The Restaurants That Justify the Flight
Meals worth building a trip around
When I plan a trip, I don’t start with Google or a list of restaurants. I start with a few people whose taste I trust, the ones who’ve actually been, who know how to spend a day, who understand that a great trip is often defined by a handful of meals.
Uma Chalik is always one of those people for me. She’s the voice behind Miscellaneous Good, a travel archive for the tasteful traveler. Miscellaneous Good is the kind of travel recommendations you actually want: thoughtful, personal, and deeply vetted. The kind you build a trip around without hesitation. She’s travelled to over 50 countries around the world, and has helped plan some of my most memorable trips.
When we started trading notes, it became clear we think about travel in a similar way, not as a checklist, but as a rhythm with meals being a clear focus. The one you book first. The one you stumble into. The one you’d go back for tomorrow.
So instead of putting together a traditional guide, we mapped our travels through that lens, the roles certain meals play, and the places that have defined them for us.
The One You’d Go Back For Tomorrow
UC: Lunch at the Maçakızı in Bodrum. If I could eat every meal of my life in one place, I’d pick the long deck at Maçakızı. A family-style spread of the freshest Mediterranean ingredients – ruby tomatoes, garbanzo beans soaked in olive oil, an assortment of fresh-from-the-garden salads, kebab – all presented in chic royal blue and red cookware to feel like your private chef just set it out upon preparation. The menu changes daily, from gyro, to Turkish dumplings (my eyes light up thinking about these) to the softest grilled branzino. For dessert, the cheesecake is a must.
JS: There are restaurants you admire, and then there are restaurants you crave. The Barbary in London is firmly the latter. The open kitchen wraps around a U-shaped counter, with cozy seats that all but guarantee you’ll end up talking to your neighbors by the end of the meal. The food is deeply craveable, the kind you could eat every day without thinking twice - freshly made pita and dips, herbaceous salads, char-grilled octopus and a variety of meat skewers. It’s the first place I recommend to anyone traveling to London. I wish it existed in New York, but since it doesn’t, it’s the one I’d go back for tomorrow.
The One You Book First (aka The Reservation That Becomes the Trip)
UC: Stissing House in Upstate NY, because I’ve actually never been, and this will be the reason for my next trip upstate. Anyone who’s come over for a dinner party has experienced my coupe glass butter towers paired with a fresh loaf of Rigor Hill Market sourdough. A forever crowd favorite! My inspiration was this Vogue article written by Stissing House Chef, Clare de Boer.
JS: Ca’s Patro March in Mallorca is one of the reasons most people, myself included, want to go to Deià. Yes, it’s what you see all over Instagram, but it truly lives up to it. It’s peak European summer: long lunches that stretch for hours, rosé, fresh seafood, all set against the bright blue Mediterranean, still in your swim clothes. It’s the kind of lunch that becomes the entire day. We didn’t even have a reservation – we risked it, walked in, maybe did a little bit of scheming — and somehow made it work. It ended up making not just our day, but the entire trip. It’s the one you book before anything else in Deià, and the one you’ll remember long after.
The Trip That Revolves Around Lunch
UC: Ibiza. Two places in particular are a must-go, each for a totally different vibe. The first is Jondal - which you’ve probably heard of if you’ve been to Ibiza. This is the place to see and be seen and have a four-hour luch, embodying the true spirit of European Summer. A delicious lunch at that! The second, and arguably more special, is Nudo. I went once and I’ll never forget the taste bud party that ensued. Nudo sits on a quaint beach on the quieter side of town, so it’s really all about the food here. Crudo appetizers + “grandma’s” oysters fresher than I’ve ever tasted before!
JS: It’s an obvious one, but Contramar in Mexico City is on every “best of” list for a reason. In a city defined by its dining scene, this is the lunch. We could only get an 11am reservation and intentionally skipped a proper pastry breakfast to save room, arriving early and a little too eager, waiting for our table like it was the main event, because it was. The blue and white dining room, the dessert tray making its rounds, the whole fish deboned tableside, the tuna tostadas you think about long after, it all delivers. This is the meal build around and prioritize among all the quicker taco stops that fill the rest of the days.
The One You Didn’t Plan For
UC: Café Berry in Paris - an easy breakfast before a day of wandering in the 3rd.
JS: Polo Fried Chicken is a hole-in-the-wall Michelin-starred chicken spot I loosely bookmarked before my trip to Bangkok. After hungrily landing, I spontaneously went on a 20-minute side-quest, turning onto a side street with not a single tourist in sight, and ordered a massive spread for about $10 USD: juicy Thai fried chicken, a mound of rice, crispy crunchy bits scattered over the top, and little bowls of spicy oils to drizzle over everything. It was simple, perfect, and ended up being one of the best things I tasted in Thailand.
The One That Sets the Tone
UC: Jaïs in Paris, every time. Book your first night’s reservation here. The air is sexy. The dishes are full of butter. Drinks are strong. Energy is French. Tables are kissing each other, and there’s always a fashion crowd smoking Vogue cigarettes outside. It’s a vibe!
JS: Taverna Trulissa in Rome is exactly what you picture when you think of a Roman restaurant: a meat and cheese counter in the front, cured meats hanging from the ceiling, bottles of wine lining the walls, tons of Italian art everywhere. The menu feels endless. The pastas are served in these massive metal saucepans, set right down on the table and piping hot. It’s theatrical in the simplest way, generous and unfussy. It’s the best way to start a trip in Italy, and the kind of place I’d go back to every time I’m in Rome, and recommend to any traveller in a heartbeat.
The Ending You Remember
UC: 4 Charles Prime Rib in NYC. Just when you thought you'd had the most decadent meal of your life and nothing could top it, dessert comes out. A dream spread for the eyes and the tongue. The five inches of meringue piled atop their famous lemon cake is impossible to resist.
JS: Chez L’ami Louis’ dessert almost feels too simple to matter - it’s a bowl of perfect berries, a generous spoonful of whipped somewhat sweet-somewhat sour cream, and a small dish of sugar on the side to sprinkle as you please. And yet, it’s unforgettable. The cream is impossibly rich, the berries feel picked from a Parisian garden, and the act of adding your own sugar turns it into something whimsical and personal. It feels less like dessert, and more like a ritual that’s understated and entirely Parisian. It’s the kind of ending that ties together a bow of a perfect meal - one of my favorites in the world.
The Nightcap
UC: Grandfather's in Tokyo. I ordered a Manhattan, chased my drink with a cigarette, and sang along to a hit list of ‘70s music with the couple sharing our table. The kind of place you could sit in for hours without a bother.
JS: Both Sips in Barcelona and Handshake Speakeasy in CDMX are beverage programs worth revolving your night (and arguably your trip) around. Menus that are so incredibly hard to decide what one or two drinks to pick. Cocktails that have a distinct beginning, middle and end, and flavor profiles with ingredients you could never imagine being in a cocktail, but somehow they work.
The Bakery Detour
UC: Bouchon Bakery in Yountville is ALL. TIME. Let the photo do the talking. But I would venture to say their almond croissant + a seat in the sun will solve all your problems.
JS: Juno the Bakery in Copenhagen has some of the most memorable pastries I can think of to-date - they’re known for their cardamom bun and it’s worth a flight halfway across the world for.
Not every great meal justifies a flight, but the ones that do tend to stay with you long after the trip ends. They become reference points for a city, for a season of life, for the people you traveled with. The exceptional ones become the reason that you return, the ones you keep talking about long after you come home.
 | A guest post by
|
This duo single-handedly inspires every meal I have outside of the U.S.
I was skeptical of Contramar but it handily lived up the hype. Handshake was great. Also in CDMX really enjoyed Tokyo Music Bar and Hiyoko.