America's collective intrigue with boeuf bourguignon can be nearly single-handedly credited to the food legend whose 1961 tome "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" held rhapsodic praise for the stew that she encountered when living in France.

WSJ: Where's the Best Boeuf?

Let this roadmap be your guide to the American states and cities that have elevated the act of slow-cooking meat to an art form.

BBC: The geography of American barbecue

Billed as part travel guide and part cultural, historical reference, it explores history, art and architecture, furniture and antiques, cooking, immigration, and English words of Dutch origin.

FORBES: History Buff Alert! Staten Island And Dutch New York

Cooking Thai food is like making a work of art.

BBC: The perfect trip: Thailand

Here offerings include a tour of Chicago sites made famous in film, a private architectural boat tour, cooking classes, or the latest, a customized private tour of the famed Art Institute of Chicago, customized in the sense that the hotel will arrange for your guide to be an expert in the area of art that interests you.

FORBES: Peninsula Chicago: Celebrating 10 Luxurious Years With Deals & Meals

At a relaxed Monday night cooking club in the Kochlounge, an events space in the 4th district, novices can learn the art of what is now considered a working class staple.

BBC: In the kitchen with Viennese history