Hana Food, Williamsburg
534 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11211, United States
Throughout New York City, where convenience stores are called bodegas, and where most bodegas serve sandwiches – some delicious, many less so – this everyday institution, the kind of place where you’d go for a six pack of beer or rolls of toilet paper, stands out for its gruff grill guys slinging over-the-top hot heroes.There are a few dozen sandwiches available to go, many of which feature lots of cured pork products.While any would make a fine lunch or dinner, they seem purpose-built for the end of a night spent drinking (Hana’s is open 24 hours), and none more so than the fittingly named Drunk’n Asshole, a colossal wrap filled with grilled chicken, pepperoni, ham, bacon, cheddar cheese, avocado and Russian dressing, which is still the best/most-regrettable way to spend $10 in Williamsburg today. Kurt Soller, T Magazine, New York
Hartwood, Tulum
Carr. Tulum-Boca Paila 7-6Km, Tulum Beach, 77780 Tulum, Q.R., Mexico
We have been going to Hartwood as a family since 2010. The menu hasn’t changed so much, just gotten better. To clarify, I wouldn’t want them to change anything, it gives it a homey feeling. The food is unlike anywhere else and always cooked perfectly. The vibe, the tropical heat and air along with the smoke and scent of copal to keep the mosquitos away – it just all merges together into this incredible feeling and sensation that just makes you so happy. Their amazing cocktails also add a dash of magic. Nadine and Rene Redzepi, Noma, Copenhagen
“A colossal wrap filled with grilled chicken, pepperoni, ham, bacon, cheddar cheese, avocado and Russian dressing is still the best/most-regrettable way to spend $10 in Williamsburg today” – Kurt Soller
Jinsol Gukbap, LA
4031 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90020, United States
I feel bad even saying ‘zero star’, as Jinsol Gukbap deserves 1000 of them. It has been my favourite spot in Los Angeles for the last few years and is one of those places that is there for you in any time of need. Fresh off a plane? Get Jinsol. Hungover as sin? Get Jinsol. Want to show someone why LA has the best Korean food outside of Korea? Get Jinsol.The offering is pretty basic, and based around Busan cuisine – the second largest city in South Korea.You go there for the dwaeji gukbap, a milky pork soup which is barely seasoned.The magic comes from the condiments, which you add to taste, so you get your own version of perfection every time.The fermented shrimp gives you an acidic cut through the broth, add extra gochujang if you want it spicy. It doesn’t really matter, it always hits the spot. I usually add blood sausage and get the very good leek pancake to send me over the edge. Richard Hargreave, Underdog, Austin
Juantxo Taberna, Donosti, Guipuzcoa
Enbeltran Kalea, 6, 20003 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Not so much a restaurant and not in the same bracket as un bar de pintxos, although pintxos and raciones are are on offer, Juantxo is probably the greatest place for a quick stop in the old town in Donosti (San Sebastian), for a beer, a very cheap tumbler of mediocre wine and a bread roll. Can recommend the bocadillo de filete de ternera (steak sanga) with peppers and onions.The lomo con queso (grilled pork and cheese) and all the variations of tortilla. Fried squid – check, croquetas – check, albondigas (meat balls) – everytime. Una sidra? TXOTX! Dan Hunter, Brae, Birregurra
Sanchon, Seoul
2-1 Gwanhun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Not sure how I found it, and I would never be able to find it again. Somewhere in a maze of tiny alleyways and antique shops in Insadong lies the most beautiful turn-of-the-century pavilion run as a vegetarian restaurant by a former Buddhist monk. Many, many trays of small dishes – acorn jelly, perilla noodles with mountain herbs – and bowls of Nong Ju farmer’s rice beer later, and it’s as if it were all a dream. Jill Dupleix, Good Food, Sydney
“The good news: you don’t eat the toe. The bad news: just wait till you see it ” – Pat Nourse
Le Chef, Beirut
VGV8+X2R,وروغعراش, Beirut, Lebanon
Le Chef in the Gemmayzeh district is where I first tasted hummus as it should be. I can still remember it.The restaurant could be described as honest and straightforward. A working man’s café perhaps. Somewhat scruffy. The owner was presiding over proceedings with waiters dressed in what seemed to be grey nylon jackets of better days, buzzing around, orders being taken and shouted amongst the clientele of soldiers, workmen and other folk busy about their lunch. We sat at a little table in the window watching Beirut go about its lunchtime, fortunately in the company of a friend who helped us through the menu. Another friend later expressed astonishment that she had even entered the place I recall. Having had the hummus we were eager to enjoy more and we pointed out to the boss a green soup that a soldier was happily eating with his flatbread.The boss simply pointed to some cans of asparagus soup on the shelves.You had to be there. I don’t recall any prohibition on smoking, either, by the way. Trevor Gulliver, St John, London
Titanic Theatre Restaurant, Melbourne
1 Nelson Pl, Williamstown VIC 3016
Fruit tingles, creamy chicken vol au vents and cabaret acts set to raunchy numbers definitely spice up one of the worst tragedies in maritime history.The trick switch sending the chandelier flying to simulate floundering is almost as exciting as the venue’s recent drug bust, where hundreds of cannabis plants were found growing on the roof. Thankfully, only one culprit was sunk, and the show goes on. Gemima Cody, free-range food journalist, Melbourne
The mystery sandwich stall at Chinatown Point, Singapore
133 New Bridge Rd, Singapore 059413
There’s this stall just as you get out of the metro, with no signboard, and all it serves are amazing pork sandwiches.They freshly make and cook green onion buns on-site, then they pick them up warm in an inverted plastic bag, open them up, fill them with sliced cucumber and coriander, a big ladle of braised pork belly, chilli sauce if you’re game, more cucumber and coriander. Twist the bag tight, $2.50 and away you go! In my eyes, this is one of the best sandwiches you can get in Singapore. Go find it, if you can. Dave Pynt, Burnt Ends, Singapore
The Downtown Hotel, Dawson City
1026 Second Ave, Dawson City, YT Y0B 1G0, Canada
The Sourtoe Cocktail Challenge could be seen as a remnant of the CanadianYukon’s frontier spirit. A tradition at the Downtown Hotel in the gold mining town of Dawson City since the early 1970s, it involves downing a glass of spirit that has been garnished with a toe. Yes, an actual human toe. For real. Packed in salt between challenges. The good news: you don’t eat the toe. The bad news: just wait till you see it. “You can drink it fast,” the legend goes, “You can drink it slow, but the lips have gotta touch the toe.” But what to drink? Back in the 70s it was a glass boot full of beer, or Champagne, or so they say. (Things get pretty fruity this close to the Arctic Circle.) Nowadays, seeing the toe up close – not some pink and dainty digit but a vile gnarled stump of a thing, dark brown and hairy to the tip of its long nail, very much the sort of thing you can see a frostbitten miner removing in a home-surgery session with a rusty ice-pick – the choice is clear: tequila, pure and medicinal. A singular experience, and I still have the certificate to prove it. Pat Nourse, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Melbourne
Enjoyed this extract? The whole story is available in glorious print, in all good bookshops and via our store
