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.

The seven-story, turn-of-the-century building known today as Villa Florence has quite a history. It was conceived and constructed in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake, part of San Francisco’s swift reconstruction campaign. It debuted as apartments but shortly thereafter became the Hotel Manx, whose basement would become a speakeasy during Prohibition.

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…, …