What is it about Vietnamese food? I love it and wherever I can find a good Vietnamese restaurant, I’m there. Too bad there aren’t enough good Vietnamese chefs living in other parts of the world where they can open restaurants and banish, once and for all, the gooey, gloppy, fattening, tasteless blubber that passes for cuisine in many countries. I would wholeheartedly support a special visa programme for good Vietnamese cooks.

Since I posted my favorite restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) a few days ago, I thought I’d add my favorites in Hanoi. Of course, not every restaurant listed here serves Vietnamese food since you would like a diversion every now and then.

Green Tangerine
48 Hang Be St.
Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 825 1286
French-Vietnamese

Verticale
19 Ngo Van So St.
Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 944 6317
French Vietnamese

Restaurant Bobby Chinn
1 Ba Trieu Street
Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 934 8577
http://bobbychinn.com

Wild Lotus
55A Nguyen Du Street
Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 943 9342

Blue De Thuy
28 Tong Duy Tan, Hoàn Kiếm
Hanoi, Vietnam
Eclectic
+84 4 928 5900
www.bleudethuy.com.vn

Emperor Restaurant
18B Le Thanh Tong St.
Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 826 8801

Wild Rice
6 Ngo Thi Nham
Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 943 8896

Vine Restaurant
31A Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho
Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 719 1448
www.vine-group.net

Bun Cha
20 Ta Hien St
Hanoi, Vietnam
In old quarter for bun cha, a lunchtime dish that consists of barbecued minced-pork balls in fish sauce

Pho Thin
13 Lo Duc St.
Hanoi, Vietnam
In downtown area, it’s the place for pho

The South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood in San Francisco has been undergoing a dramatic revival in the past few years and like the Mission, Potrero and Dogpatch (other trendy neighborhoods), it is a popular location for entrepreneurs to start restaurants and wine bars.

Still, there are a few reliable good places to eat that have been around for years, long before SOMA became hip. One of them is the South Park Cafe, a fabulous French bistro that even serves a home-made boudin aux pommes (blood sausage with sauteed apples).

I had dinner at South Park Cafe recently with Mary Hodder, founder of Dabble, and Sarah Austin, founder of Pop 17. We sat for hours, savoring our food and wine (Chateau Belles-Graves, a very good red wine). We ended up being the last ones to leave.

• Vibe: Unpretentious French bistro on a quiet leafy park in the middle of SOMA, not far from the baseball stadium. The tables are spaced apart in a civilized manner so the noise levels are low and you can talk to your dinner companions.

• Pros: Delicious French food, much better than expensive, snobby places in the city; excellent wine list, good service. The crowd is low-key and comes here for the food. Does not matter what you order: fish, meat, vegetables, dessert. The fish is fresh and cooked to perfection, the desserts are scrumptious.

• Cons: Parking situation in South Park is grim, but you can always find a nearby parking lot. You can also walk or bike. Check if there is a ball game on the evening you are going to the restaurant because the traffic jams in the area are horrendous.

South Park Cafe
108 South Park
San Francisco, CA 94107
+1 415 495 7275
www.southparkcafesf.com

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Read up on my other favorite restaurants in San Francisco and click on the Google map below to see more good places in SF.

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Now that I’ve posted my favorite hotels in Rio, let’s find a good place to eat. Fortunately the city is filled with good restaurants. It’s hard to choose. But I have to put together a short list so here it is, my favorite restaurants in Rio.

Espirito santa
Santa Teresa
Rua Almirante Alexandrino #264
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
+55 21 2508 7095
www.espiritosanta.com
Amazonian cuisine

Aprazível
Santa Teresa
Rue Aprazival 62
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
+55 21 2507 7334
www.aprazivel.com.br
Brazilian nouvelle cuisine

Roberta Sudbrack
Jardim Botânico
Rua Lineau de Paula Machado 916
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
+55 21 3874 0139
www.robertasudbrack.com.br
Brazilian nouvelle cuisine

Gero Rio
Ipanema
Rua Anibal de Mendonça 157
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
+55 21 2239 8158
Italian

Barracuda
Marina da Glória
Av. Infante Dom Henrique
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
+55 21 2265 4641
www.restaurantebarracuda.com.br
Seafood

Olympe
Jardim Botânico
Rua Custódio Serrão, nº 62, Lagoa
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
+55 21 2539 4542
www.claudetroisgros.com.br

Going to a new restaurant is always an adventure. Will it be a disappointment or a pleasant surprise? I went to Fraiche in Culver City (Los Angeles) recently and wondered which one it would be. When I opened the menu and saw that they served finocchiona, a Tuscan salami made with fennel seeds, I felt more at ease. One rarely comes across a restaurant in California that serves finocchiona. The food turned out to be very delicious: piquant farro salad with blood oranges, savoury pappardelle with oxtail ragout, succulent duck leg confit. I could have tried one of the desserts but alas, I had already eaten so much. Fraiche is now one of my favorite places to eat in LA.

• Vibe: airy open restaurant with outdoor seating, tables spaced apart for civilized conversations, elegant but unpretentious decor

• Pros: delicious French, Italian and Mediterranean dishes cooked to perfection, excellent wine list; valet parking.

• Cons: the neighborhood (Culver Boulevard) is dead at night so you will need to drive elsewhere for a nightcap.

Fraiche
9411 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA
+1 310 839 6800
www.fraicherestaurantla.com

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Click to see my other favorite restaurants in Los Angeles.

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I love Vietnamese food so it seems natural for me to include a list of good restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Of course since Vietnam used to be a French colony, you won’t be surprised to find good French restaurants as well. Above is a photo of three Vietnamese women wearing the traditional ao dai, which I adore. I bought an ao dai in a Vietnamese boutique in Paris. It is elegant, sexy and comfortable — an unbeatable combination in clothing.

Madame Tinh
40/29 Bui Vien Street
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hue cuisine, , well hidden in a lane next to “Hideaway Bar”, Pham Ngu Lau Street. Speciality rice with clams

Caffe’ Centro
6 Thai Van Lung Street, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
+84 8 291 3135
Italian home cuisine, and of course espresso

Pho 24
5 Nguyen Thiep Street
District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
+84 8 822 8260
www.pho24.com.vn

Le Bordeaux (French)
72 - D2 Street, Van Thanh Bac, Binh Thanh Dist
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
+84 8 899 9831
www.restaurant-lebordeaux.com.vn

Nam Phan
64 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 3
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
+84 8 829 2757

Restaurant 13
13 Ngo Duc Ke St, D1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
+84 8 239 314

Oceania
167A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, District 3
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
+84 8 932 2579
Seafood

Quan An Ngon
138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
+84 8 825 7179