Toulouse, France

Chez Émile occupies a corner building on the Place Saint-Georges in Toulouse, a few minutes from the Capitole, and has been serving the city's signature dishes since 1960. The Toulouse sausage is the centre of the kitchen's attention: grilled over wood, split and served with flageolet beans or cassoulet depending on the season. The cassoulet at Chez Émile is made the Toulouse way, with confit duck, pork rind, and a sausage de Toulouse that holds its texture through the long bean braise. The terrace faces the square and stays full through the long summer evenings. Toulouse is a city that eats its sausage seriously, and Chez Émile is where that seriousness is most consistently on display.