Traveler & Foodie Victoria Dorsey Lists Her Favorite Restaurants From Around The World

Located about 15 minutes from the beach in downtown Tulum is Burgerito. This hybrid-style restaurant combines traditional burger favorites with burritos to create a flavorful experience like no other. 

”When you try it, it is like food porn in your mouth,” Dorsey said. “I’d never been to a burger place like that.”

Burgerito has a variety of toppings to add to burgers, like fried eggs, fries, and even nachos. They also have a plethora of loaded french fry skillets to choose from. Whatever your taste buds desire, you’ll find a little bit of everything for a traveling foodie.

If you’re ever in Italy, Dorsey says you have to take a boat over to the Amalfi Coast to check out the Wine Bar Palazzo. For Dorsey, this restaurant was a fresh and new experience with authentic Italian cuisine, homemade sauces, and fresh pasta made from scratch. 

“When you’re at home and you go to the grocery store to make it at home, it can still be good,” she said. “But when you go to the origin of a place where it originated from and they make it for you from scratch, it is orgasmic.”

The ingredients used in the dishes were the freshest Dorsey had ever experienced at any restaurant. Her favorite dishes were lasagna, pesto ravioli, and pizza.

On their last day visiting Paris, Dorsey and her friend stumbled upon a restaurant called Mama Jackson Soul Food in the inner city. The Black-owned restaurant had a line to get in and fantastic food with fried chicken, sweet cornbread, yams, and all of the soul food favorites. The pair were relieved to find the soul food joint after being disappointed by their other food experiences in the City of Love. 

“It was heaven on earth for us when we finally found this place because we’d found a really good meal to enjoy in Paris,” Dorsey said. 

The restaurant was a vibe with great music, a caring staff, and walls decorated with records from Black musicians throughout history. Although the flavor of the food was different from traditional American soul food, Dorsey says she would definitely recommend checking out the establishment.

If you’re looking to dine in an exotic, jungle experience, Dorsey suggests checking out Tseen Ja. This restaurant is built into a treehouse with wooden rope bridges over water and nets you have to cross to get inside. It’s the ultimate Tarzan experience.

“I kind of like to switch it up when I’m on vacation and I don’t like to stick to the same flavors of food, so I wanted to try some sushi and they have some of the best sushi rolls,” she said. 

Guests and staff remove their shoes before entering this Asian-style, fine dining restaurant, and are able to enjoy an array of dishes that include fresh fish, different kinds of rice, and vegan options. Dorsey says Tseen Ja is on the high price end so it’s a great choice for a late dinner date.

Another amazing restaurant in Italy Dorsey recommends is Restaurante Bruno in Positano. Sitting high on a hill, this outdoor restaurant on a white, covered patio serves authentic Italian food in a modern, natural setting. They have a variety of red and white sauce pasta dishes, wines, and fresh seafood that make their dishes some of the best in the country. 

“When they’re making the pasta with the wines that originated from Italy it just brings out another level of flavor,” she said. 

The restaurant’s service matches the high quality of their food and drinks, and Dorsey says it is a must-try any time you’re in Europe.

You can’t mention Mexico without mentioning tacos, and Dorsey says the best place to go for tacos in Tulum is La Taqueria. This outdoor, street-style restaurant is dipped off in a secluded area surrounded by tropical trees and glowing, hanging lights. 

“It’s like street tacos with a fancy twist to it,” she said.

Just five minutes from downtown Tulum, La Taqueria offers a variety of different types of quesadillas and tacos, including chicken, steak, and grilled and tempura-style fish. They also have multiple signature sauces and salsas that make their tacos stand out from other street restaurants in the city.

When you’re visiting Thailand, Dorsey says to make sure you stop by one of their plentiful street food vendors and get some mango sticky rice. A traditional Southeast Asian dish, this snack meshes rice, fresh mango, and coconut milk together to make a delicious dessert you won’t forget. 

“It’s a good combination and it’s very popular in Thailand. If you’re walking around and you’re eating street food, you’re going to see mango sticky rice at every cart.”

Dorsey said the dish can be found all around Thailand and even at some Thai restaurants in the United States. If you have a sweet tooth, give it a try next time you see it on the menu.

Bistro Cafe in Miami provided Dorsey with an unforgettable vibe that will have her returning on her next trip south. Located in Downtown Miami, this restaurant has a huge menu with steak and shrimp omelets, pancakes, a variety of flavored mimosas, and so much more. Their food presentation is amazing, with dishes that look like art, and huge portions.

“It was so much food but the way it looked, it was so pretty, I didn’t even want to touch the food,” she said.  

The food and drinks were very affordable, however, the restaurant is a popular spot for visitors, so Dorsey waited an hour before she was seated. But the foodie says the food experience is totally worth the wait. 

Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes the barbeque. Not far from Dallas in Cedar Hill, Winners BBQ has some of the best barbeque in the city. 

This Black-owned restaurant has some of the finest smoked and barbecued meats. But, for Dorsey, what stood out to her the most was their three-meat barbeque potatoes. Loaded up with your choice of a variety of meats, this $20 spud can feed two people. 

“It was one of the most amazing things,” she said. “I’d never had anything like that.”

A unique barbeque experience unlike any other, Winners BBQ is a go-to anytime you’re in the Dallas area. Make sure you get there within the first hour of them opening, because they will sell out. 

Houston is a food giant, and people travel from around the country to check out the city’s diverse cuisines. Dorsey has visited Houston several times and her favorite place for morning delights is The Breakfast Klub. 

The restaurant has two locations not far from one another and they always have a line. But Dorsey says their staff moves fast so don’t let the line keep you away, because their food is top tier.

“They make their batter from scratch, so it’s a fluffy, Belgian type waffle and their fried chicken…they just have it down to the tee on how to season and bread the chicken to where the flavor just comes through amazing,” she said. 

Dorsey has visited the restaurant three times and says it is always phenomenal. Not only is the food made from scratch, but she could also tell it was made with love.

Related: ’50 Best Restaurants’ Makes Efforts To Bridge The Black-Owned Business Gap