Food & Drink
We travel for food. This dish of scallops was taken at a restaurant in Cleveland. Photo: Tonya Fitzpatrick
“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.”
– Anthony Bourdain
One of the best ways to experience the world is with the palette. Gastronomy—from food to mixology—has become a popular reason to travel. Culinary travel is here to stay and marks the strength of a great food experience. Whether finding the best street food to stalls in the market—from local joints to five-star cuisine, the desire to find the most interesting meals on the planet has become an obsession for many. As the world has become more diffuse, some of best restaurants are drawing travelers to small towns not known for food. In many places, wineries, craft breweries and distilleries are providing yet another excuse to indulge in culinary travel.
Though rough around the edges and often overlooked, many travellers have a soft spot for Lisbon’s sister city Porto.
Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, is challenging its much larger sister Auckland for the crown of New Zealand’s best foodie destination. The people behind Wellington’s foodie credentials are a new generation of female chefs and artisan food producers making incredible local food.
If you’re heading to the Orlando area, I’m sure you’ve given a lot of thought to your itinerary. You’ve probably booked a hotel, made theme park reservations, and maybe even though about which restaurants to visits. But did you know there are coffee shops and bistros in Central Florida where your visit could literally save lives?
Mehman nawazi (hospitality) is etched in the ethos of Kashmir and her people, a centuries-old legacy of this Northwestern Indian state. Every time I land myself in Srinagar, my friend Mushtaq would pick me up late in the evening, and a half-an-hour bumpy ride through the Srinagar-Ganderbal highway would take us to his humble two-storeyed house. A four-course dinner of goshtaba, yakhni, rogan josh and rishta follows. Not necessarily in that order, but always hearty portions of meat, rustled up in authentic Kashmiri style.
Ask any average Westerner, and they likely won’t be able to point out Burundi on the map. Although this tiny country is virtually ignored when it comes to East African tourism, that’s no reason why it shouldn’t be on your travel bucket list.
We had checked off a handful of well-known sights already on our three days in Iceland: soaking in the Blue Lagoon, zipping up close to icebergs in a zodiac and hiking up to Svartifoss, an impressive waterfall tumbling over Jenga-like basalt columns.
Eating in new and exciting places — and experiencing unfamiliar flavors — has always been a highlight of my travels. But on long trips, dining out every meal can become taxing and expensive, and when you’re staying in a hotel, there isn’t always a way to prepare your own food (nor is this a desirable option for everyone).
Driving east on I-40 toward the Great Smoky Mountains, a huge golden ball known as the Sunsphere guides you into downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.
Leaving behind the tourist-filled streets of Darjeeling and the lingering whistle of the steam engine of the Heritage Himalayan Railway, our car enters the Lebong Valley. It is a different world altogether.
An ever-evolving city full of history, culture, and a buzzing atmosphere, you can visit Barcelona countless time after time without having the same experience.
I have come to College Street Coffee House, an iconic café in Kolkata, India, after many years. The small but cavernous entrance of this 19th-century building and its dank staircase has remained just the same.
Having traveled to India a couple of years ago for a speaking engagement I had I was immediately struck by how vast the country is--so vast that it might take the better part of a lifetime to see it. Ask any traveler. They'll tell you the same and locals would likely concur. The most popular circuit amongst foreign tourists is the Golden Triangle, comprising Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra.
