DC Slices
Always piping hot, fresh, and offering creative toppings (buffalo chicken and meatball with gouda aren’t ones you see on a regular basis, DC Slices serves up some of the best pizza in the city. Aside from pizza, they also offer tater tots (several varieties, including plain, old bay and Cajun), cheese tots, Mozzarella sticks, St. Louis-style fried ravioli, and a salad whose ingredients rotates with the seasons.

Haute Dog Carte
The Haute Dog Carte is a stationery food cart specializing in gourmet hot dogs and condiments. Located at the northern most part of Baltimore, the Haute Dog Carte has become a destination for the best dogs in town. Always on the menu is the HD Signature dog, a full quarter-pound Black Angus dog that comes to life with the house-made bacon and onion marmalade, tomato and onion jam and their authentic Dijon mustard. The specialty rolls are put on a heated upright rod that toasts the inside and creates a home to nestle the hot dog. Each week, local chefs create specialty hot dogs to tantalize the adventurous hot dog connoisseur. Take them home, eat in your car or enjoy al fresco dining on the front porch of the neighboring Bonjour Bakery Café.

Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse
Chicken Vesuvio, a specialty of Chicago, is an Italian-American dish made with bone-in chicken, potato wedges, celery and carrots. Sautéed with garlic, oregano, white wine and olive oil, the chicken is baked until the skin becomes crisp. The dish is served swimming in white wine sauce and garnished with bright green peas. The Capitanini family, owners of Italian Village, Chicago's oldest extant Italian restaurant, founded in 1927, say it was on their menu very early on. According to “The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink,” an Italian cook inspired by the Mt. Vesuvius volcano (or Vesuvio in Italian) created the dish in Chicago after WWII. Another story has Nick Giannotti claiming his father, Vic, invented it in the 1960s. While its origin remains in dispute, some suggest the dish was popularized by the Vesuvio Restaurant, which operated at 15 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago, in the 1930s. Today, it is a signature dish at Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse.

Suburban House
Coddies, fried codfish cakes, are an iconic snack food in Baltimore. In the 1950’s, every corner drug store fountain served coddies, and you could buy a fountain coke and a coddie for 11 cents. It was the perfect nosh to eat on the way home from school. Today, be prepared to spend $5 and there are only a handful of delicatessens that still make them. One of them is Suburban House. Where the balls of codfish and potatoes are deep fried, then served at room temperature on saltine crackers slathered with yellow mustard. Suburban House’s rendition, with its slight black pepper kick, is a must if you want to taste one of the quintessential foods of Baltimore.

Quadri
If you’re in Venice and want to get a sense of Chef Max Alajmo’s Michelin 3-star restaurant Le Calandre, but without the hassle of driving to Padua an hour away, this is your chance. Since 2011, Chef Max’s cuisine has been available in the center of Venice on San Marco Square. The restaurant’s outdoor Venetian café plays continuous live music on the square, while inside, the dining area is decorated with exquisite Venetian stuccoes from the 1800's and serves traditional Venetian cuisine with a modern touch. If you’re in the mood for fine dining, opt for the small, but elegant, upstairs dining room, which serves contemporary Italian cuisine that changes with the seasons. Book early to be ensure a window table offering a great view of the square.

Mott 32
This possibly is the sexiest Chinese restaurant in town. The dining room is more like a fantasy world than a restaurant. To enter, diners ascend an escalator past a waterfall, then walk through a long, mysterious corridor as if going through a time tunnel. Finally, guests descend a spiral staircase beneath a dramatic chandelier surrounded by mirrored panels. The destination is an exquisitely decorated space featuring contemporary interpretations of Qing dynasty antiques and a metallic-looking embroidered silk backdrop. Food-wise, lunch is the best option if you want to experience a modern twist on classic dim sum. The menu was created by Chef Fung, who previously held Michelin 2-star status at Dynasty in the Renaissance Hotel. Popular dishes include BBQ pork buns, black truffle garoupa cheung fan, and Iberico char siu (pre-order only). However, you’ll also love the taro croquette and crispy egg flour pastry dessert.

Raku Sweets
When Mitsuo Endo opened Raku Sweets a couple of years ago (as a desserts-only sister restaurant to his iconic Raku in the same shopping center), he brought a very Japanese spin to very French desserts, the likes of which Las Vegas had never seen. Seasonal desserts were also something unheard of off the Strip, and it’s safe to say Endo-san and his pastry chef, Mio Ogasawara, were pioneers of that lip-smacking trend as well. Ogasawara’s “Ringo” – an apple compote encased in a delicate mille feuille pastry with honey ice cream – is the sort of pitch-perfect pastry that used to be the province of fancy dining rooms a couple of miles to the east. Now, anyone cruising Chinatown can drop into the L-shaped dessert bar, six nights a week, and order one of Ogasawara’s creations that dazzle with their artistry and intensity. The only problem (especially on weekends) is scoring a seat. But call ahead or be patient, because the turnover is relatively fast. Once you’re seated, whatever you order, get ready to taste what might be the best desserts in all of Las Vegas – which is really saying something.

Cafe Strange Brew
The poached egg, toasted sourdough with smashed avocado and chilli hollandaise with added bacon was heavenly. Fresh bread, creamy avocado and a perfectly cooked gooey egg with hollandaise that had a slight kick to it. This is the best brunch item we’ve had for a good while. If you are visiting, you must try it!

Gusto & Relish
This breakfast cafe and deli serves chunky artisan sandwiches and soups, plus in-house smoked meats. This dish was described as a triple sausage sandwich, but we counted four! It's an excellent comfort food choice for a cold day. The thick white bread with four fat juicy sausages comes with a homemade tomato relish. As expected, it was pretty filling.

Hutchesons Bar & Brasserie
This refined venue with high ceilings and potted palms is perfect for cocktails, steak and seafood. Set inside the historic Hutchesons Hospital on Ingram Street in Merchant City, the building was thoughtfully restored by the Rusk Group and the National Trust for Scotland, Hutchesons is an impressive venue. For breakfast or brunch, don't miss the smoked salmon with creamy hollandaise sauce on a chewy, warm English muffin.