Bone-in Rib-eye @ Goodman
People always ask me where to get the best steak in London and in six years I have never changed my answer. Goodman steakhouse is the pinnacle of the industry. Although they have a wide range of USDA beef on the menu, ensure you order the British-bred steaks off the blackboards. Dry aged for 40+ days, these are the Rolls Royce of beef. Don’t expect a cheap meal but it’s so, so worth it. Pro tip: Always order your rib-eye medium, trust me. And get the truffle mac ‘n’ cheese. Cracking wine list, too.

Ricotta Hotcakes  @ Granger & Co.
At his airy, no-reservations dining hall in Notting Hill, Chef Bill Granger is famous for his Ricotta Hotcakes. Served with honeycomb butter, bananas and maple syrup, the hotcakes are fluffy beyond belief. Each mouthful is like biting into clouds – delicious, sweet and rich clouds. Your day deserves this.

Breakfast Focaccia  @ London Grind
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that's even truer when bacon, sausage, a fried duck egg, smoked mozzarella and rocket greens sandwiched in toasted rosemary focaccia with aioli is involved. For a taste of this mouthwatering mouthful, breakfast fans head for London Grind, a riverside espresso bar, cocktail bar and restaurant housed in a former bank above Borough Market.

Bibimbap @ Vit Goal Tofu Restaurant
In a strip mall off Highway 54 and right next to a Korean supermarket, this restaurant is the perfect place for a rice bowl or Korean BBQ-style lunch. The menu is focused heavily on hot pot: a large soup with noodles, a variety of meats, tofu and vegetables. All entrees come with a selection of pickled sides including kimchi, pickled vegetables and very spicy sauces made with chilies and garlic. I love their bibimbap, essentially a rice bowl with meat or tofu, shredded vegetables and a fried egg on top. Add all the pickled condiments and sauces for a delicious treat.There have a lunch special menu that is primarily a number of bento boxes with BBQ, salad, and a dumpling. All boxes are about $12. Fun for a quick lunch or casual dinner spot.

Pizza of Any Kind @ Pizzeria Toro
This is the best wood-fired pizza in town, hands down. The place is bustling. The back room has a small bar and a few tables where you can sit and eat. The front room has a long communal table, plus a number of four- and two-tops. Pizzas are made in the center of the room in a huge, wood-fired oven. The result are crispy, thin-crust pies with wonderful toppings such as lamb sausage with kale, fennel sausage with roasted peppers and provolone. There are also a number of delicious salads, soups and desserts, but we never have room for anything more than the pizza, infused with the flavors of the wood-fired stove, liberal use of kosher salt and quality ingredients.

Mezze Platter @ Khoury's Mediterranean Restaurant
Khoury’s blows us away with its incredible selection of mezze: small, usually vegetarian plates that precede the main course in Arabic, Persian and other Mediterranean or Middle Eastern meals. (FYI: the word mezze comes from the Turkish word meze, which means "taste, flavor, snack or relish," which, in turn, is borrowed from the Persian word mazze for a "snack, taste.") These facts (and this etymology) drive most Greeks (my tribe) crazy, especially when they see the word "mezze" pop up on a Greek menu ... which means, in Vegas at least, that the place is most likely run by Persians or Turks or someone even worse. Khoury's does these mazze or mezze or meze or whatever you want to call them better than any Mediterranean restaurant in town, and no local Greek joint (some of which are now run by Russians and Bulgarians) can top what it does with fantastic falafel, heavenly hummus, smoky baba ganoush, delightful dolmades, luscious loubieh (green beans with garlic and tomatoes), and all sorts of mashed and seasoned cheeses, yogurt and vegetables. All together, they make the perfect foil for the fantastic, nutty, fresh-from-the-oven baked pita bread you will use reflexively to dip into every one of the dishes. It’s enough to make Zeus jealous.

Bacon Candy @ Table 10
Bacon makes everything taste better, right? And who doesn’t like candy? So, in a bit of genius, Emeril Lagasse and his chefs came up with thick cutting slabs of fresh-cured and smoked pork belly, and then slow roasting them with a maple syrup glaze. The result is tender strips of melt-in-your-mouth porcine goodness that satisfies the sweet and savory tooth in just about everyone. (Serving them with the artisanal Noble Tonic Maple Syrup as a dipping sauce may seem like gilding the lily to some, but to us it just makes perfect sense. Vegetarians beware: these things are so addictive they could make a big game hunter out of a Buddhist. Table 10 is in one of the pricier shopping malls in Las Vegas, but from its (interesting/reasonable) wine list to the Creole specialties like authentic gumbo and rabbit stew, it fills the bill and fills you up without busting your wallet. Just make sure to order a couple plates of the bacon candy. One is never enough, even for one.

Halver Hahn  @ Brauerei zur Malzmhle
There are many legends surrounding the origins of the Halver Hahn. In one report, a guest requested a bread roll in a pub in Cologne and was brought a whole roll instead of just a half, whereby he commented, ”But I only wanted a half.” Another theory suggests the name was adopted during the war, when cheese was cheap but bread was not and pub patrons would ask, “Kann isch och ne halve han?” (Can I just have a half?). For one of the best examples of this iconic Cologne invention, head to this convivial beer hall off the beaten tourist path. Their rye roll stuffed with Gouda cheese, pickles, butter and mustard is the perfect accompaniment for the house-brewed Kölsch beer.

Leberwurst  @ Peters Brauhaus
Better known as liver wurst, this sophisticated snack of meaty goodness traditionally comes served with sliced red onion and a bun. The spreadable sausage meat made of pork and pork liver can be picked up from supermarkets and delicatessens, but you will also see it on a number of brauhaus menus. At Peters Brauhaus, a beautifully restored 19th-century pub, the service is so attentive, you might want to stay for more than a snack.

Schnitzel @ Bei Oma Kleinmann
Named for its long-time owner, who cooked almost to her last day at age 95 in 2009, this perennially booked, graffiti-covered restaurant serves oodles of oversized schnitzel, made with pork or veal. A serving of the breaded and golden fried meat, paired with Oma’s famous mushroom sauce and potatoes, is so large it can barely fit on the plate. Pull up a seat at one of the small wooden tables for a classic Cologne night out.