Inevitably when I travel anywhere, I stumble across a quaint hole-in-the-wall that ends up being my favorite new restaurant.  Call me a fickle foodie.  But there are a few places in the U.S. that deserve special recognition … eateries that I patronize whenever I’m in said town.

At the tippy-top of my list is Pom Pom’s Teahouse and Sandwicheria in Orlando.  Despite the fact that the place is often crawling with sleep-deprived hipsters, the vibe there is always electric and artsy-fartsy.  The fierce food is an inspired blend of comfort food (grits o’ the day, anyone?) and piled-high Asian-centric sandwiches.  I’ve been going there for about four years now and rarely deviate from the Mama Ling Ling’s Thanksgiving Sandwich … it’s a holiday feast stuffed between white, wheat or rye bread. We’re talking turkey, ginger cranberry chutney, Gouda, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cream cheese smushed between two slices of bread. Ingenious. And even though I’m not a tea fan per se, I’ll always sample whatever weirdly concocted iced tea they’ve blended that day.  Who knew hyacinth could be a flavor?

In my hometown of Des Moines, you cannot go wrong with Noah’s Ark Ristorante’s homemade calzone.  I’ve had a love affair with it since puberty. A secret-blend of Italian cheeses, prosciutto and several whole bulbs of garlic make this one of my favorite dishes in the universe.  There’s nothing healthy about it, so you might as well just wash it down with a Coca-Cola.  Simply bliss.

Rosie’s in Ft. Lauderdale is another staple of my life in Southern Florida. I’ve spent many a late weekend morning nursing a hangover on their enormous patio with Miss Truvy’s Deep Dish, Southern-Style Not So French Toast.  It has 8,047,912 carbs per bite.  And it’s laden with pecans.  (Or as the menu boasts … “peeee-cans”.)  It’s merely an oversized pecan roll that you’re allowed to slather with syrup. Yes, it’s even more lethally decadent than it sounds.  I’ll often go with my friends who order a simple egg white omelet and then proceed to inhale my beloved not-so-French toast.  I now order a double order — one for me … and one for my friends who “don’t eat carbs”.

I had probably the best fried chicken I’ve eaten in a decade last night at The Kitchen in LA. (“It’s by far our most popular dish,” said the server. “We’re talking 300 to 1.”) And I’m still on my never-ending quest to find the perfect shrimp scampi dish. And when it comes to my current city KC … a special shout out to my two favorite comfort food places, Orange Box (shout out, Chef Scott) and Magnolia’s (hey, Chef Shanita, hey, gurl hey).  By the way, I know where I’m taking you when y’all come to visit me, by the way.