Convincing a friend to try falafel for the first time is kind of a hard sell: "They're these balls of ground-up chickpeas and tahini — Oh, tahini is sesame seed paste! Yes, like on the buns at McDonald's. Anyway, they take the balls and they fry them, and then you put tzatziki sauce on it — it's a yogurt sauce. No, not like Yoplait. It's good; just eat it!" The best thing to do is just take your pal somewhere that makes really good falafel and get him to take a bite. But don't take him just anywhere — the falafel has to be just right. Falafel Benny and Schwarma in Hallandale Beach serves falafel the way it should be — still warm from the fryer, wrapped in soft pita bread, drizzled with tzatziki sauce, and topped with onions and diced cucumber. It's everything a falafel should be and kosher to boot. Bonus at Benny's is the tall cut of beef — the schwarma turning on its spit all day, just waiting for you to order a slice.

At some point, the banh mi will go mainstream and be offered at Subway. But until then, one must search high and low for the delicious Vietnamese sandwich that is a byproduct of French colonialism. Served in a crispy baguette, it combines French tastes (pâté) with Vietnamese ingredients (cilantro, daikon, pickled carrot). Fortunately one must travel no further than Hollywood Boulevard to find a perfect example. Pho VI has three varieties on the menu: grilled pork, chicken, and Vietnamese ham. The servers will also gladly make you a vegan option with tofu replacing the meat and holding the pâté. The hearty sandwich is priced at $5.95 and in Subway parlance is somewhere between the size of a six-inch and a foot-long. It is packed with so much flavor that if Subway spokesman Jared were to get his hands on the recipe, he might soon be morbidly obese again.

Vegetarians, vegans, look elsewhere. This lip-smacking, glistening, fatty, crunchy deliciousness is not for you, though you may long outlive us decadents and dance, ever-so-slim and healthily, on our graves. At least we will have known the pleasures of this sleek and cozy Delray Beach Asian boîte's Spicy Crispy Duck Salad, a modest portion (with mighty impact) of mixed greens, red onion, and scallions tossed with chunks of the above-mentioned lip-smacking mallard in a "Thai dressing" that tastes suspiciously like little more than a splash of srihacha. It doesn't take any more than that to make this dish a bracing experience in nuance and complexity, deeply layered in flavor and texture. Wash it down (or first cleanse the palate) with Lemongrass' take on wonton soup, delicate of broth, dotted with dumplings, rich in flavor. Want veggies? Grab a seaweed salad with sesame dressing. But for indulgence, it's all about the duck.

The cheese steak was born in South Philadelphia, circa 1930, at Pat's King of Steaks. Decades later, you can find a version of this famous steak sandwich in nearly every city nationwide, but not every spot dishes out the real deal. But at the Philly Cheesesteak Experience in Fort Lauderdale, you'll get both Northern natives and a true Philly sandwich, all in one shot. The Strauss family — who together have more than 20 years' experience in the restaurant industry — began serving Broward County their authentic Philly cheese steaks six years ago, when they relocated to South Florida from New Jersey, opening a humble outpost at the Pompano Festival Flea Market Mall food court. Today, though, you'll find this masterpiece of meat at their new eatery off Commercial Boulevard, where more than 100 sandwiches — and more than 200 pounds of beef — are ordered daily. It starts with the grill, where paper-thin slices of sirloin are chopped and seared alongside piles of tender grilled onions. All that juicy goodness is layered into a soft, chewy roll, shipped straight from Philly's Amoroso bakery. It's topped with a good dousing of hot, melty Cheez Whiz (although provolone, American, and mozzarella are also options). Try ordering yours "whiz wit' " — official Philly street slang for "with Cheez Whiz and onions."

Do not pity the chicken. Sure, at first glance, its life may seem somewhat bleak. To be raised in captivity with the sole intent of being turned into a nugget may not strike one as a desirable existence. But rest assured, some chickens will go on to fulfill a greater fate. The lucky ones get sent over to the Mason Jar Café in Fort Lauderdale. It is there that they are elevated from simple cutlet to an orgasm-inducing fried piece of tongue candy. Every fried chicken that leaves the Mason Jar's kitchen has been given no less than 30 minutes of intimate compliments. After all, each is rubbed with a seasoned batter that is rumored to come from Julia Child's secret time capsule. Then every one is fried to crunchy perfection and smothered in a gravy so creamy and delicious that it must be kept in a box labeled "booger juice" to prevent sneaky busboys from stealing a taste. Any nincompoop can just drop a breast into a deep fryer and come back in five minutes. But it takes skill — nay, love — to make the best fried chicken.

There's nothing more American than cheap beer, football, and chicken wings. And in the great old US of A, we like options. Seriously, do you know of any other country that dedicates an entire aisle in the supermarket to hundreds of choices of bread? Doubt it. It's called democracy, baby. This local Miami Dolphins-themed sports bar (it was founded by former player Bob "Bru" Brudzinski) takes a cue from the country it represents with multiple options for chicken wing accoutrements — and plenty of inexpensive beer to pair, of course. Wings are available in ten ($9.95), 16 ($14.50), 25 ($23.95), and 50-piece ($41.95) options — screw the half-dozen and dozen selections. Sauces run the gamut, with choices ranging from mild, medium, hot, X-hot, and XX-hot to Triple Threat, a combination BBQ, sweet 'n' tangy, and hot sauce grilled with minced garlic. (Hint: Try the Triple Threat.) Here, it's all about choices. It's like the football fanatic's slice of the American Dream.

A family-owned business for almost 30 years, Rob's Bageland offers New York-quality bagels in a New York-style dining space — that is, rushed, brusque, and bustling. The service is always a bit harried, and you need to spit out your order quick, but with a never-empty steaming coffee cup and chewy, fresh bagel, you will not even care. In fact, between the quality of the bagel and the, err, efficient manner of the staff, you can close your eyes and pretend you're back in NYC. And let's not forget the schmear. At Bageland, you will find both Nova and smoked salmon. You can build your own — layering salmon over gobs of cream cheese with capers, fresh onion, and tomato — or you can ask for the salmon spread, which consists of enormous chunks of salmon stirred into the cream cheese for you. Either way, it's as good as any bagel you'll get in New York. There, we said it!

They say, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." It's supposed to jump-start the metabolism and prevent binging later on. That's fine and all, but when it comes to breaking the fast on a weekend, it should be all about feeding your hangover and heading straight back to bed — or the beach. This Fort Lauderdale breakfast spot will do the trick. The stick-to-your-bones, heartland-style delicacies are simple, filling, and utterly delicious. Everything is made onsite, completely from scratch, just like Grandma used to make (if she was from the South). The Southern Comfort ($13) is a massive order of homemade buttery biscuits with sausage gravy. The oven-baked pancake ($10), an inch-thick round of sweet airy batter, comes plain or filled with your choice of fruit served with maple syrup and a pat of butter. The East Coaster breakfast ($16) includes a six-ounce grass-fed steak, two eggs any way you like, fresh baked toast, and choice of cheese grits or Yukon gold potatoes. And those are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of traditional gut-busting options. No, it's not the healthiest or the trendiest way to start the day, but perfect never goes out of style. Fortunately, you can drink your mimosa while braving the lines.

Sundays are supposed to be the most relaxing day of the week — the Lord's day. And brunch is one of the most chilled-out meals. So Sunday brunch should be a soulful experience (whether you go to church first or not). That's what you'll get at Hot and Soul. The small Fort Lauderdale eatery prides itself on serving an array of international cuisine cooked with passion. Mom-and-pop team Christy Samoy and Mike Hampton have a mixed bag of experiences and background. Samoy's family comes from the Philippines. Hampton hails from Pennsylvania. The two graduated from culinary school in New Orleans and have cooked everything from Italian and Mediterranean to modern American. It's all evident in their menu. Pillows ($6) are NOLA-style fluffy beignets served with condensed milk. What the French Toast?! ($12) combines toast made of rice pudding with coconut almond sauce, mango strawberry glaze, and candied ginger. Steak Your Claim ($18) mixes culotte steak with gnocchi hash and fried egg for a twist on an American classic. And the Philippine breakfast ($16) features tocino (Spanish-style bacon) with fried rice and a fried egg. Yes, it's all over the place, and the names might be strange. But it's all good, and you can actually taste the soul. Consider this your foodie place of worship.

Just as the rest of the food world — and world in general — is going on about "craft" this and "artisanal" that, the java world has followed suit. And when it comes to straying from the mainstream in South Florida, one name comes to the forefront of the underground world: restaurateur and bar owner Rodney Mayo. Earlier this year, he teamed up with West Palm Beach coffee aficionado Sean Scott, founder of Habatat Coffee, to start a coffee shop and microroasting facility right on Clematis. Beans are painstakingly sourced from the best coffee regions around the world, ranging from South America to the South Pacific, and are served in every fashion imaginable, from fancy pour-overs to a plain old cup of coffee. And as good as the beans may be, the atmosphere is just as au courant. The vintage-inspired interior is filled with stylish coffee fanatics, college students, and hip folk conversing over steaming hot cups of brew until the wee hours of morning.