archive

January 29, 2009 The boutique Hotel Albergo is the classiest, most relaxing and beautiful place to stay in Beirut, says Ivan Watson. He praises the hotel's tastefully decorated rooms, which stay true to Lebanese architectural tradition, and its restaurants' delicious food.

Summary

January 28, 2009 Yu's Family Kitchen, in Chengdu, China, confounds expectations. Located in a nondescript, gray apartment block, the restaurant takes its food seriously, says Shanghai correspondent Louisa Lim. A meal is a communion, where presentation, often humorous, is key.

Summary

December 9, 2008 Leptis Magna is a UNESCO World Heritage site located about two hour's drive east of Tripoli. Its incredible arches, fountains and sculpted Medusa heads are spitting distance from the Mediterranean Sea.

Summary

October 22, 2008 An hour southwest of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, eerily beautiful and strange ruins appear in the midst of sprawling olive groves. They're remarkable remnants of Byzantine farming villages that flourished in the 4th and 5th centuries.

Summary

September 30, 2008 In its glory days a half-century ago, El Djazira was a favorite of celebrities and high-rolling Algerians who would stop in before spending their nights at one of the casinos over at Canastel.

Summary

August 25, 2008 Sampling Southeast Asian cuisine doesn't have to be a frenetic affair. Visitors in this Lao town have time to enjoy a drink along the river, stay in a quiet room, and savor food with a hint of mint and sweets with a lot of ginger.

Summary

August 8, 2008 In a city where buildings are often razed to make way for high-rise apartments, Frank Langfitt was happy to find his favorite neighborhood restaurant, Xihe Yaju, still stands after a five-year absence from Beijing.

Summary

June 4, 2008 For those in South Korea who hanker for a taste of Pyongyang's most famous dish — naeng-myun, or cold buckwheat noodles — Seoul's Woo Lae Oak restaurant is considered by many to be the best option. Beijing correspondent Anthony Kuhn agrees.

Summary

May 22, 2008 Once dinner arrived at Chez Georges, Eric Westervelt understood why the Parisian restaurant has required reservations for 40 years. The NPR Jerusalem correspondent praises the family-owned eatery's traditional Lyonnaise fare.

Summary

April 21, 2008 You won't find Marisma, a taqueria in Puerto Vallarta, in any guidebook. But nearly every local Vallarteno knows about the simple, side-street stand that serves up some of the city's best fish tacos.

Summary

April 16, 2008 Though it can be difficult to find a truly great restaurant in New Delhi, one qualifies on all fronts: Swagath crackles with life, especially on the weekends when it's full of metropolitan Indians families on a night out.

Summary

April 16, 2008 Hanoi-based correspondent Michael Sullivan and his 9-year-old daughter seldom agree on anything. But they do share a favorite restaurant: the elegant Emperor, located in a renovated French villa where tables overlook a beautiful courtyard.

Summary

February 4, 2008 Spicy Sichuan-style hot pot is a signature dish in Chongqing, a mountainous city on the Yangtze in southwest China, and small, family-run restaurants draw the real connoisseurs. China correspondent Anthony Kuhn visits one of the best.

Summary

January 24, 2008 Housed in a building of the former Imperial Academy of Sciences, Restoran offers classic Russian dishes in a chic-minimalist atmosphere. Russia correspondent Gregory Feifer says it's a welcome change from the neon of the city's other eateries.

Summary

January 9, 2008 Lively Alsatian eatery Bofinger — the city's oldest brasserie — dishes up a grand dining experience in a Belle Epoque setting. Paris correspondent Eleanor Beardsley says it's both a historic symbol and a temple to the French way of eating.

Summary