If youre going to chase a sugar high anywhere, the city that never sleeps seems a pretty smart setting. Dig into the sugary bites of the Big Apple I find most addictive.You think youre going to Maialino, Danny Meyers Italian trattoria, for regular breakfast, but what you want to order is the cestino di dolci, a selection of pastries that rachets up your morning excitement level in ways coffee never has. The star is budino, a dense, moist ol

Hometown: New York, NYOccupation: Executive Editor, TheFeast.com.Favorite destinations: Amagansett, Aspen, San Juan Del Sur, Tel Aviv, Tribeca.Dying to visit: Antarctica.Bizarre travel rituals: Immediately upon arrival, always free the internet cable from whatever ridiculous holder or stand is anchoring it to the desk.In-flight relaxation regime: Booze.Always in carry-on: I keep a folder on my desk labeled Flight Reading. Those absurdly lon

Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri.Occupation: Writer.Favorite destinations: The Adirondacks, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Kiawah Island, Sayulita, Paris, and New York City.Bizarre travel rituals: Packing last-minute.In-flight relaxation regime: Old school: a chill pill, a glass of wine, and a book.Always in carry-on: Carry ON!Concierge or DIY? DIY first, concierge as backup. See it all or take it easy? See

Hometown: NYC (but born and raised in Toronto)Occupation: Special Projects Director, Food & Wine and Judge/Host, Bravos Top Chef and Top Chef Just Desserts Favorite destinations: Bali, Tokyo, Montreal, Gloucester, Barcelona, Cape Town.Dying to visit: Buenos Aires, Oaxaca, Cambodia.Bizarre travel rituals: When I pack, I often lay out four times what I really need, then go day-by-day to edit it all down, and somehow still b

Hometown: Three Bridges, NJOccupation: Author-IllustratorFavorite destinations: Anywhere in southern Italy. Vienna. Small American cities.Dying to visit: Istanbul.Bizarre travel rituals: Obsessive mapping.In-flight relaxation regime: Reading the Economist.Always in carry-on: The book Im reading and the book I want to read next. (I have never gotten to the next.)Concierge or DIY? DIY.See it all or take it easy? See it all.Drive or be driven?

Hometown Brooklyn, yo! (But born in Marblehead, MA.)Occupation: Travel writer.Favorite destinations: Zurich, Norway, Mexico, Rajasthan, Maine, Mendocino and California Redwoods, Valparaiso in Chile, Buenos Aires, Newfoundland, The Skelligs.Dying to visit: Iran, Greenland, Bhutan, and Vanuatu. Bizarre travel rituals: I collect honey and travel with an atlas. I also have a 10-10-10 approach: I learn at least ten foreign phrases

Hometown: Nashville, TN Occupation: Cook, writer. Favorite destinations: Paris (and Beaune), France; Sardinia (and Rome), Italy; Kaikoura, New Zealand; Cape Town, South Africa; Buenos Aires, Argentina.Dying to visit: The cinnamon forests of Vietnam.  Bizarre travel rituals: Until recently, I took my childhood teddy bear Arthur with me on every trip. I literally could not sleep without him. Once I acci

Hometown: Los AngelesOccupation: WriterFavorite destinations: Nantucket, Aspen, New Orleans, Iceland, Capri.Dying to visit: South Africa.Bizarre travel rituals: Always get an oxygen tank delivered when traveling to altitude. Usually BYO tea bags.In-flight relaxation regime: Ambien. Always in carry-on: iPhone charger, Kiehls Lip Balm.Concierge or DIY? Concierge executing my plan.See it all or take it easy? See it all.Drive or be driven?

Hometown: NYCOccupation: Founder of Fathom.Favorite destinations: Lo Scoglio on the Amalfi Coast, a certain backyard in Sagaponack, Taprobane Island in Sri Lanka. Dying to visit: Chile from top to tail (especially Tierra del Fuego), South Island in New Zealand, Botswana, the Turkish Islands, the Canadian Rockies, the fjords of Norway (since 1990). Bizarre travel rituals: I pack a ridiculously compact carry-on, but dont u

Hometown: New York, NY via Harrisburg, PA and Chapel Hill, NC.Occupation: Food and style editor; TV commentator; dessert judge.Favorite destinations: Aspen, Beirut, Bali, Paris, St. Croix.Bizarre travel rituals: Airplanes and trains are the only places I allow myself to let the delicious idiocy of tabloid magazines wash over me, so I get as many as I can carry and devour them. I am also the one obsessively holding my nose and blowing, to tr

Hometown: New York CityOccupation: PhotographerFavorite destinations: India, Australia, South of France.Dying to visit: Bhutan, more of India, Turkey, anywhere off the beaten path — and I mean anywhere.Bizarre travel rituals: I like to sleep with four pillows surrounding me, if possible.In-flight relaxation regime: It goes like this: MUST have window seat. Then: 1. insert earplugs, 2. put on travel socks, 3. guzzle a Berocca vita

Reader Estella Gold sent us this postcard about her first time eating shabu-shabu in Tokyo.TOKYO – When Im on vacation, I almost always lose a little weight. This is a) because I am constantly in motion, and b) because I become obsessed with only eating foods that are special. When Im home, I might eat a box of stale donuts because they are there. But in Japan, I will only eat something if its authentically Japanese or otherwise rare

Dear Balthazar:Its only been two months, yet I still dream about you. The bright red awnings, green wooden benches (a bit wobbly), the bustling world inside. A revolving door of entertainment, Ive sat inside your brightly lit room so many times Ive lost count. I wont listen to the naysayers; you have an energy that reminds me of the way New York used to be (suited men reading the paper; fashion and PR girls working the double kiss). Br

Elephants in Thailand? Normal. Elephants on a vineyard in Thailand? Wait, there are vineyards in Thailand? Adam Graham goes on a journey of culinary discovery.PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN, Thailand – Her name is Honey Bee. Shes 40, enjoys fresh pineapple, moonlit strolls through the vineyard, and leans a little to the right when she walks. Okay, she leans a lot to the right. Oh, she also weighs three tons. Honey Bee is one of two lady elephants on the grounds a

SHANGHAI, China – When my brother Trevor was stationed as a student ambassador at Shanghais World Expo, I finally had a chance to eat my way through Asia for the first time. Not only is he is a proficient Mandarin speaker, he is another thing that I am not: a vegetarian. This made me nervous. Would philosophical differences in gastronomic preferences damper my exploration? Hardly. Together we indulged in stinky tofu and zhong-zhi

LAOS – Among the few regrets I have in life is never having been on horseback on a dust-blown plain out West, while my brother, also on horseback, puts a cork back in a label-less bottle and tosses it to me for a swig. I see that kind of exchange as a pinnacle of manhood, whereas my machismo has lived mostly in the foothills.That said, it has been my habit to purchase mystery homemade liquors in countries around the world, raising loc

Fathoms editorial director visits Israel for the very first time. She takes a break from eating hummus and floating in the Dead Sea to share her observations about the Bauhaus city on the beach (and beyond).Heres what I learn on the double-decker Delta flight from NYs JFK to Tel Aviv:1. Airline security is extra tight. When I reach the gate, I have to go through a second security checkpoint (laptops out, shoes off). And show receipts for wa

For me, a big trip needs to be four things at once: extensive, authentic, educational, and pampering. Sticking to these requirements, Ive been able to sail around Perth, Australia; ride through Paris at midnight on the back of a motorcycle; and sip Champagne at the top of Schwartzman Pass in South Africa.When it came to India, a place I had always wanted to go, the ubiquitous yoga retreats or backpacking routes didnt strike my fancy. But th

Hometown: Chicago.Occupation: Editor.Favorite destinations: Galapagos, Toronto, Sun Valley, Morocco, Utrecht, Greece, Berlin.Bizarre travel rituals: I immediately unpack when I arrive at my destination and do the same when I return home. Otherwise I get hives.In-flight relaxation regime: Fresh Air podcast + Saveur/Bon Appetit/New Yorker/Times + scarf.Always in carry-on: Lip balm.Concierge or DIY? DIY.See it all or take it easy? Depends on t

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY.Occupation: Contributing Editor at Food Republic.Favorite destinations: Saigon, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Paris, and Madison, WI.Dying to visit: Argentina, Malaysia, and Israel.Bizarre travel rituals: OCD-style cleaning the night before leaving, buying Maxim magazine, and a McDonalds Extra Value Meal breakfast for flights before 8 a.m.In-flight relaxation regime: Window seat, three newspapers, and headphones even withou