Mount Rushmore of Restaurants

🏔 Ratna Cafe (Adyar, Chennai):

My dad’s favorite hometown cafe, and for good reason; probably the best sambar in the world, the vada and idli sambar are worth a trip. Their Vada is perfectly cripsy on the outside and packs a ton of flavour inside, be sure to eat it quickly before the sambar makes it too soggy. Weirdly the only thing I could actually keep down when I had amoebic dysentery.

🏔 per se Social Corner (Vancouver, BC):

The best pizza I have ever had in my life. Their dough is apparently fermented for 72 hours and then baked in an open flame brick oven and it just works. I got the Tartufina but I am sure you can’t go wrong with any other option – the dough is the star.

🏔 Elephant (Vancouver, BC):

Tiny little place with around 15 seats packed together together with their omakase (in reality, a tasting menu) is my favorite eating experience in my adult life. We sat at the counter in front of the chef which was a great but dangerous choice; ended up going in on 2 bottles of wine and an extra course.

🏔 Little Collins (Amsterdam, Netherlands):

The sister location for brunch/breakfast in De Pijp, they have a rotating menu but the yogurt sucuk bowl was the best breakfast I have had in a while. Also in a country of great coffee, their mocha was absolutely fantastic. Would love to try Collins at some point whenever I am back in Amsterdam if its anything like the little version.

Honorable Mentions

British Columbia
  • Maenam (Vancouver)
  • Little Bird Dim Sum (Vancouver)
  • Yuwa Japanese Cuisine (Vancouver)
  • Casareccio (Vancouver)
  • Tameki Sushi (Vancouver)
  • Mon Pitou Bistro & Bakery (Vancouver)
  • acquafarina (Vancouver)
  • per se Social Corner (Vancouver)
  • Autostrada Osteria Downtown (Vancouver)
  • Lupo (Vancouver)
  • Kissa Tanto (Vancouver)
  • Pizzeria Farina (Vancouver)
  • Khaghan (Vancouver)
  • Fable Diner (Vancouver)
  • Earnest Ice Cream (Vancouver)
  • Sing Sing (Vancouver)
  • Brassneck Brewery (Vancouver)
  • Beta5 Chocolates (Vancouver)
  • Elephant (Vancouver)
  • Tandoori Flame (Surrey)
  • Green Lettuce (Surrey)
  • Fox & Oak (Squamish)
  • Green Olive Market and Cafe (Squamish)
  • Raudz Regional Table (Kelowna)
California
  • Besharam (San Francisco)
  • DamnFine (San Francisco)
  • La Taqueria (San Francisco)
  • Mensho Tokyo SF (San Francisco)
  • Plow (San Francisco)
  • ROOH SF (San Francisco)
  • Taqueria El Farolito (San Francisco)
  • La Note (Berkeley)
  • Spoon Korean Bistro (Berkeley)
  • Pasta Moon (Half Moon Bay)
  • Ettan (Palo Alto)
Utah
  • Ivy & Varley (Salt Lake City)
  • Lake Effect (Salt Lake City)
  • Banbury Cross Donuts (Salt Lake City)
Iowa
  • Pullman Bar and Grill (Iowa City)
  • Big Grove Brewery & Taproom (Iowa City)
Minnesota
  • Hola Arepa (Minneapolis)
  • Hen House Eatery (Minneapolis)
Wisconsin
  • A Pig in a Fur Coat (Madison)
  • Bradbury’s Coffee (Madison)
  • Marigold Kitchen (Madison)
  • Cento (Madison)
  • Cafe Hollander (Hilldale)
England
  • Bibimbap House (Cambridge)
  • Trockel, Ulmann & Freunde (Cambridge)
  • Benet’s Cafe (Cambridge)
  • Padella (London)
  • Round House (London)
  • Veeraswamy (London)
  • Gymkhana (London)
  • Homeslice Neal’s Yard (London)
  • Udderlicious (London)
  • Pizza Union (London)

In Memorium

💀 Chino Latino (Minneapolis)

💀 Sen Yai Sen Lek (Minneapolis)