“Restaurant” is a derivative of the Latin word “restore.” Inns were once places where travelers could have a simple meal, then hit the road for a continuation of their journey. Today, with the arrival of modern-day tourism, travelers often visit destinations for history, cultural and gastronomic components. Yes, food is the spice of life, and we asked our members to list their favorite state destinations for pleasures of the palate. It's fun for our readers to see another side of our writers, who have been delivering original content not found anywhere else on the globe.

From the vantage point of the open-air terrace, I could just make out Maui's iconic Pu'u Keka'a. Illuminated by the Hawaiian moon, it is the spot where Kahekili II would demonstrate his bravery by jumping 400 feet into the sea. He called it lele kawa, which means leaping off high cliffs and entering the water feet first without a splash. Said to be seven foot tall and 300 pounds, his massive physicality made his splash-less dive even more remarkable. In the 1700s, as the king of Maui, Kahekili II selected Kāʻanapali’s pristine stretch of sands and lush gardens as a retreat for Hawaiian royalty and training ground for his warriors.

As we dream of carefree, alluring days on the ocean’s shore, my thoughts turned to fun things to nibble while on the beach’s sand. I thought it would be fun to see what our T-Boy writers and readers’ selections might be from their ancestral homes for the perfect and most traditional things to eat on the beach.

What is Filipino food really? This was a question posed by a Filipino-American who grew up in New York as he traveled to his native Philippines with the late Anthony Bourdain in the latter's food and travel show No Reservations. Growing up in America, this guy knew for sure what Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Korean cuisine is. But Filipino?

There was not a hint of litter on the street. Mexican children frolicked on the beach. Los Pacenos (La Paz natives) offered gentle smiles as they jogged past me along the Malecón – La Paz’s bay-front boardwalk that stretches along the historic downtown. It was hard to take it all in with the sun setting on the glimmering Sea of Cortez.

Every summer, throngs of tourists from Germany and Great Britain descend to splay their pallid bodies on the glorious beaches that ring this island off the coast of Spain. They soak up the sun, swim and sail in the Mediterranean, swarm Mallorca's shops and restaurants, drink her wine, consume her olive oil, and snore in her hotels.

While visiting the coastal town of Bermeo, one of the oldest towns in the Basque Country of Spain, I received a most unusual invitation to dine with friends of friends. It was unusual not just because it began in a seafood market or ended in a mountaintop bodega. No, this was a rare invitation to dine at one of the Basque male gastronomy societies.