The Driftwood
Understated and tucked away on the Roseland Peninsula, The Driftwood Hotel is a haven of peace and tranquility. Head Chef Chris Eden has earned the restaurant a Michelin star since 2012, and deservedly so. The restaurant is simply stylish, with comfortable chairs and crisp, white tablecloths, gorgeous artwork (many of which involve driftwood) and spectacular views of the sea. Food is elegant and sophisticated, with particular emphasis on top quality local ingredients. Fish is delicate and meat is succulent, perfectly balanced by flavorsome sauces and vegetables. Every element is exquisitely prepared, and you’ll find you want to eat ever so slowly to make the gorgeous flavors last as long as possible.

Pig Floyd's Urban Barbakoa
This Latin-American and Southern BBQ fusion joint in Orlando’s Mills 50 district has a nice list of bites, including Matambre smoked brisket sandwiches topped with egg, Indian Butter chicken tacos and fried yuca. But it's all about the Oakwood Smoked St. Louis Barbecue Ribs here. Succulent. Juicy. Sweet, yet refined. Delicious.

Tin Angel Cafe
Fans head for this hip bistro with local art on the walls and a menu of European dishes that use farm-fresh ingredients. But the real prize is Tin Angel's award-winning bread pudding. It changes every day, but it is always sautéed in butter and topped with carmel and a classic crème anglaise.

Anchor Bar
Who would have guessed a late-night snack prepared by Teressa Bellissimo for her son and his friends would turn into an international phenomenon. There would be no Buffalo Wing without Anchor Bar. Since 1964, Anchor Bar has been one of the most popular restaurants in Buffalo. Visitors from all over the world travel to Anchor Bar to try this famous fried specialty. The restaurant is the closest thing we have to a chicken wing museum, the décor caters to the wing-happy crowd and chicken memorabilia lines the walls. And even after more than 50 years, Anchor Bar still serves a damn good chicken wing. They are piled on a large metal tray and accompanied with blue cheese (no ranch, don’t even ask) and celery, which are true chicken wing eating staples. Their standard medium sauce, a mix of Frank’s Hot Sauce and butter, is considered the standard for the greater Western New York area. Anchor Bar has recently expanded, even into Canada, but make sure you visit the original historic location on Main Street in downtown Buffalo for a true wing experience.

Hungry Mother
Even as Southern cuisine increases in popularity across the nation, Hungry Mother stands on its own with its incorporation of impeccable French techniques into Appalachian cuisine. With everything made in-house, Hungry Mother put Kendall Square on the Boston dining map and continues to be packed. The restaurant is small and reservations are hard to get, so plan accordingly.

Sarma Restaurant
This Turkish-style tavern is a collaboration between a long-time mentor and her student, chef Ana Sortun and Cassie Piuma of famed Oleana. The modern Mediterranean small plates menu are all enticing, from an octopus shish to a deceptively simple, yet outstanding lamb kofte slider. Save room for the off-menu items being passed around on trays. With all the strong aromas wafting in the air, you won't be able to resist. Nor should you.

Pan Marraqueta
Simplicity itself, a marraqueta bun makes any meal in La Paz a treat. It’s your faithful friend to soak up butter and jam in the morning or spicy juices at lunch. But, as any paceño knows, freshness is key - it is never better than in its first hour of life. These palm-sized loaves have a thick, crunchy crust, almost reminiscent of a sourdough loaf, and a chewy interior pocked with air bubbles. The bread is baked in El Alto, brought down mornings and evenings, and arrayed in giant baskets on the sidewalk of Figueroa and Santa Cruz streets just behind Mercado Lanza. It is a treat to line up and take part in this daily ritual. Watch the women bag marraqueta buns by the dozen, soak up the smells of fresh bread and the sounds of the city, and when your turn comes, get yourself a couple) and stroll over to Lanza for a breakfast juice, maybe a coffee to dunk your bread in and go on about your day, confident you've started with your finger firmly on the paceño pulse.

Charquekhan Oruro El Fogon
Bolivian charque (jerky) won’t appeal to everyone. Llama meat is salted and sun-dried, then boiled, shredded and dried again. The result, rather chewy, salty strings of jerked meat, are served over a bed of corn, with a few boiled potatoes on the side and a slab of Andean cheese on top. Done well, in its traditional home of Oruro, with good ingredients, the flavors are intense, but a little dry for most. Be sure to order a cold beer to chase it all down. Here, the owners/cooks are Orureños and render as good a version as you’ll find in La Paz.

El Acuario
As you turn into Valentin Navarro, a little alley off Calle Bustillos, you know you've come to the heartland of trout in La Paz. You can buy it fresh, or fried in the monstrous iron pans there in the street, or duck into El Acuario for a little-known regional treat, the wallake de trucha (trout). Most commonly cooked in the heights outside of La Paz around Lake Titicaca, this is the perfect dish to beat the effects of altitude that tend to weigh you down in La Paz. Trout, fresh from the lake, is boiled with potato, chuño (the freeze-dried potato so loved here), onion, garlic and a generous helping of chili and a green herb called coa (in Peru, muña) that has a sharp, refreshing, almost eucalyptus flavor. The soft, warm pink trout is a treat, while the bite of the chili and the coa, widely used to aid digestion, will leave you feeling great.

Saltenas Stadium
The best salteña is probably the fiercest debate in day-to-day Bolivian life. Each city claims theirs are the best, and everybody has their spot, their best place in town. The guys at Salteñas Stadium make no great claims, they just whip up batches of big, juicy pastry treats with just the right amount of spice, and by 10:30, there is barely a crumb left to show what has passed. Enough said. Just get there early. For a more accessible, if not quite as special salteña, try one of the four outlets of Paceña la Salteña, a small chain of salteña stores that do a fine job of baking this traditional pastry. Check their website to find the closest: http://www.pacenalasaltena.com