Port Said
Overlooking the impressive Great Synagogue, Port Said is named after the coastal Egyptian city. It always fills up early in the evening with a young, cool, hipster-style crowd hungry for its French, international and Israeli food. Port Said's msabbaha is not the traditional hummus made from chickpeas. Whole white lima beans are cooked for hours, then blended with mashed beans bathed in olive oil, tomatoes, hot peppers and chopped onions. This delectable dish is served with challah bread to dip in and wipe up all that goodness. Bring your patience to wait for a table. It is worth the wait.

Santa Katarina
Restaurant Santa Katarina, located right next to the Great Synagogue in Tel-Aviv, is one of the new hotspots in town. Known for its Italian pizzas, focaccias and delicious pastries baked in a large stone oven brought over from Italy, Santa Katarina has cracked the code to create the perfectly textured basbousa. The traditional Middle Eastern sweet cake is made from cooked semolina or farina. Often soaked in simple syrup, Santa Katarina’s version is soaked in mastic. The resin obtained from the mastic tree, known as "Arabic gum" or "Yemen gum,” gives off a refreshing, slightly pine or cedar-like flavor to put this dessert over the top.

Hakosem
With a constant line of customers, Hakosem (The Magician) is well known for its shawarma and falafel. Made of chickpeas imported from Spain and ground 15 times a day, ensuring freshness, the falafels are rich with cumin, coriander, ground sweet paprika, raw garlic, onion and parsley. What makes them special is the added sesame and nigella seeds. But locals know another secret. Hakosem's brik, a deep-fried Tunisian pastry, is filled with beef, mutton fat, garlic, mashed potato and soft-boiled egg. It is truly a masterpiece among dumplings. Vegetarians have their own version with a sabich filling of eggplant and potato.

Koloa Fish Market
There's plenty of great poke in Kauai, but Koloa Fish Market is arguably the best. The family-owned place was started by a former Sheraton chef and he serves extremely fresh poke with a variety of twists. Try one with avocado or Korean poke (sesame oil and chili).

Burgershack
It’s all about burgers, beers and good vibrations at Burgershack, the brainchild of London’s "burger detective" Burgerac. The popular blogger honed a number of delicious recipes based on his experience and preferences, assembled a dream team, developed a menu and launched his temple to all things burgers at The Royal Oak pub in Marylebone. But chicken lovers should not despair. Poultry fans line up for the Chickenshack. Marinated in buttermilk to retain moistness and flavor, a hefty chicken breast is shallow fried in lard (or vegetable oil, if preferred), then stacked with rich American cheese, tangy pickled onion, mayonnaise and crisp iceberg lettuce, all cradled in a fresh sesame seed brioche bun. The pillowy bun, gooey cheese and juicy meat explode on your taste buds in a mouthful of sandwich heaven. Don’t be shy. Order two.

Peron Peron
Argentina is all about the empanada. You won’t walk a block in Buenos Aires without encountering some sort of establishment that sells the coveted handheld love pocket. It’s the most common go-to snack in the country. So it’s not often you hear about an empanada that develops a crazy cult following. This sit-down restaurant, which honors Argentina’s beloved political figures Juan and Evita Peron, might seem like an unassuming spot for making one of the best empanadas in the city. But Peron Peron’s version has managed to cause somewhat of an unhealthy addiction in its fanatics. Peron Peron’s empanadas are stuffed with braised osso bucco and then deep-fried.

Ai Fiori
The White Label burger at Ai Fiori is a strong argument for gilding the lily. This haute hamburger takes quality meat and adds strong flavors that enrich the juicy beef. Eight ounces of LaFrieda meat meld with white American cheese, thick McClure's pickle slices, bacon marmalade and spicy mustard, all prancing across your tongue. Held in place by a buttery bun, the luxuriant feel of all that fat caresses your taste buds. Not to be outdone, the pot of pommes dauphines that straddles the side almost steals the show. These pillows of Parmesan mashed potatoes are deep fried with the thinnest of crust to cradle its magnificence. There is no shortage of gilded lilies here, but we all thank Chef Michael White for that.

A Fuego Negro
Dimly lit and with a soundtrack which booms, Al Fuego Negro is different from any other bar in San Sebastian and the owners Edorta Lamo and Amaia Garcia are pushing the envelope of modern tapas. The tapas dishes are inspired by their upbringing in the Basque Country and their travels around the world. If you just can’t make up your mind there is a sit-down tasting menu. Al Fuego Negro has lately been collaborating with chefs invited from other restaurants in Spain and experimenting with culinary influences from further afield. All this makes it a must stop when in town. You never know what you are going to get, but it is likely to be spectacular.

Lo Nuestro Gastromercat
The name “Lo nuestro” evokes the typical Alicante civil spirit, from Hogueras, Moors and Christians to the Hercules football team. The tapas are served at a small, wooden bar with barrels as tables. The standout dish here is Montadito Brillante, an amazing combination of crunchy bread covered in sesame seeds and perfectly battered squid. When you bite into this tapa it melts in your mouth. Some theories say that Montaditos are from Alicante, and have spread from Alicante to the rest of Spain, so it’s really a local delicacy.

Mavi
Mavi is a modest little neighbourhood bar which attracts customers from around Alicante. Family-run and proud of the recipes and ingredients that they use, Mavi is a gem to be found off the tourist routes. The house specialty is seafood such as shrimp, red shrimp, crayfish, shrimp, fried calamari and grilled cuttlefish. Always fresh and locally sourced, the menu reflects what has been caught and therefore what is available, rather than an unchangeable menu. Alongside the seafood dishes are well-made traditional tapas dishes like ensaladilla rusa to patatas bravas.