Hotels.com® and Richard Sandoval Choose Top Foodie Cities

DALLAS, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotels.com® has partnered with Richard Sandoval – an award-winning chef widely recognized as the "Father of Modern Mexican Cuisine" and Chef and Founder  of Richard Sandoval Restaurants – to encourage travelers with a global taste bud an indulgence of culinary delights. With the locations outlined by Sandoval, whose top restaurants span the globe in places such as New York City, Las Vegas, Dubai and Qatar, vacationers can rediscover the cities they love by following their stomachs and exploring new hot spots and cuisines unique to those destinations.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120605/NY18732 )

The fusion of Sandoval's culinary aptitude and Hotels.com's travel expertise offers insider advice on areas of travel as it relates to food. As Sandoval guides travelers on a culinary journey, Hotels.com can help them find the perfect place to stay, wherever it may be.

"One of the most pleasurable ways to experience a new city is through its food," said Richard Sandoval, Chef and Founder of Richard Sandoval Restaurants. "Whether it's the regional ingredients, techniques, or fresh food, the cuisine of a city absorbs a personality of its own. Every time I travel it excites and inspires me as I uncover new and interesting flavor combinations, along with the familiar favorites."

One of Sandoval's favorite cities for food is Los Angeles, where foodies are on the rise. Pizzeria Mozza, an upscale pizza joint, is a local favorite and on the list of his must-try restaurants. Here, they serve homemade fennel sausage and guanciale, a butterscotch budino that is all the rage, and fried squash blossoms with ricotta which Yelp users describe as "heaven." Rated four stars with over 2,000 reviews on Yelp, this restaurant is the perfect cure for all cravings of Italian fare.

Another Los Angeles restaurant Sandoval recommends is the Lazy Ox Canteen, a New American eatery situated in Little Tokyo. This eclectic, international restaurant received a positive rating of 93 percent on Zagat, and its chef, Josef Centeno, was a James Beard 2012 Semifinalist in the "Best Chef: Pacific" category. With their famous rice pudding, succulent pork belly, and diverse variety of small plates and entrees this is one destination that is not to be missed.

A city that is currently emerging as a culinary hotspot is Austin, Texas. An annual host of the popular SXSW music and film festival, this burgeoning city attracts epicureans and appetizing foods from all around for a customary food truck and street vendor contest called Foodspotting. Furthermore, Austin held its very first food and wine festival (courtesy of Food & Wine Magazine) this April, which included events such as "Mastering the Art of Sushi" with the famous Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, "Grocery Store Greats," "The Art of Italian Pasta," and "Global Street Food" with Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern. According to data from the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®), Austin's popularity is skyrocketing with its average daily hotel rates up 8 percent from 2010. However, rooms are still affordable at just $128 a night, which is less than they were in 2005, when hotel prices were at their peak.

A list of top foodie cities would not be complete if it did not include the illustrious New York City. As a melting pot of cuisines from around the world, New York allows travelers to experience a little bit of everything without having to go very far. "Here, you can find everything from tiny, authentic mom and pop shops, to some of the best restaurants in the world – the diversity alone puts the Big Apple at the top of my list," said Sandoval. The most popular restaurant in the big apple, according to Zagat, is Le Bernadin, which received a 97 percent rating after close to 6,000 reviews. Reviewers agree that this French, seafood restaurant boasts stunning decor and is a seafood lover's paradise, providing impeccable service and quality food. For an average of $258 per night for a hotel, vacationers can travel the world in one day by visiting neighborhoods such as Little Italy, Little Brazil, Koreatown, Chinatown, and Little Germany.

Jetsetters who are traveling on a romantic getaway to New York can check out Cocoron, a snug, cozy Japanese noodle bar that was chosen as one of the top "Cheap eats in New York City 2011" by Time Out New York and New York Magazine. Also included in Time Out New York's list of "Dinner dates for less than $50," Cocoron features soba noodles made from scratch served either cold, in hot soup, or cold with a warm dipping sauce. Vacationers can order a tasty starter, such as steamed chicken meatballs or sliced Japanese sticky yams, and couple the noodles with one of the restaurant's various toppings, from curry to kimchi.

With the money saved from this affordable meal, savvy travelers can then extend their date nights to indulge in desserts at Cathcart & Reddy, formerly known as DessertTruck Works. Located on the Lower East Side, right around the corner from Cocoron, this dessert haven is famous for its warm chocolate bread pudding with bacon custard sauce. Also available are fresh macaroons, brioche donut squares filled with Nutella, and goat cheese cake. Rated four and a half stars on Yelp, Cathcart & Reddy is the perfect way to end a night in the Big Apple.

To help guests create their own memorable travel experiences, Hotels.com and Chef Richard Sandoval want to treat guests to the exceptional Latin flavors Sandoval is known for in his most notable restaurants across the country in Denver, D.C., New York, and Los Angeles. Be sure to follow @ChefRSandoval and @hotelsdotcom for a chance to win one of three $100 gift cards that will be raffled off on Twitter.

Visit www.hotels.com, call 1-800-2-hotels, use our mobile apps, or book with a friend through our Facebook app Hotels WithMe for hotel deals and seasonal sales.  Other news, images and infographics are available at our media room: http://press.hotels.com/en-us/.

For more information, please call:

Amy Chang – Finn Partners for Hotels.com
Phone: (212) 715-1667
Email: [email protected] 

Taylor L. Cole, APR
Hotels.com North America
Phone: (469) 335-8442
Email: [email protected]

About Hotels.com®
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SOURCE Hotels.com