This modest trattoria just outside the historic centre is one of the most popular in Italy’s “Food City.” Chef Flavio Benassi and front-of-house Tommaso Maio present inspired countryside dishes that keep the house’s 15 tables full every night, making reservations essential. The menu, built on fresh, locally sourced, perfectly cooked and exquisitely presented ingredients, seldom stays the same for more than a week. But pear-stuffed tortellini with butter and poppy seeds, chestnut-flour spaghetti alla chitara with porcini and hazelnuts, or pistachio-dusted chicken liver pâté are not to be missed. Pro tip: Book at least three weeks in advance. 

Managed by the Spinnato family the historic café opened way back in 1860. Considered as the lounge of the city this is an ideal place for breakfast, lunch, dinner or drink with piano playing in the background. At breakfast one can enjoy the small Sicilian pastries, croissants, cannoli, cancels and more; while at lunch and dinner get ready for some traditional dishes such as swordfish skewers, Pasta Alla Norma, and eggplant rolls and also one should also try the arancini with meat sauce and butter. For Italians, cafes are the centre of social life - establishments where one can eat and drink, socialize and do business.  Sicilians like their coffee strong. Caffè Spinnato's is a blend of 70% arabica and 30% robusta - the average blend in Italy is 49% and 51% respectively. The cafe also serves hot and cold snacks, 40 flavours of ice-cream and traditional pastries made with almonds from Avola and pistachios from Bronte

Biggy Bites, a restaurant serving American-Italian food for more than twenty years at down to earth prices is what the restaurant is famous for among locals. With a speciality in burgers, they also make delicious pasta. The penne pasta in white sauce is the one to have. Penne pasta is cooked in white sauce and served with garlic bread.

This 80-year-old restaurant is located in the narrow lanes off Arundale Street. Established as Rayar’s Café by Srinivasa Rao they are known for making delicious home-style South Indian food. They open from 7 to 10 in the morning and again at 3 to 6 in the afternoon. For breakfast, the mess offers idli, adai, pongal and vadai, while a round of rava dosas, bondas and sweet dishes are available in the evenings. Very few places in Chennai serves adai for morning breakfast and the adai served here is fresh and crisp, and is always best with sugar and ghee. They serve 10 people at a single sitting and food is always served on the traditional banana leaf. Don't forget to try everyone's favourite Ghetti chutney.

La Posta run by Jerean Hutchinson was established by her grandmother in 1939 in a two-hundred-year-old building on the Butterfield Trail. It is a southwestern culinary landmark where authentic dishes are made from century-old recipes handed down from the Fountain, Chavez, and Griggs families and is known for its traditional hospitality, fine-food and spirits. The most famous dish on the menu is tostadas compuestas, crisp-fried corn tortilla cups into which are red chili con carne, beans, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. A combo plate includes one tostada compuesta plus a chili relleno (a large cheese-stuffed, breaded, and deep-fried chili pepper), and a taco as well as guacamole salad. Other native dishes include flautas, green chili enchiladas, sunset-hued carne adovada, and steak smothered in green chili and melted cheese. With every dish comes a basket full of warm sopaipillas for mopping up every last good bit of food off the plate. The dining rooms are bright and have more plants than a tropical rainforest.

Situated about 15 miles south of Mesilla on State Highway 28 is Chope’s where one would probably find the best ‘chile relleno’. They operate from a small comfortable home like-restaurant which gets crowded as soon as it opens every day. The ‘chilies rellenos’ are lightly breaded and served with three fried pods or can also be ordered along any of the combination plates. Milder than the rellenos are Chope’s red enchiladas or the green enchiladas but the one recommended is a stack, with a fried egg on top. They serve meat stuffed tamales which can be ordered three for a plate or as part of combination plate that includes an enchilada, a soft taco, rice, and beans. The menu over is a typical local one, featuring bowls of chili with or without beans or con queso (with cheese), as well as air weight sopaipillas.

Open only for lunch and breakfast Nellie’s Café serves traditional Mexican fare from Tuesday to Friday starting at 8 in the morning. The family run restaurant is in Las Cruces, the center of the chile country. Danny Ray Hernandez, the chef and Nellie’s son, makes vivid salsas using five to seven different types of chile. His specialty is the breakfast menu which includes ‘Huevos Rancheros’ (scrambled with jalapenos) and eggs with chile and meat served with either red or green chile or combination of both known as ‘Christmas’. According to Nellie, the chiles have become hotter in the recent years due to the dry growing conditions.

Croquettes are one of the top tapas in Spain. And this restaurant is all about them. Crunchy outside but creamy inside. We love that they don't just repeat the same old toppings you'll find in other bars, but they get creative transforming traditional non-croquette recipes into a delicious croquette. Vegetarian options are also available (not vegan, though). They also have a variety of non-croquette tapas as well. So instead of just some croquettes and a drink, you can have a full tapas meal there.

The Oklahoma onion burger, a regional favorite, is a hamburger patty with paper-thin slices of Spanish white onion smashed into the meat. According to legend, the onion burger was invented by Ross Davis in the 1920s at the Hamburger Inn in Ardmore, Oklahoma. During the Depression, onions were cheap and hamburger meat was expensive. Ross came up with the thrifty idea of adding onions to the burgers and smashing them into the meat with the back of his spatula. Called Depression burgers, Ross would pound a half onion's worth of shreds into a 5-cent burger. The ground meat and onions cooked together, infusing the patty with the onion until the burger seared around the edges and the onions caramelized and crisped. Some of the most famous and popular onion burgers today come from Sid’s Diner in El Reno, Oklahoma. Known for its burgers and shakes whipped up in a homey, old-timey space with counter seats, cooks place a slice of American cheese and a bun on a 6-oz. patty and let the cheese melt while the onions and meat brown and the bun soaks up the juices. A history junkie’s dream, the diner’s décor boasts more than 450 photographs of the Oklahoma land lotteries, cowboys on horseback, and the early days of car culture when El Reno was a major stop along Route 66.

Jambe De Bois, opened in 2000 and is one of my favourite restaurants in St. Lucia. The decoration is soothing, full of colours and has a rustic design to it. The best days to go are Saturday’s and Sunday’s as apart from the delicious food and ambient, there is live Jazz music full of soul which makes this experience complete and worth the visit. Getting to the restaurant is an experience in itself, as you have to walk for a bit inside Pigeon Island National Park until you get to this secluded yet magical spot. The cocktails are exquisite, and some of my favourites are the “Jambe De Bois” a cocktail made with rum, cream, coconut cream and coffee liquer but in reality all of them are perfect. As I tried each one, I wanted to keep on ordering to make it down the list and try the full sleeve. There is also a special menu that changes everyday. My favourite choices from my first visit was the crunchy deep fried calamari, the cheese and mushroom pie which had a soft consistency and appealing to the taste buds. The freshly fish cakes exploded with flavor in each bite. The whole menu and experience was enjoyable, I am sure there will be many more visits to come.