Try your hardest not to overdo it on the lamb chops, octopus salad, duck with mole and chilaquiles; the desserts, made by Mr. Ortega's pastry-chef brother, Ruben, are irresistible. Read more.
They have 66 beers on tap (a few of which are made on-site), a selection of wild game sausages and hamburgers, and a terrifically irreverent, often profane notion of what constitutes customer service. Read more.
The Renzo Piano-designed museum, its satellite buildings, and the Rothko Chapel, are so integral to Houston's identity that it's hard to believe that the institution is only 25 years old. Read more.
Browse the extensive literary fiction and Southern Studies sections, buy a soda and a book and park yourself on the breezy balcony for a peaceful afternoon read. Read more.
After dinner, head upstairs to the balcony for a nightcap or two. Watch Ole Miss students partying below and enjoy the music emanating from other venues on the square. Read more.
The menu changes seasonally; fall options include peaches with pickled green garlic, truffle-infused pork loin with black-eyed pea caviar and balsamic ice cream sandwich with fried basil leaves. Read more.
The half-hour House Museum Tour takes visitors through the 1775-built guest quarters, the only part of the residence to survive (tours start at 12). Show yourself around the extensive formal gardens. Read more.
Dates to 1808 and is filled with period furniture (check out the three-story spiral staircase, built largely without nails or screws). Thirty-minute tours take place every half-hour Read more.
I wondered if the croissants would live up to Mr. Lignac's somewhat hyped reputation, but the downy golden crescent I tucked into just might be the lightest croissant in town. Read more.
Quill, the piano bar at this boutique downtown hotel, is a great place to meet up for a coffee or cocktail. There are lovely couches and it's always quiet. Read more.
It's an absolutely spectacular recreation of the Joe Rosenthal photograph of five Marines hoisting the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Read more.
Fabulous in the winter because it is so peaceful and no one is there. In the summer the water is so shallow you can walk forever in the ankle-deep tidal pools. It's calm and wonderful—very West Coast. Read more.
The beach stretches for miles on end, it's not crowded with people and it's located in a beautiful part of Vancouver. Read more.
The tomb of Juan Ponce de León is inside, and the holiday services here are magnificent. Read more.
Walk along this promenade and get a sense of the city's history through vistas of the forts and old city walls. There are also gorgeous views of the bay. Read more.
Love spending the day looking at the collection of Puerto Rican and Latin American artists. There's a great restaurant, Laurel Kitchen: Art Bar, run by Mario Pagán—one of Puerto Rico's leading chefs. Read more.
There aren't many bookstores in San Juan anymore. This one has lasted over 40 years. They have a great selection of Spanish-language books focused on the humanities, literature and social sciences. Read more.
It's a no-frills place that serves beer on tap and has broken-down midcentury theater seating. Read more.
The slightly seedy drinker's bar at this restaurant is pitch-black, making it feel like you're walking into the chamber of a heart. The bartender sits in a pit surrounded by portraits of boxers. Read more.
Catch a Pirates game—and stellar views of the Roberto Clemente Bridge and downtown skyline. Read more.
It's an active shrine; people are constantly leaving soup cans, Coke bottles, wigs. A local artist collects the notes people leave; there have been hundreds, in languages from all over the world. Read more.
Pittsburgh has a great skyline. Ride the cable-car inclines to the top, or drive. Read more.
Hands-down the best barbecue in the city. It's BYOB and owned by an engaged couple who are a lot of fun. On Thursdays they do smoked chicken wings. Read more.
A 9,200-acre park with sweeping landscapes and shattering views. There is a feeling that you are part of a whole, whereas in London, in New York or Shanghai you are only part of a section. Read more.
Don't miss the Great Court, where the whole city once shopped. The famous organ is still there in all its glory and families who flock to hear its Christmas music still find each other at the eagle Read more.
This open-air market has been here forever. It is still strongly ethnic, not just Italian. There are Koreans, Indians and Pakistanis. My favorite is Villa de Roma, a no-frills, down-home place. Read more.
A roadside food truck known for grilled ahi fish bowls served with limed brown rice. Read more.
Here a fine old-school barman will give you a nice gin pour and crack open your own bottle of cold tonic. Enjoy the Max Parrish mural, said to depict Old King Cole passing wind! Read more.
A jam-packed museum of Southern-rooted music, it carries zydeco, blues, Cajun, R&B, brass and more, with a vinyl section upstairs, and CDs downstairs. Live gigs too. Read more.
They have Maine lobster with chive blossoms and they make their own tofu. It's inside the Fontainebleau. Read more.
