This is one of my favorite photos from my stay at the beautiful Mar Adentro in San Jose del Cabo, an incredible resort designed  (and owned) by Miguel Angel Aragones. I love the brutal simplicity of the beach chairs and umbrellas. I woke up early to catch the sunrise…

I love the energy of Hanoi, Vietnam. Almost everyone rides a scooter, and crossing the street is a daredevil’s game of chance. Navigating traffic here can be tricky if you’re not accustomed to the rules of the road.

Disneyland offers lots of full-service options, most of which require reservations to be made days or even weeks in advance. After repeat visits to every such restaurant inside Disneyland, California Adventure and Downtown Disney, I can confidently say these are the five best places to unwind with a good meal.

Newport Harbor and the Balboa Peninsula embody the endless-summer lifestyle for which coastal Orange County is justly famous. And what’s not to love about the wide-open beaches, The Wedge, the idyllic pace of Balboa Island, the impressive yachts in the harbor, the bustle of Oceanfront Drive…? More than 100 restaurants and bars sit on the …

Apparently there’s something in Indian cuisine called “pav,” and it’s a lot like a Sloppy Joe. In fact, it’s exactly like a Sloppy Joe, only better than any you’ve ever had. At Adya, the quick-serve Indian restaurant inside the Anaheim Packing District, the pavs come in a variety of flavors, including one made with chicken …

It’s been three months since Din Tai Fung opened at South Coast Plaza, and the wait for a table can still stretch well beyond two hours, even on a Monday or Tuesday. The Taiwanese chain is most famous for its Shanghai-style xiao long bao, aka soup dumplings, which are sometimes called juicy dumplings. Perhaps that …

Chef of the year? Best new restaurant? The greatest desserts … ? To condense a year’s worth of dining into just six awards is a daunting but delicious task. The possibilities were numerous, but the awards are few. To arrive at these selections, I dined more than 400 times, driving more than 8,000 miles from …

Sake and soju at MCow Yakatori (photo by Brad A Johnson) On my first visit to the new MCow Yakitori in Irvine, the first thing I do is go to the restroom to wash my hands. What I find in there makes me want to turn around and run. No, the restroom isn’t dirty. In …

“You’re not writing about this, are you?” asks a friend who has just agreed to take me to the Soho House for dinner, my treat. He’s a member of the exclusive private club. I’m not. “Well, actually, yes,” I say. “Oh, man,” he says. “Are you going to take them down?” The backtracking begins. “I…, …