When it comes to finding the best food a city has to offer,
there'sno better source than one of the city's own. With that in
mind, weasked several of our esteemed contributing editors to offer
us theirpicks on where you should go when you're in their neck of
the woods.
Nashville
Margot Café & Bar
1017 Woodland Street, (615) 227-4668,
www.margotcafe.com
Ilove the meat-and-three spots. Really, I do. But when all is said
anddone, the high-end French/Italian cuisine of Margot Café &
Bar -without a touch of snobby - always wins me over. With its
brick wallsand hanging copper pots, this little café makes for a
warm and invitingplace to chow an evening away. A local girl
herself, Margot McCormackwent off to New York for her culinary
training but returned home - andthe city's dining is all the better
for it.
- Jenna Schnuer
New York
Dani
333 Hudson Street, (212) 633-9333,
www.danirestaurant.com
Asan Upper East Sider, I didn't exactly have Hudson Street,
onManhattan's far West Side, on my radar. But that all changed
oneevening when a friend took me to Dani, a new Mediterranean
restaurantowned by
Don Pintabona (the longtime chef at Robert De
Niro's TribecaGrill). The intimate dining room - think warm woods,
dim lighting -complements the menu's rustic dishes (Italian fennel
sausage withbroccoli rabe or grilled quail with pomegranate
molasses). Dani is nowa permanent fixture on my radar.
- Jill Fergus
Atlanta
The Food Studio
887 West Marietta Street, (404) 815-6677,
www.thefoodstudio.com
WhenI tire of the same old burger and fries, I head to the Food
Studio, asensuous dining room at the historic King Plow Arts
Center. Withdeliciously creative cuisine (like citrus-glazed black
cod with bokchoy and vanilla-miso butter) from mastermind Mark
Alba, it's obviouswhy this eatery has become one of only 19 Atlanta
eateries named aDistinguished Restaurant of
North America. Added
bonus? The service isas spectacular as the suppers. - Jill
Becker
San Francisco
Canteen
817 Sutter Street, (415) 928-8870
Atfirst glance, it looks like a humble diner. But San Franciscans
know itas something finer. From behind the bright green counter of
his tinyrestaurant, chef Dennis Leary serves some of the city's
mostmouthwatering meals, with inventive dishes ranging
fromasparagus-and-fennel salad with pea puree and grape sorbet to
pork withcurry, raisins, and rhubarb slaw. The house-baked brioche,
which comeswith dinner, is almost a meal in itself. - Josh Sens
Austin, Texas
Las Manitas Avenue Café
211 Congress Avenue,
(512) 472-9357
Whenit's up to me, I almost always go for the Mexican comfort food
- and sodoes the rest of eclectic
Austin (think suited power
brokers andbleary-eyed musicians). Loaded with Latino art and
vintage booths, LasManitas is great for that morning wake-up call.
My meal of choice?Cinnamon coffee, chilaquiles verdes, migas with
mushrooms, and the bestwatermelon agua fresca in town. - Becca
Hensley
Chicago
The Weiner's Circle
2622 North Clark Street,
(773) 477-7444
Everytime I'm in
Chicago, I am seduced by the greasy allure of the
Weiner'sCircle, a brick shack on North Clark that serves the best
hot dogs onthe planet. Go for the "charred red hot," a heap of 100
percent beefwith raw onions, relish, tomatoes, mustard, celery
salt, sport peppers,and pickles. Asking for ketchup is an insult;
the staff will just swearat you. Open until four a.m. weekdays and
until five a.m. on weekends.- Jack Boulware
Malibu, CaliforniaReel Inn
18661 Pacific Coast Highway,
(310) 456-8221
Theconcept is almost too simple: Pick from a lineup of daily fresh fish(salmon to monkfish to snapper), tell them how you’d like it cooked(fried, sautéed, or blackened), and park yourself at one of thecommunal picnic tables. Sip local pale
ale. Wait longer than expected.Gawk at ocean views. Your name is eventually called, and your fishwaits at the counter with your chosen sides (mashed potatoes, Cajunrice, steamed veggies). It’s worth every penny. — Kevin Raub