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Wandering Chef: Julian Medina in Oaxaca City

Food trucks filled with the best fish tacos and seafood dot the roadways around Honolulu and the Island of Oahu. From downtown to the North Shore, trucks serve up sweets, burgers, bentos, shrimp, and fish tacos. Some sit in a fixed spot in the capital; others roam around Oahu; and several function as the catering arm of a stand-alone restaurant.

This restaurant feels like you stepped back in time - think Mexico in the 70s. The story goes - it all began in the VW van in Playa del Carmen. Tacombi used to sell tacos out of the van, and now he has a nice, cozy spot in Soho where the van is parked. It’s a garage with lights strung in the air. It just feels cool to be in. The design is great, but the food is even better. Virtually any tacos you order are wonderful. I also recommend the guacamole appetizer - yum! And don’t leave without ordering a drink.

This urban icon started as a hippie food truck housed in a surf shop parking lot on Vancouver Island. It has since blossomed into three restaurants, two burrito bars, a taco joint, and two food trucks, located everywhere from Hastings-Sunrise and Yaletown to Gastown and the Financial District. Chef Stefan Hartmann, who once ran a Michelin-starred restaurant in Berlin, now captains these elevated spots along with founder Jason Sussman. Expect nuanced options like chorizo-kale, pork al pastor with pineapple, and chicken with pickled vegetables, all on soft wheat tortillas for six to seven dollars. Also noteworthy are the meat-free dishes like “vegetable scrapple”—a delicious fritter of squash and chickpeas, topped with herbed tomatoes. And don’t overlook the octopus tostada—Tacofino not only sources seafood sustainably but also participates in Vancouver’s Climate Smart program and is working toward being a zero-waste business.

With college kids and tech bigwigs jostling for seats at hard-to-get tables, Austin continues to lead in all manner of restaurants, diners, and food truck offerings. Tex brisket in a Mex taco? Pasta made from grain milled on-site? A five-star meal served in a repurposed gas station? It all tastes good in Austin.

Located in an alley behind Dady’O, this taquéria dishes up the best arrachera and tacos al pastor in the hotel zone, and the price is right. The atmosphere is laid back and can be noisy, but it’s been a longtime favorite with locals and tourists alike. Since it’s located in the “party zone” near many of Cancun’s major nightclubs, you’ll find it to be especially busy after the clubs close. This popular place is open from mid-day until after sunrise, so if you’re in need of a late night snack, this is the place to be. Keep an eye on your check as waiters tend to “pad” the bill in order to get higher tips.

Casual meals like tacos and pizza reign in San Diego, but chefs are getting more creative with the city’s unparalleled produce and easy access to fresh seafood and fish.

From restaurants that lean traditionally Mexican to others that veer off into Japanese and Argentinian menus, Los Cabos delivers big flavors. Both San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas are as much dining destinations as they are beach spots. Yes, there are tacos. But there are also fine dining restaurants you’ll remember for their fresh local seafood and farm to table delights.

Mexico’s Pacific Coast is where Mexican beach tourism began. Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán-- the names hark back to bygone eras of mid-Century Hollywood royalty and the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. The allure of Mexico’s Pacific Coast has not vanished. Old town Mazatlán overlooking the beach, Sayulita surfing and fish tacos, fun-loving Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco in all its cliff-diving glory--these magical places and more await the visitor to Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

Listing Montreal’s best restaurants is nothing short of a feat; indeed, Montreal has the second largest number of restaurants per capita in all of North America, with a new establishment setting up shop every week or so. From Italian trattorias to izakayas, from hole-in-the-wall bagel shops to classic eateries and French brasseries, to trendy Nordic-inspired and hipster-run taco shops, there is no such thing as leaving Montreal hungry.

Texas flavors are as big as the state--and its chefs bring monster-size ingenuity to the Dallas scene, summoning flavors from around the world as well as places closer to home. If you’re in the mood for barbecue, craving fare from an excellent Mexican restaurants, or want to try one of the state’s best Italian restaurants, Dallas is ready for you.

It’s easy to take kimchi beef and tempura avocado tacos for granted, now that fancy gringo taco joints are ubiquitous, but it was Taco Boy that brought the trend to Charleston in the mid-‘00s. The original location on Folly Beach stays busy with a tourist crowd, but it’s their downtown expansion—straddling the North Central and NoMo neighborhoods—that’s become a local hotspot for the recently graduated early ‘20s crowd. The location isn’t walkable, but the courtyard and spacious open layout bar stays packed with revelers who come for the hefty margaritas and extensive tequila selection. The treats are served amidst a lively biergarten-esque courtyard scene, and thoughout Taco Boy a colorful and creative décor sets the tone for a party. In addition to namesake tacos, there are pick-your-protein rice bowls, generously sized salads (the Southwest seared tuna add-on is a winner), and daily specials like a smothered burrito and chile rellenos.

Barefoot Bar is a place that’s known for just that: bare feet. Located on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, Barefoot is a Placencia staple where locals and visitors mingle, drink, and eat great Belizean food. The bar is known for the lobster grilled cheese—a huge grilled cheese sandwich stuffed with catch-of-the-day lobster. Buy two: one to eat now, and another to bring home for later. Barefoot also makes perfectly crispy salbutes, which are a great tacolike light lunch to go with your $3 drink special.

In Los Angeles, you’ll taste everything from modern food fusions to classic diners, roadside fruit stands, and global cuisine. Look to Beverly Hills for the A-List restaurants, and head downtown for a cheap, delicious meal from one of L.A.'s signature food trucks.

The spirit of Jacques Cousteau is very much alive at this Encinitas restaurant, which specializes in tacos filled with local fish, organic meat, and fresh vegetables. The Cousteau taco—featuring catch of the day (like California halibut) with cumin-lime crema, mango salsa, and cabbage slaw—should be in the running for San Diego’s best fish taco. Equally delicious are the Azul (grass-fed flank steak, caramelized onions, mushrooms, blue cheese, arugula, and cilantro) and the vegan Veronica Corningstone (red quinoa, sweet potatoes, garlic, Daiya vegan cheese, avocado, and cilantro). One look at the menu and it’s easy to tell the owner is a movie buff—many of the items are named after famous characters, from Ron Burgundy to Kelly Leak from The Bad News Bears.