The Best Places in the United States

Parakeet Cafe is a counter-service salad spot in Carmel Valley's Paseo Place, one outpost of a small California chain with bird motifs on the walls and a laidback, flip-flops-acceptable energy. The salads run to crispy brown rice and turmeric dressing rather than sad iceberg, and anything can be upgraded with chicken, tofu, or avocado. Eater has named it one of the best salads in San Diego, which is a sentence that exists.

Coal-fired slice shops don't come much more old-school than this Upper West Side institution, where a whole pie still runs under $20 and the coal oven has been doing the same thing forever. The thin, soft crust holds big rounds of aged mozzarella, and the received wisdom here is to order it plain, because the pizza doesn't need your help. The pale outer edge is fine; everything inside it makes the case.

Peanut Park Trattoria is a red-sauce Italian spot on Taylor Street, run by the people behind Coalfire Pizza, and it's the kind of place where the meatballs arrive before you've finished deciding. The room leans into the theme with a wine-cave wall and enough memorabilia to qualify as a small museum. Walk to the back for the Tony Fitzpatrick art, then order the baked ziti, which comes with 'nduja.

This is a counter-service burger joint in Lower Nob Hill where napkins sit on every table, which is less hospitality than a warning. The patties come in beef, turkey, chicken, or veggie, and the bigger plays involve hot dogs or housemade chili stacked on top. Dress for sauce, because the barbecue pineapple one tends to travel down the wrist. White shirts are a bold choice here.

Mood lighting, a contemporary soundtrack, and Vietnamese-influenced food that slides easily into a night out, which is exactly what Peridot is angling for. The ketchup-fried rice, drawn from the chef's childhood, sounds like a gimmick until it arrives and you stop talking. Green papaya salad comes with beef jerky, the grilled seabream is built for sharing, and the cocktails are serious enough to stay for. Book ahead on Tock.

String lights, happy green plants, and shelves of natural wine with wacky labels set the tone at this Columbia City aperitivo bar and bottle shop. It lives next door to Italian restaurant La Medusa, which means a lot of people wander in for a quick pre-dinner drink and end up staying. The chalkboard runs deep on amari and bitter red spritzes, with prosecco for anyone who prefers their aperitivo without the herbal lecture.

Piccolo Sogno is a sit-down Italian restaurant in River West, and its main trick is a lush garden patio that makes you forget Halsted Street exists. The name means "little dream," which is a lot to put on a menu of wood-fired pizzas and pasta, but the kitchen manages. Pasta comes in appetizer-sized portions, a gift to anyone who orders for the table and then argues about it. Eater lists it among Chicago's best Italian spots.

A chalkboard behind the counter maps exactly which farm each cut of meat came from, which tells you most of what you need to know about this counter-service BBQ shop tucked inside a Corte Madera mall. The ribs arrive with an obsidian crust and pink flesh underneath, the pulled pork is rich and salty, and a lineup of ten house condiments covers everything from Alabama white sauce to chow chow relish. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, suburban strip mall and all.

Pizano's is a casual deep-dish pizzeria in the Gold Coast, part of the small chain run by a son of the Malnati family, which in Chicago pizza circles is roughly the equivalent of royalty with better cheese. The crust comes from a recipe the owner's mother developed, and the sausage, mushroom, onion, and green pepper pie is the one to order. Eater lists it among Chicago's best deep-dish. Expect a long bake and no regrets about sitting still.

A casual BYOB pizzeria in a Gray Street strip-center suite, where a wood-fired oven runs around 900 degrees and turns out Neapolitan pies in a couple of minutes. The menu keeps going after the red and white pies, with New York and Detroit styles and a stuffed pie that's mostly cheese and ambition. Bring your own wine, since the corkscrew is the only thing between you and a very good Tuesday. Eater lists it among Houston's best pizza spots.

Pizza Matta is a small Logan Square pizzeria from the team behind Giant and Chef's Special, which tells you the people running it have opinions about pie. You build your own 16-inch pizza from red, white, or green sauce, then pile on things like mortadella or caramelized pineapple, no judgment. Seating is limited, so order online and take the whole project home. Eater has it on its list of Chicago's tavern-style thin-crust spots.

The crusts here crack audibly when you bite into them, which sounds like a small thing until you're at a table in Windsor wondering why most pizza doesn't do that. Pizzaleah is a NY-style slice shop where Leah Scurto handles the dough personally, and the brick oven leaves a char on the underside that keeps everything from going soft. The San Francisco Chronicle named it one of Sonoma County's best restaurants. Hot honey and Calabrian chile pies share the menu with the unironic classics.

Neapolitan-style pizzeria next door to the famously pricey Frasca, which tells you something about the neighborhood and also about the price gap. The pies have that crusty-chewy pull that Naples devotees argue about endlessly, and the butterscotch budino has built a quiet cult of its own. The wine list leans Southern Italy, the salads are more elegant than a pizza place has any business offering, and the garlic knots make a strong case for skipping the entree entirely.

The banana pudding has its own billing, which tells you something about the confidence level at this old-school Houston barbecue joint. Brisket shows up in everything from enchiladas to queso to mac and cheese, which is either inspired or a hint that someone really, really loves brisket. The room has been around forever, passed through several hands, and still draws the kind of crowd that doesn't need to see a menu.

An ice cream brand built around the flavors of the African diaspora, PLK1848 sells its pints online with pickup in the Heights, the address arriving by email after you order. The caramel Buckshot comes loaded with Ethiopian praline and chocolate stracciatella; the Zobo hibiscus sorbet pulls from West African tradition. Every pint doubles as a history lesson, which is a thing you can say about very few freezer items.

Potente is a fine-dining Italian restaurant across the street from the ballpark, which means the bar fills with people in jerseys making a plan for the evening. The spaghetti al tartufo gets its truffles shaved over the plate right at your table, a bit of theater that suits a place owned by the Astros guy. Expect linen-adjacent prices and a dress code of whatever you wore to the game, within reason.

They take your phone at the door, lock it away, and mean it. Hidden behind a casual sandwich cafe downtown, Powder Room is an art deco speakeasy where table service and reservations are both required, which sets the tone. Cocktails run from light and herbal to firmly stirred, and the menu is organized by mood rather than spirit. A good place to be present, as they say, whether you planned that or not.

Prep & Pastry is a sunny, white-washed brunch spot near Fashion Square, the Scottsdale outpost of a Tucson original, with a menu that runs to dossants, which are exactly what they sound like. Expect a cast iron duck confit, a chickpea scramble, and a Monte Cristo built on herb brioche French toast with pineapple and jalapeño mascarpone. It opens at 8 a.m. daily, and Eater has put it on a list of Phoenix brunches.

Prime 131 is a moody Timbergrove steakhouse where four wood-fired grills sit in the middle of the dining room, so your dinner gets cooked in front of you like a very confident science fair. You pick the cut and the wood, post oak, bourbon, or pecan, and the check will reflect those decisions. Dessert comes with theatrics, including a Basque cheesecake delivered tableside in curls of smoke.

Professor Pizza is a casual West Town pizzeria run by a competitive pizza maker, which means the pies come with a résumé. The tavern-style thin crust cuts to cracker-snap, and the deluxe pepperoni gets hot honey and whipped ricotta, as if the sausage needed a little more going on. The Grand Avenue spot adds two more pie styles, and the pizzas turn up backstage at comedy clubs around town. Eater includes it among Chicago's best tavern-style thin-crust spots.

Complimentary valet parking at a Greek taverna in Lincolnwood is either a punchline or a promise, and Psistaria delivers on both. White tablecloths and a long menu of Mediterranean staples, from saganaki and gyros to grilled octopus and broiled whole fish, make it the kind of place that works for a birthday or a Tuesday. The wine list leans heavily Greek, the ouzo flows, and the servers know the menu well enough that you don't have to.

Pueblo Nuevo is a casual Portage Park spot built around Mexican street food, where the pambazo, a soft roll dunked in red guajillo sauce and stuffed with fried potato, is the kind of sandwich that ends any argument about whether bread can be a main character. The pozole runs green, made with tomatillos and chicken, and you set the heat yourself. Eater put it on its list of Chicago's best Mexican restaurants.

The back room contains a garden, a small bookstore, and a podcast studio, which tells you nearly everything about Queeny's vibe before you've even ordered. It's a casual sandwich and drinks spot in downtown Durham, the kind of place that stays open when everywhere else has called it a night. The birria French dip and a pork chop-banh mi hybrid keep regulars coming back, and the cocktail list is blessedly short and unfussy.

A glass case of house-made jalebi, burfi, and laddoo greets you before you've even found a seat at this old-school Indian sweets shop and snack counter in the Gandhi District. Samosas, pakora, and pani puri share the menu with full curry and tandoori service at lunch and dinner, though most people never make it past the front counter, which is arguably the whole point.

The giant rooftop donut made Randy's a Los Angeles landmark long before the chain showed up in the Valley, and the Gilbert shop carries the same energy: a bright display case packed with vivid, glazed options and a drive-thru line that moves faster than you'd expect. It's a classic donut shop, which means cheap, cheerful, and open early. The maple cake and cinnamon crumb cake are the regulars' picks, but the matcha raised donut is hard to walk past.

A no-frills counter in the ground floor of the Central Building that's been scooping rice bowls since before poke was a personality type. Red Bowls runs nearly 50 variations, from eight styles of bibimbap to bulgogi, fish, tempura, and vegetarian options, all piled high and served fast. No website, no fuss, and a line that moves. Seattle Met named it one of the city's top lunch spots, which tracks.

Fútbol scarves and pennants cover the walls at this family-run counter spot in a Boulder strip mall, where the empanadas come stuffed with steak and olives or mozzarella and tomato. The choripán with chimichurri is the other reason to go. They pour yerba mate, post soccer match times on Instagram, and the whole thing reads less like a restaurant than someone's living room that happens to sell food.