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Comfort food doesn’t have to be heavy and drowned in grease: just try pho, the light and flavorful Vietnamese soup that’s much loved by Seattleites. Than Brothers is the local chain, with locations all around town, but the Capitol Hill one is one of their longer-established restaurants. First-timers can start with the classic #1, medium-rare beef, before advancing to options such as tripe and tendon; chicken, meatball, and vegetarian choices are also available. The “small” bowl is a hearty, filling portion for about $5, and comes with their trademark cream puff, but add on a Vietnamese iced coffee or tea for an extra sugar-and-caffeine rush. As their menu notes, pho is particularly good when you’re feeling under the weather — Vietnam’s answer to chicken noodle soup, perhaps?

Another hallowed Capitol Hill rock venue, Chop Suey is a short walk up the hill from the Pike/Pine intersection. The performers tend to skew toward local bands, electronic, and drag shows, but one of Seattle’s most unique dance parties is Talcum, featuring the best of Pacific Northwest soul and Motown music (the name refers to the practice of sprinkling talcum powder on the dance floor for better slipping and sliding). Talcum happens every fourth Saturday, and vintage/formal attire is strongly encouraged. Most Chop Suey shows are 21+, and there’s a full bar, but no kitchen; however, you’re allowed to bring your own food inside, oddly enough. Grab a Seattle Dog, slathered with sautéed onions and cream cheese, at the hot dog cart parked out in front. Cash only, if you buy tickets at the door.

For an authentic Houston experience, head to the Original Ninfa’s on Navigation, where the food is always top-notch and the longtime servers are revered as rock stars. With chef Alex Padilla at the helm, you can expect everything from handmade tamales and grilled octopus salad to mole grilled salmon and oven-roasted chicken enchiladas. Don’t miss the tacos al carbon with a margarita on the side—both are legendary with locals. Grab a patio seat and see who you see—it’s not unusual to notice a celebrity or two. Houston has a booming Tex-Mex scene, and Ninfa’s can show you why in a single bite.

Montauk State Park sits at the head of the Current River, where seven springs converge to form a breathtakingly beautiful area. The park is popular with anglers who come to fish for rainbow trout in the cool waters, but also offers ample opportunity for hiking, biking, and picnicking in shady groves. Visitors can even learn a bit of history during tours of the old gristmill, built in 1896 at the center of what was once a thriving community. For a relaxing day in nature, follow the locals to the river, where they float in canoes with coolers of cold drinks in tow, then spend the night at one of the modern campgrounds, rental cabins, or motel rooms that dot the park grounds.

Each Tuesday around 7:30pm, locals from in around central Mérida descend on the square in Parque Santiago to dance “danzon” under the stars at the weekly event called “Remembranzas Musicales”. A form of dance and music, “danzón” was introduced from Cuba to México in the early Twentieth Century. Cuban inspired rhythms from the 1930’s and 40’s are just what is takes to get this crowd moving. Each week, elegant ladies and immaculately dressed men kick up their heels to live music provided by the City Band. The average age of the dancers is north of 50, but they know their moves and it always draws a festive crowd. Everybody is welcome to join in, even if you are not the worlds best dancer. If not, you can take a seat on the sidelines and simply enjoy the festivities. Also, with a night market of restaurants adjacent to the plaza and tables spilling out under the night sky, its a great spot to enjoy the show while sampling local dishes like panuchos, salbutes, tamales and sopa de lima. Parque Santiago is in Mérida Centro, four blocks from Méridas main plaza. It is located in 59 street between 70 and 72. The neighborhood of Santiago, in which the park is located is a colorful colonial era neighborhood full of life. With all the music, food and color, it is also one of the best neighborhoods to stay in. Great vacation rentals ideas with pools and other great amenites are yours by the night, week or month at http://www.remixto.com/. (Images courtesy of Mérida.gob.mx)

With a history dating back to 1499, U Fleků is a Prague institution and the only brewery and restaurant in Central Europe that has been brewing non-stop for over five centuries. Beer lovers, backpackeres and tourists come from all corners of the world to drink their dark lager which is the only beer on the menu, made with all natural ingredients. The restaurant, serving traditional Czech and Bohemian cuisine – roast pork knuckle, garlic soup, apple strudel – includes eight beer halls (each with its own distinctive décor) and an inner beer garden that seats up to 500 people. Everyday U Fleků serves around 2,000 pints of beer. If you want to know more, they also have a brewey tour and a beer museum (reservations only) in the former malt house.

Astoria’s Cannery Row has enjoyed a resurgence as a tourist destination for Oregon Coast visitors. As the former state capital clings to the Columbia River with the determination of a stubborn child, dwindling fishery and logging economies give way to opportunities. Bridgewater Bistro pairs perfectly with the new vision for the city’s future. With wonderful water views in a historically inspired space, the Bridgewater is an open and welcoming environment with two levels of seating. Summer sends patrons out on the expansive deck shadowed by the Astoria-Megler Bridge. The menu is focused and locally sourced. Our party started with the Bloody Mary oyster shooters and moved through the salad selection, pausing to peruse the extensive wine list. Local craft beers and specialty cocktails provide plenty of drink options. The main course was split between the fresh salmon and the steak offering, and both were prepared with inspired seasoning. Staff are friendly and professional with a genuine commitment to the work they do. The views have a tendency to distract from the food at hand, but those dishes find a way to hold their own in the competition for a diner’s attention. Combine value, quality, and service in Oregon’s NW corner for a memorable dining experience at the Bridgewater.

In Atlanta, Sweetwater Brewing Company is king. Its success story is not unlike that of Samuel Adams, although less commercial. They started as a hometown craft brewery with humble operations and now are distributed throughout the country. Their motto is “don’t float the mainstream,” and their beer names certainly show that. While you have a standard IPA, there’s also the 420 Pale Ale, Blue, a blueberry beer, Exodus Porter, Georgia Brown and the LowRYEder IPA. Throughout the year they also offer special brews, many of which you can only find at the brewery. They include a Festive Ale, Happy Ending and Road Trip, among others. The Dank Tank is one experimental keg to try at the brewery. On a sunny afternoon, you and the many locals will enjoy live music and food trucks at the brewery. Many of the beers and events at Sweetwater benefit local causes, namely Camp Twin Lakes and the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, so you’ll be drinking for a cause. For $10, you get a pint glass and 6 samples to try. Alternatively, you can skip the pint glass for a plastic cup and get 6 tickets for free. They are open Wednesday through Friday from 5:30-7:30 and on Saturdays from 2:30-4:30 pm.

On a recent visit to Asheville, North Carolina, I was anxious to try some of the great restaurants I’d heard about. In the end though, my husband and I found ourselves gravitating back to the same restaurant over and over again - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - because it was absolutely delicious. We just couldn’t resist it. Tupelo Honey is a must if you’re in Asheville looking for some incredible Southern comfort food. This macaroni and cheese was probably the best I’ve ever tasted - rich and creamy, with delicious bits of bacon and other wonderful ingredients mixed in. Definitely not a diet food but worth every calorie!

coffee in Santiago is even worse than in Paris (if that can even be possible?) but lucky for picky people like me, Wonderful cafe makes a very respectable + smooth cappuccino. It comes with latte art as well. Light lunches and other foods (i.e. bagels) are also available. Located in the up-and-comng Lastarria neighbourhood. You are welcome!

French chef Eric Fraudeau spent 30 years working in three-star kitchens. When he returned to France, he opened a cooking school to share the wealth of French cuisine with visitors from across the globe. He started with market-to-table classes and was soon overrun with requests for his fun, informative, hands-on lessons. There is now an entire team at CWC, all of them professional chefs or sommeliers, offering a range of classes, from “Mother of All Sauces” to cooking with kids, wine pairings, and baking croissants or macarons. You can also opt for a gourmet food tour instead.

A collection of rambling beach bars, The Strip on South Frigate Bay is the best “lime” on St. Kitts—a beach bash by day that transitions to an open-air dance party, moveable feast, and pub crawl by night. The area is within walking distance of the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, but it’s a popular nightlife destination for locals and visitors from all over the island. Don’t miss Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack, the most famous bar on St. Kitts, where you can enjoy grilled lobster alongside an ever-changing lineup of live entertainment, from karaoke to fire-eaters. Also worth visiting are Vibes (St. Kitts’ closest thing to a sports bar), ChinChillas (for Mexican food), and The Dock Bar, which offers a more relaxed scene and, as its name suggests, its very own dock. Wherever you land, expect live bands and DJs to keep the dance floor hopping well into the wee hours. If you get tired, cool off and then rev up with a “Ting with a Sting,” a popular drink of local CSR rum mixed with grapefruit soda.

Storico is truly a hidden gem in New York City - a one-of-a-kind, beautiful eatery in a historic museum on the Upper West Side, just steps from Central Park. The newly-renovated New-York Historical Society is located on Central Park West and 76th Street (next to the Museum of Natural History). Chef Matthew Oetting and restaurateur Stephen Starr (Morimoto, Buddakan) deliver beautifully-plated, seasonal antipasti, cicchetti (small plates), handmade pastas, panini and hearty entrees. A recent menu included panzanella salad, pappardelle with duck ragu, frutti di mare bucatini, and roasted organic chicken with oyster mushrooms. Soaring 15-foot high ceilings, shelves lined with white antique dishes, abundant sunlight and bright yellow seating make this one of the cheeriest cafes I’ve seen. The decor and the flavorful food makes for a memorable meal. Eating at Storico does not require admission to the museum, but I highly recommend a few hours educating yourself on the remarkable history of New York City. The museum is a manageable size and not very crowded, which makes for an enjoyable, leisurely visit.

Dutchman Dirk de Graaff left a demanding consulting position in Hong Kong to become a hotelier in Siem Reap, falling for Cambodia’s natural beauty, smiling residents, and laid-back way of life. He ran the first gay-friendly guesthouse in town before opening two hotels, a boutique hotel and the more upscale Rambutan Resort, a 16-room property, where he’s successfully re-created the traits that led him to the country in the first place. The simple but stylish rooms employ local, natural materials, with custom-made, chocolate-brown and white-flecked sugar-palm beds (of eco-friendly wood), brightly hued silk lamps, and private outdoor terrazzo soaking tubs. Modern Asian art—including comical pieces by Chinese artist Yue Minjun—adorns the walls. A lovely slate-and-stone tiled, tree-shaded pool anchors the property, its cascading water feature lending a meditative quality.

And though Rambutan’s flair is more than enough reason to stay, it’s the exceedingly personable staff that makes it a true standout. Guests are welcomed like old friends (many are on return visits); the affable check-in crew and servers artfully walk the line between doing their jobs and making time for a chat. De Graaff invests in his team—providing scholarships to further their careers in hospitality, for instance—and their mutual affection for the place shows.

Peggy Dulany, a New York philanthropist and daughter of David Rockefeller, bought J Bar L to protect the 620-square-mile Centennial Valley, a former Native American hunting ground settled by a few cattle-ranching families in the late 19th century—and which still has no towns, let alone paved roads, gas stations, shops, or subdivisions. To conserve the rangeland way of life, she hired locals to run a holistic grass-fed cattle business on the principles of rotational grazing and natural stockmanship. To share the landscape with nature-loving travelers and to keep the valley looking as it was, Dulany restored several abandoned 19th- and early 20th-century homesteads. These self-contained vacation rental homes range from a Sears Roebuck family house, now solar-powered, to isolated cabins on a bend of the Red Rock River. All come with fully-equipped kitchens and are tastefully filled with Western-themed furnishings and antiques; some have outdoor hot tubs.

J Bar L no longer offers working weeks for would-be cowboys but will match guests with geologists as well as with hiking, bird-watching, and fly-fishing guides. Horse lovers can hire ranch mounts for guided daily rides on rangeland that is home to pronghorn, elk, and Black Angus cattle, or up the slopes of the 10,000-foot Gravelly Mountains where wolves, grizzly bears, and bald eagles roam.