe: The one that changed my perspective of New American food. It’s hard to make a restaurant in Logan Square, Chicago, feel like a neighborhood staple, in a part of town that’s increasingly trendy and changing, but Lula Cafe has been a neighborhood restaurant through and through for years. Food here, as I wrote about in my first essay for this Substack, just makes sense. Some of my favorite dishes: a duck tagine, panisse with a green garlic aioli, the house salad, and a rhubarb Maritozzi I still think about. While you’re in Chicago, seek out the sweets at Elske, where Nina Posey has been quietly pioneering the modern dessert genre for nearly a decade, and go to Kasama for pastries and breakfast (and if you can somehow snag a reservation, for dinner too).

Pilgrimme: A rare one on this list that I haven’t been to, though not for lack of wanting to go. I’ve been following along on their work for years and think they are doing some of the most inventive food in the area, picking up the torch of what others are doing and making it as seasonal, local, and inventive as possible. Lots of amazing fermentation can be found on the menu, from the bread to all the koji-based ferments. Someone pls accompany me there!

Europe:

Two Eight Seven: My favorite bakery, run by my favorite people. With their combined pedigree, Anna and Sam Luntley could be leading the pastry and bread crews, respectively, of any number of large bakeries, but they’ve kept things small and intimate for their Glasgow project. That lets them have their hands on every singe aspect of the production, from the use of finicky regional whole grains in breads and pastries, to the exploration of old and outdated European pastries, slow sourdough fermentation and more; that’s all to say: they are doing really, really high levels of baking here, and it shows. They open only on the weekends, with a line often out the door, and will host the occasional pop-up dinner as well. 

Inver: If Two Eight Seven isn’t enough to get you to fly to Scotland, tack on a trip to Inver, a idyllic little restaurant and inn on Loch Fyne, towards the west coast. Scottish cuisine finds its most scenic and sensical home here right on the water, where seafood is harvested fresh, meat is brought in from the nearby hills and from local producers, produce is sourced from a farmer just down the road, and plants are foraged in the forest across the road. An overnight stay here is dreamy, with a dynamic tasting menu dinner offered and breakfast brought to you in the morning–but if you can’t snag a booking (they are hard to come by), go for lunch, which I’d argue is just as good. Big, approachable plates of seafood, remarkable salads, the best mashed potatoes, and more are all featured on the daytime menu.

Ernst: Give me one meal anywhere on Earth right now and I’d probably choose Ernst. This Berlin-based tasting menu restuarant is the best of the best: intentional, carefully crafted, dialed-in, done with care and love. One of my dear European friends, whose opinion I value higher than most anyone in the industry, told me this was the meal that floored him, putting things in perspective for him and his love of cooking. The catch–and you’ll despise me for this one, but (as cooking teaches you) sometimes it’s worth celebrating something precisely because it’s ephemeral–they are closing at the end of this month. But they have some other projects already going, and perhaps more in the works, so keep an eye out. 

Le Garde Champetre: “I have a very special restaurant to take you to,” my Italian sommelier friend Francesca told me when I visited her in Jura, France. If you know Francesca, you would know this was an understatement; that we were going to be visiting a place that was truly remarkable. So you would say yes to a weekend adventure up to an abandoned train station in Champagne, where you would sit down to dinner and be presented with a masterful meal that blended Japanese techniques and precision into French countryside cooking seamlessly, the vegetables having been harvested right outside the restaurant, the bread having been baked in house, the proteins cooked over a live fire, and the wine list…while, it’s Champagne (and, as it turns out, Francesca was the sommelier here for a time and left her imprint on the list, which means some fun Italian wines and other incredible bottles by small European producers). The next day, in fact, you’d wake up at 5:30am, the season’s first flakes of snow falling around you, to go assist the chefs as they barbequed whole lambs in the Patagonian way, hung up on crosses around a fire for hours and basted with a giant fennel stalk, to be served at lunch to the top 100 wine producers in Champagne. So, just go, and see what kind of adventure unfolds before you. For similar experiences in the French countryside, check out Duneil and Auberge de Chassignolles

Trattoria Cacciaconti: Best to book a reservation here in the next couple of years before the rest of the world finds out. Five to ten years ago there was an up and coming star in the Paris dining scene, one Agata Felluga, who had trained under Pascal Barbot and other stars of that era’s old guard. The thrust of Barbot’s movement was to simplify, to move beyond the heaviness associated with a lot of French food and to hone in on the finest produce and proteins one could find. The result was light, vibrant, and fresh bistro food. Agata has taken that to an extreme back in her native Italy, where she has resurfaced after departing the Paris restaurant scene to open up a rustic restaurant in the tiny Tuscan town of Maremma. Absolutely everything you’ll find here on the small chalkboard menu is made from scratch, from the fresh cheeses to the pastas and breads. A remarkable wine list featuring some of the best small producers of the region doesn’t hurt either. Just a heads up: there are only five tables. 

Asia:

Norm Tea House: It is hard to say enough about this simple, special neighborhood tea shop in Tokyo. To put it in perspective: a friend and I had just been turned away at Tokyo’s finest coffee establishment, a wildly nice coffee tasting experience with all the connotations of refinement and luxury, because we didn’t have a reservation. So we headed here, a place I had been told to go, and stumbled into what at first I thought must be the wrong building. The nondescript teashop is on a simple street corner, with an open door, one small bar, and space for about eight people to stand. Bar is the best descriptor I just used, because this really does feel like the neighborhood watering hole, but for tea lovers. The owner is very, very into Japanese teas, with a particular interest in uplifting the work of small and unconventional producers across the country as opposed to the established old guard, but you wouldn’t know it based of how she sets up the shop to be entirely unpretentious. What her studies look like on the menu: fun fermented banchas, lightly toasted hojichas, and oolongs, the last of which are practically unheard of in Japan; it means matchas from Nara instead of Uji; and it means one or two simple mochis to accompany your tea. Try anything hot or iced, and take her advice if she suggests doing one or the other. As a heads up to PDX friends, you can find their matcha at HeyDay and, I think, Electica.

Sojiki Nakahigashi: Kyoto, the heart of old Japan, emphasizes tradition and customs. You’ll find a lot of that on display at this two-star Michelin restaurant, where a legendary, cheery, studious old man (the mentor of the chef at Satoyama Jujo, in fact, which is how I got a chance to eat here) serves a stunning multi-course menu that’s hyper-seasonal. But it isn’t without a certain amount of playfulness and ambition; rarely, in fact, have I had a meal where the chef’s personality is more palpable on the plate–a rarity in Japan, where tradition can often trump individuality. Here both work hand in hand to craft a truly unforgettable experience. It can feel old-school in there, with poor lighting and plating styles that are by no means modern, but that’s sort of the whole point. If you want something a bit more modern, look to nearby Monk, a wood-fired restaurant run by a younger savant, who uses a wood-fired oven as his medium to blend together tradition and global innovation. For more on Nakahigashi San and his work:

Onjium: I’ll have more to report on this one after I visit this winter to cook and learn about Korean fermentation with them, but for now I can say that I’ve rarely been more impressed by a team of chefs: their creativity and discipline, their remarkable knife skills, their way of bridging ancient and modern Korean cuisines. The scope of the project is to research traditional Korean fermentation and cooking techniques and preserve the ideas, which is why the restaurant is located within a cultural history museum in Seoul, but even this doesn’t begin to describe the level of artistry they bring to everything they do. 

Satoyama Jujo: See my essay from a couple months ago on this one. I interned here for a month this spring and am absolutely enamored with this small restaurant in the mountains, where the focus is on foraged plants and traditional ways of Japanese mountain cooking. The kitchen team forages many mornings, hunters bring in wild boar, fish comes from nearby coastal Niigata, and the onsen on site is ranked the very best in Japan. 

South America:

Celele: Cartagena, with its old city walls enclosing a packed tourist area, can feel like a parody of itself sometimes, a city centered on distilling and packaging itself into a tourist experience. But like any place, there are gems to be found amidst the monotony, namely this remarkable restaurant that celebrates the Afro-Caribbean influence on the cuisine of the north coast. Whereas the food of interior Colombia can be heavy on meat, potatoes, plantain, beans, and more tan or brown foods, Celele is all color and vibrancy from the first plate. A salad of flowers might start your meal, then you’ll move onto 

Merito: I really did travel for this meal. I spent just 2 nights in Lima a few years back, a pit stop on my way from Cusco back to the US, and I knew I should eat at Merito but did not make the time or effort; I didn’t even know where in Lima it was, in fact, until I happened to stroll by the entrance just a few blocks from my hostel. This haunted me for years, so when I was in South America again this last winter I set aside a week to go to Lima over New Years, made a friend, we went together, we worked our way through about half the menu–and we left floored. One of the best meals I’ve had in a long, long time, seamlessly blending Venezuelan and Peruvian foods while also blending fine dining with approachability. There’s a ton of very pricey meals you can (and should) seek out in Lima–Central, Kjolle, Maido–but Merito stands out for me as being equally if not more impactful and at least a bit more affordable. Where I would go in Peru, though, if you wanted to really ball out: Mil

Borago: I was a bit down on dining when I ate at Borago–especially in South America, where class divides can be so stark, it can feel particularly stuffy, and often devoid of heart–and things weren’t looking up when I arrived at this modern, square building nestled in next to a tennis club on the rich end of Santiago. But about 12 courses and 6 NA drink pairings later and I was gushing (to myself, having gone there alone) about the creativity, regionality, and ability to both preserve and modernize traditions that’s possible within these types of restaurants. Borago does it right, in a country with a fairly standard set of foods on most menus, most of them having a European influence: like Central in Lima, Borago starts from the ground up, both on land and on sea, crafting a menu that walks you through the different regions and microclimates of Chile in ways you’ll see nowhere else. Tradition meets innovation here, like in a lamb that’s barbecued in the Patagonian style served next to a salad and emulsion of sunflowers, painted on the plate in a way that left me emotional. And that NA drink pairing–housemade amazakes, kombuchas, and more derived from regional fruits and flowers–was just as memorable. 

I’ve resisted writing this one for a while, out of respect for Portland more than anything. There are so many good places to eat, and I only recently settled here. Despite spending lots of time here on and off for the last decade, I still haven’t hit all the spots on my list here. But in the last month I’ve had an improbable number of visitors, and all have requested a list of where to eat here. I’ve typed up so many long lists over text to them these last few weeks that it’s finally time to get these thoughts out into the world.

SE Portland:

The VLs: if you get overwhelmed by the length of this list and just want one simple meal to focus on, go here. Go to any of their three locations and be happy, but even this might be overwhelming so let’s just say go to Rose VL, which to me has the perfect ambiance. It’s a family operation, cranking out 2 to 3 soups a day, with a couple of spring rolls and such you can order, and that’s about it. A distilled experience, and everything you want it to be. My favorite restaurants in Portland and most anywhere, hands down. It should come as no surprise, once you eat there, that they’ve been nominated for James Beard Awards time and time again.

Berlu: If you’re in Portland on a weekend and have a free morning, this feels like a must. This Vietnamese tasting menu restaurant, whose chef Vince Nguyen won the James Beard award last year for best chef in the PNW, pivoted to running a weekend bakery. Pastries here are unlike many you’ve ever had, if you’re mostly accustomed to western pastries, and are all gluten free and dairy free to boot. The Bahn Bo Nuong is a triumph, as is the Canele, the coconut and cured egg yolk custard tart, and anything else on the menu that day. The line can be long, but it’s worth it; preorder to make things easier on yourself.

Taqueria Los Puñales: this spot opened a few years ago, when I happened to be spending a summer in the same neighborhood, and I would go frequently to try every guisado. Guisado means a stew in Mexico, and tacos de guisado happen to be my favorite breakfast street food when I’m traveling there. That looks like many, many things on Punales’ menu: Bistec con Papas cooked down in a tomato salsa, Cochinita Pibil, mole, tinga, and more all on fresh made tortillas.

Navarre/Luce: I have a deep admiration for these two restaurants, run by the same folks, because frankly I think it takes a lot of gall to operate like they do. Return from France or Italy or most European countries to the US and you’ll notice the reliance American cooks have on salt and acid for flavor. These restaurants–Navarre being French, Luce being Italian–opt for a more restrained approach, in a way that extends beyond the dishes themselves too: order anything here by the half or full portion, in fact order any wine by the bottle, two-thirds of a bottle, or one-third. It’s an ideal approach for me, as it lets you try a wide swath of small, simple plates, dishes that really let the produce, the pasta, or the meat shine. 

Tabor Bread: an icon in the whole grain baking world, Tabor Bread recently moved locations and recently reopened on Belmont Street, in SE, where they offer a wide variety of breads and pastries. Their naturally leavened croissants are remarkable, as is most any bread you will find here. You can also buy some nice flour here, if that’s your thing. 

Bui Natural Tofu: Hard to understate how much I savor this small storefront, which carries a wide variety of pre-packaged Vietnamese foods, both sweet and savory. Where should you start, amidst their giant menu? The shredded chicken over sticky rice rocks, and the steamed banana cake with salted coconut cream dipping sauce is perhaps my favorite sweet in Portland. But get creative here, play around, order a little bit of a lot of things. 

Bauman’s on Oak: get in on this place before everyone else does. Bauman’s is a longtime cider maker that recently opened up a tasting room and restaurant in inner SE, and the amount of love and care they are putting into it is remarkable. Just about everything on the food menu is done in house–lots of fermentation projects, cultured dairy, sourdough, and more. And the ciders, you ask? Award-winning, with options for everyone. I’m not always a big cider fan–they can be so sweet, at least stateside–but there’s some great drier options here. 

Nong’s Khao Mon Gai: my deathbed meal, I tell people. If for some reason you know I only have one more meal left, please bring me Nong’s. It speaks volumes to me: the simplicity, the nourishment, the full circle operation of it all. In this classic Thai comfort food preparation, chicken is poached and sliced, and the remaining broth is used to cook rice. You get those two things, plus a cup of broth with bitter melon and/or other accompaniments. Free tea on the counter, lots of sauces to top your rice and chicken with, lots to love. 

Kachka: an old classic in Portland, and one that by no means feels outdated. Kachka is an Eastern European restaurant with plenty of influences from Russia. That means lots of dumplings, rye bread, cabbage rolls, and more, all prepared with a delicate hand. In a city that often does Asian food best, I think it says a lot that this restaurant has remained a Portland mainstay for years. 

NE Portland:

Gado Gado: This is one of those that I must confess I haven’t been to. It’s been on the top of my list for a long while now, and yet, and yet, I haven’t gone. Probably because I’ve been on a budget this year, and when I go here I really want to do the family style tasting menu, a veritable Dutch-Indonesian feast (dumplings, curries, breads, sambals, grilled meats and fish!), which feels like a good deal but is nonetheless expensive. But I had to put this on the list anyway, because some New Orleans chef friends were in town recently and reported back: “easily the best meal all of us have had in years. It’s the quietest meal we’ve had together. We just kept making eye contact and saying ‘this is fucked up’”.

No Saint: Yes, Portland is a pizza city. A very good pizza city. And yes, you should go to Lovely’s for pizza. But most folks already know that, so I’d love to give a shoutout instead to a pizza spot that I think is every bit as deserving of prestige and patronage. No Saint is a wood-fired pizza spot in NE, in a building I used to work in once upon a time, making sublime large pies and some fun sides and pastas. Don’t skip the tiramisu for dessert!  

Gracie’s: pizza entry #2, because PDX has plenty to offer. This St. John’s (yes, I know St. John’s isn’t actually NE PDX) spot is that magical combination of thoughtfulness, intention, and hustle, and would be more of a destination than it already is if it wasn’t so far north. This is, ultimately, an ideal neighborhood restaurant, and has won over many in the St. John’s area as proof of that. Expect 10” pies here, neapolitan-ish but a bit sturdier, and don’t miss the simple but delicious salad and the ice cream. And if the person working the counter looks a lot like me…well, it is. 

Rangoon Bistro: Find me here once a week, working my way through their menu of Burmese dishes. Put simply, I adore this place. If it’s the first time, get the tea leaf salad, the very large dumpling, probably the pork ribs too. Vegetarians and vegans will relish their options here, like the creamy and luscious Tofu Nway noodles. 

Bardo: “This is the best place in the world,” said a friend (who happens to own a restaurant on this list) who I took here recently. Bardo is a teahouse, in the way that teahouses exist in Taipei or elsewhere in Asia, though they’ll go the extra mile to educate you about tea and how to drink it, if you’d like. Specializing in Taiwanese Oolongs and Chinese Puers mean that tea here is also drank in an Eastern style, primarily, called Gong Fu: far more leaf to water than we’re used to here in the US, steeped upwards of six, seven, eight times; ample time to feel the flavors unfold and develop overtime. 

Baon Kainan: A delightful little food truck on Alberta Street doing their own takes on some Filipino American comfort food classics. Sundays mean brunch options too, but their weekday and Saturday options are also great, like Chicken Adobo and Palabok. And yes, they have Lumpia! 

Astral: A veeeery creative Mexican pop-up in Duality Brewing on the weekends. Probably the coolest project in town right now, if you ask the cool kids in the know. Some remarkable concepts/foods make the ever-rotating menu, like lengua pastrami in a quesadilla, or dry-aged kanpachi in aguachile. Lots to love here. 

NW/SW Portland

Maurice: a perfect French breakfast and lunch spot on the West side. Perfect, you say, with a raised eyebrow? I think so. Simple food, done remarkably well; gorgeous, intimate space; fantastic wine list. What more could you want?

Scottie’s Pizza Parlor: a slice shop, for slice shop lovers. Big, immaculate pies, where the crust is not just the canvas but a big focus of the whole operation, a naturally leavened dough made from PNW wheat. There are locations on the west side and the east side

Paedee/Lang Baan/Phuket Cafe: A restaurant group you probably already know about, either through Eem’s endless popularit, or Lang Baan’s triumph as the James Beard Foundation’s best restaurant in America this year. These are my three favorites in the group: Lang Baan, if you can somehow snag a table. Phuket Cafe, on the west side, which does some remarkable, approachable food at reasonable price points. Paedee, on 28th, an easy going but slightly more refined approach, which draws a lot of inspiration from the Issan region and northern Thailand. 

Soen: A Japanese restaurant on the west side, inside Courier Coffee, specializing in Japanese comfort food and sweets. That looks like phenomenal shaved ice, miso soup, Norimaki rolls, and more. Simple, heartfelt, and nourishing. 

Electrica: very thoughtful coffee shop in the Schoolhouse Electric building, sourcing some amazing coffees from Mexico and amazing teas from Japan. Worth a visit if you’re on that side of town, and you can stock up on coffee and tea to take home too.

Baby Bull/ Bull & Beggar: In a city where fine dining can often miss the mark, Bull & Beggar is doing simple things very well. Raw oysters, great salads, big cuts of meat and fish for entrees with various French and Mediterranean accompaniments…it’s hard to go wrong. They used to do an industry burger night on Mondays, which got so popular they opened up a separate burger restaurant called Baby Bull. It’s one of my favorite burgers anywhere.

Hole Doughnuts: The best food institution in AVL? It has my vote. Yeasted, pillowy doughnuts fried to order, coffee, and that’s about it. This place is one of those few tourist destinations that locals will always flock to as well. 

Neng Jr’s: Where was this kind of restaurant the whole time I lived in Asheville? Neng’s is a super special, intimate, sexy experience. It’s truly from the heart. Filipinx food meets southern produce and techniques, with a sense of seasoned restraint that’s so impressive. Don’t miss the fruit plate, which speaks volumes about the restaurant’s ability to make simple but sublime food. 

OWL Bakery: The fine folks at OWL have been reinventing the Asheville baking scene for years, able to incorporate botanicals and local grains and more into their pastries and breads. Once upon a time I made their bread, too :)

Good Hot Fish: The hottest new restaurant opening in Asheville, from former Top Chef contestant Ashleigh Shanti. It’s her take on the old southern tradition of fish camps, and it truly delivers. 

Farewell: There’s about as many coffee shops in Asheville as there are breweries, which is really saying something. As a non-coffee drinker, I’m not strongly opinionated about where you should go, but vibes are great at Farewell, and they serve some very special local herbal tea too from Heilbron Herbs. You won’t find much food here since the pandemic, but you will find some fun local pastries, and occasionally a fun pop up by a certain traveling baker & writer. 

Taqueria Munoz: It would be a most difficult task, to explain to you how important Munoz was to me when I lived in Asheville. I’d come by once a week, bringing a book or a friend, and work my way through the menu. Tortillas made in house means the tacos are great, but I also fell in love with all the large plates too, from the caldos to the moles and more. 

Tortilleria Molina: A newcomer to the scene, Molina is set up as a two-part shop. On one side, they are making tortillas from scratch, and you can buy these and tamales and chicharones to go. They’ve converted the other side to a small sit-down restaurant where they use their tortillas for a variety of excellent tacos and more. 

Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack: I know I wrote this month’s essay on how Appalachian food is really about the vegetables and fruits, but sometimes you just want fried chicken. This Nashville-style fried chicken spot rocks. It’s simple and unfussy and always hits the spot. 

Gypsy Queen: Lebanese street food done really well in a small, unassuming restaurant on Patton Avenue. I used to go here all the time, in part because I worked out a gym a few doors down and it was such a treat to come here after for a filling yet fresh meal. They’ve recently had some awful hate messaging directed at them publicly because of their open support of Palestine, so go show them some love! It’s also conveniently right next to Molina, if you need some tamales to go after. 

Leo’s House of Thirst: This wine bar opened up just as I left town, which is maybe in my mind why it delineates some sort of old Asheville versus new Asheville, at least in culinary terms. Small, creative plates like what you’ll find here, and this sort of great wine list, weren’t imaginable in my time there. You’ll find lots of tinned fish, cheese and charcuterie, small vegetable plates, and some playful proteins here–all the typical wine bar food, in short, but playful and thoughtful. 

Chai Pani: I must include this one, musn’t I? Arguably the most famous restaurant, or set of restaurants, in Asheville, this place is taking the East Coast by storm with locations now in Atlanta, Charlotte, and soon DC. They just moved down to the old Buxton Hall BBQ space, which means ample room to bring a group to try one of everything from the central Indian inspired menu. 

12 Bones: It wouldn’t be a trip to NC without some porky BBQ. While you’ll find more of it in central and eastern NC, 12 Bones is my favorite in the mountains. Humble and delightful. Don’t miss the sides! 

Cucina/Contrada: My favorite longstanding fine-dining institution in Asheville. It’s Italian fare with great pastas, but for me its the small plates that really shine. The chef has an acumen for pairing Asheville’s best produce with small regional Italian plates, striking that fickle balance of being rooted in tradition yet innovative all the same. One dish I had here I’ll never forger: fried small sunflower heads! They have a small bar and pizza spot next door called Contrada which is perfect for an apertivo.

Tall Johns: The same logic as what I said of Bull & Beggar applies here: simple, unfussy, well-executed food in a city where many folks are trying to do too much. I took a dear, well-traveled baker friend here last fall and she was smitten. “This is the kind of restaurant I want to eat at all the time,” she said. If you’re in the Montford area and dine here, maybe you’ll feel the same.

Zillicoah Brewery: You might say there are as many breweries in Asheville as there are coffee shops. You’d then ask yourself how to choose between them. I can’t really help much, as someone who isn’t as infatuated by beer as seemingly everyone who lives there. But I can tell you that this was my favorite place to go when I had a free afternoon, or needed to unwind after a farmers market. It’s located right along the river and has an expansive outdoor space and seating to lounge and loaf. Sip on lots of fun, great beers (many sours, saisons, and other fun fermentation styles are prevalent here) and eat amazing food from Master BBQ, a Filipino BBQ food truck. 

The primary tourist route in Japan traverses the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, and often down to nearby Osaka as well. More and more, however, visitors are making a triangle of it, heading north and west from Kyoto to the coastal city of Kanazawa in the Ishikawa Prefecture. An idyllic city of gardens, cherry blossoms, and old castles, Kanazawa has a lot to offer, including some remarkable food. 

It’s best known for its seafood, as it’s location next to the Noto Peninsula gives it unique access to both cold-water and warm-water fish. A morning in Omicho Market, where all of this is on display, can’t be missed, but there’s a lot more to look into as well. One note: try to get a reservation for restaurants here, especially sushi restaurants. The website Tableall can help with that for the nicest restaurants, but charges a hefty fee to do so. You can always call the restaurants, but sometimes you’ll need to speak Japanese to talk your way into a table. I’m listing a few more low key spots here too where you should have an easier time making a booking, or where you might not need a booking at all. 

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Yes, there are more glamorous food cities to visit in Europe than Glasgow. It will never be Paris, Rome, even London, and chances are if you’re visiting Scotland you’ll be more keen on historic Edinburgh instead. But I’d encourage you to not overlook this great town. A small but mighty food scene has taken root here over the years that is reimagining wh…

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At the time of writing this, Minneapolis has rarely been more in the spotlight. My beloved Timberwolves are in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. The TNT basketball crew, Wolves fans worldwide, and countless celebrities (Gunna, Metro Boomin, Lee Sung Jin, and countless MN sports legends were all in attendance during the last series) have descended upon the city during the playoffs. And above all, Charles Barkley asked Wolves’ star player Anthony Edwards for restaurant recs in the city.

I’ve tried to track down Ant’s list. I think it would be the kind of treasure I’d want to preserve in outer space for future generations to see, given that he tends to refreshingly eschew fancy clothes, fancy food, fancy anything in favor of simplicity and comfort. And there’s a lot of simplicity and comfort to love in the Twin Cities. Those of us who grew up in Minneapolis know the food has always been excellent, even if it can take a while for trends or techniques to trickle in from the coasts. 

I’ve seen a few local publications and social media accounts offer their own recommendations in the last couple days. These lists are good, but really cater to…well, all the wealthy folks that can afford tickets to the Western Conference Finals. For me, the key to finding good food in Minneapolis has been to look into its myriad cuisines from different cultures, the less glamorous restaurants that showcase a world of flavor and an abundance of heart. Minneapolis, like any truly American city, is a true amalgamation of different cultures that have settled here, from the Dakota and Ojibwe cultures that had their lands stolen from them, to the German and Scandinavian peoples that did much of the stealing, to the Hmong and Somali cultures that took refuge here, to Mexican and Ecuadorian and Ethiopian and Vietnamese and more. All of that is showcased in its food, which is every bit as complex and thoughtful as the city’s fine dining–and all of these cultures deserve their due, too.

DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS:

Owamni: A recent winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Best New Restaurant, Owamni is well worth a visit if you can find a reservation. Striking a balance between traditional and modern, Chef Sean Sherman and his team compose thoughtful indigenous dishes made without wheat, dairy, sugar and other ingredients that colonizers brought with them. I had a revelatory lunch experience here once, fawning over the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of the smoked fish salad and especially the nixtamalized blue corn mush with maple syrup and blueberries. Check our their South Minneapolis outpost, too, the Indigenous Food Lab, for more casual fare and to support a place that’s studying and preserving and celebrating a wide array of indigenous traditions.

Gai Noi: Khaluna, chef Ann Ahmed’s other Minneapolis restaurant, will get more attention, but I prefer Gai Noi. It’s a bit more casual, with the menu featuring a wide variety of plates to share, and it’s located right on the edge of Loring Park, across from the Walker and the Sculpture Garden. 

Sanjusan: Yes, this one might break the bank, but it’s worth it. Located in the North Loop, this multi-storied building holds a few different restaurants/bars that are all part of the same group. The bottom floor is Sanjusan, an Italian-Japanese restaurant where the menu features pizzas and pastas made with some Japanese accents, plus a hefty yakitori section. On the second floor you’ll find an Omakase experience for the purists in Kado no Mise, as well as what is to me the best kept secret in the Cities: a sleek, simple Japanese whiskey bar called Gori Gori Peku. 

Bar Brava: the requisite wine bar in the cities, if you’re into that sort of thing. Their menu has changed often in the last few years, as they’ve been hosting chefs in residence more often than not, so I don’t really know what kind of food offerings you’ll find there. That said, they are usually quite good, and give a platform for up and coming young chefs in the area to hone their skills and gain a following. That, and the best wine list of any bar in the cities, make this worth your time if you have a free evening. While you’re at it, Meteor is a fantastic dive bar a couple blocks away. Neither are directly downtown, but on the far edge where it turns into North Minneapolis.

NE MINNEAPOLIS:

Oro by Nixta: This one is my personal favorite restaurant in Minneapolis, though it can be harder to get a table these days since they’ve received a lot of national attention in the last year. It’s centered entirely around masa, which is made in house with corn from Mexico, and then composed into thoughtful dishes that showcase true regional Mexican specialties that you won’t find anywhere else. Fresh, vibrant, and colorful, this restaurant is a triumph. 

Chimborazo: an unassuming Ecuadorian restaurant in NE Minneapolis that showcases specialities from all over Ecuador. Hearty portions, fare prices, and friendly service–and as of last month, a second location in St. Paul. 

Hai Hai: a restaurant that feels like a microcosm of the Twin Cities food scene at large to me. If you’ve had Southeast Asian food in Portland, L.A., New York, or abroad, you’re not going to have your mind blown by this restaurant, but you’re nonetheless going to leave content and without having broke the bank. It’s refreshing to see Bahn Xeo, Nam Khao, and Bahn Beo in a city that often sticks to Pho and Bun.

Dream Creamery: in the era of the smashburger, this might be my favorite I’ve had. Set up like something of an old-school ice cream parlour, this simple restaurant in NE offers primarily burgers, fries, and a wide array of ice cream flavors. Order burgers as a single, double, or triple patty, and enjoy a nice Minneapolis evening on the small patio out front.

Dong Yang: Amazing Korean dishes located in the back of a grocery store in the outskirts of NE Minneapolis. The kind of place that’s all over Los Angeles but can be hard to find a Midwest. Friends of mine rave about this spot. 

Al’s Breakfast: A classic, timeless diner that friends of mine frequented in their University of Minnesota days, and who would direct ire at me if I didn’t include it. I’ve never been. Apologies to all!

Alma: I’m listing very few classic fine dining restaurants in this list, but Alma deserves a nod. Located just across the river from downtown in NE, it’s been a staple in the Cities forever. I like it because it offers something for everyone: an inventive tasting menu for dinner, a lovely and accessible cafe that’s open for lunch, and takeaway homemade baked goods that are delightful. They have a little shop in South Mpls called Alma Provisions that features some food and an even an apothecary, too.

Marty’s Deli: Best sandwich in the Twin Cities? For me, it’s at Marty’s, where you’ll find a modernized old-school deli menu that has veg and vegan options and some great gf focaccia too, if that’s your thing. Don’t miss the sides!

SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS:

Matt’s Bar: there’s a timeless debate over who created the Juicy Lucy (a burger with the cheese cooked in between the two patties, creating a molten cheddar layer in the middle) between here and the 5-8 club, but personally I don’t know anyone who prefers the latter. Matt’s to me is something of the perfect sports bar. A simple menu, a signature item that hits every time, great beer selection, pretty dark and dusky, cash only, etc. 

Quang: Quang feels like one of those timeless restaurants that opened the minute the city was founded, and that will be around until whenever the city crumbles. Amongst the countless restaurants on Nicolett, also titled Eat Street, Quang is the star of the show for me, a Vietnamese spot that serves all the classics and does them exceptionally well. An underrated part of the restaurant is its front counter, which you can swing by to pick up Banh Mi, rice tamales, bubble tea, and a variety of desserts. 

Little Tijuana’s: The best new-age dive bar in the cities, featuring an amazing selection of cocktails from some of my old coworkers, and a menu of sandwiches and shareable plates that’s sort-of-Indian, sort-of-European, sort-of-EastAsian. Think Palek Paneer, but also fried cauliflower with Furikake, but also a Potato Pelmini dumpling with chili crisp, but also Mapo Rigatoni, and a fantastic fried chicken sandwich with papaya salad slaw. Pro-tip: the nearby Institute of Art is free always, and open late Thursday nights, if you want to swing by there beforehand.

Fika: I’ll admit I’m biased, as someone with a lot of Swedish ancestry, but I think this restaurant inside the Swedish American Museum is wonderful. It’s all the Swedish classics like meatballs, cardamom buns, and rye bread, done with intention. Vegetables star on the menu as well in a way that makes this menu not too heavy. 

Good Times Pizza: This is the pizza of my childhood–thin, cracker-like Tavern Style–done at a higher level than the suburban bowling alleys I went to growing up. Fresh dough, fresh ingredients, piping-hot pizzas, plus natural wine and delicious salads? Say no more. 

La Loma Tamales: My personal favorite breakfast in the cities. A stand within Mercado Central off Lake Street that serves an array of savory and sweet tamales as well as Atole, Champurrado, and more. Try the Oaxaquenos Verdes or Oaxaquenos Rojos, which are steamed in banana leaves. A Mexican bakery operates in the same room, and many little shops and restaurants can also be found within the building. 

Asa’s Bagels: Really good people, really good bagels. Simple and executed beautifully.

Union Hmong Kitchen: chef Yia Vang is quickly becoming maybe the most famous chef in the Twin Cities. Featured on TV shows and with a highly anticipated fine dining restaurant called Vinai on the way for years now, the chef showcases the depth, complexity, and wide-ranging culinary offerings of Hmong food. It’s a long time coming for a city that is full of Hmong people but has had very very few Hmong restaurants for decades. UHK offers more casual fare like noodle bowls and rice salads at both of its locations, one a stand alone restaurant on Lake Street and a food stand in the North Loop.

Mesob: There’s an immense amount of fantastic Ethiopian food to find in the Twin Cities, and I could highlight any one of them happily. Mesob is one I particularly loved for truly delicious food and hospitable service, but also look into Bole and Demera, other favorites of mine. 

ST. PAUL:

Cheng Heng: There are countless Southeast Asian restaurants on University Avenue in St. Paul worth checking out, but this is the one I go to again and again. Maybe because it’s one of the only Cambodian spots, with a wide ranging menu you can’t find elsewhere. I’m especially fond of the refreshing and spicy Cambodian salads, as well as the many soups offered here. 

Hmongtown Marketplace: It’s crazy how I grew up twenty minutes away and never heard about this place until recent years; it’s crazy that so few people seem to know about it in general in a city that has such a large Hmong population. This large complex in St. Paul features many food carts, some small Hmong shops, and in the warmer months a farmers market. In addition to some amazing Hmong soups, meats, and vegetable dishes, you’ll find some Chinese and Pan-Asian restaurants. Find out what to try first here: https://www.visitsaintpaul.com/blog/where-to-eat-hmong-village-hmongtown-marketplace/

Soul Lao: The kind of food I want to eat all the time. Formerly a food truck that now has a brick & mortar location, this family run spot features vibrant Laotian dishes that don’t hold back on pungency and spice. They are beloved for their rotisserie, too, as well as Lao sausages.

Estelle: A classic for a reason. Southern European fare over on the restaurant side, really really good drinks on the sleek bar side.

Bole Ethiopian: This restaurant is an institution when it comes to Ethiopian food in the Twin Cities. Phenomenal array of dishes, both meat and veg friendly, and a great patio. There’s a smaller, express location in Minneapolis’ Cider-Riverside neighborhood as well.