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Best known by locals for its stunning views of the Canadian Rockies (nab a seat by the giant windows to make other diners jealous!), the Bison’s best-kept secret is its addictive dinner and Sunday brunch menus. Chefs Liz and Kirk are geniuses at creating special dishes that show off the region’s bounty, like bison carpaccio, venison striploin with maple parsnip purée, and a bison breakfast sandwich with bison sausage, fried egg, and foie gras butter. Ask the servers for help pairing the perfect regional beer or national wine with your order—they know their stuff.

The food at the Wawona Hotel is unfussy and satisfying, whether you choose dinner in the Victorian-era dining room, lunch on the veranda, or the summer Saturday barbecues on the big lawn. Dinner specialties range from smoked salmon cakes and cornmeal-crusted trout to flatiron steak and pot roast, while lunchtime fare includes tried-and-true favorites like chicken sandwiches, wedge salads, burgers, and pasta. For even more casual options, the bar-lounge offers bites like caramelized-onion-and-pear tarts, cheese samplers, and turkey-and-bacon sandwiches that you can enjoy on the terrace. Note: This restaurant is open seasonally.

Upon first entering the famed blue doors of Per Se, located inside the Time Warner Center overlooking Central Park, the dining room has the air of a wake, filled stiff collars and hushed tones. But no matter the attitude, the fact is that everyone in the dining room waited at least a month for this moment. At Per Se, you can only make a reservation one month in advance (maximum), and, if you procrastinate a day or two (say 28 or days or less before your desired date) you’ve likely missed your chance. (Do take note that you cannot cancel a reservation within seven days without being charged $175 per seat reserved.) This is an experience that will last up to four hours, where you are served from five to nine courses (depending on the menu you select), with many surprises in between, including personalized menus with your name and event (if you’re celebrating anything) on each. Now, if you’re still interested and not frightened away by the potential cost, then you’re in for an amazing afternoon or evening of small plates with the most amazing tastes you’ll ever come across. Do not be deterred by the portion sizes as you will most certainly leave full. It might even be best if you arrive on the borderline of famished, as it is a crime to leave anything behind.

Located on Buffalo’s West Side, this farm-to-table favorite comes courtesy of award-winning chefs Steve and Ellen Gedra. Here, the menu changes daily to highlight locally sourced produce and sustainably raised meat, so diners are guaranteed something new every time they visit. Dishes are simple and straightforward to let their ingredients shine, while cocktails incorporate unique spirits like lavender gin and bacon-washed bourbon. Go for dinner and pair the vegetable lasagna with a classic manhattan, or swing by at brunch for the BS Griddle sandwich, featuring eggs, cheese, hash browns, and your choice of bacon or sausage sandwiched between two pancakes.

Forget any notions you have about boring vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry milkshakes. At Holsteins in The Cosmopolitan, milkshakes are given an innovative twist, and many of them have a spirited, high-proof kick. At its roots, this is a diner-style eatery, so the menu consists of burgers and finger-friendly sandwiches, but none of these meals is made complete without a funky cool treat. Among the favorites on the menu are Drunken Monkey, Frozen Grasshopper, Black Cow Float and Cereal Bowl. If a shake doesn’t sound appealing, an incredibly extensive beer, wine and cocktail list is available.

If the name of this place reminds you of the Boston landmark, you’re on to something. It was named after Steuben’s, a Beantown hot spot from the 1940s well into the ’60s, known for jazz, big band shows, and parties. Steuben’s in Denver aspires to all that. The restaurant serves American comfort food like meat loaf, chicken and waffles, milkshakes, and lobster rolls in a retro-groovy diner setting. The formula has proven so successful that another location in nearby Arvada opened in 2016.

On Main Street in downtown Bozeman, the Garage is a funky place for a casual meal. Car parts hung on the walls and license-plate-frame menus (not to mention the name of the place) reveal the eatery’s former life as a fix-it shop. Now the space serves suped up diner fare such as bison burgers with grilled mushrooms and Swiss cheese. Be sure to visit the self-serve “soup shack” where the cooks’ latest creations might include sausage and mustard, green chili pork, or Thai coconut soup. Save room for a huckleberry ice cream dessert.

How to choose between sweet potato biscuits, truffle grits, and the free-range lamb meatloaf sandwich? Try them all! (Just kidding) As a solo diner, I skipped the sweet potato biscuits (sadly). The grits and sandwich looked and tasted like perfection, to the point where two passersby commented how delicious the sandwich looked and ended up eating there. Outdoor seating in a petite pedestrian mall makes for lovely ambience as well. No loud motorcycles here!

From its location in Denver’s Union Station, Mercantile Dining & Provision makes delicious and nutritious meals accessible to commuters and travelers passing through. This is the second eatery by Alex Seidel, a committed restaurateur who purchased a farm east of Denver to better understand the journey food takes from field to plate. The on-site market offers artisan-made provisions from spices and pickled beets to jams and jellies to coffee and potato chips. In the dining room, chef and partner Matt Vawter serves dinners so good you may miss your train—the spicy mussels (served in a tomato-butter broth perfect for mopping up with bread to console yourself after the shellfish and fennel sausage are gone), the housemade pastas, or the rotating selection of fire-roasted meat and fish entrees, can make the most fastidious traveler lose track of time.

Overlooking iconic Bondi Beach, Icebergs is arguably Sydney’s most scenic restaurant. The food, from local shrimp to braised beef cheeks, lives up to the setting. 1 Notts Ave., Bondi Beach, 61/(0) 2-9365-9000. This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue.

Ask any Montrealer the question “Which is the fanciest restaurant in town?” and chances are Toqué! will be a frequent answer. Indeed, quite fancy. But also quite expensive. Luckily, chef Charles-Antoine Crête, once mentored by Toqué’s Normand Laprise, decided that a more accessible and younger version of the famous restaurant would fit perfectly well with the new Place des Festivals—in style, location, and ambience. And he wasn’t wrong. I always go for the beef tartare, and not once have I been disappointed. The menu changes according to the season, but there is a constancy in quality, regardless of the time of the year. This is definitely the best way to get a taste of Montreal‘s finest, sans the waiting list and the steep check.

Martinique’s Route Des Rhums is something of the ultimate single island rum tour. The big reason for this being there are 10 different distilleries spread across Martinique’s 425 square miles! TEN! Two of the best are Distillerie Neisson and Plantations Saint James Martinique. All of them produce what’s called rhum agricole, but all you need to know is Martinique rums are the only rums in the world that have been granted the prestigious Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) designation. Awarded by the French government agency Institut National des Appellations d’Origine (INAO) in recognition of the finest agricultural products (wines, cheeses, butters, etc), the AOC designation is an incomparable stamp of excellence in the culinary and spirits world.

Why we love it: A wilderness retreat full of natural beauty and rustic luxury

The Highlights:
- A wide range of accommodations, including luxurious glamping tents
- More than enough activities to keep the entire family entertained
- A spectacular spa with fireplaces in each treatment room

The Review:
Nestled deep in the Ozark Mountains, Big Cedar Lodge was built in the early 1920s as a lavish country retreat for two prominent Missourians. It was purchased in 1987 by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, who turned it into a fishing camp, then converted it to a high-end wilderness resort spread over 4,600 acres of wooded hollows. Today, it’s a popular place to connect with the great outdoors—amid some serious luxury. Overlooking the blue-green Table Rock Lake, the resort is focused on water recreation, offering activities like fishing, water-skiing, tubing, and rides on just about any boat you could imagine. A favorite choice is the Goin’ Jessi, an exact replica of a 1934 Chris-Craft named after Waylon Jennings’s wife, on which guests can take hour-long tours with champagne. Also on-site are two full-service marinas, four golf courses, and a 50,000-square-foot entertainment center with everything from go-karts, bumper cars, and laser tag to a ropes course, bowling alley, arcade, and climbing wall.

When visitors aren’t busy having fun, they’re spending quality time in Big Cedar Lodge’s plentiful accommodations, which range from lodge rooms to cottages to private log cabins with stone fireplaces, private decks, and jetted tubs. For something really unique, however, book an overnight experience at Camp Long Creek, an area just minutes from Big Cedar with camp huts, cabins, and glamping units right on the lake. (Outfitted with king canopy beds, chandeliers, and outdoor living spaces with a fire pit, shower, and galvanized tub for alfresco bathing, the tents are particularly exceptional.) Dining options are equally varied, from a casual café to a fine-dining restaurant to a wine-and-whiskey cellar. Still, the Cedar Creek Spa & Salon is alone worth a visit, thanks to its beautiful stained glass windows, hand-hewn timber ceiling, and stone floors crowned by chandeliers. There’s even an ice room and a candlelit grotto with body jets, plus 12 treatment rooms equipped with fireplaces and robes that are warmed up for post-treatment relaxation.

Located in the Koukaki neighborhood, rustic Fabrika tou Efrosinou is all about tradition and simplicity. Fine wines—many made by the chef’s wife—accompany savory pies, plump cracked wheat meatballs, and other seasonal dishes that nod to various regions in Greece.

The historic leather goods company Rossi & Caruso is considered the Hermès of Argentina. Its Recoleta shop attracts horse enthusiasts and serious riders with its fine-quality saddles and horse-related gear. Non-equestrians visit for the buttery leather jackets and purses.