Picture @ Foreign Cinema by me

Experiencing travel is a remarkable thing. The Virtuoso published an article discussing the reasons for travel, “learning, expanding your perspective, getting in touch with yourself, relaxing, escaping…,” I agree with all of these but let’s not forget, FOOD. In my opinion, food is the heart of most of these travel gains.

My thrill for food is because of travel. Food brings people new cultures, new experiences, and excitement towards something different than the usual. The world is filled with unique cuisine and eye opening restaurant atmospheres, some more of the beaten path than others.

I though I’d give you guys some of my favorite cities and the restaurants in them as well as the top ranked foodie cities in the US. So here they are! You may want to grab a snack for this read.

What makes my mouth water and probably yours too:

Foreign Cinema San Francisco, CA: This restaurant serves sophisticated cuisine as they project an old film on the back patio. From personal experience, brunch is the way to go but make a reservation as soon as you know you’ll be traveling to San Fran. Start with the homemade wild huckleberry pop tarts and a caramel pecan sticky bun. Move on to the foie gras and duck liver mouse with grilled bread. Wow. I have splurged for the balsamic egg dish but you really can’t go wrong with any of the Sonoma pastured farm eggs. Foreign Cinema strives to serve as local as possible cuisine. The service is impeccable and the atmosphere is spunky and fresh. Highly suggest this. If Foreign Cinema isn’t for you, well you’re in luck because San Francisco is ranked #10 of 30 most exciting food cities in America, according to Zagat. You’ll find something tasty on every corner.

Katz’s Delicatessen New York, New York: If you want traditional pastrami and a classic New York family dynamic, this is the place for you. I will never forget this spot. My mom was so curiously exploring the meats and asking an abundance of questions that the man cut off of a chunk of the juicy corn beef and put it right into her hand. For me, that says it all. This place means business. It can almost be intimidating however the flavors and tradition puts a big smile on every customers face. If traveling to New York is not in your future well you’re in luck because Katz’s delivers across the country. This place may be one of my favorites but it also has celebrities like Oprah drooling over it. Check out this video to learn how to be a regular!

Botegga Louie Los Angeles, California: This place won me over the second I saw the beautiful array of macarons. In my opinion this place is every social media foodies dream. The simplicity of the food and the elegant white space on every plate is what attracted me. Botegga Louie is a restaurant as well as a market with a focus on sweets. If you happen to be in LA and staying at a hotel with little access to cooking, stop by Botegga to grab a couple sweets and possibly stay for my favorite brunch on the weekend. The atmosphere is elegant with room for casual style and a quick stop for lunch. Los Angeles is one of the best cities for foodies so check out Botegga but I’m sure you will not struggle to find other restaurants right up your alley.