Even though I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like, I really enjoy traveling. Over the years, I’ve collected a great deal of recommendations that I often want to share with people. Emailing that list around to people each time became a bit tedious, so I have started to maintain the list here. I try my best to keep the list up to date, but if you notice a link is broken or some information is incorrect, please let me know.

These recommendations are almost for food and drink, which is typically what I tend to seek out when exploring a new place.

Note: if I do not personally know you and you contact me about adding something to this list, your message will be ignored. I have gotten quite a lot of requests to add places or links, and I don’t have the time to look through all of them, particularly for people I don’t know.

North America

United States

California

While it is quite hyped, if you are in California, I would definitely try In-N-Out at least once. As far as fast food goes, their quality is quite good, though be aware that most locations get very crowded during any given meal time. They have a pretty large number of locations, and they also have a “secret” menu.

Bay Area (ish)

• Arsicault Bakery (San Francisco)
• Billco’s Billiards and Darts (Napa)
• Cowgirl Creamery (San Francisco)
• Haberdasher (San Jose): one of my favorite cocktail bars of all time. If you make a reservation (or if they aren’t too crowded), you can basically have them suggest a cocktail for you, and they will ask you a series of questions to help determine what kind of cocktail you might enjoy.
• Original Gravity Public House (San Jose)
• Russian River Brewing (Santa Rosa)

Greater Los Angeles

• BCD Tofu House (Koreatown)
• Beachwood BBQ and Brewing (Long Beach)
• Cathy’s Delicatessen (Newhall)
• Class 302 (Diamond Bar)
• Daikokuya (Various, including Diamond Bar, Little Tokyo, and West LA)
• Din Tai Fung (Various, including Glendale)
• Furaibo (West LA)
• Gangnam Tofu
• Monkish Brewing Company (Torrance)
• Newhall Refinery (Newhall)
• Pho 999 (Van Nuys)
• Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles (Downtown)
• Senor Baja (Various, including Upland)
• Sugarfish (Various)
• Tacos Mexico (Pomona)
• Tsujita (West LA)
• Vendome Wine and Spirits (Studio City)

San Diego

• Modern Times Beer: a craft brewery that has a pretty diverse offering of beers and awesome decorations. Their flagship location is in Point Loma near Old Town, but they also have a variety of other locations on the West Coast. I particularly like their IPAs and sours.
• Tacos El Gordo: my favorite taco place. The food is high quality, though be aware that there are usually separate lines for each type of filling (marked with signs). Also, be sure to check their locations, as similarly-named places are nearby. They also have locations in the Las Vegas area.

Massachusetts

Greater Boston

• Alta Strada (Wellesley)
• Cafe Mangal (Wellesley)
• Juniper (Wellesley)
• Papa Razzi (Wellesley)
• Pomodoro (North End)
• Szechuan Gourmet (Framingham)
• Toscanini’s (Cambridge)
• Total Wine and More (Natick)

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

• Arsenal Cider (Lawrenceville)
• Brew Gentlemen (Braddock)
• Chaya (Squirrel Hill)
• De Fer Coffee and Tea (Strip District)
• Duke’s (Homestead)
• Eighth and Hays (Homestead)
• Fireside Public House (East Liberty)
• Gaucho (Strip District)
• Il Pizzaiolo (Mt. Lebanon)
• Pamela’s (Various, including Millvale, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, and Strip District)
• Salem’s (Strip District)
• Superior Motors (Braddock)
• The Vandal (Lawrenceville)
• Voodoo Brewing (Homestead)

Europe

Switzerland

Zurich

• The Alehouse
• Barfly’z
• Fraumunster
• Grossmunster
• Zeughauskeller

Asia

Japan

Tokyo

• Ben Fiddich (Shinjuku)
• Ginza Wakamatsu (Ginza)
• Kanda Yabusoba (Kanda)

Kobe

• Steakland Kobe (Sannomiya)

Kyoto

• Katsukura Tonkatsu (Nagakyo)

Osaka

• Yakiniku Tsuruhashi (Tsuruhashi)