28 Best Restaurants in USA

You're going to think you're lost, but resist the urge to turn around because the tiny speck of sand that is Flamingo Heights really is that far out there, and this gastronomical goldmine—a roadside diner elevated by a lesbian couple who came to the desert for their honeymoon and never left—will likely be the best meal you'll eat this side of the Little San Bernardinos. Expect seasonally inspired brunch and lunch plates served without pretense and made using farm-to-fork ingredients and bits of culinary wisdom cribbed from the South (fried chicken), France (buckwheat ham galette), the Middle East (citrus and beets, a labneh-doused burger), and Philly's top kitchens (where the chef once toiled).

Rave reviews about The Ahwahnee hotel's dining room's appearance are fully justified—it features towering windows, a 34-foot-high ceiling with interlaced sugar-pine beams, and massive chandeliers. Reservations are always advised, and the attire is "resort casual."

Fireplaces, beamed ceilings, and spectacular views provide a visual feast to match this fine-dining restaurant's ambitious menu. Dinner entrées include salmon, free-range chicken, filet mignon, and seasonal vegetarian dishes; breakfast is also served here. Try the signature prickly-pear margarita, or head to the pool bar for casual fare. 

The design of this modern food court, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, honors the history of rock climbing in Yosemite. Choose from a wide range of menu options, from hamburgers, salads, and pizzas, to rice and noodle bowls.

A crowd of in-the-know locals gathers at this lively restaurant and bar close to downtown Oxnard for south-of-the-border seafood specialties served with fresh handmade tortillas. The rainbow-hued dining rooms and patio are casual and cheery. If you're not a seafood fan, try the carne asada (marinated strips of beef) or one of the large combination plates.

Prepare to wait in line at this tiny downtown eatery owned and operated by married New Yorkers who have years of Big Apple bakery experience. Also be prepared to finally reach the counter only to find that they've sold out of strawberry-poppy scones, cornbread loaves, or blueberry and cream-cheese brioche. Luckily, you can't go wrong with any of the delectable breads, sweet and savory pastries, or sandwiches. If your baked item of choice isn't available, you can simply order a caffeinated beverage, some of which are very creative (Elvis would have loved the peanut butter and banana iced coffee!).

This little roadside restaurant in Hoonah doesn't look like much from the outside, but it comes highly recommended by the locals. The salmon tacos garner particularly high praise. Hours can be variable, especially in the off-season.

Don't judge this restaurant by its no-frills exterior—though it may appear closed (especially with its boarded-up windows), this little hole-in-the-wall serves some of the best soul food in town. Follow locals inside for the popular fried chicken, collards, and corn bread served in a surprisingly bright and homey dining room. Portions are generous, so arrive hungry.

A cozy coffeehouse with a counterculture undercurrent, Frontier is a good place to stop before heading into the park—and a popular one, judging by the number of visiting Angelenos in line for prehike egg sandwiches and posthike Top Chico mineral water at any one time. Pair fancy coffee drinks with bagels and parfaits in the morning or salads and sandwiches if you're off to a late start. 

Chefs cycle in and out as often as guests breeze through the adjoining Ritz-Carlton, so this dining room is anything but staid or predictable despite its shopping-mall environs. Warm tones of red and orange accentuate the autumnal notes of butternut squash soup or the unexpected duo of roasted beets and crisped chickpeas. Other standout dishes include the lemon ricotta pancakes at breakfast and the grilled shrimp ravioli, its succulence balanced by sweet pomegranate preserves. Head to the lounge for a cheaper menu of quick bites.

A popular and quirky spot for hearty Mexican and American fare in downtown Holbrook since the 1940s, this restaurant is perfect for huevos rancheros, chiles rellenos, Navajo tacos, or a chicken-fried steak meal en route to nearby Petrified Forest National Park.

Homemade biscuits, sausage gravy, grilled pork chops, and eggs are just a few ways to start the day at this wee cafe tucked into a shopping center. Fans love breakfast, but lunch and dinner are equally appealing, with Southern and American specialties like liver and onions, chicken and dumplings, speckled butter beans, and creamy squash casserole. Sit on the patio or inside overlooking a mural depicting a pastoral scene with pink flying pigs.

Coffee and hot cocoa, wine and beer (including local brews from Lassen Ale Works), and sandwiches, burgers, soups, salads, bagels, and pizzas are served in this casual eatery inside the park's only year-round visitor center. Indoors, there's a fireplace, but if the weather is fine, the patio with its mountain views is the place to be.

Swing through wooden doors and into a spacious dining room that re-creates an authentic Old West saloon, decked out with a wooden bar and furniture, mounted animal heads, fugitive wanted fliers, film posters, and other memorabilia. The traditional steak-house menu includes ribs, filet mignon, flat iron steak, along with crab cakes, salmon, pizzas, and pasta.

Pick up simple prepared foods, groceries, and beverages—local wines and beers among them—at the store, which has an ATM and a pay phone.

This is a great place for a beer and a steak, though the menu also has burgers, chicken tenders, fish and chips, pasta dishes, and salads. In summer, dinners (reservations suggested) are served out on the porch, which has spectacular views of Panamint Valley. A limited breakfast and lunch are also served.

Formerly Curry Village Pavilion, this casual eatery serves everything from roasted meats and salads to pastas, burritos, rice bowls, and beyond. Alternatively, order a pizza from the stand on the deck, and take in the views of the valley's granite walls.

When in doubt, order pizza from this tidy, tasty spot on the main drag, within walking distance of the national park visitor center, where toppings include things like smoked Gouda, Fresno chili, soppressata, or fried eggs. Sky also turns its ovens on early most mornings to prepare fresh quiche and pastries, which are served from a takeout window and can be enjoyed with a cup of Joe in the expansive courtyard that's shared with the neighboring Joshua Tree Coffee Company.

No matter the time of day or year, if this plant-based palate pleaser is open, there will be a wait, but when you finally arrive at the counter to order breakfast or lunch, you'll still be greeted with kind eyes and big smiles. The genuine, happy-hippie kindness will be extended to your digestive system, too, as the wraps, burgers, chia puddings, salads, and avo toasts are mostly organic and always nutritious and bursting with seasonal flavor. Wash everything down with something colorful from the juice and smoothie bar and grab a sweet treat like made-daily muffins or cookies for the end of the trail.

One of the founding businesses/set pieces of Pioneertown's movie colony and a legendary hangout of the Western actors and crews who worked on location there, the Red Dog has been reborn, and its second coming was worth the wait thanks to from-scratch Tex-Mex that's filtered through a California lens and takes full advantage of the Golden State's agricultural bounty. All three meals are available daily although the lunch and dinner menus are the same—chile relleno; tacos (mushroom asada with tomatillo salsa is simple but sapid!); and standard sides like chips and queso or salsa, street corn, and churros. Service at the bar can be slow, but the flavorful margaritas, and fascinating people-watching—from the porch, the main room where they stage concerts and run bingo nights, or the dark den—make up for that annoyance.

There are wheels in the yard and Old West artifacts on the interior walls at this restaurant in the Stovepipe Wells Village hotel. A full dinner menu with steaks and pasta is served year-round, as are box lunches and a breakfast buffet. Quench your thirst and fuel up on lunch and snacks in the full-service saloon specializing in burgers and sandwiches. 

Serving throughout the day until 5 or 6 pm, this fast-food eatery cooks up basic breakfast, lunch, and snacks. It's possible that ice cream tastes better at this altitude. Stop in for a quick meal before exploring the meadows.

In a central dining tent beside the Tuolumne River, this restaurant serves a menu of hearty American fare at breakfast and dinner. The red-and-white-checkered tablecloths and a handful of communal tables give it the feeling of an old-fashioned summer camp.

Watch deer graze in the meadow while you dine in the romantic, candlelit dining room of the whitewashed Wawona Hotel, which dates from the late 1800s. The American-style cuisine favors fresh ingredients and flavors; trout and flatiron steaks are menu staples.

An unassuming roadhouse along Route 66 in Seligman, Westside Lilo's is a must for exceptionally well-prepared, hearty short-order cooking. The prodigious breakfast burritos, green-chile stew, hefty cheeseburgers, and famously massive cinnamon buns are a hit with regulars and tourists. One "slice" of the famous carrot cake is equal to three or four slices at most restaurants.

Those fueling up for a day on the trail or famished after a high-country hike will appreciate the all-you-can-eat, family-style breakfasts and dinners in this tiny dining room. Mashed potatoes, big pots of curried vegetables, and heaps of pasta often grace the tables in this cozy out-of-the-way place.

This homey, diner-style café just north of Klamath serves the sort of hearty American fare that'll fuel you up before a big day of hiking. The cooks prepare breakfast sandwiches, Belgian waffles, and chicken-fried steaks in the morning, and deli sandwiches, salads, and pizzas throughout the rest of the day. Overnight cabins and a small market are also part of the same-named compound.