Marisquería Los Marinos Jose @ Marisquería Los Marinos Jose
Los Marinos Jose in nearby Fuengirola is one of the finest seafood restaurants in Spain, sourcing the best ingredients. They will saute, salt bake, and tableside press all manner of sea creatures in all ways of deliciousness. Arrive early and point at the creatures on display at the entrance. Wet dreams are made of this.

Forastera @ Forastera
A casual and intimate restaurant serving superb value tasting menus based on fresh produces available from the market. The menu is all about the balance of flavours showcasing a refreshed approach to traditional cuisine using seasonal ingredients. This is a place where simple vegetables are transformed into delicacies. Chef Txisku Nuévalos, who’s from the Valencia region, met his wife Laura when they both were working at Nerua in Bilbao, the city where she’s originally from. He decided to bring her, as an outsider, here to set up his dream restaurant hence the restaurant name, Forastera (meaning "outsider"). Every service is run solely by the couple themselves, Txisku in the kitchen and Laura at the front of the house. That's why they can only take on a small number of diners for each service, so reservation is a must and by calling only.

Crab Omelette @ Jay Fai
Jay Fai is a street-side restaurant where the owner cooks up wok specialties lit up by an inferno of flames. Jay Fai has become renowned worldwide for her crab omelette. Lines can string around the block despite high prices. This is one of the great street food stands in the world and it received one Michelin star in the inaugural Michelin Bangkok guide in 2018.

Pork Chops @ Garcia's Mexican Food To Go
Before I officially began my job at the magazine, I knew the first taco I was going to write about was the pork chop at Garcia’s Mexican Food. The puzzling breakfast option (see “Breakfast” in the Tacopedia) is a thin, bone-in pork chop that is seared, grilled, and served with a steak knife. A lot of customers use the knife to cut off the bone. However, I recommend eating around it. Add a spoonful of the jalapeño relish for a helping of acidic heat.

Machaca Taco @ Granny's Tacos
Granny’s Tacos, located in East Austin, is a food truck that serves the best breakfast tacos in Austin. Granny’s Tacos was started by Guanajuato native Maria Rios in 2016. This food truck is not only popular for its breakfast tacos but for its lunch tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas, nachos, fries, and other Tex-Mex favorites. Granny’s Tacos make their own flour and corn tortillas, salsas, and sauces from scratch. Their favorite sauces are red and green. The red sauce is spicy, and smoky and has a taste of habanero and guajillo. The green sauce is mild creamy, rich, and smooth with a taste of avocado and cilantro. The most popular taco of Granny’s Tacos is the Machaca Taco ($3.50). This fresh and lightly toasted homemade flour taco was made with steak, egg, pico de gallo, cheese, and avocado sprinkled with melted white cheese and fresh pico de gallo on top. While the taco appeared small, it was more filling than it appeared. Each piece of beef was flavorful and seasoned well. The marinade also helped tenderize the steak, allowing for a tender bite with no chewy bits.

Gringa Taco @ El Fogoncito
El Fogoncito in Mexico City claims to be the birthplace of gringa taco, another version of the taco al pastor which consists of flour tortillas filled with cheese, al pastor meat, and pineapple. This variation features a flour tortilla bearing pork al pastor and queso blanco. As the story goes, in the '70s, two white American women (ergo “gringa”) frequented El Fogoncito and asked for tacos al pastor served that way. Eventually, the option was placed on the official menu, but it’s not necessarily considered a classic Mexico City style like its predecessor.

Taco de Suadero @ El Rey del Suadero
Tacos de fritanga, strictly for the uber-carnivorous, maybe the most common in Mexico City. They consist of chopped beef or pork, often including viscera, that is sautéed in a pool of bubbling lard or oil in a large griddle that features a round depression in the middle. They are by many accounts unique to the capital and at their best, succulent and delicious, at worst, intensely greasy. Various meat tacos are offered at El Rey del Suadero, one of the few casual taquerías in tony Polanco. There is both a window offering stand-up tacos and a comfortable dining area inside. The tacos al pastor are decent but it’s the suadero (sliced from the beef rib) sautéed in manteca that keeps them coming for more.

Gilda @ Casa Valles
Casa Valles is a restaurant in San Sebastián located on Reyes Catolicos. Casa Valles is situated nearby to Arnoldo, and close to La Bicicleta. This is the place where Gilda was invented. Gilda, the chili peppers, an anchovy, and an olive pickled in vinegar skewered on a cocktail stick is the first pintxo created in Donostia, in 1946 by Joaquín Aranburu, a customer in Casa Vallés. This 80-year-old family establishment is run by the fourth generation and has been part of the San Sebastián classic. Casa Valles is famous for its pintxos, portions, and sandwiches made with care. They also serve gluten-free preparations so that everyone can enjoy their food.

Horchata, Churros and Fartons @ Horchateria Santa Catalina
Santa Catalina is the best place for Spanish sweet delicacies like horchata, churros, fartons, and hot chocolate in Valencia. It has been around for over 100 years. The interior is decorated with gorgeous colorful tiles. Besides the best hot chocolate in the city, they also serve the popular signature drink of Valencia: Horchata! Horchata is a sweet almond lemonade you just have to have when in Valencia. Santa Catalina is also the place to be for churros, ice cream, and fartons (sweet bread sticks to dip into horchata). The fartons come plain or filled with chocolate or custard.

Nou Racó @ Nou Racó
The Nou Racó restaurant is one of the most emblematic of traditional Valencian cuisine and specializes in the preparation of wood-fired paella. It is located in a unique setting of the Albufera Natural Park of Valencia. The restaurant is a key piece of the Nou Racó complex, a renovated classic that combines tradition and avant-garde, offering the usual flavors with a different presentation. This place is famous for its Mediterranean gastronomy that unites tradition and avant-garde using the best quality ingredients. Enjoy the typical Valencian rice dishes, meats, fish, and shellfish. They have menus that can be customized. There are special menus for vegetarians, and vegans, menus for people with food intolerances, and children's menus.