Bread Winners: We used to meet my dad here for lunch downtown, but now my favorite meal to eat here is breakfast. I love their free bread plates while you wait for your food, the cinnamon roll french toast, and their jalepeño bacon. I also recommend rummaging through the $1 day-old-cookie basket for a chocolate crinkle cookie.
Bubba's: Want biscuits and gravy for breakfast or a full grilled chicken dinner? Go here.
Dallas Firefighters Museum: One of my favorite museums as a child. They've got all sorts of old fire engines and equipment.
Fearing's: Famous tortilla soup, mains, and desserts. Everything is good here.
First Saturday Sale: A swap meet focused on electronics held at Woodall Rogers Plaza ("under the bridge"). My brothers and I went a few times and picked up some computer games, a hard drive, some construction lighting, and a few other things. We never paid more than a few dollars for anything, and sometimes items wouldn't last too long, but we had fun with them while they did.
Museum of the American Railroad: Another of my favorite childhood museums back when it was at Fair Park, this one has several locomotives from the age of steam.
Paciugo Gelato: Paciugo has lots of franchises now, but they started off in Dallas, and they still serve some of my favorite gelato anywhere.
Taco Diner: Mexican diner-style food. Great guacamole (a requirement at any Mexican restaurant), slow-cooked brisket, and my favorite, the chicken Americanos.
Tanner Electronics: A great store for electronic components of all kinds. Need two dozen Zune remotes, a Raspberry Pi, and some loose resistors? This is your place.
Texas State Railroad: A leisurely journey through the piney woods aboard an old steam locomotive.
Torchy's Tacos: Tasty tacos, queso, and guac. I get the breakfast tacos: try the #4 with diablo sauce.
Twisted Root Burger Co: The Root has the best burgers in Dallas. We discovered them back when they only had one location, in Deep Ellum (site of the old Crescent City Cafe). They've since expanded, and while they don't serve curly fries or sweet potato chips, the burgers and peanut butter shakes are good as ever.
Uncle Uber's Sammich Shop: I've only been here once, but the sandwich was so good I had to include it.
The Wild Detectives: A cool bookstore and bar near Bishop Arts District. My friend Katie's group puts on shows here, too.
ZuZu Handmade Mexican Food: My favorite restaurant of all time. This one gets its own page.
Black Cat: A cozy coffee shop where you can relax and read, even at 11pm on a Friday.
Bouley: I had one of the best meals of my life here, and lunch was very reasonably priced.
The Earth Room: A room full of dirt. That's it. Pop in when you have an extra minute. It smells nice.
Goods for the Study: If you like fancy stationery, this is the store for you.
High Street on Hudson: I've only been in here for breakfast, but their breakfast sandwiches are delicious.
Jennifer Tattanelli: Custom leather clothing. I visited her store in Florence, but couldn't bring myself to buy a jacket there because Italy makes it dangerously easy to imagine yourself in clothes you'd never wear back in America.
Kobrick Coffee: This place sells coffee during the day, but it's also a rare, quiet place to get an espresso martini on a Friday night.
Little Branch: Fancy cocktails and live jazz. It's the kind of place where the bartenders will invent drinks for you.
Manhattan Waterfront Greenway: A walkway (almost) all the way around Manhattan. In general, the west side is nicer than the east side. Riverside Park is especially nice. For railfanning, check out the pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks at Riverside and 148th. For a walk around the whole thing, check out the Great Saunter.
McNulty's Tea and Coffee: McNulty's has been selling tea and coffee for over 120 years. The shop smells amazing. My favorite is the vanilla tea.
The Stone: A great jazz venue in Alphabet City. John Zorn used to get all of his friends together and play on New Years Eve. Maybe he still does, but not here.
Strand Books: A huge bookstore, with good deals out front if you're willing to wade through the dollar bins.
Dog Eared Books: A fun bookstore in a good area for wandering. Stop in Blue Fig for a breakfast sandwich or Ritual Roasters for coffee, see a show at The Marsh, or browse Lost Weekend.
La Boulange: Great pastries and sandwiches. Starbucks bought the brand in 2011, but the owner bought the cafes back in 2015 and re-opened them as "La Boulangerie".
El Farolito: The Suiza quesadilla here always hits the spot.
Frances: My friend Peter tipped me off to this place once when I was looking for an early dinner. Show up right at 5pm for a no-reservations seat at the bar.
The Grove: Delicious, classic American food.
Lost Weekend Video: This video rental store is really fun to browse, even if you don't have a DVD player anymore.
The Marsh: A theater in the Mission that supports lots of great performances. The performances are usually "storytelling" style, but with top-notch actors.
The Mill: People made fun of this place when it opened for selling $6 toast, but now avocado toast prices make it look reasonable. Don't overthink it, it's just really good toast.
Park Life: Cool design-y store in Inner Richmond.
Samovar: Great masala chai and turmeric tisane. Get some to go and walk down Valencia.
Sightglass Coffee: Bright, airy coffeeshop with tasty kouign amann. Bring a book.
Super Duper Burgers: My favorite burger spot in San Francisco, and they also serve a great breakfast.
Sutro Baths: Have breakfast or a popover at the Cliff House, walk the Lands End trail, and explore the ruins and cave around what was once an enormous indoor saltwater swimming pool.
Trouble Coffee: This place also has delicious cinnamon toast. What can I say, this city has good toast.
The Cornerstone Cafe: Dunsmuir is not a big city with a ton of good restaurants, so I'm glad they've got this place. Ask for the frozen hot chocolate. They'll know what it is.
Mossbrae Falls: Park your car by Shasta Retreat, get out, and walk about a mile along the railroad tracks until you discover the falls. Just don't get run over.
Mount Shasta City Park: Dring from the headwaters of the Upper Sacramento River and follow the wooden bridges over the stream and through the wilderness.
The Cave Store: As a kid, it's pretty mind-blowing to walk through a store and into a cave, and I still think this place is pretty neat.
The Friendly Toast: The mission burrito with Orleans fries filled me up when I needed it.
Kiva Koffeehouse: A great stop if your grand circle roadtrip takes you through the area.
Russian River Brewing Company: When you just need some bar food after a day of wine tasting.
Fogas: A massive ruin pub with several rooms to explore.
Massolit: The bookseller here introduced me to László Krasznahorkai and then took twenty minutes to make me a cup of tea.
Mazel Tov: Tasty Israeli food in an open garden space.
My Little Melbourne: Budapest has a surprising number of trendy coffee shops, including this one.
Szimpla: Another of Budapest's famous ruin pubs.
Warm Up: Trendy custom cocktails. The space is nice and intimate, though the "custom cocktails" seemed to all be regular cocktails but with egg whites.
Chateau Eza: The tasting menu here was one of the best meals of my life, the rooms are lovely, and walking around the village is a great way to spend an afternoon.
B.Leza: A friendly, eclectic night club. When I was there, a rock band was celebrating their frontman's 70th birthday and gave us free cake.
Belém Tower: A beautiful place to watch the sunset over the 25 de Abril Bridge and Christ the King statue.
Pena Palace: A short train ride away in Sintra, this palace features an astounding mix of styles.
Albam: Clothing store for nice but not too fancy clothing.
Algerian Coffee Stores: Great, small shop packed with teas and coffees.
Brewdog: Trendy craft beer chain. Do not come here if you're looking for a traditional British pub.
Cafe OTO: A performance venue in Dalston with a delightfully eclectic program.
Daunt Books: A beautiful bookstore where books are arranged geographically. Lots of fun to browse.
Dishoom: Delicious Indian food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It gets crowded, so book ahead.
Effra Social: A nice community space for all sorts of events.
Flat Iron: Good, cheap steak.
Freestate Coffee: They do a great English Breakfast tea.
Gail's Bakery: They sell a few good breads here, but mostly I go for the pastries and tea.
Hawksmoor: Very good, moderately priced steak.
Honest Burgers: My favorite burger restaurant in London. The specials are always worth trying.
Kaffeine: One of many great cafes in London. This one gives you chilled lemongrass tea as a palate cleanser.
Kopapa: Peter Gordon's Turkish restaurant in Seven Dials serves the best çılbır I've ever eaten, and happily, he is willing to share the recipe.
London Review Bookshop: A pleasant bookshop owned by the London Review of Books.
Monmouth Coffee: Really neat, tiny shop in Seven Dials that brought specialty coffee to London in the 1970s.
Pix Pintxos: Self-serve tapas. Go when they're busy for the widest choice of items.
Princi: I'm still mad at Starbucks for destroying La Boulange and I'm afraid they'll do the same thing to Princi, but for now they still sell tasty pizza, foccacia, and other dishes in a nice, airy space.
Queen's Wood: A real forest, right in Highgate.
Sir John Soane's Museum: This house museum is more packed full of stuff than any other museum I've visited.
Spuntino: This place claims to serve American food but I haven't found anything quite like it in America.
St Albans: A short train ride from London and a lovely day trip destination.
Super Superficial: A t-shirt store that sells work by lots of artists I like, including Lisa Hanawalt, Floor van het Nederend, and Sarah Tanat-Jones.
Tate Britain: The Tate Britain gets far fewer visitors than the Tate Modern, which is a shame because they are both worth seeing. There's even a ferry that takes visitors between them, which is especially pleasant on a warm day. Go see "Ophelia," "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose," and "Study for 'The Courtyard of the Coptic Patriarch’s House in Cairo'."
Thomas Farthing: Lots of very nice, very warm tweed and knitted wool clothing.
The Wallace Collection: This museum features armor, guns, paintings, clothing—in other words, something for everyone.
You Must Create: Independent boutique clothing store. There are a ton of these around Soho; I like this one.
Zima: Russian restaurant with dumplings and house-infused vodka.
Barrakka Gardens: Lovely public gardens.
Ħaġar Qim: Astoundingly old structures. To get there from Valletta, take a twenty minute cab ride across the entire country.
Lascaris War Rooms: World War II war headquarters hewn into the rock.
St John's Co-Cathedral: A gorgeous 16th century cathedral.
Astrup Fearnley Museet: A modern art museum on a peninsula filled with galleries.
Frogner Park: A large public park filled with sculptures.
Munchies: Quick, cheap, and tasty burgers.
The National Gallery: Much more than just Munch. For a snack, head over to Fuglen, a block away.
Stangeriet: When I visited this place was serving delicious pulled chicken tacos.
Berthillon: Classic ice-cream shop on the Île Saint-Louis.
Honor: Coffee, tea, and great chocolate chip cookies.
Rodin Museum: If you like Rodin, this museum is a no-brainer.
Shakespeare and Company: Famous English-language bookstore. I can never resist a visit.
Coatl: Shockingly good Mexican food.
Michel Sarran: Another of the best meals of my life.
Musée des Augustins: A beautiful museum, both the art and the building itself. A lovely place to wander through.
Pitaya: Fast, tasty Thai food.
Suso: Maybe the best gelato I've ever had. Try the Manet flavor.