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In the pantheon of regional barbecue styles, Texas is in a league of its own. That low and slow, dry rubbed smoked brisket ...man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Fortunately, if you're staying at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow, there are several top-notch barbecue joints nearby.

Demeris Barbecue has three locations, the closest to the hotel being on Hempstead Road, just on the other side of Delmar Stadium . With melt-in-your-mouth brisket and an excellent baked potato loaded with chopped brisket and barbecue sauce, it's a good bet for a good meal. Just up the Northwest Freeway a bit, there's the local outpost of Big Daddy's BBQ — call ahead and they'll have your order ready for you so you can just drive through.

But really, if you're willing to drive a bit further, you've got to try Pierson & Company or Burns Bar BQ. Just declared the best barbecue in the city by the Houston Press, Pierson's brisket and pulled pork hit the mark with a mesquite-smoked tenderness. Burns is a bit harder to find (and in a somewhat dodgy neighborhood), but if you've got ribs in mind, it's the better option. Be sure to get a side of baked beans, and be sure to get there early — they're only open till 7 or when the food runs out.

[Image: Houston Press]

Stockholm is one of Scandinavia's most interesting cities, and its restaurants are a great way to explore it. Start with lunch at Erik's Gondolen, a restaurant suspended about 30 feet above the locks on the Mälaren River, a kilometer and a half south of the Sheraton Stockholm. The food is mostly traditional Swedish with a little French and could be a tad overpriced — but what you're really paying for is the view, which is stupendous.

Leijontornet has one Michelin star and a rigorous commitment to local, seasonal ingredients: the chef strictly uses only what can be found fresh at the market or what he and his staff have canned, pickled or preserved themselves. But don't assume that to be limiting in any way. Leijontornet's menu displays some of the most culinary creativity in the city.

For a taste of the nightlife, head to Stureplan, where some of Stockholm's coolest clubs and bars reside. Sturecompagniet is a good place to start the evening, and has so much going on that it might even end up the place where you end it.

Sometimes it's just good to experience really good American food. That's exactly what you'll find at the various Zingerman's restaurants in Ann Arbor. What started in 1982 as a single delicatessen featuring artisanal ingredients and products has expanded into a "community" of businesses, including the well-known mail-order catalog, a roadhouse, a bakery, a cheese and gelato shop and of course the original deli. They all follow the company's mission to promote local and regional foods. And they're all within a few miles of the University of Michigan — and the Four Points by Sheraton Ann Arbor.

You could eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and be thrilled with your options. Stop at the bakery, Zingerman's Bakehouse, in the morning for coffee (roasted by yet another Zingerman's company) and tasty pastries (maybe even stick around to learn how to make cinnamon rolls). For lunch, head to the deli for a superb reuben or other sandwich and peruse the other foodstuffs they've got on offer. But make sure to save room for dinner at Zingerman's Roadhouse. There you'll find some incredible dishes from around the country, made with the finest ingredients available, locally sourced as often as possible. It's like a locavore road trip, all in one restaurant.

In Tokyo, one often finds two very strongly opposing trends: a reverence for tradition and an obsession with the latest fad. It explains how Kabuki and Geishas coexist alongside karaoke and cosplay. It carries over to food, too, of course. And both new and old are within easy reach of the Westin Tokyo.

The Old: Ramen is an age-old noodle dish that bears little resemblance in taste to that stuff you ate in college. Visit the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum and you'll not only get to sample a wide array of ramen from different regions of Japan, but you'll explore what the center of Tokyo looked like in 1958, thanks to a perfect replica within the museum.

The New: One of the latest fads is for bento lunch boxes decorated with cartoon characters. You might find examples at a convenience store or in a train station ebiken shop. Fusion is another current fad, and Calm Terrace in Ebisu not far from the hotel, is a good example of how California cuisine has translated over the Pacific. And if you're daring, there are lots of odd candies to try.

Be forewarned: although many restaurants are beginning to set restrictions on smoking, it's still quite common, and a growing fad for cigars isn't helping. Be ready for frustration while exploring; here are a couple ways to avoid it.

San Francisco is a very walkable city, no more so than in the area around the Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf and its namesake. So it makes sense to grab something to go, so you can keep moving as you eat. First stop I'd make in the morning would be in Ghirardelli Square, at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Caffé for a rich cup of hot chocolate or perhaps a bar to go. Then off to the Wharf for the day's exploration. As lunchtime rolls around, skip the sit-down restaurants and peruse the fresh catch of the day at the many seafood stands along the wharf, much of which can easily be taken to go and eaten on a bench along the pier.

If you find yourself near Golden Gate Park, keep you eye out for one of Happy Belly's four foodcarts, serving everything from hot dogs to BLGT sandwiches (the G is for guacamole). They're run by the same folks as behind nearby Namu, which has gotten great reviews for its pan-Asian cuisine. And should you find yourself in the Mission, you owe it to yourself to stop in at Frjtz for Belgian-style fries and their scrumptious dipping sauces.

In the November issue of Travel + Leisure, which has a special focus on green and eco-tourism, Le Méridien Etoile gets a nod for installing energy efficient minibars, TVs and heating in its rooms. The article also recommended a pair of restaurants where you can carry the green theme into your Parisian dining experience.

BioArt, an all-organic restaurant in the 13th Arrondissement, offers such dishes as risotto topped with shaved truffle and diver scallop terrine — plus a gorgeous view of the Seine. You might also check out Phyto Bar, which boasts an organic beer and wine selection to go along with its all-organic, veggie-friendly menu.

Arpège takes it a step further with a holistic farm-to-table approach: most of the fruits, vegetables and herbs used in the food are from Chef Alain Passard's own farm, and the rest of the ingredients are from small, independent producers. There's nothing rustic about the food, though: Passard's refined yet innovative dishes have earned him three Michelin stars, and he's on Forbes.com's list of the world's most expensive tasting menus.

Oenophiles, if you're staying at the W Chicago - Lakeshore this week, you're in for a treat. On Nov. 5, wine expert and Bottlenotes founder and CEO Alyssa Rapp will be celebrating the release of her new book, Bottlenotes Guide to Wine: Around the World in 80 Sips, with a party and wine tasting at the hotel's Wave restaurant.

Around the World in 80 Sips is an insider's guide to boutique wineries from around the world, and the wine tasting event will allow you to sample some of the wines from France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina featured in the book. Rapp will be on hand for a Q&A and to sign books in between sips. The event runs from 6 to 8pm, and costs $10 or $20 including the book. Afterward, stick around for dinner. Wave is a Mediterranean small plates crowd-pleaser headed by one of Chicago's rising stars, Chef Kristine Subido.

Washington DC rivals New York, LA and all the capitals of the world in the number of work-oriented dinners. If that's on the agenda when you stay at The St. Regis Washington, be sure to reserve a table at the hotel restaurant, Ardour by Chef Alain Ducasse, when you book your room. You'll find no better locale for it, and the lobby location means all your talking points will still be fresh when you go downstairs for dinner.

But maybe you're looking for something a little more casual to help grease the wheels of business or politics. Look no further than DC's multitude of wine bars. Here's a couple suggestions, all a short cab ride from the hotel, that will impress without becoming a distraction. First is Proof, where you can try more than 30 wines by the glass in 2-, 6- and 8.5-ounce pours and have an excellent meal on the side. Nearby Zaytinya specializes in wine from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon, with (sometimes uneven) food to match; if you're up for something a bit more unusual and adventurous, it might hit the spot. Or try Vinoteca in the U Street Corridor. It's a fun and casual spot that also offers short pours for sampling, and about 80 bottles at a time in a seasonal rotation. The menu features plenty of tasty morsels. Of its six versions of the slider, I'm a fan of the venison with brie.

Headed to London's financial district on business? You've probably already figured out that The Park Lane Hotel is the closest Starwood property to The City. Here are a few new places to continue your business over dinner:

• L'Anima is a beautiful new Italian restaurant that's sure to impress with its minimalist space and lusciously modern dishes.

• The very popular Le Bouchon has opened a second location, Le Bouchon Breton, near Spitalfields Market just this month. Early reviews show its youth, but if you're looking for something traditional yet new, here's your place. The steaks are excellent.

• Hix Oyster & Chop House updates the classic London chop house and nails it — which means it may be tough to get a reservation.

• One place not to go is the recently opened Bel Canto. It's not that the food's not good — but it may be hard doing business in between opera-singing servers.

Sometimes, you just have to order a pizza. It's practically a fact of life, especially when you're in another city, stuck in a hotel room and it's too late, too much work to go hit a restaurant and frankly, you've been eating room service all week . You pick flip through the yellow pages (or check check Yelp) and call a place.

But where? If you're at, say, the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown, there are a few worthy options. Rocket Pizza Lounge offers a nice mix of traditional and "California" toppings, from pepperoni to goat cheese, it's open till midnight and it's just a couple blocks east of the hotel for fast delivery. For a New York-style pie, try Pizza Next Door, which gets pretty solid reviews. The only downside is it's only open till 9pm.

Or you could get all wild and crazy and order a 54-inch pizza from Big Mama's & Papa's. It's the largest pizza available for delivery — big enough to feed 50 or more people. OK, so I know you probably wouldn't get it delivered (I don't know how you'd even get it to your room), but they do offer a 36-incher that's still ridiculous, but at least manageable with a few buddies when you're hanging out on a Sunday afternoon...