9.0 A Shinkansen ride to Kobe for fusion cuisine that smashes Japanese and Western traditions together — and an A5 wagyu steak that nearly brought me to tears.
9.0 I woke up at 5am, took the train to Toyosu Fish Market, stood in line for an hour, and sat down at Daiwa Sushi. Seven pieces of the freshest fish I've ever eaten — and a tamagoyaki that made me rethink eggs entirely.
9.5 A Hakata Nagahama-style ramen shop in Tokyo that looks like nothing from the outside and serves a bowl of tonkotsu that made me sit in silence for a full minute.
8.5 Molecular gastronomy, dishes disguised as everyday objects, rain inside the restaurant, and a price tag to match — Namaaz Dining in Jakarta is unlike anything I've experienced.
9.0 A hidden Thai spot in Midtown Houston — attached to a Texaco, easy to dismiss from the street, and home to the best Pad See Ew I've had in the city.
10.0 After countless phone calls and a Ritz-Carlton booking trick, I got a reservation at Sukiyabashi Jiro's Roppongi location. 20 pieces of the best sushi I've ever had — and a photo with chef Ono Takashi.
9.8 The most famous barbecue in Texas requires a 4-hour wait, limited supply, and zero shade. The brisket and beef ribs made me forget all of that. Here's why Franklin lives up to the hype.
6.5 A new ramen shop opened in Houston's Westchase area and I waited almost three hours on opening week. The gua bao was decent. The ramen was not.
9.0 A wood-fired Neapolitan pizzeria in Greenway Plaza that outclasses every other pizza spot I've tried in Houston — thin crust, wet mozzarella, and add an egg on top.
9.6 A tonkotsu ramen shop in Tokyo where you eat alone in a booth, customize everything on a form, and walk out wondering why all ramen doesn't taste like this. Here's what Ichiran at Ueno Station is really like.
8.0 An omakase-only sushi bar in Los Angeles where the chef decides everything, the wasabi is real, and you don't touch the soy sauce. Here's what it's like to eat at Sushi Zo.
9.5 A Korean drama sent me down a rabbit hole. A Japanese restaurant in Houston gave me one of the best bites of my life. Here's how foie gras sashimi at Kata Robata earned a 9.5.
9.0 A tiny, packed Korean restaurant in LA's Koreatown with soondubu that lives up to the Anthony Bourdain hype — and bibimbap that might be even better.
9.5 A head-to-head comparison of two of Austin's best ramen spots — one a former food truck turned brick-and-mortar, the other a tiny, authentically decorated gem worth the wait.