Naples

ScottoJonno: Born Again

The Galleria Principe di Napoli’s beautiful arcades and art-deco ceiling made of iron and glass – built in the second half of the 19th century at the site of an ancient grain storehouse – stood silent for long time. Once a buzzing commercial and cultural hub in the heart of the city, with two of its three wings connecting the National Archaeological Museum to the Academy of Fine Arts, the Galleria was confiscated during the Fascist era and used to project propaganda films, shutting down its shops and venues. In the eighties, it was used for public offices for a time before it was left abandoned. Recently, though, the space has been brought to life, thanks to a call for bids and a handful of businesses that took on the challenge, such as a bike shop, a B&B and the lovely Lazzarelle Bistrot, among others.

Los Angeles

Lu’s Garden: Congee Craftwork

At lunchtime, a line starts to form in front of Lu’s Garden in San Gabriel. Right in front of the entrance is a narrow walkway and a long counter with a line of buffet trays filled with braised pork, lap cheong (a type of dried, sweetened Chinese sausage) and more. Stacked behind them are bowls filled with more dishes like sautéed string beans and bok choy. The kitchen staff can be seen replenishing the various buffet trays seemingly every five to ten minutes, keeping them full as hungry patrons file through. Both dine-in and takeout customers choose their dishes based on what’s at the counter – there are more than enough options, as Lu’s Garden generally has fifty different dishes at a time.

Queens

Beyond the Courts: CB's U.S. Open Eating Guide 2025

Each year in late summer, some of the best athletes on the planet converge on Flushing Meadows Corona Park to compete in the United States Open Tennis Championships. In 2025, the U.S. Open begins with practice sessions and qualifier matches on Monday, August 18, and concludes with the men’s singles final, scheduled for Sunday, September 7. The tournament site does provide hungry fans with several cafés and casual bar-restaurants as well as a “food village.” But when in Queens – where some of the best food in the city is so close at hand – why would we confine ourselves to the boundaries of the tennis center? To energize ourselves beforehand or wind down afterward, here are a few of our favorite nearby dining destinations.

Athens

The Black Salami: Serious Sandwiches

It doesn’t matter how early you show up to the Black Salami Microbakery – there’s always a line. Even right at 9 a.m., when the gates have just been pulled up, tourists and locals alike are waiting for fresh, flaky sandwiches and crusty loaves of bread. Clean, sleek, and cool, with funky marbled counters like a refrigerator mosaic cake, the bakery floods with light on sunny days, illuminating a display case filled with breakfast and lunch options. This is one of a number of new spots that have popped up in the Exarchia neighborhood recently. It’s also part of a transformation the neighborhood has been seeing for some time now – one that has accelerated in the past year, as the city’s newest metro line raises questions about the pros and cons of opening a major transit station in the main square.

Oaxaca

Mezcalite Pop: Oaxaca’s Ice Queen

Oaxaca City has a mysterious hour, a period of the day when time is suspended. As we walk through a hot day of Oaxaca’s eternal summer, the sun is at its zenith and the mind starts slowing down. The streets feel emptier and quieter than ever, though the soundly closed doors hide lively households of buzzing fans and cool adobe walls. When we need respite from the heat, we remember that, just around the corner, salvation awaits at Mezcalite Pop, a lush paleta (popsicle) and ice cream shop that since 2017 has been an oasis in the middle of the green quarry stone desert of Oaxaca’s historic center, always surprising us with its bold, fresh creations.

Palermo

La Delizia: Geniuses of Gelato

When we meet Mr. Giovanni Scalici, owner of the gelato shop La Delizia, he explains the formula for his success in one word: "Simplicity." We are in Sferracavallo, a seaside suburb of Palermo located between the mountains and a beautiful gulf. Here the coast is filled with dozens of seafood restaurants, but if you venture slightly off the promenade you will find this gem of a gelateria on Via Dammuso.

Athens

Le Greche: Grecian (Gelato) Formula

Evi Papadopoulou is no stranger to the culinary arts. A well-regarded food journalist who has written articles on pastries and desserts in the top Greek gastronomy publications, she is also a classically trained chef. She studied at the culinary school of renowned Italian pastry chef Iginio Massari and followed that up with specialized training in making artisanal gelato at Francesco Palmieri’s prestigious laboratory in Puglia, Italy. In July of 2014, Papadopoulou opened Le Greche, a gelato parlor tucked away on Mitropoleos Street, right off Syntagma Square. The parlor itself is straight out of an Alphonse Mucha painting and has an Art Nouveau feel, with its airy, muted color palette. Since it opened, the shop has accumulated quite a cult following – and for good reason.

Porto

Gelataria Portuense: Gelato, Porto Style

The origin of Gelataria Portuense is not your average love story. It is a more intricate tale, worthy of the universe of writer Isaac Asimov, as it begins with a woman's passion for a machine. In this case, the woman is the Porto-based gelatiere Ana Castro Ferreira, and the device is called Effe, a prodigious gelato machine created at the hands of Otello Cattabriga, an ingenious and talented Italian inventor. When Ana – who formerly worked as a researcher on sustainable energy systems for buildings – took an interest in gelato, she went about searching for a gelato-making class. While investigating online, Ferreira came across a video in which skilled hands demonstrate the agility and elegance of the Effe machine.

Barcelona

Mamá Heladera: Gelato, Flavored By Memories

The smell of clean clothes with a lavender sachet from grandma’s closet; the family farm in nearby Lleida province during summer with apple trees and wild aromatic herbs growing all around; peaches washed in seawater during a beach day; an afternoon snack of popsicles while playing under the pine tree in the garden. These are just some of the memories that neighbors left in the mailbox of Mamá Heladera in Barcelona’s Poblenou, where owner Irene Iborra turns them into gelato flavors – an initiative that was recently awarded by the Barcelona City Council as best new innovative business (XVII Premis Barcelona Comerç). Mamá Heladera sits next to Tío Che, a classic horchateria and ice-cream parlor on Rambla del Poblenou that opened in 1912.

Marseille

Vanille Noire: Back in Black

When we first arrived in Marseille, we heard rumblings about a most intriguing ice cream flavor. A “black vanilla” whose color and savory taste was rumored to come from squid ink, fitting for the city’s Mediterranean perch. In a city where exaggeration is the norm, we had to go check it out for ourselves. A long line snaked from Vanille Noire, the name of both the ice cream shop and famous flavor. The vendor handed us our scoop, so black it looked like a photo negative of a vanilla cone. Our first lick was rich Madagascar vanilla. A few seconds later, the sweet became salty like the seaside air. We were hooked – regardless of what it was made of.

Guadalajara

Cenaduría Doña Guille: Dinner’s On

As night falls, the commercial life in Guadalajara’s popular neighborhoods doesn’t fade – it transforms. Everywhere you look, food stalls pop up, offering tacos, tamales, elotes, churros, and other tasty street treats, all glowing under hanging lights. These spots become local hangouts where people can grab a delicious bite before heading home. Cenadurías – literally “dinner places” – were among the first popular ways to serve meals outside the home. They have existed since the 19th century in streets, garages, and small eateries in traditional neighborhoods like Mexicaltzingo, Santa Teresita, Mezquitán Country, and Analco. These venues serve comforting dishes and mainly cater to workers and merchants finishing their day, providing a last chance to eat without complications before calling it a night. They also become go-to spots for families seeking simple, homestyle meals at affordable prices.

Mexico City

Tetetlán: Diamond in the Rocks

Stepping into Tetetlán feels like discovering a treasure that few others know about. Perhaps it's the sturdy stone wall facing the street, or the fact that the space is nestled among the imposing volcanic rocks that define this part of Mexico City, aptly called Jardines del Pedregal (Pedregal translates as “stony ground”). Or maybe it’s because there’s so much to explore inside: a restaurant, an art gallery, a boutique, a library, and a mindfulness center all coexist between the stones. And of course, there’s its famous next-door neighbor: Casa Pedregal, a stunning house designed by iconic Mexican architect Luis Barragán. Despite the many things going on in Tetetlán, the restaurant maintains a calm, inviting atmosphere. The walls are lined with artwork, and shelves filled with books infuse the air with creativity and inspiration – an energy that translates to the kitchen, too.

Lisbon

Lisbon’s Best Wine Bars

The numbers don’t lie: the Portuguese drink the most wine per capita of any nationality. Not surprisingly, you don’t have to look far to find the drink in Lisbon, a city where a glass of wine is sometimes cheaper than a bottle of water. But if you’re looking for a unique wine – perhaps something made by a small producer, a long-lost grape, or a bottle from an obscure region – in a comfortable or perhaps even stylish atmosphere, poured by someone who can tell you a bit about what you’re drinking, things get a little more complicated.

Naples

The Florist Bar: Urban Paradise

There are flowers all around us. Seeds and plants are scattered here and there. Herbs and fresh fruits rest in wicker and reed baskets. Sitting amongst all this glory is Stefania Salvetti, who is telling us about Paradisiello, where she lives. Meaning “Little Paradise” in Italian, Paradisiello is where Stefania has a home with 2,000 square meters of greenery, citrus trees and even chickens. The big surprise? What sounds like a glorious village outside of Naples is actually a quarter within the city, very close to the historic center. Il Paradisiello is a small, romantic, peaceful place just a few meters from the noisy city. A site where time seems to stand still, the air somehow more rarefied.

Tbilisi

Kitchen Bon: Sushi and Stolichnaya

The interior walls of Kitchen Bon are painted a fiery orange. The restaurant is set back, inlaid like a jewel into Kostava, one of Tbilisi’s main avenues, and when open it glows invitingly amid the concrete – easy to miss, if you’re not looking. Chi, the owner, and her sous chef Kana gracefully navigate the small square open kitchen, lined on two sides by stools and countertops, deep-frying tempura, spooning rice, folding nori, pouring beer from a tap. An ever-present Stolichnaya vodka bottle stands beside the rice cooker, beading in the heat. Chi is sarcastic, warm, quick-tempered, funny. Her regular customers address her in tones of mingled fear and admiration; she’s one of those people you reflexively want to impress.

Rio

Bar Urca: Sunrise, Sunset

In a city with no shortage of postcard views, Bar Urca’s may get the title for most picturesque in Rio. The eponymous residential neighborhood where the bar is located faces Guanabara Bay, where a colorwheel of boats and yachts bobble on the slow waves leading up to the seawall. Across the bay, the iconic Christ statue watches over everyone from atop Corcovado peak behind the neighborhood of Botafogo.

Los Angeles

Sei-Ko-En: The Grill Deal

Inside Sei-Ko-En, a small strip mall restaurant on Sepulveda Boulevard in Torrance, smoke rises from the small grills. Japanese and English conversations can be heard over the sizzle of meat cooking. Just like at yakiniku joints around Japan, customers at Sei-Ko-En grill their own meat, which is accompanied by plates of kimchi and steaming bowls of yukgaejang (a spicy Korean soup with shredded beef). Yakiniku has its roots in Korean barbecue and this style of grilling meat was introduced to Japan by Korean immigrants, so it’s very common to see traditional Korean dishes served at yakiniku restaurants as well.

Tokyo

First Stop: Brendan Liew’s Tokyo

Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring First Stop feature, we asked chef and author Brendan Liew about some of his favorite spots to eat in Tokyo. A chef by training, Brendan Liew has worked at restaurants including three-Michelin-starred Nihonryori Ryugin in Tokyo and Hong Kong and Sushi Minamishima in Melbourne. He’s currently at Warabi, a Japanese kappo omakase in Melbourne. He has also authored three books on Japanese cuisine: A Day In Tokyo, Tokyo Up Late and Konbini. You can follow Brendan on Instagram here.

Marseille

The Essentials: Where We Eat in Marseille

In France’s oldest and perhaps most rebellious city, the food culture is a direct reflection of its character: fiercely independent, unburdened by the strict codes of Parisian gastronomy, and deeply shaped by its ancient identity as a bustling port. For millennia, ingredients, people, and traditions have washed ashore here, creating a culinary DNA that is not French, but Marseillais – a vibrant mix of Provençal terroir, Italian soul, and North African spice. This is not a city that asks for permission. It cooks what it knows, with what it has, for the people who call it home. Navigating this landscape requires moving beyond the idea of a simple "best of" list. For us at Culinary Backstreets, an "essential" Marseille restaurant is one that tells a crucial part of the city's story. It might be a family-run pizzeria that has become a neighborhood institution, a humble snack shack preserving a street-food tradition, or a modern kitchen where a chef’s dual heritage is expressed on the plate. The following collection is a guide to these vital places, curated from years of on-the-ground reporting. These are the spots that, to us, capture the true, eclectic, and deeply satisfying spirit of Marseille.

Queens

Moroccan Bites by Siham: Tiny Kitchen, Big Flavor

Moroccan cuisine, at least items like couscous and harissa, can today be found in nearly any supermarket. But New York, with all its culinary diversity, has never had a real Moroccan restaurant scene. The recently launched Moroccan Bites by Siham goes a long way toward filling that void. “[When I moved to New York] I would have loved to have a restaurant that I could be proud of and tell people about, but sadly, there was not,” says Rabat-born Redouan Lazrek, the restaurant’s co-owner and husband of Siham Bourhane, the chef.

Porto

On the Road: Feasting on Suckling Pig and Sparkling Wine in Bairrada

At first glance, there’s not much to see in Mealhada, a town in Portugal’s central inland Bairrada region about an hour’s drive south of Porto. If there is a main feature here, it’s probably the EN1, the country’s original north-south highway, which slices the town in half, providing a conduit for a seemingly never-ending parade of large, noisy trucks. Yet the town’s roadside signs reveal something else: “Rei dos Leitões,” “Pedro dos Leitões,” “Virgílio dos Leitões,” “Meta dos Leitões,” “Hilário Leitão.” Mealhada is ground zero in Portugal for leitão, roast suckling pig.

Seoul

Seoul: State of the Stomach

In Seoul, permanence is elusive. The city reinvents itself with a restless energy that makes each visit feel like a first encounter. Viral trends come and go. Culinary hotspots emerge and vanish. Even longtime residents find themselves pausing at street corners, momentarily disoriented by how completely their familiar haunts have transformed in a short span of months. Seoul's thirst for the next big thing is evident in neighborhoods like Seongsu-dong, often seen as a global epicenter for pop-ups, where new fashion and design concepts emerge year-round. Seoul’s food scene mirrors this constant evolution. Trends flash by, like tanghulu – glazed fruit on a stick that seemed to pop up everywhere overnight – or espresso bars, which briefly captured the city’s coffee obsession before fading from view.

Athens

CB Book Club: Carolina Doriti’s “The Greek Islands Cookbook” (with Recipe)

Editor’s note: Carolina Doriti, our Athens bureau chief, was born in the Greek capital, where she grew up in a family with a long culinary tradition. Having studied arts management, she pursued a career as a curator but quickly set her museum work aside to follow her true passion: cooking! Since then, along with her work with CB as both a writer and tour leader, Carolina has been working as a chef, restaurant consultant and food stylist. She is also the Culinary Producer of My Greek Table, a TV series on Greek gastronomy, broadcast on PBS across the US. She has appeared on various cooking shows on Greek and Spanish TV and gives cooking classes and workshops in Athens. The Greek Islands Cookbook is her second cookbook.

Istanbul

Mezme: Masters of Meze

When Mezme, an excellent meze deli and meyhane tucked away on a tiny backstreet in the corner of Istanbul’s multicultural Kurtuluş neighborhood, first opened in 2020, it quickly became one of our go-to spots. Our hearts sank when the restaurant closed in early 2024, but we were delighted to find it recently reopened and charmingly renovated, with the friendly owner, chef, and lifelong Kurtuluş resident Sasun Estukyan back in his place helming the kitchen. Prior to opening Mezme, Sasun worked for five years as a cook at a retirement home in Harbiye, a nearby neighborhood. But he says he felt a call to start making the mezes that he grew up eating and helping prepare, staples of his aunt and mother's kitchens. These dishes blend classic Istanbul cuisine with that of the southern province of Hatay, from which his mother's side of the family hails.

Tbilisi

8000 Vintages: Tbilisi’s Wine Library

When Tbilisi wine enthusiast Irakli Chkhaidze first pitched his unconventional business idea over a decade ago – a wine store where customers could drink bottles at retail price rather than marked-up bar prices – his entrepreneurial friends dismissed it as unworkable. After all, most wine bars derived their profits from significant markups on alcoholic beverages. Moreover, at the time, many locals showed greater interest in foreign wines than local varieties, having easy access to family-made Georgian wines. Yet the former economist remained adamant. “I had no money, but I realized I had to do it myself,” says the now-42-year-old. Describing himself as “familiar with figures but hating figures,” he abandoned his managerial position at one of Georgia's largest pharmaceutical companies to pursue an MBA in Food and Wine in Bologna, Italy.

Osaka

Hakusendo: Hidden Candy Shop Cafe

Eastern Osaka's Joto shotengai, or commercial district, is a sleepy shopping arcade frozen in a bygone era. Walking down its twisting alleyways of faded storefronts leads to a colorful candy shop whose stacks of sugary treats conceal a hidden cafe called Hakusendo. Built to look space-age futuristic in 1970 to coincide with the Osaka World Fair, this kissaten (a term for similar Western-influenced Japanese coffee and tea shop of the 20th century) is now considered a retro masterpiece. This one-of-a-kind treasure has caught the eye of Japanese TV programs, local newspapers and influencers alike – attracting visitors to what would otherwise be an off-the-radar location.

Palermo

Altri Tempi: Trattoria Time Machine

In Palermo, we don’t need a time machine to travel to the past. Stepping into Trattoria Altri Tempi, it’s possible to be transported by the nostalgia of classic flavors from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time when Sicilian cuisine still retained its distinct identity, before the influence of other regional Italian cuisines and, later, globalization began to shape the local culinary culture. This small restaurant, in business for 29 years, is a cornerstone of authentic Sicilian tradition, a place where time seems to have stood still. Altri Tempi indeed translates to "other times." The atmosphere is warm and intimate, its walls adorned with old photos, handwritten notes, and paintings depicting still lifes. Copper pots, terracotta vases, and other unused objects complete the decoration, contributing to the feel of an old-fashioned tavern. At the entrance, a giant mortadella awaits to be sliced and tasted.

New Orleans

The Essentials: Where We Eat in New Orleans, Louisiana

When it comes to where to eat in New Orleans, food is the primary language. A bowl of gumbo is not a recipe; it’s a novel of history, migration, and survival. This is a city that communicates its deepest truths – about joy, resilience, community, and conflict – through what it cooks. To eat here is to participate in a conversation that has been going on for 300 years. An essential New Orleans restaurant does more than serve a great meal. It provides a kind of spiritual and cultural nourishment, reminding the city of who it is, where it came from, and where it’s going. Our aim here is not simply to point you to good food, but to share with you places both close to our heart and our hope for the future of the city. They might not always be glamorous – the best booze can come in a plastic to-go cup and life-altering crawfish from a folding table in a parking lot. But they are all honest: neighborhood anchors, family legacies, or community hubs.

Queens

Levant: Five-Star Feteer

Astoria’s Steinway Street has become a mecca for all types of Mediterranean food. Middle Eastern groceries and sweet shops, North African tagines and hookah bars, kebab carts and fast-food falafel dot the road. Throughout the neighborhood, also known as Little Egypt, there are several places to try feteer – a flaky, layered Egyptian pastry that can be eaten with everything from meat off a spit to powdered sugar – including longstanding favorites like Mum Feteer and Mombar. But within this crowded field, Levant, the new kid on the block, offers up innovative in-house baked goods and delicious meze starters that have made it a contender for best on the block.

Bangkok

Recipe: Pad Kaprao, A Spicy Thai Stir-fry

Ask anyone who has been in Thailand for a while what its national dish is, and they will invariably say pad kaprao. People like to think of pad Thai or green curry or spicy lemongrass soup as ubiquitous dishes in Thailand, but it’s really this holy basil stir-fry that millions of Thais eat every day, all over the country. Pad kaprao – which is most often made with pork, beef, or chicken – is a ubiquitous sight on office workers’ desks at lunchtime, as an accompaniment to a cold mug of beer in the evening, and can even be spotted streetside for breakfast. Every aharn tham sung (“made to order”) vendor serves it, and such is its unique mix of garlicky heat with meaty umami that makes for a delicious dish nearly anywhere you try it.

Oaxaca

Wicho’s Donut House: Reverse Culinary Migration

As he drove us to Tlacolula, some 19 miles east of Oaxaca City, in his burgundy-and-white taxi, salsa music in the background and a tiny bronze cross hanging from his rearview mirror, our driver Félix was philosophizing about migration. Like many other Oaxacan men, he had, at one point, crossed the border from Mexico to California in search of a better life. And like many fellow countrymen, he had come back home because he refused to live a life of persecution and uncertainty due to his legal status as an undocumented immigrant. His life back in Mexico was good; hard, yes, but joyful. “I can eat fresh fruits, dance with my kids, watch them grow. If this is not quality of life, I don’t know what it is,” he reflects. The music stops and so does Félix’s taxi. In the middle of the Tlacolula highway we’ve arrived at one of the area’s largest gas stations, and our destination.

Lisbon

O Primo do Queijo: Cheese Champions

The original idea was simple enough. “The plan was to make really good ham and cheese sandwiches,” explains Bruno Ribeiro of O Primo do Queijo, the Lisbon restaurant he owns with Francisco Nuno Silveira Bernardo. But rarely are things so easy.

Marseille

Zesti: A Piece of Greece in Marseille

We wind our way through the narrow streets of the Cours Julien, filled with warm-weather revelers who gather in the lively neighborhood’s bars and restaurants. Tonight our destination is Rue des Trois Rois (Three Kings Street), where we have dinner reservations at Zesti, a Greek restaurant that opened in fall 2024. The small, quaint room is already packed with diners. We are quickly greeted by Fiola Lecuyer, Zesti’s co-owner and charming front-of-the-house extraordinaire. She moves through the crowded room with the grace of a dancer and somehow manages to remember everyone’s name.

Tokyo

Taniya: Udon With Bounce

There’s a pocket of Tokyo, strolling distance from the stock exchange and the former commercial center, which feels like a step back in time. Ningyocho is filled with stores specializing in traditional crafts, some more than 100 years old. Here you can buy rice crackers or traditional Japanese sweets or head for a kimono, before watching kabuki (traditional Japanese theater) at Meijiza. On Ningyocho’s main street, just a few minutes from Suitengu Shrine which couples visit to pray to conceive a child or for safe childbirth, is a window. The window isn’t very wide, but a flurry of movement draws the attention of passersby. There, a broad-faced Kazuyuki Tani is making udon, bouncing – no, dancing – as he works.

Seoul

Pyeongando Mandujip: Dumplings from the North

North and South Korea may be separated by a heavily fortified border, but there’s a culinary link that defies that separation. In fact, there are many types of North Korean foods that are popular in South Korea, and dumplings are one of them. Korean dumplings share a similar shape with Chinese jiaozi and baozi, as well as Japanese gyoza, and are all referred to as mandu in Korea. Due to the colder climate, rice cultivation is less viable in North Korea, leading to a greater reliance on flour- and buckwheat-based dishes. Mandu, made from wheat flour dough, is a staple food in the north, typically larger, more rustic, and filled with a generous mixture of tofu and mung bean sprouts. Compared to South Korean mandu, North Korean-style dumplings are known for being milder and more comforting.

Rio

Quiosque do Português: A Funky Caipirinha Hut Grows Up

It might have become one of the more fashionable places in Rio for a caipirinha, yet the simple name of this father-son joint – “Portuguese Kiosk” – suggests humility. Indeed, the pair got their start a decade ago in one of the numerous huts that line the city’s beaches. While the majority of their competitors served the tasty, tried-and-true Rio basics – traditional caipirinhas made with cachaça; beer, and French fries – to sandy-toed beachgoers, Manoel Alves wanted to offer something different.

Istanbul

Stay or Go: Istanbul’s Syrian Food Scene After Assad

For years, Syrian chef Syliman Al-Abiad didn’t dare to decorate the walls of his tiny Istanbul restaurant with the Syrian opposition flag that became a symbol of the protests against the regime in 2011. “My parents are still in Syria, and Assad was very cruel,” he explains, referring to the recently fallen Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad. Al-Abiad smiles when he points towards the two black-white-green flags with three red stars now hanging in the windows, the first thing that catches one’s eye in Abu Shamso, his basement restaurant.

Naples

Caffè Diaz: Fresh Take on a Tradition

Naples is often celebrated as having a long-established coffee heritage whose fame is deeply grounded in a number of cherished rituals and literary tributes. But savoring a proper Neapolitan espresso at a café could prove to be a challenging experience for an unaware visitor: usually served in a scalding coffee cup, the hyper-concentrated concoction is very strong and intense, with a fiercely bitter edge, and it’s gone in just one sip. Neapolitans like their coffee "with the three Cs," meaning caldo (hot), comodo (no rush), and carico (strong, to give you a boost), and they indulge in it many times a day. One of the city’s most heartwarming traditions is caffè sospeso, the widespread habit – now also applied to pizza – of paying for one additional cup to ensure that even a person in need can be granted his daily shot.

Guadalajara

The Essentials: Where We Eat In Guadalajara

Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco, is beloved as the birthplace of such Mexican icons as tequila and mariachi music. The city is a treat for the senses, a place that stokes the desire to see, smell, and taste everything it has to offer. As for the latter, it could take a lifetime – or a great many visits – to work your way through the delicious and varied specialties found here. Founded in Western Mexico in 1542 as a hub for regional trade, Guadalajara became a melting pot of culinary influences – and there’s a range of different kinds of places to discover them all.

Bangkok

First Stop: Dylan Jones’s Bangkok

Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring First Stop feature, we asked chef Dylan Jones about his favorite spot in Bangkok. Dylan opened Bangkok restaurant Bo.lan in 2009 with his partner, chef Duangporn “Bo” Songvisava. Bo.lan has become a Bangkok institution, receiving critical acclaim for its stance on sustainable practices while at the same time building an intricate web of connections through their suppliers, farmers, and local artisans. Dylan has completely immersed himself in his adopted homeland, speaking the language fluently and together with Bo, has amassed a unique collection of antique Thai recipes which they bring to life through their restaurants and various side projects.

San Sebastian

Bodega Klandestina: The Natural Wine Hideout

Among the small streets and throughout the hidden corners of San Sebastian, young entrepreneurs sow courageous projects that are reshaping how wine is enjoyed in this city. Among them is José Vergarajáuregui, who opened Bodega Klandestina in 2022 in an abandoned car mechanic’s garage nestled in the folds of the Gros neighborhood. In a region tightly bound by tradition, he felt inspired to pave the way for new trends, tired as he was of seeing the same kind of wines served in most of the bars in town.

Istanbul

Kavurmacı Goze: Slow-Cooked in Sirkeci

Right in the heart of Istanbul's historic Sirkeci quarter are an equal number of tourist traps and gems. At the former, overly eager employees shove menus in your face and pressure you to sit down for an average, overpriced döner kebab on a crowded corner. The latter are the exact opposite; tucked away on ground floors in unlikely alleys, hidden in plain view. Just beneath the looming Deutsche Orientbank – a masterwork built over a century ago and crowned with a copper dome that long ago took on a turquoise hue – is Kavurmacı Goze, a small, elegantly designed restaurant with only one thing on the menu: kavurma (braised beef).

Bilbao

Monty: Basque Classic

Monty sits just a couple of blocks from the Guggenheim Museum, yet it remains largely unknown to the international public. Nestled on a lively corner of Bilbao’s Ensanche district, it’s one of those bars that encapsulates the city’s character: traditional yet open to change, classic in its presentation, and deeply serious when it comes to food and drink. The area surrounding Monty has become a trendy hotspot for taverns, restaurants, and cocktail bars, home to some of the most daring culinary ventures in the local scene. Within just a few blocks, you can find haute cuisine establishments, seafood sanctuaries, international kitchens or aspirational bistros. Most of these places have emerged around the past decade, fueled by the city’s growing tourism sector.

Rio

Confeitaria Colombo: Pastries over Bikinis

For a city whose natural beauty is what often sweeps visitors off their feet, Rio’s historical gems often look a little like urban ugly ducklings next to the bikini crowds and chic bars on sandy Ipanema beach. That’s a shame, because Rio Antigo has a great story to tell. Old Rio runs along the Guanabara Bay rather than the open Atlantic, and it was the former that gave the city its name – River of January – when Portuguese explorers came upon it in the first month of 1502.

New Orleans

Domilise’s: Po’boy Royalty

New Orleans is full of surprises, but the beauty of Domilise’s is that it’s exactly what you’d expect from a po’boy joint. Located uptown on Annunciation Street, the yellow house on the corner has been serving up food for the neighborhood along the Mississippi Riverbend for over a hundred years. We watch as customers line up below the hand-painted wood sign to get a taste of straightforward sustenance. There are no shortcuts here: tasty “debris” – the tender bits of meat that fall off a roast beef – are cooked for hours into gravy before Mary Lou and her team generously ladle it atop crisp loaves of Leidenheimer (a local brand of French bread that’s been around even longer than Domilise’s).

Naples

CB on the Road: Along the Amalfi Coast’s Path of the Lemons

Two-and-a-half kilometers of curves and narrow alleys at 150 meters above sea level. Breathtaking views overlooking the sea. A coast dominated by the blue of the sky and dotted with arabesque domes. All around is the unmistakable perfume of the sfusato amalfitano – the Amalfi lemon.

Tbilisi

Chinese Snack: Culinary Ambassador

Tbilisi’s self-proclaimed first Chinese restaurant opened in 1998, with a competitor following a few years later. Both restaurants remained the only gastronomic reference for local Georgians seeking East Asian flavors for decades. The food, while decent at both establishments, seemed to model the style originally concocted by early Chinese immigrants to the US, with cornstarch and oyster sauce-heavy, sweet-and-sour sauces dominating the menu, and spice levels adapted to the sensitive western palate. The opening of Xinjian Sasadilo in 2018 marked a change, as it was one of the first local eateries in Tbilisi to serve authentic western Chinese dishes, with their signature hand pulled Uighur noodles and dry chili and star anise-infused spicy chicken dapanji.