Commander’s Palace, New Orleans, LA A New Orleans institution since the late 1800s, Commander’s Palace’s stately turquoise exterior is a postcard-worthy site in the city’s historic garden district. Following in the footsteps of legendary Commanders chefs Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse, James Beard Award-winner Tory McPhail revitalizes the city’s Haute Creole cuisine with dishes like turtle soup au sherry and a roasted-chile-and-suckling-pig boudin. Runners-up:
Zuni Cafe, San Francisco, CA
Peter Luger’s, Brooklyn, NY

The Aviary, Chicago At The Avairy, cocktails are raised to the level of performance art, thanks to a battery of high-tech gadgets (a rotary evaporator, a blast chiller) that are used for drinks like the Loaded to the Gunwalls, a spicy Batavia Arrack cocktail that is served in a glass ship in a bottle. Runners-up:
Drink, Boston
The Dead Rabbit, NYC

San Francisco International (SFO) Wine bars, sushi, thin-crust pizza, New England clam chowder—SFO’s 65 restaurants offer an incredibly diverse, almost uniformly delicious, array of choices. Favorites include Cat Cora’s Kitchen, Ebisu, Napa Farms Market, Fung Lum, and Boudin Bakery. Runners-up:
Denver International (DEN)
O’Hare International, Chicago (ORD)

Hong Kong International (HKG) Six-hour layover? Hong Kong’s airport is a food lover’s paradise, with dozens of tantalizing options, including an outpost of celebrated Hung’s Delicacies (order the sliced goose), the elegant, sit-down Maxim’s (for dim sum), and Tsui Wah Eatery (where the fish balls are made fresh daily). Runners-up:
Sinapore Changi (SIN)
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)

The Peabody in Memphis, TN The Peabody is famous for two things: its rooftop parties, where bands from around the world play beneath the best skyline view in Memphis, and it’s daily duck walk, when the Peabody’s “Duckmaster” leads the hotel’s paddling of Mallard ducks on a parade through the lobby. Both are traditions stretching over more than 75 years, undeniable proof of their popularity. Runners-up:
Inn on Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC
La Fonda on the Plaza, Santa Fe, NM

Paris, France Paris has always been the Platonic ideal of white tablecloths and dressed up waiters. And it is, but with even better food. The home of the second highest number of Michelin-stars in the world, other cities are still catching up to match the innovation and opulent luxury of the city’s temples of haute cuisine, like Alain Passard’s prescient vegetable-focused L’Arpège. Runners-up:
Yountville, CA
New York, NY

Charleston, SC With a population of just 128,000, Charleston’s got a culinary scene to rival much bigger cities, with game-changing Southern restaurants like Sean Brock’s Husk and Mike Lata’s FIG that combine low-country traditions with a fresh perspective on local ingredients to create dishes like sassafras-glazed pork ribs and buttermilk chess pie with benne seed. Runners-up:
Austin, TX
Portland, OR

Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain Gastronauts flock to this restaurant in Basque country for the wild culinary creations of father-daughter team, Juan Mari Arzak and Elena Arzak Espina. The two incorporate local ingredients into innovative dishes like foie-gras eggs to celebrate the region’s traditions in new ways. Runners-up:
Au Pied de Cochon, Montreal
Husk, Charleston, SC

New Zealand

Melbourne, Australia While we’ve been Instagramming avocado toast and açai bowls, and feeling like trendsetters, Melbournites have been serving these breakfast dishes for years, and in the meantime have moved onto beetroot relish topped egg sandwiches and ricotta hotcakes. Runners-up:
Los Angeles
Paris

Vietti (Langhe, Italy) Like visiting a family, a trip to Vietti Winery in the Barolo-zone of Castiglione Falletto, Italy, feels both welcoming and intimate—just the type of setting in which you want to enjoy a Piemonte sunset and a big glass of wine. Runners-up:
Nikolaihof (Wachau, Austria)
Cayuse (Walla Walla, Washington/Oregon)

New York Bar, The Park Hyatt, Tokyo Perched on the 52nd floor of the iconic Park Hyatt Tokyo, the New York Bar was famously made famous in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 indie hit Lost in Translation. While a chance meeting with Bill Murray in unlikely, the bar has unparalleled views of Tokyo’s glittering skyline, expertly executed classic cocktails, and, of course, a premium selection of Japanese and international whiskeys. Runners-up:
Artesian at The Langham, London
Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle, New York City

Seabourn Starting in 2016, Seabourn Cruise Line will partner with star chef Thomas Keller to introduce the first By Thomas Keller restaurants across its fleet, bringing the chef’s signature locally-sourced cooking to cruises from Greece to the Caribbean. Runners-up:
UniWorld Boutique River Cruises
Oceania

Singapore Airlines With its gang of international chef consultants and quarterly changing menus, Singapore Airlines offers fliers dozens of special meal options, including their “Book the Cook” special, which lets you pre-order dishes from sushi to Chicken Biryani. Runners-up:
Emirates
Cathay Pacific