The Hakata Torimon is one of Fukuoka’s signature foods. The heavenly steamed bun combines rich butter and milk with traditional sweet beans. Created by the Meigetsudo Company in 1993, it quickly became popular and locals consume it in abundance. Whereas the traditional manju is filled with sweet azuki bean paste, the Hakata Torimon has a filling of white azuki beans mixed with butter, eggs, condensed milk and cream, which adds a richness regular manjus don't have. The result is a smooth and unctuous manju that melts on your tongue.  You can find the treat at the Fukuoka Airport, the Meigetsudo souvenir shop inside the Hakata Station, and at many other locations around Fukuoka. Of note: They depict the characters and creator of a popular manga in Japan - Hakatakko Junjo ("The innocent Hakatan").

Mizutaki is a one-pot dish of chicken and vegetables that are put in a soup made from chicken bones and then eaten while dipping it in ponzu sauce (citrus soy sauce). The order in which mizutaki is eaten is unique. First, put the soup stock and spring onions in the pot and taste it, though even the way you should taste it differs by the restaurant. Next, add the vegetables one by one. Note that each restaurant uses its own soup base and ingredients, as well as special ponzu for dipping. After you have eaten all the ingredients, you put rice in the pot to make rice porridge (a softer kind of risotto), and then finish the meal by eating the rice with the delicious soup base. While there are many restaurants in Fukuoka that serve mizutaki, Toritden is famous for its special golden ponzu and the speciality spices used in the soup that brings out the delicious taste of meat. 

Karashi mentaiko (pollock roe soaked in red peppers and sauce) is eaten with rice or added to pasta. While the name bears the term karashi (chili), it is not extremely hot but has a distinct spiciness that comes from the depth and flavor of the crushed mustard seed sauce used to soak the roe. There are numerous shops that sell karashi mentaiko, but just a few where you can order it as a meal. Ganso Hakata Mentaiju, Fukuoka’s first shop dedicated to mentaiko, is the place to go. Try the Mentaiju, the dish named after the shop, for a serving of rice topped with marinated konbu maki mentai (cod roe wrapped in seaweed). Diners can choose between regular and spicy cod roe. With the perfect match of the rich taste of cod roe and the seaweed rice, you would find yourself emptying your bowl quickly. 

Motsunabe, Fukuoka’s local dish, is a boiled pot of motsu (offal) of cows and pigs filled with leek, cabbage and bean sprouts, then flavored with soy sauce and miso. You can finish off the soup by putting noodles into it. A high-protein, low-calorie dish packed with vitamins and nutrients, it is also popular among women, thanks to its significant collagen content. Oishi, the area’s famous reservation-only motsunabe restaurant, is known for its soup’s rich and deep miso taste. Blended with four types of miso, it’s more popular than their regular soy sauce flavor.  It is a local custom to eat motsunabe during the winter, but locals eat this dish even during the summer while they sweat.

Pro tip: Oishi is very popular. Make a reservation.  

Fukuoka is the birthplace of Tonkotsu pork ramen and Taiho is credited for inventing/popularising this profoundly flavorful soup noodle that has stormed around the world. Katsuki Hitoshi, aka the 'Ramen Samurai is a 3rd generation owner who keeps the tradition of mukashi ramen alive. Chewy handmade noodles are blanched for two minutes and served hard. The pork broth is cooked for 18 hours in the same pot since they opened in 1953 which has never been emptied, so each bowl contains some of the original 60-year-old master stock. The bowl is then topped with crispy nori, scallions, bamboo shoots, pickled ginger (a Fukuoka speciality), pork belly, a runny boiled egg and crumbly bits of crispy pork lard.

Sushi fanatics try anything to get one of the 6 seats at revered Tenzushi. The style is very different from Edomae sushi (Tokyo) as there is no soy sauce. Instead the lovely local provides a citric kick that is unique to Fukuoka in general and Tenzushi specifically. His no alcohol policy is to ensure that diners focus with clarity on his techniques. While I personally think that policy sucks, there is no doubting the profound skills of this talented master.

3rd generation owner, Takayoshi Watanabe shot to fame due to a single Instagram photo of him extending a piece of sushi with a menacing look. This theatre extends across his menu to include his dramatic sabre and affinity for big fish and creative executions like his mackerel butterfly featured in this photo. One might ask is this an all show? Well yes but - the exceptional ingredients and creative combinations enshrine Tenzushi as an essential representative of Fukuoka specifically and dining as pure entertainment in general.

This large, bustling restaurant serving Spanish cuisine and wines in an elegant, old-world setting gets our vote for the single best restaurant in New Jersey.  The award-winning menu is prepared with the freshest seafood of Spain, and its extensive wine cellars -- with more than 450 aged and vintage wines – are considered to hold the rarest collections of Spanish wines in the United States. Whether you eat in the wood-walled dining room or the outdoor garden, guests enjoy complimentary olives, warm bread and balsamic-dressed salad to start. The paella Valenciana, an array of shellfish, chicken, and sausage served over saffron-infused rice, is a must. Consider pairing it with the house-made sangria.

Pro tip: On crowded nights, go through the back and grab a seat at the bar for faster service. 

Ben's Chili Bowl is a landmark restaurant in Washington, D.C known locally for its chili dogs, half-smokes, and milkshakes. Ben's menu features the "Original Chili Half-Smoke" as its signature dish. It is a one-quarter pound half-pork and half-beef smoked sausage on "a warm steamed bun," topped with mustard, onions and spicy homemade chili sauce. It is hard to explain in words how such a seemingly ordinary plate can be so wonderous.

When Julia Childs lived in Santa Barbara, she dubbed La Super-Rica Taqueria the best Mexican food in the west and the lines have stretched out the tiny door ever since. The pastor and the quesadillas are great with fresh tortillas and sauces but the killer is the "Especial" with Hefty chunks of al pastor tossed together with roasted chile pasilla and gooey mozzarella.