A Barfly's Guide to San Francisco

Why my town "Well, the farmers markets are a start, and then there are the ethnic influences—I have sous-chefs from Mexico, Korea, and the Philippines. Combine those two elements, and it's fun to see what happens." Three markets that matter "The Wednesday farmers market in Santa Monica is one of my favorites. Flora Bella Farm sells the world's most delicious organic produce, and I also go to the little Anisette stand for croissants—fuel for shopping! The Sunday market in Hollywood is funkier. You have to hit the jerk chicken stand run by this feisty Caribbean lady, and then Coleman Family Farms, which always has unusual stuff like epazote [a Mexican herb] and passion fruit. Then there's the Fairfax market, which runs daily. If you go, visit Du-par's inside—the pancakes are the best." Santa Monica Farmers Market, Arizona Ave. and 2nd St., smgov.net/farmers_market. Hollywood Farmers Market, Ivar Ave. and Selma Ave., farmernet.com. Fairfax Market, Fairfax Ave. and 3rd St., farmersmarketla.com. Picnic-perfect spread "My kids are crazy about the Armenian-Lebanese food at Carousel in East Hollywood. We'll grab an order of minced-meat kebabs and muhammara and take it down the street for a picnic in Barnsdall Art Park." 5112 Hollywood Blvd., carouselrestaurant.com, kebabs from $9.50. Go-to diner "My favorite order at the old-school Apple Pan: the hickory burger and the banana cream pie." 10801 W. Pico Blvd., 310/475-3585, banana cream pie $5.75. Korean with attitude "I love the bossy waitresses at Soot Bull Jeep, the way they come over to cut up your meat with scissors and without saying a word. I get tripe soup and spicy noodles with egg—they always think I don't know what I'm asking for!" 3136 W. 8th St., 213/387-3865, soups from $10. Brunch with friends "The brunch at Canelé is the best. It's all about the braised leek, bacon, egg, and romesco sandwich, or the French toast with prunes and mascarpone. Sundays get busy, but there's a communal table where you can usually find a spot." 3219 Glendale Blvd., canele-la.com, brunch from $7.50. One to watch "Travis Lett at Gjelina in Venice is doing amazing food. The last time I went, I ordered the mussels with chorizo, tomato confit, and garlic. It was so good I ordered a second helping." 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., gjelina.com, mussels $11. Relaxed drink "For a nice glass of wine, you just can't beat Lou, this supercool wine bar in a junky mini mall. Chat with Lou and he'll hook you up with a Touraine to drink alongside your charcuterie." 724 Vine St., louonvine.com, wine from $4. At my place "We change the menu all the time, but if you go to A.O.C., get the bacon-wrapped dates and, at Tavern, the pork burger (can you tell I love pork?)." A.O.C., 8022 W. 3rd St., aocwinebar.com, bacon-wrapped dates $6. Tavern, 11648 San Vicente Blvd., tavernla.com, pork burger $17.

Why my town "Boston has a culture that encourages curiosity. There are classics like steamed lobster with drawn butter, but also forward-thinking food made from brilliant ingredients." Early-bird special "Sofra Bakery and Cafe in Cambridge opens at 8 a.m. My go-to is the full Turkish breakfast and the Siena Farms baby greens, which taste so incredibly fresh." 1 Belmont St., sofrabakery.com, Turkish breakfast $9. Best Venezuelan picnic "Orinoco in the South End makes an arepa stuffed with shredded chicken and sliced avocado. When the weather's good, I'll grab my order and find a spot in one of the little parks nearby." 477 Shawmut Ave., discovervenezuela.com, arepas from $4.75. Old-school pub "At Tom English's Cottage, I always bump into someone I grew up with, and we'll catch up over Heineken, Cheez-Its, and pool." 118 Emerson St., 617/269-9805. Edible souvenirs "Formaggio Kitchen is filled with dozens of cheeses and so many other unusual finds—salted rosemary caramels, spices, grits, these addictive salted oat cookies. I never walk out of there empty-handed!" 244 Huron Ave., formaggiokitchen.com. Your grandmother's Italian "Nebo is this informal little place on the edge of the North End near the Garden (so it's packed before and after Celtics games). The owners make honest Italian food, and it's not unheard of to see their mother, Angelina, in the back making pasta by hand." 90 N. Washington St., neborestaurant.com, pasta from $15. Bar snacks with class "At Pigalle, I take a seat at the bar and order either the steak tartare or the spicy tempura tuna roll—a huge chunk of tuna wrapped up and fried." 75 Charles St. S., pigalleboston.com, appetizers from $12. At my place "I love, love, love oysters. I've been known to eat dozens in one sitting at my spot, B&G Oysters, along with a couple of glasses of Chablis." 550 Tremont St., bandgoysters.com, oysters from $2.50 each.

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Why my town "Other cities might have a better version of a certain cuisine, but few towns on earth have the culinary range of New York. Chefs are drawn here because they want to cook in New York—and nowhere else." Ultimate hunger fix "You can get in and out of Grand Sichuan really cheaply, but I like to order three times as much food as necessary: spicy braised beef; dan dan noodles; Aui Zhou chicken; the hot pot with noodles, fish, and cabbage; and several bottles of Tsingtao." 229 9th Ave., thegrandsichuan.com, entrées from $9. Chinatown pit stop "Great N.Y. Noodletown is open until 4 a.m., so I've ended a lot of nights there. I go for the roast pork on rice and the ginger scallion lo mein, which I totally stole and turned into the ginger scallion noodles at Momofuku Noodle Bar." 28½ Bowery, 212/349-0923, entrées from $4. Thai worth a field trip "It took me years of hearing about SriPraPhai before I actually made it to Queens. It was a scorching day, and I sweated buckets into my spicy catfish salad. Make the trip, and order anything you've liked in another Thai restaurant—it will be better." 64-13 39th Ave., sripraphairestaurant.com, papaya-catfish salad $10. Pastrami pilgrimage "Katz's Delicatessen is jammed with tourists for one reason: the pastrami sandwich. Order it on rye with mustard and nothing else, and ask for tons of pickles." 205 E. Houston St., katzdeli.com, pastrami sandwich $15. New-school slice "You've got to love Artichoke on 14th Street—it has a Staten Island vibe right in the East Village. The Sicilian slice is the way to go." 328 E. 14th St., artichokepizza.com, slices from $3.50. After-hours hangout "If I'm out late, I'm usually at PDT. The cocktails there are so well done, and I always end up eating one of the deep-fried hot dogs they serve with tater tots. There's one called the Jon-Jon Deragon that's smeared with cream cheese and sprinkled with everything-bagel spices. It is beyond good." 113 St. Marks Pl., pdtnyc.com, cocktails $14, hot dogs $6. Sweet spot "In the summer, I like to hit the Union Square Greenmarket and pick up a carton of strawberries from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm. Then I get myself a yogurt from the Milk Thistle farm stand and eat them together on a park bench." 17th St. and Broadway, cenyc.org/unionsquaregreenmarket. At my place "Momofuku Milk Bar is the quickest hit. Go for pork buns, cookies, and the carrot cake soft-serve—it's no seats, no servers. In and out." 207 2nd Ave., momofuku.com/milk-bar, pork buns $9.