The Best Places in the United States

Josephine is an Italian-American restaurant and bar in Avondale, and it skips the ripped-up booths and recycled bruschetta that haunt so many red-sauce rooms around Jacksonville. The owner's late grandmother watches over the dining room from a portrait, which keeps everyone's table manners in check. Expect a big caesar, truffle fries, saucy pastas, and a house negroni. The rigatoni alla vodka has been on the menu since day one.

Blue corn tortillas made with help from the chef's mother is a pretty good origin story for a taco shop. Julieta lives inside the historic Stutz Building, and the line sometimes wraps into the alley before the place even opens. The team built a following through years of pop-ups before landing here, and the fillings rotate, though braised brisket and al pastor tend to anchor the menu.

The house falafel recipe here is so closely guarded that the family started selling it wholesale rather than let anyone reverse-engineer it at a competitor's table. This cash-friendly falafel shop sits in Anaheim's Little Arabia District and gets properly packed at lunch, so the outdoor patio exists for good reason. The baba ganoush and hummus are the moves, though the feta fries suggest the kitchen isn't precious about tradition either.

Kasra Persian Grill is a sit-down Persian restaurant that has been feeding Houston for ages, and it does so over a charcoal grill that leaves the kabobs properly blackened at the edges. Skewers of koobideh and chicken arrive next to heaps of basmati, with the dill and fava bean rice available as an upgrade you will be glad you made. Order the eggplant dip first, since it's where the evening starts to make sense.

The chef's special grill platter arrives at the table still sizzling, and within minutes half the dining room has ordered one. This Nepalese restaurant in Windsor Heights runs on that kind of contagious momentum, with a menu that spans gentle biryanis and curries on one end and assertively spiced tandoori meats and tikkas on the other. The owner is famously present, and first-timers rarely leave as strangers.

The frozen custard is the name on the sign, but the jumbo burgers are the reason regulars make the drive to the suburbs. This is a classic drive-in counter spot: charry-edged patties on soft starchy buns, draped in melty processed cheese, with a toppings menu that quietly doubles as a personality test. The custard handles dessert. The go-to move, per local consensus, is eating all of it in the car.

A pond out front sets the tone at this casual Korean barbecue spot in North Shoal Creek, where the room feels genuinely domestic in the best sense. Tabletop grills handle galbi and duck, a long banchan spread fills the gaps, and the traditional menu runs to budae jjigae, kimbap, and kimchi jeon for anyone not in the mood to tend a fire. Cold sake or yuja ade to drink, group tables throughout.

The roast beef Manhattan, a pile of roasted chuck and mashed potatoes drowned in gravy, tells you everything you need to know about this soul food diner on North College. Barack Obama ate here before he was Barack Obama, and the regulars have never let the place forget it. A fire in 2020 took the famously uneven floors but not the rib tips or the neck bones, and the rebuilt room now seats 500 and has a full bar.

Edible flowers scattered across the rolls give away that this Georgetown sushi spot isn't playing it straight. Tucked into Cady's Alley, Kyojin is the flashier sibling of an Arlington raw fish staple, with a full kitchen that lets the Bangkok-born chef push into hot izakaya territory alongside the maki. Truffle wasabi and torched wagyu over uni are the kinds of details that either excite you or make you very tired, depending on the day.

A Parisian-inspired wine bar and grocery that has been around forever, La Buvette rotates its menu of French everyday food daily: mussels, roasted chicken, house-made sausage, cheese plates, and well-priced wine. The sister spot next door handles sandwiches, charcuterie, and fresh bread. A once-temporary patio has become permanent, which tells you something about how the neighborhood feels about the place.

Colombian empanadas next to lamb Bolognese next to butter chicken, and somehow none of it fights. La Merenda was doing international small plates in Walker's Point before the neighborhood caught up, and the reservations-required dining room still draws the crowd that doesn't need a theme explained to them. The goat cheese curds in chorizo cream sauce over crostini is the kind of thing that makes the eclectic menu feel less like a concept and more like a good idea.

The charcoal grill at this Oakland taco truck runs hot enough to split chorizo links open for maximum char, which tells you everything about the priorities here. Tijuana-style tacos, asada at the center, the smoke doing real work on every bite. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the Bay Area's best tacos, which tracks when you're standing in the little line that forms between the truck and the grill.

The line at the walk-up window is your first clue that this is a burger spot worth queuing for. It's a smash burger operation, the kind that keeps a rotating daily special on the board and double-fries the fries for good measure. The menu also runs a Philly cheesesteak riff for those who need something to argue about. A second location is coming to Highland Park.

Lao Peng You is a tiny, no-frills dumpling and noodle spot where the dumplings arrive plump, in a dried shrimp broth, and the chile oil is homemade enough to sell by the jar. Two brothers took their grandmother's lessons and ran with them, and the noodles have a pleasing chew. Seats are scarce, so arrive early or spend the wait watching other people's dinner with open envy.

A sea-monster mural by Indy artist C.S. Stanley watches over the pastry case at this neighborhood bakehouse, which a team of five local bakers opened together and never looked back. The porridge sourdough and croissants have drawn a following, and the lunch sandwiches and coffee give people an excuse to linger. Strawberry-guava Danish and pretzel croissants make the decision about what to order harder than it needs to be.

The garlic sauce at this South San Francisco sandwich shop has its own cult following, which tells you something about the commitment level here. The sandwiches are legendarily large, large enough that ordering two for yourself draws concerned looks from strangers. Bread holds everything together with more authority than the deli meats deserve. A San Francisco Chronicle pick for the Bay Area's best sandwich spots, and a genuine test of anyone nearby.

A laminated sign reading "Welcome hunters. Wild game check in available" sets the tone at this family-run butcher and smokehouse near Old Town Los Gatos. Fishermen drop off coolers of fresh catch for the smoker; vegetarians get a pickle-and-avocado sandwich and a polite smile. Order anything built around the house-smoked meat, and skip the barbecue-sauce-heavy Super Hero in favor of the Jackie Special, a maple-sugar-cured turkey and bacon situation with cheddar and avocado.

The gumbo here has been a Detroit obsession for decades, a shrimp-and-sausage situation thickened with okra and a proprietary spice blend nobody's giving up the recipe for. This is a carryout counter spot, casual and no-frills, with jambalaya, red beans and rice, and shrimp po'boys on crackly baguettes rounding out a menu that stays squarely in the Louisiana lane. Order at the counter, take it home, and resist eating it in the car.

The décor alone earns a look: VHS tapes, paint-by-numbers, and a vintage arcade game pile up like a garage sale that never ended. But Love Handle is a breakfast and brunch spot on Mass Ave, and the food keeps pace with the room. Braised meats and fried chicken sandwiches share the menu with hanger steak and eggs, while the pastry case runs to tart cherry-pistachio brownies and espresso-maple cheesecake. Weekends fill early.

A microbrewery that taps new seasonal sours, stouts, and IPAs several times a month, Lua also happens to fly in fresh-caught seafood, because why not. The kitchen, led by a chef who trained at Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago and the Bay Area, turns out Dungeness crab cakes alongside burgers, wings, and caviar. Named after a Staffordshire bull terrier, which tells you the vibe is relaxed enough that nobody's keeping score.

The Iowa State Capitol dome glows through the windows of this airy, upscale Italian dining room in Des Moines's East Village, which lends the place an accidental grandeur nobody planned. Lunch runs to pasta, sandwiches, and salads. Dinner is a four-course prix fixe that reads far more serious than the tab suggests. The gnocchi are the kind that make you briefly resent every other gnocchi you've eaten.

The Ohio fruitwood smoke is the tell: Michael Symon's barbecue spot on East Fourth Street cooks low and slow, and the brisket and ribs come out of the pit the way they're supposed to. It's a big, lively industrial saloon where meat is sold by the pound or piled into sandwiches, and the bourbon selection is long enough to keep you deliberating well past dinner. Grab a patio table in good weather and watch the street do its thing.

Coral pinks and oversized floral motifs set the tone at this upscale Japanese restaurant inside Bal Harbour Shops, where the charcoal robata runs alongside serious sushi and sashimi. The sake list is extensive, and the cocktail side takes a few detours through mezcal and hibiscus without losing the plot. The room draws a crowd that treats shopping as a warm-up act.

The room was a bank once, and it still looks like money, with soaring beaux arts ceilings, massive pillars, and ironwork that makes you straighten up just walking in. Marble Room is a prime steakhouse and raw bar doing caviar, seafood towers, and serious cuts in one of Cleveland's grandest spaces. Live music fills the room on weekends, which somehow fits the scale perfectly.

Corn pancakes, crispy-edged and dusted with cotija, are the reason the line forms early at this Seward neighborhood breakfast cafe. Colombian dishes like arepas and paisa bowls share the menu with a full parade of pancakes, so the table next to you might be having a very different morning. It's a casual, cash-register-and-coffee-mug kind of spot, warm in the way that neighborhood regulars make a place warm.

A 20-barrel brewhouse visible right behind the bar sets the tone at this brewery and casual restaurant in a handsome old warehouse near downtown. The house beers run from approachable lagers to a double IPA with a name that suggests it means business, and a wood-burning oven turns out Neapolitan-style pizzas alongside pretzels big enough to share whether you planned to or not.

Mayday is a hard ice cream shop on Hendricks Avenue where the flavors read more like side dishes, with corn ice cream under hot honey cornbread croutons and lavender paired with citrus cream and shortbread. The six-scoop flight is the move for groups who can't agree, and a rotating boozy flavor, bourbon-soaked on a good day, handles the grown-ups. Cones are a few dollars, and nobody here is in a hurry.

Shakshuka and a Negroni sounds like a contradiction until you sit down at Mayfield, a modern Mediterranean restaurant in San Juan Capistrano where Levantine and North African flavors run alongside classic California instincts. The menu moves from Turkish eggs with labneh at brunch to za'atar fried chicken at dinner, with a harissa-aioli burger at happy hour for anyone who needs convincing. The cocktail list keeps pace.

A small cut-out in the kitchen door lets you watch each dumpling wrapper get rolled, filled, and pleated by hand before it hits the boiling water. This tiny Chinese restaurant in a Point Loma strip mall specializes in dumplings from Liaoning province, alongside Dongbei beef noodle soup and rougamo flatbread sandwiches. The boba tea is made with muddled fresh fruit, which sounds like an afterthought until you order one.

Mémère's is a French bistro tucked inside the Neptune Hotel, dim and cozy, with off-white walls tinted to suggest decades of Gauloises that never happened. The menu is short and the wine list stretches to a $600 magnum of champagne, so dress for a date or an anniversary. Upstairs sleep is available, and the karaoke bar on the ground floor handles anyone who isn't ready to be reasonable.

Gold, green, and burgundy set the tone in this full-service American grill downtown, where the menu swings wide from pasta and sushi to steaks and craft cocktails. It's the restaurant group's attempt to gather everything they've learned across their other spots under one roof, which sounds like a hedge but mostly works. The Pyro burger and a French dip riff pull regulars back to the sandwich menu.

Tori paitan, a creamy Japanese white chicken broth, is the anchor at this intimate ramen shop tucked inside Dun Huang Plaza. Mensho runs just thirty seats, so the line forms fast and the room stays loud. The noodles are springy, the duck is smoky, and the soft-boiled egg arrives at exactly the right wobble. A ramen shop where every topping feels deliberate rather than decorative.

A food truck parked outside an auto repair shop on South First, Mi Lindo Apatzingán serves the kind of hyper-regional Michoacán cooking that doesn't turn up often anywhere in the Bay Area. The birria de lengua taco, beef tongue simmered in adobo until it collapses into sticky cubes, is the thing to order. Morisqueta, rice under soupy beans with stewed ribs, is worth the detour on its own. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the best tacos in the Bay Area.