
La Locanda del Gusto · Sorrento, Italy
Two truly homemade dishes in Sorrento
The freshly made meatballs and gnocchi with fresh clams were simply impeccable.
The feed

La Locanda del Gusto · Sorrento, Italy
The freshly made meatballs and gnocchi with fresh clams were simply impeccable.

La Giostra · Florence, Italy
La Giostra — candlelight, the 'In Good We Trust' sign, and pasta that earns the legend.

Café Azul · Lisbon, Portugal
Two pastéis, one bica, a marble counter worn smooth by fifty years of elbows. Some places you review; this one you thank.

The Grey Hearth · Atlanta, Georgia
Walked in on a Tuesday cancellation, sat at the counter, watched the fire do its work. Different restaurant from the dining room, honestly.

The Grey Hearth · Atlanta, Georgia
Nine courses off a wood hearth, and the smoked catfish course alone justifies the booking war. Go hungry, order the wine pairing, skip lunch.

La Milpa · San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Tortillas pressed to order, a salsa verde with a fan club, and a kitchen that treated my kids like regulars. Family travel gold.

Trattoria del Ponte · Venice, Italy
You eat what the Rialto boats brought that morning. In three visits that policy has never once let me down.

The Grey Hearth · Atlanta, Georgia
We've done anniversary dinners in eleven cities. The Grey Hearth cracks the top three — mostly for how the night was paced.

Maison Verte · Paris, France
Paris keeps its best-value meal in plain sight: the weekday set lunch at the dinner-famous place. Maison Verte is exhibit A.

Bar Alcove · New York, New York
In town for a conference, ended up at the counter three nights out of four. The martini is correct and the plates deserve their own review.

Sakura Omakase · Kyoto, Japan
I saved €400 on flights and a ryokan to afford this counter. Correct trade. Here's the math and the caveats.

Sakura Omakase · Kyoto, Japan
Thirty years behind one counter shows up in every grain of rice. The most money I've spent on dinner this year and the least I've regretted it.