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The Bagel Store was the final stop on my “Made in Brooklyn” tour with Dom Gervasi. Like all good researchers, I arrived hungry. Scott Rossillo, creator of “The Bagel Store” in Brooklyn, dreams in bagels. The unpretentious shop has several baskets of the standard poppy seed and sesame, but what catches my eye are flavors like candy corn and red velvet. He even offered me a “bagel drink” which tasted of cinnamon. “It’s the liquid that becomes a bagel,” he explains as I take a taste of the drink and wince to figure out what the heck it is. Rossillo is the industry’s answer to Willy Wonka: he makes everything from his famous bacon and cheese to tie-dye patterned bagels that look like swirly bits of jewelry. My favorite, the Bavarian Pretzel, is soft with chunky, dust-able salt flakes on top. After discovering the joys of Rossillo’s smoother-than-mousse nutella cream cheese and a pumpkin cream cheese that tasted better than the fruit, I knew that this store was the real deal. He is constantly innovating and staying ahead of the game. After he enrolled in the French Culinary Institute’s International Bread Baking Arts program, Rossillo dabbled in other bagel ventures before he decided to venture on his own. I took home a bag of blood orange items that were as sticky as toffee but probably the most delicious I’ve eaten. The Bagel Store is yet another reason why Brooklyn might be the East Coast’s food lab. With all due respects to Berkeley, CA.

With 21 suites, all of them larger than 1,000 square feet, set among grassy dunes on a less-developed swath of Grace Bay, Beach House is both intimate and roomy. Condo-like in their dimensions and layout, every suite has a kitchenette and a large balcony with a daybed. A few of the suites face the pool, but most have an ocean view that looks out on a white-sand beach and snorkeling reef just beyond. There’s adventure on the beach, with a list of water sports, and at the table, with a variety of ceviches and Kitchen 218’s signature sticky toffee pudding.

Chef Pablo del Rio blends traditional recipes and ingredients from Argentina’s seven regions under one roof at Siete Cocinas restaurant. The seven regions represented include: Noa and Litoral in northern Argentina; Cuyo, which includes the Mendoza province; Metroplitana is Buenos Aires; Mar Argentino, the country’s East Coast; Patagonia Andina and La Pampa. The elegant restaurant is a refurbished colonial home in downtown Mendoza. It has a minimalist design with an open kitchen that seats 70 guests. The menu features Patagonian lamb, rabbit, pork, trout and traditional Mendocenean empanadas. Work your way around the country with Siete Cocina’s seven region tasting menu: a pacu (fish) filet salad (Litoral); watermelon salad (Cuyo/Pampa); fried Atlantic pollock cheeks (Mar Argentino); veal tail with tortellini (Metropolitana); succulent goat roasted in a clay oven (Cuyo); red berry sorbet (Patagonia Andina); and sugarcane ice cream with almonds crisps and toffee (Noa). The wine list is extensive. For a memorable dining experience, book the private dining table in the wine cellar. If you’re leaning towards a non-alcoholic beverage, try the infused Tealosophy teas from the in-house tea sommelier’s personal brand. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.

As one of the nearly two-dozen restaurants under the direction of Michael Mina, Bourbon Steak Los Angeles is yet another instance of this alliterative chef’s talent for maximizing comfort in an upscale setting. Adjacent to the Americana at Brand juggernaut mall in Glendale, Bourbon Steak is a serene escape from the pedestrian buzz – you can walk to the stores, or leave them alone for another time. Inside, gray and navy shades mix with white and gold tones for a modern elegance that’s still casual enough for walk-ins. With a menu comprised of seafood and, no surprise here, steak, it’s a good idea to come in hungry. Start with the garden kale salad dotted with candied pecans and blue cheese. Then, cut into an eight-ounce prime black angus rib cap with a side of black truffle mac ‘n’ cheese. It is tough, however, to keep from ordering the popular Maine lobster pot pie, which is brought to your table on a cart and carefully disassembled by a server on your plate. Truthfully, you wouldn’t be as happy if that golden crust, mixed with the sweet lobster cream and market vegetables, was rolled off to another table. While you could save room for decadent treats like butterscotch toffee pudding, ask if another cart, this time, the one with booze, could make a stop near you. In keeping with the lead word in its name, this restaurant lets you taste and choose from a trio of bourbons that are shuffled with new bottles every few weeks. That would be quite a way to end a dinner.

A year ago I had dinner at the Clifton, then under the supervision of Tucker Yoder. Mr. Yoder was elsewhere that evening, but I spent several hours at the “chef’s counter” in the kitchen, watching executive sous-chef Jarad Adams work his own delicious magic. Naturally Mr. Adams was meticulous with his food prep, but he was also surprisingly generous with his time for me. Imagine my delight when I returned this year to find Mr. Adams had been promoted to Executive Chef. On this visit, Mr. Adams’s tasting menu showed the same attention to detail as I remembered, but with a greater sense of adventure — even whimsy. From the amuse bouche (a spoonful of polenta topped with pork belly, apple, and a sprig of fennel) all the way through to the sticky toffee pudding with candied pecans, dates, and caramel ice cream for dessert, I was enchanted. The tasting menu consists of four courses and varies by the season. My first course was a toss-up between the butternut squash and apple soup and the shaved winter vegetable salad with hazelnuts, black cocoa, and a buttermilk dressing. I had no regrets about my choice of the salad, especially as butternut squash was the foundation of my next course: the most perfectly seared sea scallop I can remember. From there it was onto monkfish with beluga lentils, with Brussels sprout leaves dancing on top. Mr. Adams knows what he’s doing in the kitchen, and the Clifton — and Charlottesville — is lucky to have him.

Deep within Grand Cayman, one finds another restaurant on the water. Be careful not to sit too close to the edge on the deck, however, the breeze might blow you right off. Inside the restaurant is a different story. All the tables and chairs are close together, making your dining experience intimate yet open to that of your neighbor and you can’t help smiling at those sitting next to you. Written on a savvy chalkboard one finds the specials of the day, of which you will find rarities like chicken liver pate and ceviche. The food is fantastic and the drinks are phenomenal. I personally recommend anything with mango in it. Once you’re good and full it almost feels necessary to sit and talk with the wait staff before leaving. The close knit environment makes it all the more friendly. Calypso Grill is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Grand Cayman and I definitely recommend it to seafood lovers or just food lovers in general.

When the Pacific Ocean comprises the relative fourth wall of a dining room, it’s a confident guess to assume that the menu will include its fair share of seafood. Take a seat in such a picturesque place at the Strand House in downtown Manhattan Beach, and that assured prediction will be met with affirmation: options of fresh seafood, like oysters served on ice or shrimp twirled into pasta, are listed amongst other farm-to-table eats. But, fortunately, that’s where predictability ends. Chef Greg Hozinsky has created a menu where the comfort of familiarity meets the excitement of reinvention, and in doing so, he has recast the Strand House as a starring restaurant in the area’s burgeoning culinary scene. Start with the eponymous seafood tower, which changes daily alongside the market, and could feature live scallop with olive oil, togarashi, yuzu, and American caviar. Then, move on to the aforementioned egg spaghetti with rock shrimp and cured egg yolk, or share the prime bone-in rib eye with hand-cut garlic fries and a watercress salad. Later, indulge in the desserts of Stephanie Franz, who created a take on the classic bonfire s’more by plating a graham cake with house-made marshmallow, toasted mallow ice cream, and chocolate mousse. The view from this dining room may come with assumptions, but a meal here stands on its own.

Old San Juan offers historically and culturally significant experiences including a walk through 500-year-old forts, visits to UNESCO sites, historic churches, museums, the second oldest cathedral in the Americas and Ponce de Leon’s mansion. Cobblestone streets and pastel buildings are perfect for exploration during the day and variety of restaurants and shops make for a complementary evening.

A Lisbon favorite, this family-run chocolate-and-coffee café is continually showered by locals with love and devotion. Here, both the coffee and cocoa beans come from São Tomé and Príncipe. The former are roasted in-house and perfectly executed in one of Lisbon’s best espressos, while the latter are churned into artisan chocolate bars in outstanding flavors like ginger, orange, sea-salt-and-pepper, and toffee. If you order an espresso, you’ll get a free sample of chocolate so you can suss out your favorite before committing to a pricier piece of heaven.

What cognac is to France, Skënderbeu grape brandy is to Albania, an enduring iconic product of the nation. Located on the road to Tirana, the Skënderbeu Cantina is the only one with a government permit. In the distillery, guests taste brandies aged in oak barrels for up to 13 years and known for their caramel and toffee aromas. Visitors can also take home a bottle of the herbal liqueur fernet and traditional grape and fruit raki.

It may be only 22 miles west of San Juan, but Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve feels a world away. The resort has a spectacular location on a three-mile stretch of beach on Puerto Rico’s north shore, where Clara Livingston once ran a sugar plantation—and Amelia Earhart visited before departing for her fateful world tour. In 1958, Livingston sold the property to Laurance S. Rockefeller, who turned it into the first of his legendary Rock Resorts. Known for his green streak, he designed the hotel to respect the local beauty, mandating that buildings could not be taller than the surrounding palm trees.

The Ritz-Carlton—which reopened in October 2018 after a meticulous restoration following Hurricane Maria—pays homage to that original vision. Here, every room is beachfront, with floor-to-ceiling sliding doors that disappear into ocean views, plus deep soaking tubs, outdoor showers shaded by gardens, and either spacious balconies or private plunge pools. As part of the property’s renovation, rooms were refreshed with a color palette that amplifies the natural beauty just beyond the doors. Additionally, the grounds showcase 3,000 new plant species, the spa is offering new locally inspired treatments and cuisine, Encanto Beach Club Bar & Grill features a refreshed dinner menu, and the Positivo Sandbar debuted an omakase and ceviche bar directly on the sand. There’s even an entirely reimagined signature restaurant, Coa, which serves farm-to-table fare cooked on the grill. Still standing strong on the verdant, 1,400-acre grounds are the five 18-hole championship golf courses. The biggest challenge is pulling yourself away from the luxury of the resort to tee up a shot.

Cross the Waikato River from downtown Hamilton, New Zealand‘s fourth-biggest city, to find some of the country’s best artisanal ice cream at this East Hamilton spot. The rural area surrounding the city is a major center for dairy farming, and Duck Island crams gallons of organic-milky goodness into its ever-changing selection of flavors. Innovative ingredients could include white chocolate, pomegranate, and macadamia nuts, or maple, honeycomb, and smoked almond. Don’t worry if you’re an indecisive ice cream fan—trying a few free samples before you settle on your heart’s desire is encouraged. For a thoroughly local taste sensation, get the pear-and-chocolate hokey-pokey, a much-loved spin on the classic New Zealand vanilla-and-honeycomb-toffee treat.

(UPDATED: 01 02 17) I’ve had more than a half-dozen wonderful meals in the past year at the Fairview Dining Room in the historic Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club on the Duke University campus. It’s my go-to place to for business meetings and personal catch-ups. Friends and colleagues must feel the same way—because it’s high on their list for get-togethers, too. While I’ve never belonged to a country club, if I did I’d want it to be like the WaDu (the nickname bestowed by locals and Duke alums). Most months of the year you can sit on the shaded patio overlooking hundreds of acres, including a world-class 18-hole golf course, with unparalleled sunsets (enhanced, perhaps, by a cocktail). In the chill of winter, relax in the warm ambiance of the wood-paneled dining room while looking out over the snow-dusted grounds. The Fairview is simply magical any time of the year. The fine dining restaurant looks back in time when the Duke family (the tobacco Dukes, that is) ruled the roost, and yet manages to be contemporary, too, notably with its staff of first-rate professionals who greet their regular guests by name. Old-school formality -- with a decidedly modern twist. (For a more boisterous bar scene check out the Bull Durham Bar, also in the hotel, and stay tuned for the opening of the new JB Duke Hotel just across the street.) The menu, under the ever-vigilant hand of executive chef Jason Cunningham, is completely of the moment, with an emphasis on local ingredients from area farms. Some of my most recent favorite dishes included the “winter salad” with tea-soaked cherries, Norwegian steelhead salmon with a root vegetable and potato hash, and the chef’s take on shrimp and grits (a Carolina classic). For dessert, don’t miss the sticky toffee cake or the banana pudding. I’ve eaten at the Fairview for more than a decade, and Cunningham’s preparations are consistently excellent no matter the year or the season. The dining experience is crowned with top-flight service; it’s as though there’s a conductor behind the curtain making sure everything runs perfectly. In fact there is: It’s the chieftain of food and beverages Don Ball who knows not only how to make this joint hum but to hit all the high notes, too. What do I like best about the Fairview? I don’t have to golf to live the life of those who do.