San Francisco’s 2-Michelin-star Saison focuses on wood-fired cuisine with seasonal ingredients. Flavors take inspiration from the cooking Chef Paul Chung grew up with, namely Korean staples using American ingredients, prepared by his mother throughout his life. Chung pays homage to these nostalgic Asian flavors through dishes like amberjack sashimi with kohlrabi gelee or sea urchin on brown-butter-soaked sourdough, all of which “represent the stunning marriage of West Coast classic and Asian delicacy,” one of our editors wrote. Chef Chung points out that because of the state’s history of immigration, “you can’t say California cuisine without understanding the influence that Asian cuisine has had.” VISIT SAISON

A love letter to Cajun culture, this New Orleans supper club is dedicated to the area’s heritage of seafood and produce in a historical, family-style setting. “On any given night, you could end up sitting between strangers at one of the large tables inside the 1895 Victorian mansion that has housed Chef Melissa Martin’s restaurant for the past five years,” one contributor wrote, “having your gumbo ladled into a bowl of homestyle potato salad by someone you just met.” Chef Martin hopes the meal will educate diners on the nuances of bayou cooking. “We want everyone to leave with just a little bit more information about south Louisiana than they had before. Whether that’s something about mudfish, or you’re having okra for the first time, or you learn that okra and gumbo are the same word [the word gumbo comes from the West African word for okra, ki ngombo].” VISIT MOSQUITO SUPPER CLUB

Located in the Mercantour, a verdant region where the Alps meet the Mediterranean, the restaurant and inn Auberge de la Roche was an abandoned ruin just three years ago. Amidst the rubble, co-owners Mickaëlle Chabat and Louis-Philippe Riel built the remote, culinary escape named France’s “best restaurant” this year by Le Fooding. Here, Chef Alexis Bijaoui cooks from the land, producing ever-changing seasonal dishes like zucchini flowers stuffed with fig-leaf cream, turnip remoulade adorned with rose petals, a succulent pancetta-style tuna belly, and white asparagus topped with sunflower-seed cream and shaved egg yolk. On a recent visit, one contributor set the scene: “Dinner on the evening I visit tastes like hiking through a shaded forest and cooling off with a swim in the sea.” VISIT AUBERGE DE LA ROCHE

Touted as the world’s first Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant, Candlenut’s lunch tasting menu in Singapore was one of the most beautiful dining experiences one of our Departures editors has ever had — course after course of impeccably presented food that was as beautiful as it was tasty. He took a photo of the Bakwan Kepiting soup in hopes he would never forget how delicious it was. The ornate tasting menu, which evolves seasonally, felt appropriately matched to the space itself — filled with light, bright colors and fanciful organic touches. VISIT CANDLENUT

With an 8-seat sushi counter, this small, quayside space in Copenhagen is a little stunner. The custom-carved counter is made of blonde pine and the ceramics are sourced from Japan, lugged back in Chef Mads Battefeld’s suitcases. From behind the counter, Battefeld skillfully slices glistening slabs of local fish before your eyes, serving up delicate Edomae-style sushi in seemingly countless courses of exquisite elegance and depth. I highly suggest the sake pairing, which harmonizes beautifully with each course. At one point, somewhere between a fermented jerky-like slice of fish and the umami-rich crunch of a pickled root vegetable, I might have teared up with joy. VISIT SUSHI ANABA