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When he was training in Michelin-starred restaurants, chef Dominique Le Stanc dreamed of opening a small place where the art of cooking was more important than efficiently running a restaurant. La Merenda is that place—no phone, no credit cards, the only business being the food. The chef’s skills shine with dishes like fried zucchini blossoms, a zingy pistou-laden pasta, and, for dessert, melty sautéed figs. Guests, many of whom are locals, are seated elbow to elbow in the tiny dining room with a clear view of the gifted chef at work in the open kitchen.

Deli Board, a small SoMa joint, is nirvana for sandwich lovers, with offerings made from the best ingredients found this side of Cleveland, which is where owner Adam Mesnick grew up. Design your own creation from a selection of bread, meats, and extras (pickles and cherry peppers are a must), or order one of his predesigned, prenamed beasts, which are piled-high combinations of meat, veg, sauce, and extras. Zeke is a Californian’s favorite, with turkey, avocado, bacon, cream cheese, pickled onion, sprouts, and mayonnaise on a French roll, while the Leroy Brown satisfies carnivorous cravings with Romanian pastrami, turkey, kosher salami, American cheese, Muenster cheese, pepperoncini, pickles, and homemade sauce. Check the website for daily specials, or just drop in to stock your picnic basket.

For a quick bite, drop by the unassuming Ecco Espresso and Gelato. Tucked inside an old adobe building near the Santa Fe Plaza, this airy self-service space has a sprawl of metal tables (inside and out) and a menu of pastries, deli sandwiches (tuna with dill and cucumber), locally roasted coffee, hand-pulled espresso drinks, and spicy hot chocolate. As for gelato, uncover an assortment of 20 flavors including classics like chocolate and vanilla to more unusual, creative scoops like strawberry-habanero, amaretto-peach, and cherry-stracciatella.

Searching for covered bridges and discovering their histories is one of the travel adventures I enjoy. While in New Hampshire, I armed myself with a good area map. The map had covered bridge icons which indicated covered bridge locations. New Hampshire #68 was the bridge for which I chose to search. We drove down highway 11A until we got to the Gilford Townhall. We were told by a near-by park ranger how to get to the bridge. His instructions were very clear: “Park at the town hall in the lot, and look to your right,and under some trees you will see the bridge”. I got out and there it was... a very pretty covered footbridge. While inside the bridge, I could hear the rushing water of the brook. I could see the trees, bushes, flowers, and water flowing over the rocks as I peered out of the latticework openings. The Gilford covered bridge is a single span footbridge (foot traffic only) that is a lattice wooden structure spanning the Gunstock Brook just north of the village of Gilford. The bridge was built in 1995 on the site of the first covered bridge that had been removed about 50 years ago. The name of the bridge is the Tannery Hill Gilford Bridge and it links the town center with town hall. I continue to search for covered bridges in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New England. See how many you can find in your trips and travel adventures.

L’Alcova, within the posh Ca’Sagredo Hotel, is an intimate dining experience with just nine tables on a delightful panoramic terrace fronting the Grand Canal. It serves a traditional Venetian menu that changes daily and is sourced from the Rialto Market across the street. Dishes like monkfish with cherries and wild baby asparagus, and burrata-filled tortellini with clams, fresh basil, capers, and pine nuts, are paired with a well-curated wine list representing Italy’s different wine regions. The desserts here are stellar, so try to save room. It’s also not unusual for the chef to come chat with diners post-meal. This is a great romantic pick—just make sure to reserve ahead.

Located at the luxe Six Senses Laamu, Sip Sip has an ever-changing menu made up of dishes that are the result of collaboration between the chef and resort gardeners, who tend an organic garden of 40 different herbs and vegetables. Using only fresh ingredients, the culinary team creates a different starter, salad, pizza, and dessert every day, all served poolside in a sunken bar area—more farm-to-pool than farm-to-table. Favorites include the panfried goat-cheese salad with mango compote and juicy cherry tomatoes, and the crispy Thai fish cake on a peanut-and-green-mango salad.

Although the Smoking Goat is credited with pioneering a culinary renaissance in a once-sleepy corner of North Park, nothing else about chef Fred Piehl’s flagship restaurant screams “culinary vanguard”—and that’s precisely what devotees love about the place. Regulars come here for the reliably exquisite staples: French onion soup with what’s essentially an open-face grilled cheese sandwich afloat in rich veal broth; duck fat truffle fries with pecorino romano and mustard aioli; beef cheeks à la Bourguignonne with carrots, cioppolini onions, cherry tomatoes, mashed potatoes, and braising jus; and other creations that blend traditional French tastes with sustainable, organic San Diego–sourced ingredients. While dinner at this rustic, romantic spot is hardly the time to eat lightly, if you want to go vegetarian, opt for the indulgent raclette au gratin with fingerling potatoes, cornichons, and toast, along with a salad of poached and raw pears with mixed greens, pistachio pesto, and champagne vinaigrette. And as befits the restaurant’s caprine theme, the goat cheese cheesecake with poached peach and whipped cream is a favorite dessert.

Since the 1970s, Melvyn’s has hosted a string of famous guests—most notably Frank Sinatra, who held court from corner booth #53 whenever he was in town. The Rat Pack spirit endures here. Old standards play nightly (except Mondays) at the piano bar, while tuxedo-clad waiters serve up Manhattans and martinis. A 2017 face lift spruced up the chandelier-strewn dining room and returned the bar to its former pale pink–tufted glory. Melvyn’s was and still is one of few places in Palm Springs with a dress code—it once famously turned away Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw for showing up in motorcycle ensembles—although diners are now allowed to dress more casually if they’re eating under the striped awning of the patio. Call ahead to reserve a table (yes, Sinatra’s booth is still available) and then give in to nostalgia. For lunch, try the Monte Cristo sandwich; after dark, follow jumbo prawn cocktails and oysters Rockefeller with tableside-prepared steak Diane and cherries jubilee. Insider’s tip: Ask maître d’ Brian Ellis, hired when Melvyn’s first opened, about the night the FBI stopped by.

With the smallest room a sprawling 400 square feet, and suites and public spaces filled with original 18th- and 19th-century art and antiques, the George V, flagship of the Four Seasons chain, lives up to its billing as a palace, an official tourism category introduced in 2010 requiring establishments to “embody French standards of excellence and contribute to enhancing the image of France throughout the world.” Set in a 1928 art deco building, the Four Seasons Hotel George V boasts a regular clientele of bona fide royals, including Saudi princes who rent entire floors for six weeks at a stretch. The staff includes a team of flower designers led by an art director who worked on Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. There’s also a dedicated concierge for children ordering up pint-sized bathrobes and private pastry-making lessons in the Michelin-starred kitchen.

Walk, cycle or people-watch along the shores of Elliott Bay, a downtown stretch known for its circusy flair and spectacular vistas. You can ride the Great Wheel or visit the beloved Seattle Aquarium, home to wolf eels, sea otters, and the world’s largest octopuses. Refuel with chowder from local favorite Ivar’s Acres of Clams, then hit the market’s 200 owner-operated shops, ranging from a radical book collection to the Northwest’s oldest magic store. Just don’t turn your back on the famous salmon-slinging fishmongers: They’ve been known to wallop selfie-photographers with a plastic decoy for yucks!

This surf-style restaurant elevates local food-truck fare at the new Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina. Expect ahi poke, wild-boar hot dogs, and the coolest French fry innovation out there: A heaping platter of slender spuds topped with Parmesan, cherry tomatoes, and wilted arugula for that “It’s healthy, really” feeling! Wash it all down with kombucha on draft—with flavors like pineapple ginger or liliko’i (passion fruit)—and cocktails such as the Castaway, featuring melon vodka, coconut water, and lime juice. Come prepared to lounge outside, as the Waterman wraps around the family pool and also serves its exclusive beach. Food is served 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Whatever your tastes, we bet you won’t head home empty-handed from Nanjing Road, one of the world’s busiest shopping promenades. Stores along the tree-lined, pedestrian-only section stock everything from state-of-the-art electronics to silk scarves at a fraction of Western prices. But it’s also worth detouring into the side streets, where you may stumble upon market stalls of fresh fish and produce, teahouses doling out dumplings and hot cups of oolong, and cats lazing in slices of sunlight. Photo by Vikkies//Flicker.

With Persian rugs, deep maroon banquettes, and antiqued mirrors along the wall, the dining room here feels warm and calm. Chef Andrew Little imparts his Pennsylvania Dutch roots with Tennessee flavor and ingredients, calling the cuisine American Farmhouse. Diners might begin with favorites like freshly baked soft pretzels with brown butter mustard and brussels sprouts and cherries with orange and peanut vinaigrette. Classically composed main dishes include rabbit with dumplings, duck, pork chop, and whole chicken for two. Pastry chef Kayla May offers seasonal creations for dessert, and don’t miss her sticky buns with pecan, orange, and cardamom at Sunday brunch.

The state’s first dedicated craft-beer café and boutique showcases over 500 brews in the up-and-coming Kakaako neighborhood. All seven Oahu breweries rotate through here, including Home of the Brave. This nearby brewpub not only produces great suds like the smooth Remember Pearl Harbor Lager, but it squeezes World War II memorabilia into its Brewseum (brewseums.com). The shop is especially strong on Hawaiian beers with seasonal flavors like Lanikai Brewing’s use of Surinam cherries in a sour or Honolulu BeerWorks drawing pad thai flavors into a Hefeweizen. Look for beers steeped in terroir too: Waikiki Brewing is smoking its own malt with local kiawe wood, while Aloha Beer salted a German-style Gose with ocean water!

The Rossio railway station was designed between 1886 and 1887 by Portuguese architect José Luís Monteiro. It makes connections with the village of Sintra, and the 2,600-meter tunnel was excavated under the city. It is considered one of 19th-century Portugal’s most important works of engineering. It has a beautiful Neo-Manueline façade, where two intertwined horseshoe portals stand at the entrance, a clock sits in a small turret, and the sculptural decoration is abundant. Inside you can now find a Starbucks, Lisbon Destination Hostel, and a souvenir shop.