Where to Eat: Fun and Unique Restaurants, City by City
I don’t call myself a foodie. I have never used the word “mouthfeel” and I don’t plan to start. What I do have is a habit of researching fun restaurants harder than I research the flights that get me there.
This page collects every restaurant guide I’ve written. All of it comes from eating in these places myself, usually alone, usually taking notes on my phone like a woman with somewhere to be.
If you plan your meals first and arrange the sightseeing around them, you’re in the right place.
Los Angeles
My daughter moved to LA a few years ago, which is how I ended up with a long-running and fairly expensive research project into the strangest places in the city to eat and drink. No regrets.
- 12 Fun and Unique Themed Restaurants in Los Angeles
Most LA restaurants will feed you. These will feed you while making you feel like you’ve wandered into someone else’s fever dream, which is roughly the point of Los Angeles. - Unique Bars in Los Angeles
Whiskey barrels you can walk inside. A door hidden behind a hot dog stand. Cocktails that arrive on fire. I have spent an embarrassing amount of money confirming all of this for you.
New York City
- Fun NYC Restaurants for First-Timers
An iconic Central Park dining room, a slightly ridiculous tea room, and a jazz club. All of them places you can walk into on your own and sit comfortably, which is the part most NYC lists skip.
Carpinteria, California
- The Best Restaurants in Carpinteria
I stayed here for a month and worked my way down Linden Avenue on your behalf. Santa Barbara gets the reputation. Carpinteria gets the parking.
Capitola, California
- My Favorite Spots to Eat in Capitola
Capitola is my happy place and, based on how often I’m eating there, my unofficial second residence. Strong opinions ahead, including about margaritas by the water.
Arnold, California
- Best Places to Eat in Arnold, CA
Arnold is not a town where you wander around at 9 PM seeing what looks good. Kitchens close early and they are not sorry about it. Go with a plan and know what to order.
Silicon Valley
I’ve lived here my whole life. These are not recycled top ten lists. They’re the places I actually take people when they visit.
- Unique and Cool Places to Eat in Silicon Valley
A vintage player piano serenading your dinner. Margaritas strong enough to warrant a warning label. Places that qualify as an evening out rather than a meal. - Coolest Cafés in Silicon Valley
People picture tech bros hogging outlets in sterile rooms. That’s not my scene either. No chains, no hype, just cafés worth lingering in. I update this one regularly.
Barcelona
- Where to Eat in Barcelona
Barcelona has a wonderful food scene. It also has roughly one billion restaurants engineered to separate tourists from their money near the big sights. Here’s where I actually ate, plus the sangria I should not have ordered at lunch.
Rome
- Where to Eat in Rome Near the Top Attractions
Rome has over 13,000 restaurants. That is not a typo. This narrows it to the ones near the big sights that won’t disappoint a jet-lagged, hungry solo traveler.
A Few Odds and Ends
- Breakfast in Germany, Lunch in France, Dinner in Switzerland
Pastries, Flammkuchen, and fondue in a single day. It was not planned as a culinary challenge. It became one. - Host a Delightful English Tea Party
For when you miss England and cannot get there. I have still not received my invitation from the King, so I threw my own on a Tuesday. - Walmart vs Safeway: California Grocery Showdown
Twenty-four everyday items, priced at both. Useful if you’ve rented a place with a kitchen and would like your food budget to survive the week.
How I Pick Places
Three rules, and they haven’t changed in years.
- I have to have eaten there. None of this is assembled from Yelp reviews or a TikTok someone sent me.
- It has to be comfortable alone. If I felt like an inconvenience at a table for one, it doesn’t make the list.
- It has to be worth the detour. Perfectly fine food is everywhere. I’m looking for the meal you still talk about in the car on the way home.
More cities coming as I keep eating my way through them. If there’s somewhere you want me to investigate, the comments are open and I am extremely easy to persuade.