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Chef Nyesha Arrington’s personality may have won her fans on Top Chef years back, but it’s her talent in the kitchen that shot her to success at various Michelin-starred restaurants. With Native, which opened in late 2017, she brings together Los Angeles’s diverse influences and cultures through food. Pastrami from local Langer’s deli inspired her roast duck breast with pastrami jus and marble rye tuile; her Wagyu beef tartare seasoned with Aisoon sauce was named for her Korean grandmother. Enthusiastic waiters—many of whom go the extra mile by getting to know diners by name—may suggest favorites such as chestnut spaghetti with shiitakes and burrata, or even a secret item like a super-tender steak when available. As with Arrington’s cuisine, the 95-seat restaurant is approachable yet elevated, with rich honey-hued wood, brass, and a touch of marble. Don’t miss weekend brunch for the crazy-sounding but addictive kimchi latkes, as well as the coconut brown butter pancakes. Pro tip: If you can’t make it for a sit-down dinner, come to bar during Community Hour, daily from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and ask for the off-menu burger along with your rum-based cocktail Right by the Beach, served in a coconut.

Tucked away on Third Street since 1979, Michael’s is arguably the best-kept secret in Santa Monica—a Cheers-like stalwart for locals, who return to proprietor Michael McCarty’s inviting restaurant and bar regularly. It hasn’t hurt that star chefs Jonathan Waxman, Nancy Silverton, Sang Yoon, and Mark Peel have all done time in the kitchen. Artwork by John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, and Cy Twombly set the backdrop for equally creative, flavor-packed masterpieces by the current chef Miles Thompson. Modern California-sourced dishes change seasonally, but octopus is a must-order. (If you’re lucky, Thompson will be serving his confit version with burnt butter and Sichuan peppercorn marshmallow.) A relaxed, jungle-like garden patio invites late-night lingering over a drink from the creative cocktail menu; be sure to try the popular Road to Kyushu, a mix of Japanese whiskey, kumquats, cloves, and barrel-aged bitters. Pro tip: For early birds, Michael’s lounge has probably the best happy hour in L.A.: a $1.79 cocktail from 5:30 to 6 p.m. (to honor its opening year), plus the signature barbecue aioli–topped Smash Burger available in limited numbers until 7 p.m.

Conch is as ubiquitous on Turks and Caicos restaurant menus as palm trees on the beaches, and at Da Conch Shack, you’ll find it prepared any way you can imagine. Of course, there are the classic dishes of conch fritters, conch chowder, and conch salad, but you’ll also find entrées such as curried conch and conch creole. The breezy beachfront restaurant on Provo also serves fresh catch, local lobster, and non-seafood items like steaks and burgers.

Since 1983, food lovers in the know have headed to Santa Barbara’s renowned Paradise Café. Housed in an early 20th-century brick and stucco building with a relaxed atmosphere, the café’s oak wood grill is fueled by Santa Maria live oak—also known as California live oak—a wood that’s essential for the area’s regional style of barbecue. The flavors brought out by the oak in steaks, pork chops, roast chicken, shrimp and sausage, ahi tuna, rainbow trout, and salmon keep added seasonings to a minimum, so fresh ingredients remain the focus of the menu. The crowd favorite, the half-pound signature Paradise Burger, is grilled over oak, topped with Tillamook cheddar cheese, and placed on an onion roll—and best enjoyed with a glass of Paradise syrah, sourced from local vineyards. If you sit on the patio, give the historic mural more than a glance. It features Leo Carrillo, an old-Hollywood actor best known for his role as Pancho in the television series The Cisco Kid; he is locally beloved for his involvement in preserving and conserving California open spaces.

All I could say to myself at the Hotel Christopher was: “I don’t ever want to leave this place.” It was just before the Christmas invasion of celebs and sycophants to the tiny island of Saint Barthélemy or St. Barths. For a confirmed curmudgeon, even I was surprised by my response: I loved every moment at the Zen-like Christopher. Between the infinity pool overlooking the Atlantic and our oceanfront room, where we listened endlessly to the breaking waves and enjoyed daily views of the setting sun, nirvana was never far. Pool boys and girls, servers and greeters, all accessorized in Hermés orange, created an atmosphere of sophisticated yet relaxed luxury. One afternoon, with a glass of the hotel’s signature ice tea in hand, I overheard a fellow guest whisper into her phone, no doubt in response to, “What’s the hotel like?” “Dynamic and tranquil,” she responded. Indeed, since the hotel is located just 15 minutes by car from the island’s capital, Gustavia, we had no problem to-ing and fro-ing “downtown” -- whether to catch a bite, do some shopping, or just people (and yacht) watch. The picture-perfect beaches of Saline and Gouverneur are an even shorter drive from the hotel. But back to the Christopher -- which is what my husband and I said to each other every few hours. Frankly, if we hadn’t gotten married two years ago, we would have done it there. As it was, we were celebrating our anniversary; curmudgeon or not, I can’t imagine a more perfect spot.

Thanks to renovations following Hurricane Irma, the Christopher now features several large villas as well as a newly designed restaurant.

There is never a dull moment at Covent Garden, a labyrinthine open space peppered with restaurants, vintage markets, craft stalls, and independent boutiques. There is festivity in the air. This is compounded by singers, magicians, and miscellaneous street artists performing at every corner. Explore the rich history of the area by visiting the London Transport Museum or the Royal Opera House. Pick up a unique gift at The Apple Market, which boasts of a variety of quirky craft stalls. For lunch, head to one of Leicester Square’s numerous al-fresco restaurants.

Often described as a “Little Paris,” Gueliz has grown into itself in recent years with many of the city’s designers and restaurant owners choosing to set up their flagship fronts there. The Rue de la Liberté is now shoulder to shoulder with fashionable restaurants such as Kechmara for live music, cold beers, and killer burgers; Bistrot Le Loft for platters of French cheese and charcuterie; and the swanky new Asian Resto-Lounge for Chinese steamed dumplings, sushi, and Thai classics; as well as the wine bar Le 68. There’s a Caudalie Spa for great pep-up facials and some must-visit boutiques for snagging made-in-Morocco gifts. Try Lalla, just across the junction at Boulevard el Mansour Eddahbi, for must-have handbags, weekenders, and clutches; Patisserie Al Jawda for delectable Moroccan pastries to take home; and Sidi Marrakech for men’s tailoring. Cross over the main boulevard Mohammed V, and you’ll hit Atika for Tod’s-style suede loafers—brilliant for traveling—in a kaleidoscope of colors. Then hit the Rue Vieux Marrakchi, home to stalwart Moor, for natty embroidered kaftans and cushions, and the envelope-pushing David Bloch Gallery, which showcases the best contemporary urban artists from North Africa.

The Hotel Telluride is close to town and the slopes but just removed enough from the action to feel like a tranquil mountain getaway. Here, the warm lobby welcomes guests with a large fireplace, comfy couches, and board games, as well as a dedicated check-in area for pets, who are allowed for a small fee and treated to house-made biscuits. Rooms have kitchenettes, private balconies, and humidifiers to combat the dry mountain air, while suites feature separate living and dining areas. It’s been said that The Hotel Telluride also boasts the most comfortable bed in town, triple-sheeted with custom-made linens.

The small, on-site restaurant, West End Bistro, serves a hot breakfast and simple dinner items like kale-and-quinoa salad and Colorado beef burgers—plus freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for an après-ski treat. Guests also have access to a sun deck with hot tubs and outdoor saunas as well as free cruiser bikes and shuttle service to the gondola and downtown Telluride. If desired, the hotel can even arrange for in-room massages or guided day trips to forage for wild mushrooms.

The longest lines in the city form every day at Café Medina, a haven of Mediterranean-inspired breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch dishes in the Library District. The decor here feels like a minimalist version of 1920s Paris, with aged walls, mismatched light fixtures, and a mosaic entranceway. Equally charming, the eclectic bistro fare ranges from pistachio-rosewater Belgian waffles to halloumi couscous and a harissa burger, spiked with preserved lemon and tucked into a pita with baba ghanoush and two fried eggs. Don’t miss the blistered flatbread, ideally paired with the honey-black-pepper mascarpone side. And finish with a lavender latte, a house-made turmeric soda, or a superb craft cocktail. If you don’t want to wait, skirt the crowds by visiting Tuesdays or Wednesdays for lunch, or arriving at 2 p.m. (an hour before last call).

There’s a bit of the Wild West at this luxurious wine country inn. Vintner Fess Parker, of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone TV fame, opened the inn in 1998. Today it’s still run by his family, and you can wade in the nostalgia by visiting the gallery off the lobby, which displays black-and-white images of Parker from his Hollywood days. Each of the 19 spacious rooms and suites is slightly different. Grand Garden rooms have cozy gas fireplaces and views of Los Olivos, while suites with living rooms are expansive enough to spread out and relax. At the Bear and Star restaurant, ingredients for the “refined ranch cuisine” are sourced from the Fess Parker Home Ranch, just seven miles from the inn. Wagyu specialties abound—from carpaccio to burgers, meatloaf to steaks—while the Fess Parker Winery supplies the restaurant with estate-grown rhône varietals. Lounge by the pool, or drop in at the spa for a massage or facial (a highlight: the Heaven on Earth package, which blends the Unwind massage with a customized Elemis facial). Pro tip: End the evening on a nostalgic note, borrowing a Fess Parker movie from the library for guests.

This airy poolside restaurant serves up Curaçao classics like iguana soup, goat stew, and fried funchi, a crispy (and addictive) polenta. But the menu has something for even the pickiest of travelers. In the mood for a regular ol’ burger? Rancho El Sobrino offers one of the best on the island. Can’t get enough fajitas, like Michael from The Office? You’ve got four varieties to choose from here, including a veggie option. After your meal, stroll through the adjacent garden or order your favorite cocktail from the veranda bar—and gaze up: You’ll see a bed frame hanging from the wooden ceiling. Because why not?

As soon as you try BBQ Express, you’ll understand why residents are obsessed with truki pan, the humble sandwich trucks parked all over Curaçao. This Caracasbaai staple is legendary for its enormous portions of barbecue ribs, pork, and burgers, but the real star is its one-of-a-kind pindasaus, a spicy Dutch-Indonesian peanut dip. From 9 p.m. to early morning, night owls and partygoers crowd around this mobile kitchen for an affordable taste of nirvana. Locals usually order their grub to go, but don’t be shy about digging in at one of the nearby picnic tables (remember that it’s BYOB if you’re thirsty).

Regulars at Workshop Kitchen + Bar know not to get too attached to any one dish. Innovative chef/owner Michael Beckman—who trained in Lyon and worked in Berlin—might be serving honey-lavender glazed black cod one night; a sausage, rapini, and fennel pizza another; and his signature burger (with pastrami and wagyu oxtail) the next. Diners in the know ask for the off-the-menu whole striped sea bass, grilled in the wood-fired oven with seasonally shifting ingredients. The adventurous menu is a big draw, to be sure, but so is the magical setting: The 90-year-old Spanish-inspired building—once an art gallery and movie theater—features 27-foot-high ceilings, which the trendsetting architecture firm SOMA updated with poured concrete for an industrial cathedral aesthetic. (The work won it a James Beard Design Award.) If you’re there for Sunday brunch or an early dinner, ask for booth #7, which is flooded with natural light, or a table in the whitewashed courtyard. Cocktails such as the Mountaineer—made with little-known Génépy des Alpes liqueur, pineapple and lime juice, and bitters—are just as revelatory early in the evening as they are on late weekend nights, when the place is bustling.

For a place that’s best known for its buttermilk biscuits, Juniper & Ivy seems improbably swanky at first. Picture curtained-off banquettes, modern light fixtures, and painstakingly turned-out patrons. But the upscale/down-home contrast is exactly the point. Trendsetting chef Richard Blais, of Top Chef All Stars fame, is known for starting with American classics—say, buttermilk biscuits—and elevating them (in this case, with individual serving domes full of biscuit-infusing alderwood smoke). Similarly, the New York strip steak deviates from the norm with crispy sunchokes and mushroom sofrito, among other touches. Then there’s the semi-secret menu item: the so-called In-N-Haute burger, made from a blend of short rib, brisket, chuck and dry-aged beef, then wrapped and seared in cheese before landing on an egg bun next to a heap of salt-and-pepper-dusted fries. Although you’ll be tempted to order something from the wine collection that spans two stories—if only to see the sliding library ladder in use—you should at least consider one of the cocktails, and particularly the Salt of the Earth: mezcal, tequila, Ancho Reyes liqueur, beet juice, lemon juice, mole bitters, honey, and cracked salt. This magenta elixir is almost too pretty to drink. Almost.

To satisfy your conch craving, stop at Bugaloo’s Conch Crawl on the south side of Providenciales, just a few minutes from Chalk Sound. The beachfront restaurant in Five Cays has indoor and outdoor seating, with some of the tables set right along the waterline, lapped by the rising tide. You’ll find a great selection of seafood, including plenty of conch dishes, along with fried chicken and burgers. In the evenings, Bugaloo’s hosts local bands, fire dancers, and other entertainment.