9221 Best Restaurants in USA

The restaurant at the exclusive Little Palm Island Resort—its dining room and adjacent outdoor terrace lit by candles and warmed by live music—is one of the most romantic spots in the Keys. It's open to nonguests on a reservations-only basis, but no one under 16 is allowed on the island. If you can get a reservation, go. The oceanfront setting is one that can't be matched, except for maybe in St. Barts or Fiji. Keep that in mind as you reach for the bill, which can also make you swoon. The menu melds Latin and Caribbean flavors, with exotic little touches—think foie gras crème brûlée with mango and toasted coconut, followed by grilled Spanish octopus and corn-jalapeño pudding. The Sunday brunch, the full-moon dinners with live entertainment, and the Chef's Table Dinner are very popular.

A sylvan hilltop overlooking the Methow Valley sets the scene for an extraordinary dining experience featuring upscale Pacific Northwest cuisine with local and often organic ingredients, artfully presented and served in an elegant yet unpretentious, wood-filled setting. Highlights include chicken curry soup, mushroom strudel, prime beef tenderloin, and Columbia River steelhead. Desserts vary by the season: apple pie with house-made ice cream is a fall favorite, while pavlova with sugared cranberries is refreshing in winter. Beignets make an appearance on the breakfast menu, along with a tasty BLTA croissant. The 3,500-bottle wine cellar is one of the best and most extensive in the region.

Dinner here will make you dream of bygone days, as piano music wafts in from the library of this 1880s mansion on the shores of Lake Champlain. Count on just-grown ingredients that come from the Market Garden right outside, as well as flavorful locally raised venison, beef, pork, and chicken.

One of the most inspired vegetarian restaurants in the country, Dirt Candy shines thanks to chef Amanda Cohen, who knows how to coax every bit of flavor out of vegetables—which she has described as \"candy from the earth\"—so that they dazzle on the plate and the palate. There's just one five-course tasting menu every night, which might include signature dishes like the build-your-own Brussels sprouts tacos, the \"Tower of Terroir\" deconstructed salad, or the addictive and spicy Korean fried broccoli.

This greasy spoon burger joint on the north edge of the UT campus has been satisfying the guilty pleasures of college students (and everyone else in town) since 1926. The original dirt floors and open-flame grills no longer exist, but the burgers and sides are still classically unpretentious with plenty of flavor (and grease). Sit at the counter to watch the short-order chefs at work, flipping hundreds of burgers (including signatures like the O.T. Special), patty melts, and chicken-fried steak sandwiches every day. The outdoor patio tables fill up fast during UT home games and other major sporting events, when games are broadcast on large HD TVs and the draft beers always taste best in their gigantic icy schooners.

Delicious food and good wine keep this small restaurant packed most nights. This gem can almost be missed just off busy North Street, but couples looking for an intimate date night or professionals grabbing after-work drinks have made it a hot spot.

Built in 1776, Dobbin House is the oldest building in town and is on the National Register of Historic Places. In six original rooms adorned with Colonial decor and antiques, staff in period clothing serve Colonial and classic American fare such as baked king's onion soup and roast duck. The floors are creaky, the ceilings low, and the rooms are small, but Dobbin House is just right for date night and special occasions.

Most of the tables in this warmly rustic dining room at Doe Bay Resort overlook the tranquil body of water for which the café is named. This is a popular stop for brunch or dinner before or after hiking or biking in nearby Moran State Park—starting your day off with a smoked-salmon Benedict with Calabrian-chili hollandaise will provide you with plenty of fuel for recreation. The kitchen uses ingredients foraged from the lush resort garden in such artful, healthy dinner creations as crisp-skinned wild salmon with onion-port jam, dandelion greens, salsify-chevre-quinoa cakes, and walnuts; and Thai green curry with local spot prawns.

Easily the most unique of eateries in Joseph, when you dine at the Dog Spot you'll either be inside by the open kitchen and adjacent dog supply shop, or outside where dogs are welcome to sit below the table while you enjoy delectable food prepared by internationally experienced chef/owner, Arion Canniff. Arion's wife and hostess/waitress of the establishment, Amy, is known to bring water bowls out for visiting dogs, and her deep knowledge of the current short but enticing menu is helpful when choosing what to order. Entrées have an international flair and some of the regular options, like shrimp street tacos, are tweaked with different sauces each week, such as lemon-garlic, mango, and even "German-inspired" during the Oktoberfest season. Regular items on the menu include an Argentinian steak salad with chimichurri, house mac and cheese with seven kinds of cheese, and Vietnamese bahn mi sandwich (available with pulled chicken, pork shoulder, or jackfruit or tofu for vegetarians). 

Popular D.C. coffee and gelato chain Dolcezza set up shop at the Hirshhorn Museum a few years ago, making it the only locally owned café in a Smithsonian museum. On a hot summer day, cool down with a heaping cone of their beloved pistachio gelato or recharge with a strong espresso. Located in the futuristic-looking lobby designed by the internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, it has stunning tables made in the shape of the roots of a medieval Japanese nutmeg tree. The café also offers freshly made sweet and savory pastries to appeal to the diverse taste of its guests.

At the end of Harpswell Neck—next to the Dolphin Marina, where diners often arrive by boat—this popular restaurant serves one of the best fish chowders on the coast. Take in the excellent views through a wall of windows or from the outdoor deck as you enjoy your equally excellent chowder—or your lobster stew, crab or lobster roll, or chicken or beef entrée.

This eatery wows diners with rustic Italian cooking and thin crust, wood-fired pizza. In the renovated Roosevelt Hotel—a 19th-century landmark—friendly and knowledgeable waiters happily help patrons with lesser-known ingredients, but it doesn't take a lengthy explanation to know that the fresh pastas and pizzas are a must. The restaurant departs from the hotel lobby's historic, gilded decor and opts instead for sleek black walls and chain-mesh curtains, warmed by jewel-box displays of house-cured meats. From 3 to 5 pm daily, all pizzas and wines are half off, so come hungry. A smaller, more casual PIZZA Domenica is located Uptown (4933 Magazine Street).

This po'boy institution has been around in one form or another for more than a century, but the way the corner restaurant fills up each day for lunch is proof neither New Orleanians or its visitors are growing tired of it any time soon. Sink your teeth into a fried shrimp po'boy, or a dozen other delicious options, and you'll feel transported back in time---the quality hasn't changed in decades, and neither have the decor and atmosphere regulars have come to love so much

This music-influenced doughnut shop has been credited for enlivening York Boulevard with fun vegan inventions. Donut Friend has evolved into a destination in its own right, touting both a signature and limited menu of purely vegan doughnuts inspired by the pop punk and emo music scene.

Chandeliers, century-old wall tapestries, and gold-leaf ceilings set the scene at this elegant restaurant inside an 1848 mansion on Old Mesilla's plaza. Some say ghosts, including one of a young man who incurred his mother's wrath by falling in love with a servant girl, haunt the property. Continental cuisine, steaks, and flambé dishes are served, formally, in the main restaurant. The restaurant has its own aging room for its renowned steaks, and you can sample all sorts of delicious alcoholic infusions from the bar (the chile vodka makes a fantastic Bloody Mary). Pepper's, the adjoining Southwestern-style café, has more casual fare including chiles rellenos served with colorful tortilla chips. The Double Eagle Sunday Champagne brunch is excellent and a good deal (reservations are recommended).

The all-American junk-food staple is elevated to high art here, with fresh seasonal ingredients, real fruit, and imported chocolate mixed into the batter. Traditionalists croon over the vanilla-bean doughnut, but there are plenty of exotic flavors to tempt taste buds: the dense, fudgy Brooklyn Blackout is covered in crumb topping; carrot-cake doughnuts have a cream-cheese filling. Choosing is the difficult part: options include cake doughnuts and yeast doughnuts, as well as \"doughseeds.\" There are other locations around the five boroughs.

Stop in at this cute little house next to the boardwalk and order an ice cream cone to enjoy at a nearby picnic table or as you stroll along the waterfront. You'll probably want to make it a two-scooper, so you can try at least two of the many flavors, all made right here in Boothbay Harbor. Favorites include coffee Heath bar, blueberry cheesecake, pistachio, rum raisin, and cinnamon gingersnap. You can go all in with a hot fudge sundae or a banana split, too.

Seating no more than 16 guests per night, this oasis of seasonal and local cooking feels like your coolest friend's dinner party. It was the area's first farm-to-table restaurant when co-owners Abby and Rogan Lechthaler opened doors in 2010, and it has continued to be a mainstay thanks to excellent hospitality, warm-spirited creativity, and nightly changing menus. The interesting wine list and cocktail menu are among the best in the state.

With a dining room and deck that overlook the bay that supplies this venerable seafood company's delicious, briny oysters, this funky spot serves bivalves in a variety of formats: raw on the half shell, in a creamy stew, fried in po'boys, or grilled with a garlic-butter-wine sauce and other tasty toppings. It's in downtown Blaine, less than a mile from the Canadian border, and 16 miles west of Lynden.

Internationally acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten brings his thoughtful approach to regional cuisine to The Hermitage Hotel's architecturally interesting flagship restaurant. Classy but not stuffy, the kitchen serves three meals a day to hotel guests and smart Downtown denizens who know that a meal here is a surprisingly affordable indulgence—the delightful wood-fired pizzas benefit from fresh produce toppings, and the seasonal menu features the freshest and most exciting local vegetables uniquely prepared alongside premium seafood and meats. Wondering about the name? Children of the hotel’s former general manager, Drusie and Darr Hall lived at the property in the 1950s and ‘60s.

Along with a stunning state beach, the tiny, adorable, largely agricultural community of Pescadero is known for this coastal dining legend. Dating back to the late 1800s, no other coastal restaurant comes close to the celebrity status of Duarte’s. If it’s lunchtime, a significant number of tables in its series of intimate wood-paneled rooms will surely be enjoying the Dungeness crab melt and perhaps a Bloody Mary. Later in the day, the “tavern” portion of the restaurant kicks into gear as locals come to the bar area for stiff cocktails or a few beers. At any time of day, guests enjoy the signature green chile and artichoke soups, with the latter being a classic preparation for one of the most unheralded local produce specialties. 

Even in midafternoon, this small, casual, and cool panini-and-more shop is packed, and the wait for tables can be hours. The focus here is everyday farm-to-table fare: the signature Belgian fries are made with Maine potatoes cooked, yes, in duck fat and served in paper cones, and standards include meat loaf and the BGT (bacon, goat cheese, tomato). Drink choices include gelato milk shakes, French-press coffee, lime-mint fountain sodas, beer, and wine.

For a taste of Hawaiian flavors like freshly caught seafood with a macadamia crust, this homage to surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku is a prime people-watching spot. Order a mai tai with crispy coconut shrimp or fresh ahi tuna fish tacos. Be sure to save room for a slice of the Kimo Original Hula Pie, with chocolate cookie crust, macadamia nut ice cream, hot fudge, toasted macadamia nuts, and whipped cream. Every Monday they offer a Burger and Beverage special with a choice of one of six different gourmet burgers for $19 from 4 to 9 pm. They also offer a Chef's two-course prix fixe menu for $29 on weekday afternoons.

For more than 20 years, Dukem has been a favorite of those seeking authentic Ethiopian food. Guests come for the injera, a spongy flatbread topped with tibs, a dish with cubed tender lamb or beef fried with onion, rosemary, jalapeño pepper served with injera, and salad and spicy awazie sauce. Dukem also has vegan and vegetarian-friendly combinations with spicy split lentils, yellow peas, greens, cabbage, potatoes in spicy sauce, and also shiro. Order tej (Ethiopian honey wine) for the full Ethiopian dining experience. On the weekends, you may catch live music from local Ethiopian performers.

A favorite of old-timers who know their way around a blue-corn enchilada (and know that Duran's deeply authentic New Mexican red is the chile to pick for it), this welcoming spot serves fine, freshly made and warm flour tortillas, too. Duran's harkens to the days when every drugstore had a soda fountain; it's got cold beer and a full kitchen now, serving up breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with your choice of counter stools, cozy tables, or the little shaded patio right off old Route 66. By the way, the pharmacy itself still offers the personal care it did since its founding back in 1942, and the traveler will find just about any sundry they might have a need for—as well as a sophisticated selection of New Mexico–centric books and gifts.

Durant's has endured in the same location since 1950 with the same menu and waiters who've been on staff for decades, making it one of Phoenix's legendary eating establishments. Supreme steaks, chops, and fresh seafood, including grilled scallops and oysters Rockefeller, dominate here; when the restaurant once tried to update its menu, regulars protested so furiously the idea was shelved. Those in the know enter through the kitchen door and frequent the Rat Pack–style bar for jumbo martinis fit for ol' Blue Eyes himself.

For almost 90 years now, Earl Abel's has managed to stay as hip as ever thanks to their classic homestyle menu and loyal fans that have followed them to a new location in the Pearl. The top-notch comfort food is made fresh daily and includes everything you would hope to see on your family table: classic breakfasts, soups and salads, hearty sandwiches, Abel's famous meat loaf, house-roasted turkey breast with cornbread stuffing, chicken-fried steak, garlic fried rice, and much more, with homemade pie and cake for dessert. But the real star of the show is Earl's Famous Original Fried Chicken, available as an entrée or dinner box, or in a family meal package with two sides and two slices of pie. Earl's also serves classic cocktails, coffee cocktails, draft and bottled beers, wines, and mocktails.