Milan is not the most fabulous food city in Italy. How can it be, when ragù Bolognese comes from Bologna, pesto from Genoa, pizza from Naples, cacio e pepe from Rome, and the greatest Italian wines from the vineyards near Alba? Nevertheless, among my all-time favorite restaurants is Da Giacomo, a deceptively simple fish restaurant. Here, the variety is endless, the cooking perfect, and the proprietors generous. The building is very old, the fish (sea bream, sea bass, turbot, john dory, snapper, seabream, and scorpion fish, to name a few) extraordinarily fresh and thoughtfully prepared, and the staff particularly kind to travelers. This is currently my second-favorite seafood restaurant on earth. Also wonderful, and even more charming, is Da Giacomo’s pastry shop, just across the street from the restaurant. —Alan Richman

A former sportswriter for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Alan Richman has won 16 James Beard Foundation Awards for his journalism on food and wine, and a National Magazine Award for feature writing