TRACK DOWN A UNIQUE EAT
Plan a Unique Eats restaurant road trip, starting with breakfast at VooDoo Doughnut.
FEAST YOUR EYES 31 Photos
See the best Unique Eats from across the country. Warning: pictures will induce hunger.
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See Episode GuideHouston Weekend
Spend 36 hours in Houston with us for a unique culinary tour of the most innovative restaurants. Whether it's big Texas beef plates or spicy Tex-Mex mashups, this is a feast that will have you booking your ticket to the Lone Star State right away.
Comfort Foods
We take you to some of the most unique eateries in New York City that are serving up their twists on comfort food staples. A rowdy meatball joint on the Lower East Side, a bustling restaurant serving knockout chicken and waffles in Brooklyn, an eco-friendly hot dog haven where the chef makes the condiments from scratch and a burger and fries shack in the middle of the city that boasts lines down the block every day.
Meats
We'll find out why the burger at Minetta Tavern is the most talked about burger in town and what makes this eatery top everyone's reservation hot list. Plus, starred chef Daniel Boulud takes us inside his first downtown eatery for an international tour of his house-made sausages. And, there's nothing more unique than a restaurant that specializes in every kind of grilled meat imaginable -- and it's all you can eat.
Dirt Cheap & Delicious
You don't need to sacrifice taste to eat cheap at these joints. We're off to Cleveland for a pulled pork PBLT and squash dumplings, Brooklyn for an outdoor food market with a bevy of satisfying barbecue and biscuits, Washington, DC, for spicy Asian fare and finally Austin, Texas, where the weird tastes wonderful.
Food by Fire
We're taking food back to its roots -- cooked by open flames but in new and inspiring ways. We discover the most unique dish to come out of the ashes, dive into Dungeness crab from a coal-stoked grill, savor skewers licked by flames and devour delights from a wood-burning oven.
Mash-Ups
We're celebrating the best of all worlds with restaurants that mix different ethnic traditions to create new and unique flavors. A chef in Houston combines Texas tradition with Italian standards. In Las Vegas, burgers are flavored with Asian ingredients, while Japanese-Peruvian dishes are all the buzz at a Los Angeles hot spot. It's a mouthwatering journey of culinary mashups.
Hot & Spicy
We're visiting hot spots around the country that are literally spicing it up in the kitchen. From dishes that will set your mouth on fire to plates with just enough heat to make your eyes water, find out why people keep coming back for more.
Desserts
Visit a pie shop in Brooklyn where they sell by the slice and are sold out within hours every single day. Discover an ice cream truck that sells artisanal ice creams with specialty ingredients sourced from around the world, and stop by a bakery filled with treats so good, you'd be shocked to know they never use butter, eggs, milk or flour.
Gastropubs
These are places where the drink list may be long, but the dining is the real reason to visit. We meet the chef who brought the tradition of gastropubs over from England and experience her nose-to-tail cooking. Then, a gastropub that serves American favorites like hot dogs and tater tots, but this fare is far from the ordinary. Plus, a traditional German-style beer hall that boasts the best homemade charcuterie in town.
Portland Weekend
Spend a food-filled weekend in Portland, Oregon, where up and coming innovators meet local legends. Enjoy a breakfast of baked eggs and tomato stew, your favorite comfort foods turned into dumplings and Asian street food turned on its head.
Pasta
Forget ordinary pasta with red sauce, we're visiting restaurants that are turning out pasta dishes like nothing you've tasted before in San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Boulder, Colorado.
Off The Grid
Go off the beaten path and visit extraordinary eateries that are unknown to the average tourist. Stop by a rustic Italian restaurant in Staten Island, New York, where the nonnas are in charge, a perfect pizza joint outside the bright lights of Las Vegas, a dining destination only for those in the know in Hawaii and a cool spot for shaved ice under the palm trees.
Vegas
Everyone knows Las Vegas for its bright lights, humming slot machines and big shows. But if you play your cards right, you can also eat at some of the most interesting, delicious and unique restaurants. We're going on and off the strip to discover those eateries. After this, you'll be convinced to spend an evening outside of the casino.
Hand-Held Eats
The meals are hand-held at these hot spots, but the unique flavors are the big attraction. Authentic Mexican cuisine pioneer Rick Bayless celebrates Mexico's most beloved street food and snacks, while two brothers bring decadent Italian toasts to one of New York's hippest neighborhoods. A Top Chef winner turns traditional Eastern-European cuisine on its head with inspirations from his own Scottish-Israeli heritage. And a former fine dining chef feeds the need for cheese on the streets of Los Angeles, one gourmet grilled cheese sandwich at a time.
Adventure
We're taking you on a gastro tour of some of the most adventurous efforts in dining today. From a nine-course underground dinner party to a double-decker bus serving gourmet comfort food and an all-out Beef Seven Ways feast, these unique culinary adventures are not to be missed.
Food Fantasy
Imagination roams free at these amazing dining spots where food and fantasy meet. A pioneer chef in molecular gastronomy pushes the boundaries between food, science and art at WD-50, while culinary innovator Jose Andres offers up a collection of magical dining experiences entwined in an artistic Spanish-inspired setting at The Bazaar. Plus, get an inside glimpse at an exclusive Hollywood speakeasy serving tea-inspired tastings to LA's most elite eaters.
Philadelphia Weekend
Spend a weekend in the city of Brotherly Love and discover some truly unique eats. From exciting Spanish tapas and gut-busting Philly-style sandwiches to an osteria creating inventive Italian classics and an eatery dedicated to fried chicken and doughnuts, you'll feel as though you have tasted your way across the world.
Polynesian Paradise
We're taking a trip to the 50th state for an indulgent culinary weekend, finding out which chefs and restaurants make Hawaii a true foodie destination. From unique takes on traditional Hawaiian seafood to inventive drinks to keep you cool beachside, it's a palate-pleasing trip through paradise.
Guilty Pleasures
We feature restaurants that are pushing the envelope on some of America's beloved comfort foods. Plan Check in Los Angeles offers the most indulgent burgers, fried chicken and pastrami sandwiches, plus a unique towering doughnut dessert. A food truck in Nashville uses big, fat biscuits for hearty sweet and savory sandwiches. Cold fried chicken and baked potatoes are transformed into imaginative pizzas at Pete Zaaz in Brooklyn. And, in Atlanta, guilty pleasures can be found in creative hot dogs, sausages and fries at HD1.
Americana
From heavy metal-inspired burgers in Chicago and stick-to-your-ribs barbecue in Brooklyn to a downtown LA hot spot taking desserts to new heights and the craziest ice cream creations you can fit on a cone, classic American fare gets the royal treatment at these extraordinary spots.
Great Spaces
Take a tour of the most unique places and spaces in dining today, from a food truck serving the most delectable Korean-Mexican dishes on four wheels and a bowling-alley-cum-music-venue boasting its own special Blue Ribbon menu to a locally inspired farm table dinner requiring reservations up to a year in advance.
Italian
Classic Italian meets passion, authenticity and innovation at these noteworthy restaurants. Vetri has been called one of the best Italian restaurants in America, presenting simple, fresh and authentic Italian dishes in utterly unique ways. Chef Nate Appleman brings gourmet savory and dessert pizzas to Pulino's from brunch to late night, while Porchetta's Sara Jenkins draws a steady stream of the hip and hungry to the Lower East Side with her drop-dead-delicious pork.
Asian
We've found the most unique Asian food in the country. Find out where all the foodies go to fill their bellies with the best dumplings and noodles in Chicago. Take a seat at the bar and be dazzled by Japanese robata-style cooking in New York City's East Village. Sample creative Chinese cooking like tea-smoked chicken, salt and pepper shrimp and steamed duck egg custards in North Carolina. And step inside a funky retro diner in Boston where a husband and wife team serve up innovative Cantonese and Taiwanese dishes.
Hotlanta
Atlanta is a hotbed for unique eats. Heirloom Market BBQ brings together Korean and American barbecue in a quirky roadside eatery. Seafood dishes are brought to delicious new heights at swank newcomer The Optimist, while cozy corner restaurant One Eared Stag serves edgy American food. And Abattoir adds global touches to its Southern dishes.
Swine
Americans continue to pine over all things swine. Korean restaurant Palsaik in Los Angeles serves bacon in eight different flavors. Martin's Bar-B-Q in Nashville smokes whole hog right in the center of their dining room. At Cemitas Puebla in Chicago, diners sink their teeth on quesadillas stuffed with chicharones or their signature Mexican sandwich stuffed with sliced deli ham, fried pork and grilled pork. New York's The Cannibal celebrates nose-to-tail eating with their whole slow-roasted half pig's head, whipped lardo toast and boudin noir sausages.
Brunch
Indulge your weekend cravings at some of the most unique brunch spots from the nation's capitol and New York to the Pacific Northwest. Check out a do-it-yourself pancake house, savor Italian versions of brunch favorites, dive into over-the-top sweets and treat yourself to an upscale brunch you won't forget.
