Secret Restaurants of Celebrity Foodies

Summer at the Bite, on Martha's Vineyard (David Welch) [enlarge photo]

Marnee Thai San Francisco The Miang Kum appetizer is a marveling concoction of ginger, dried shrimp, dried coconut, peanuts, and chopped lime that you wrap in spinach leaves with a dab of special sauce (1243 9th Ave., 415/731-9999, Miang Kum $7.50). —Marion Nestle

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Rosso Pizzeria + Wine Bar Santa Rosa, Calif. This is a sweet little place that's deeply local. Get the white pizza! (Creekside Center, 53 Montgomery Dr., 707/544-3221, from $12). —Cindy Pawlcyn

Giusti's Walnut Grove, Calif. When it's nice out, customers arrive at this riverside bar and restaurant by boat. The fried chicken has an almost flaky coating (14743 Walnut Grove–Thornton Rd., 916/776-1808, dinner from $13.50). —Darrell Corti

In-N-Out Burger Various locations There's so much pressure to follow the what's-new trend in burgers; this place holds its ground (229 locations in the West, from $1.50). —Thomas Keller

Side Street Inn Honolulu Side Street Inn has comfort food like pork chops and ribs with a passion-fruit glaze. Drink a Kona Longboard beer and be happy (1225 Hopaka St., 808/591-0253, entrées from $13). —Ming Tsai

SOUTH & SOUTHWEST

Pizzeria Bianco Phoenix The way they raise their dough, the fire...A good pizza is minimalist, and they do it right (623 E. Adams St., 602/258-8300, pizza from $11). —Lidia Bastianich

Bon Ton Cafe New Orleans Locals gravitate to the soulful cooking. They have dishes you don't find in most of the haute Creole restaurants, such as étouffées, proper Cajun-style bisques, and slow-cooked one-pot meals (401 Magazine St., 504/524-3386, entrées from $16). —John Besh

Tree House Pastry Shop and Café Santa Fe, N.M. Everything they serve here is just sparkling fresh. The deep-dish quiches are something to dig into, and not at all stodgy (1600 Lena St., 505/474-5543, quiches from $13). —Deborah Madison

The Pit Raleigh, N.C. Time—and only time—gets good 'cue done right, so they start the lunch barbecue the night before. My mouth waters for the triple-meat combo (328 W. Davie St., 919/890-4500, combos from $10). —Patrick Ford

Scott's BBQ Hemingway, S.C. They cook whole hogs over open pits, slather on sauce with long-handled mops, and ferry the hogs to the cutting block on what looks like an old hospital gurney (27-34 Hemingway Hwy., 843/558-0134, sandwiches from $4). —John T. Edge