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Superlatives abound at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. The 73-story structure is the tallest building west of Chicago and, at 889 rooms, the largest InterContinental in the Americas. Opened in 2017, the hotel was also downtown’s first LEED Gold Certified building for Building Design and Construction. All that record setting is matched by a big personality and plenty of luxury, too. Inspired by architectural historian Reyner Banham’s book Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, the hotel features light fixtures based on schematic maps of L.A.’s freeways, hand-painted murals, and billboard-style headboards with city scenes.

Club Level suites are stocked with Le Labo Santal 33 amenities, customized with guests’ names. And on the 71st floor, bathrooms are cheekily decorated in Marie Antoinette and cowboy themes. The Versailles-inspired restaurant La Boucherie is an American steakhouse with a French twist. In the restaurant’s VIP Starlight Booths, diners enjoy wine-paired chef’s tasting menus along with jaw-dropping views. Another restaurant, Sora, is the place for intimate Japanese omakase. Be sure to order the 1100 Feet—an original blend of liqueurs reflective of L.A.’s confluence of cultures—at Spire 73, the Western Hemisphere’s highest open-air bar. Pro tip: Book the Presidential Suite, and you’ll be rewarded with another kind of epic view—an infinity bathtub that fills from the ceiling.

San Diego’s first food hall is housed in the city’s former naval training center, a 361-acre site in Point Loma that now features a lively business district with wide lawns, a waterfront park, and historic Spanish Revival–style buildings. Here, vendors serve everything from coconut-curry chicken sausages to ahi tuna poke bowls, providing the makings of a casual lunch or dinner. Take your food to the patio, or sit inside at the high-top tables near the bar and enjoy the untouched murals that line the upper walls. Painted by naval recruits in the 1950s, they depict various vessels, from a late 18th-century sailing ship to a World War II aircraft carrier.

At Isla Colón’s northwest extreme, Bocas del Drago is one of Panama’s most picturesque spots, an idyllic place for relaxing, soaking up sun or just marveling amid powdery white sand and lush jungle greenery. And what other beach affords “swimming with starfish”? Enhance your adventure at great local Caribbean restaurants featuring wiggle-fresh delicacies at delightfully low prices. When the tiny beach at Boca del Drago gets tight, Playa Estrella is a nearby alternative.

Chef Roberto Solís’ menu showcases the area’s fresh ingredients including fish, lobster, cooked in the flavors and spices that have driven Maya Caribbean for centuries. Located inside the Hotel Casasandra, the restaurant’s setting is as warm as the service. Pair dishes with some locally-produced wines or a mezcal margarita. Thanks to his colorful ingredients and artful plating, Chef Solís’s dishes tend to be as appealing to the eye as they are to the palate.

When local restaurateurs Brooks Reitz and Tim Mink shut down Saint Alban, Charleston was distraught. They had something different in mind for the space, however, and replaced their airy, all-day café with a cozy steak house straight out of the 1950s. Much like its predecessor, Little Jack’s has quickly established itself as a neighborhood favorite. It’s open every day from 11 a.m. until late in the evening and serves classic, meat-heavy dishes (steak, sliders, pastrami) alongside seasonal salads. A solid menu of classic cocktails (Harvey Wallbangers, sidecars) rounds out the throwback experience.

Félix Meana and Katie Button, veterans of elBulli in Spain, converted Asheville’s former downtown bus depot into a stylish tapas bar. Cúrate means to cure oneself, which diners can do with traditional Spanish dishes such as Catalan sausage bocadillos, codfish salad, and honey-drizzled fried eggplant. This appeared in the July/August 2012 issue. Read Emma John’s feature on the North Carolina bluegrass scene.

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.

Offering something more immersive than classic resort dining, Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru has a four-course menu that can be served right on the beach. Watch a chef prepare your gourmet Maldivian lobster dinner right in front of you while you listen to the soothing sounds of waves lapping at the shoreline and enjoying the fresh sea air. Alternatively, choose the Sharkpoint option and tuck into sea scallops and lobster on a secluded stretch of sand. For a dose of culture, head to the open-air Naiboli Bar on a Friday night and take in a traditional bodu beru performance on the beach.

The actual name of the place is Adega Rio Douro (since it’s facing the river) but everyone knows it by Tasca da Piedade, named after the owner Mrs. Piedade. It’s also known for having “fado vadio” - traditional Portuguese music, here sang by non-professionals every Tuesday in the afternoon from 4pm until 7pm. While the music flows you can try a lot of Portuguese “petiscos”, such as stewed chicken guizzards, meat croquettes, “bifanas” and the crown jewel “iscas de bacalhau” - boiled codfish loin enveloped in a parsley omelette. The symbiosis between food and music is guaranteed, as everything here is done with passion. You might even be lucky to listen to the owner singing a few “fados”.

Bar Raval looks ordinary from the outside, but inside, the sinuous lines of the floor-to-ceiling mahogany woodwork—bar, walls, window frames—instantly bring Gaudí to mind. Created to mimic the spirit of Barcelona’s pintxos bars (in addition to the Catalonian influence of the decor, platters of food are laid out on the bar, as is the Basque pintxos tradition), the space is often packed. In the mornings, patrons sip lattes and enjoy doughnuts finished with a lick of chocolate and spiced hazelnut.

‘Purveyors of artisan sausage’ is an excellent description of this gourmet dog and beer spot in Austin‘s Warehouse District (4th and Colorado). The loft ceilings, large vintage murals, friendly neighborhood bar and funky table seating all create a cool, hipster spot to chow down. They’re now serving coffee and breakfast and it’s a great place to hit on a Friday or Saturday night, when they often have live music to kick off the weekend. Don’t forget the waffle fries and the root beer float, to make your trip to Franks complete.

A two minute walk from the bustle of downtown Calgary, Prince’s Island Park—which is surrounded by the Bow River—is home to festivals all summer long. The Calgary Folk Music Festival and 52,000 of its closest friends rock and/or folk out on the park the last weekend of July.

Although you can find most cuisines in Berlin now, Jamaican food is nowhere near as ubiquitous as it is in, say, London, and it’s mostly relegated to shacks or pop-up stalls at festivals. Enter RosaCaleta, a full-service restaurant run by two transplants from Jamaica via New York who have created a perfect balance of traditional Jamaican dishes playfully reinvented for a European palate. White walls and a wood floor set the stage for a menu that includes oven-roasted pork fillet, fiery jerk guava chicken served with fluffy dumplings, and vegetarian dishes such as vegetable stews and lentil salads mixed with mango and ginger. The restaurant also has a superlative rum collection, used for an inspired cocktail list that is as fruit-filled as it is potent.

In 1862, the Panaderia La Patria (The Homeland Bakery) was established in the mountain town of Morovis. One of the oldest bakeries in the island, La Patria offers a variety of traditional Puerto Rican sweets like flan and quesitos (a pastry filled with cheese whipped with vanilla, eggs, and sugar). But we all know the bakery best for its “pan de la patita echa.” (“Echar la pata” is slang and can have various meanings, one of which is to start or throw yourself into something.) This is a kind of lard bread made only in Puerto Rico that looks like it has its legs crossed. Ask them to show your the century-old red oven in which they make their different breads and pastries.

Translating into cake of three milks, pastel de tres leches is a sponge cake doused in, yes, three kinds of milk. Evaporated milk, condensed milk and run-of-the-mill milk (or even cream, depending on the baker) are combined and poured over the cake base, which has been punctured with tons of tiny holes, allowing the milks to be evenly soaked up. Topped with a layer of whipped cream and squirts of caramel, the cake is surprisingly light for something so saturated in milk, and manages to steer clear of the too-sweet territory. While I got to try it in El Sal--at the amazing Juayua Food Fest--it’s a popular dessert across Latin America, busted out at many a celebratory occasion.