[Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Pok Pok: Chiang Mai Arrives in New York: James Beard Award-winner Andy Ricker brings his Portland legend to New York, and dishes up some of the best Thai food we've ever tasted.

Las Vegas: Five Best Burgers on the Strip: Las Vegas is a town for gambling, but it's no fun to roll the dice on lunch and lose...One solution is to stick with something that's unlikely to let you down, which is where burgers so often come in.

Daily Slice: Kindle Kart, Portland, Oregon: Kindle Kart is a relatively new gypsy food cart serving up brisket burgers, Belgian frites, and most importantly, wood-fired pizza. This truck represents the evolution of Portland's food cart pizza quality.

Hakata-Style Yakitori at Tokyo's Hachibei: Hachibei serves Hakata-style yakitori in a classy setting. Yakitori literally means grilled chicken, with any and all parts of the bird served up on skewers. That's delicious, but you'll find very little offal at Hachibei, as Hakata-style means a lot more on the skewer—with different flavoring as well.

Los Angeles: Mediocre Tacos are Still a Party at The Mission Cantina: It's a far cry from the Dorito taco being shilled your way in 30-second airtime increments, but taco plates like this wouldn't last long in East LA. However, as a Hollywood spot with cheap Tuesday beers, dark corners and $1 tacos for a night, The Mission Cantina might just win you over.

San Francisco: Kick A$$ Fried Chicken, Burger, and Fries at Mission Bowling Club: Mission Bowling Club is a fully functional six-lane bowling club, complete with a bar. We were there to try the food, and man, what food it was. Go here. Now. Especially for the burger.

The Vegetarian Option: Wicker Basket Cafe: It's always a pleasure to uncover merit in the oft-overlooked and under-appreciated field of vegetarian-sandwich-making arts. And Wicker Basket Cafe has merit.

Sausage City: Smoque's Barbecue Hot Links: Much of the Chicago barbecue revival has been led by places like Smoque BBQ, which are less focused on any Chicago style of barbecue and are more concerned with perfecting traditions that come from elsewhere.

One Last Taste of Spring with Manzo's Tasting Menu: If you're still hungering for asparagus, morels, peas, and favas, Manzo at Eataly is still running its spring tasting menu with a heavy focus on seasonal produce for a few more weeks.