Avoca is the place to go for an all-around Irish experience in Dublin. They have been around since 1723, which is something most restaurants are not able to brag about. The restaurant is on the top floor and is usually packed on weekends. I love to go there on Sundays for brunch and usually order eggs or French toast, although their burger will make you wonder where you have been all your life. The quality of the food is amazing and their cakes will make you want to stay for dessert. Before you leave, take a look around the ground-floor shop. From gifts suited for birthday presents to handmade blankets, you'll find great locally manufactured products and pre-cooked meals. If you're new to the brunch scene in Dublin, be sure to check this place out. You may need to wait a few minutes before you get a table, but it will be worth it.
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When well-pedigreed chef Mark Fuller realized his Monday-night fried chicken special eclipsed anything else on the menu of his upscale restaurant -- creating months-long waiting lists -- he smartly pivoted the concept to please the crowds. Now, the Korean-style fried chicken, with its thick, shatteringly crisp outer crust, plays the starring role, with a supporting cast of dishes inspired by its Korean origins, the chef's Hawaiian heritage and his fine-dining training. Reserve your whole or half twice-fried bird ahead of time to make sure it, along with the kimchi fixings, are waiting for you. You'll want to have leftovers (somehow, it only gets better overnight), so beef up your order with the umami-laced roasted broccoli or a Spam musubi, and don't miss the signature popcorn ice cream for dessert.
Preparing German, Mediterranean and Thai cuisine, Cafe Größenwahn is as diverse and exciting as it has been for the last 25 years. In fact it has been awarded first place 23 out of 25 times (it came second both other times) in the annual Frankfurt Restaurant Guide’s ‘Frankfurt favorites’ list. The menu changes day by day, so don’t expect your favourite dish of the evening to be there the next night. This could be risky business, but thankfully they have quality chefs which can continue to create exciting dishes day by day. Their consistency with incredible food production and service earned them the title of ‘Best Restaurant of the Last 25 Years’ in the city. No mean feat!
Milk in Balham, had built a name for itself on the London breakfast circuit as a place of unique ability to produce food which can make your jaw drop. They do a selection of regular items (though each has a twist) and they do these very well, but there’s one particular dish which stands head and shoulders above the rest - The Convict. A proper English muffin, dry-cure bacon, Moens & Sons sausage, a Burford brown egg, crispy poacher hash and the most magnificent of hangover sauces. It is just insanely delicious and will satisfy even the hungriest and most choosey of brunchers. You can’t book, and things get really busy so show up early and dive for a table.
Serving up outstanding South Indian cuisine in a simple but authentic environment, Jai Krishna is famous in North London for making some of the best sub-continental food outside of the home country. It is no-frills and unassuming, but the selection of incredibly delicate and flavorful dishes more than makes up for it. The Vegetable Thali is more than enough for one person, coming loaded with a selection of veg curries, tarka dal, chapati or poori, rice and chutneys. It is beautifully seasoned and flavored to perfection. Also on the menu is the Kachori Chaat, delectable fried pieces of spicy moong dal mix, topped with curds, chutneys, channa masala and fresh coriander. This is probably the best side dish I have ever eaten outside of India and it is worth visiting Jai Krishna just for this.
The Schellenturm (bell tower) was built as a part of Stuttgart's city wall in 1565. It was used as a prison and a depot for wine. Nowadays you can find some exquisite Swabian cuisine at restaurant Schellenturm. But before you are allowed to sit down and enjoy a meal, you have to climb the mass of stairs up the old tower. The restaurant is located on the two upper floors and welcomes you with a rustic, homely atmosphere. They offer the local Dinkelacker beer that is brewed only a short distance away in the south of Stuttgart. What would be better to go along with it than the Swabian plate (Schwabenteller)? It consists of two slices of tender roast pork, homemade Swabian ravioli (Maultasche) and potato salad. Just a delicious quick journey through Swabian cuisine.
Weinstube zur Kiste is a typically cozy Swabian restaurant in the heart of Stuttgart’s famous bean quarter. It’s located in an old timber-clad house where you sit on creaking wooden benches next to a beautiful, dark green, tile stove. The menu offers some of the best regional dishes in this area. The perfect match for a great local Stuttgarter Hofbräu beer is the onion beef roast with a classic mixed salad or some Swabian pasta. The roast is seared to perfection with a slightly pink centre. And covering the top of it you will find the sweet grilled onions that make it a Swabian Zwiebelrostbraten.
Ask any chef, writer, well-seasoned diner or food and wine aficionado their favorite upscale restaurant in Montreal - and Bouillon Bilk would almost always in the upper echelons. It's not as traditional (or famous, yet) as the godfathers (Joe Beef, Au Pied de Cochon, Toqué! etc.), but has become the benchmark for newer restaurants hoping to make "institutional" status. It opened in 2011 with a focus on modern eclectic cuisine for a sophisticated urban crowd. Chef François Nadon’s dishes are exciting, creative, polished, carefully thought-out, and flawlessly executed. The menu changes frequently, but the hamachi crudo is a mainstay. The slightly off the beaten track location for this 95-seat industrial-chic restaurant, with its white and black interior, can come off as cold, but the food has heart and there is no compromise. This is a favorite in Canada, let alone Montreal.
Don’t wait for a special occasion to come here, Le Filet is the occasion, especially for posh individuals who dine out regularly and for entertainment. The seafood driven restaurant by chef Yaku Okazaki is globally influenced, leaning towards Asian, but also has a Montreal pride, using some local ingredients. The food is refined and the room is lively, despite its tablecloths and elegance. Order the House cocktail - Le “Piscine” to start, and do not miss the signatures: tuna tartare, tataki of waygu (yes, they have some meat dishes, and this one is fantastic), seafood linguini, and a side of addictive jumbo onion rings. The appetizers and small plates are more exciting than the mains, and make sure you leave room for the maple syrup square. This dessert – a Quebec specialty – I would come for alone.
It’s not a hotel or located in a hotel, but a happening spot for “hipsters” who appreciate sophisticated dining without the formalities. Hotel Herman excels at thoughtful small plates with Montreal and Nordic influences. It’s hard to go wrong here. The constantly changing menu features simple and creative food, often ingredient driven with play on textures. Techniques are a mix of traditional and modern, and dishes are interesting as much as they are delicious. The main focus of the dining room is the massive u-shaped bar, ideal for two or solo dining, and tables around it are good for groups of four or less.