"traveler" news and stories

Oh my, Conde Nast Traveler has put together their annual Hot List, and because I am such a list-y girl, I was all over it. They have lists for the Hottest Hotels, Nightlife, and Spas, and of course the one that I care about the most, the Hottest Tables Around the World. If you're curious, take a peek, and for those if us in Los Angeles, the restaurants that made the list are: Katsu-ya, Social Hollywood, Hatfield's, Cut, West at the Hotel Angeleno, Mandrake, and Boulevard 3.

Clearly, the criteria for "hot" isn't necessarily the quality of the food (Katsu-ya? West at the Hotel Angeleno?), but the places are definitely hot scenes.

The New York Times tried, rather sadly, to take a sort of road trip with their food section this week. The Sterns, the founders of Roadfood, know what road trips are and they involve more than two hours of driving. Over the last 25 years, they have driven more than 4,000,000 miles of road around the country and eaten more than 72,427. That is some serious road tripping. For a sneak peek into some of their finds, check out this column they did for Conde Naste Traveler that highlights 20 great food finds around the country. It may take more than a day to get to some of these places, but you'll have at least as much fun on the journey as you will at the destination. Hot spots and good eats include:

• Mr. Beef in Chicago, Il
• Cuban sandwich at El Siboney's in Key West, Fl.
• Creamy Grits at the Old Post Office in South Carolina
• Fried Clams at the Clam Box in Mass.
• Chili at the Little Diner in Canutillo, Texas
• Fried Chicken at Bon-Ton Mini Mart in Kentucky

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