Beyondish

Twenty-five years ago, La Birra Bar started as a tiny, seven-table café in Boedo, Buenos Aires. Daniel Cocchia and his wife Roxana opened the neighborhood spot with a simple, hands-on approach to food and a willingness to experiment. Over time, one item began to stand out: the burgers.

When Afia Amoako, the creator of Eat with Afia, started writing her debut cookbook, she wanted to blend culinary tradition with cultural and historical insight. Exploring topics like climate change, indigenous ingredients, globalization, and food history allowed her to create a body of work that not only educates readers about Ghana and West Africa, but also allows her to share with her community of over 300,000 followers how her culinary upbringing shaped her life and her family’s food history.

Ahhh, summer in the Hamptons. There’s nothing quite like it. Lazy beach days, polo matches, local town shopping, lawn parties, farmstands, vineyard visits, and the Barefoot Contessa herself Ina Garten all make for a quintessential Hamptons getaway. But nothing signals summer in the Hamptons more than a sign itself that simply reads LUNCH in bold blue and white letters. For decades the sign has been a beacon to visitors, passersby and year-round locals alike.

Every TV in the restaurant was on. Not one was showing the women’s game. Jenny Nguyen and her friends had come to a Portland sports bar to watch the NCAA women’s basketball championship. When they asked, the bartender turned on a small monitor with no sound. The biggest game in women’s college basketball, playing in a corner of the room like an afterthought. The group spent the rest of that night talking about the bar that should exist. Nguyen decided to create it.

Many U.S. coffee chains are focused solely on the bottom line: grab-and-go food, efficient drive-throughs, and identical, cookie-cutter locations. Nashville-based Frothy Monkey has taken a different approach, prioritizing quality ingredients, unique spaces, and authentic relationships with customers and vendors.  Frothy Monkey opened in 2004 in a repurposed bungalow in Nashville’s 12South neighborhood.

Molly Irani and her husband Chef Meherwan Irani took a chance on a dream idea in the midst of a midlife crisis. Today they are the successful owners of a thriving, James-Beard award winning restaurant that began with the notion of selling Indian street food in Asheville, North Carolina. The couple learned a lot of lessons along the way, building something from the ground up. So Molly wrote a book about it! Service Ready is a story of love, hard work, hospitality, loyalty and following your dreams.

Just a year after opening, Bosforo has quickly become one of San Diego’s most sought-after destinations. At the helm, owner and executive chef Seckin Sage Anlasbay is introducing diners to a side of Turkish cuisine they’ve rarely encountered, one defined by regional diversity, centuries of culinary tradition, and a culture where hospitality is as important as the food itself.

Great Maple 1451 Washington Street San Diego, California, 92103 (619) 255-2282 Website $$ I’m admittedly not much of a doughnut person, but these freshly made maple bacon doughnuts have made a believer out of me. Warning: come with a big appetite. The made-to-order pastries come in a set of three, smothered in the restaurant’s addictive maple bacon glaze. While it’s certainly a decadent treat, you’ll want to scoop up every last drop of this glaze—it’s that good.

Brown Hotel 335 West Broadway Louisville, Kentucky, 40202 (888) 888-5252 Website $$$ No trip to Kentucky is complete without a trip to The Brown Hotel, originator of the iconic Hot Brown sandwich. Available at the hotel’s restaurants and bar, the Hot Brown goes above and beyond your typical sandwich. Made with Texas toast, turkey, bacon, tomatoes, and slathered in a cheesy Mornay sauce, the open-faced sandwich comes in a sizzling skillet and is somehow even better than you can imagine.

The Cupcake Collection is a Nashville staple known for its premium treats, which has made the bakery a destination for locals and tourists alike since 2008. That long-running success is even more remarkable considering the bakery’s humble beginnings. “I started on the last $5 that I had for dinner. I was drowning in debt,” recalls founder Mignon Francois.