Gulf seafood never disappoints, and Wintzell's has been delighting Mobile residents since 1938, when it opened as a six-seat oyster bar. It now has a historical marker and a seafood-filled cuisine. You can have oysters Rockefeller, fried catfish, shrimp, stuffed crab, and scallop platters. It has multiple locations across the state due to its popularity.
Another Alabama institution, Chris' Hot Dogs, opened in 1917 and entertained Elvis Presley and Martin Luther King Jr., a minister at adjacent Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Stars and locals flocked to Chris' establishment for belly-busting hot dogs with mustard, onions, sauerkraut, and a special chili sauce (available by the gallon).
Alaska has more coastline than the US combined, thus fresh fish is its lure. In the Alaskan capital, Tracy's King Crab Shack serves the freshest and finest. The seasonal restaurant serves buckets of red king crab with garlic bread, butter, and coleslaw. Menu items include snow crab, Dungeness crab, and beer-battered shrimp.
Tucson is one of two US UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy (the other being San Antonio, Texas), and Mexican food is its specialty. El Charro Café, America's longest family-owned Mexican restaurant, is a must-see for visitors. Menu items include taco platters, chimichangas, enchiladas, and tamales.
Arkansas is reputed to have originated cheese dip, and a trail connects the best sites to enjoy it. It contains Stoby's in Conway, which is often voted Arkansas's best cheese dip (their spicy white choice is punchy and creamy). Stay for Little Rock's fall World Cheese Dip Championship.
Mexican-American culture, public art, music, and food await in San Diego's Barrio Logan. Las Cuatro Milpas, a local favorite known for its fried tacos, is one of several great eateries here. The homemade tortillas are delicious too.
Night clubs and late-night restaurants fill Los Angeles' Koreatown, three square miles. Dine at sizzling tabletop barbecue restaurants or have ice cream or shaved ice at one of the neighborhood's many dessert shops. Soban, a popular for its soy-marinated crab and banchan, is a perennial favorite.
The tomato-based seafood stew cioppino, with chili peppers and shellfish such clams, mussels, and halibut, is popular in the Bay Area. Many restaurants serve bowls, but North Beach's Sotto Mare and Castro District's Anchor Oyster Bar serve the greatest cioppino.
Wine is king in California, and Napa Valley is the most famous. The bucolic area has over 400 vineyards and is known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. The modern Oakville Opus One Winery and the magnificent Rutherford Inglenook, which makes Bordeaux-style Rubicon, are top wineries.
Rocky Mountain oysters are not what they seem. Western oysters are deep-fried bull testicles served with cocktail sauce. At Colorado's oldest restaurant, Denver's Buckhorn Exchange, brave them.