Tasty Travel
By Brette Sember
Traveling is about more than sightseeing for me. It’s also about tasting the flavors of the region. I often come home with a food that I am determined to learn how to make at home. Here are some of the best things I’ve tasted while traveling:
10. Gelato in Italy. We ate gelato every single day we were in Italy. It was the perfect afternoon snack and a wonderful antidote to the heat of the summer. There are so many flavors and they are all presented so beautifully. Ice cream at home doesn’t hold a candle to it!
9. Stone crab claws in Naples, Florida. We go to Naples every year and always buy stone crab claws at a local fishmonger (make sure you ask for them cracked or you’ll spend a long time in the kitchen with a hammer!). I make a dipping sauce with mayo, lemon juice, mustard, and dill and also melt butter with lemon for dipping the cold crab meat in.
8. Salmon my husband and son caught in Alaska. When we took our Alaskan cruise, my husband and son took a fishing excursion and caught wild salmon. It was an amazing experience for them and we had the salmon shipped home to enjoy. We dined for months on it and loved every bite!
7. Lobster in the rough in Maine. I spent summers in Maine, we went back for our honeymoon, and then took the kids one summer. It is one of my favorite places on earth and the best way to enjoy Maine is to dine by the ocean on lobster, corn on the cob, and potato chips.
6. Guava Duff in the Bahamas. This local dessert was a big hit with my family. Guava isn’t something you normally see on the menu at home and it was sweet and delicious.
5.The Burger Bar, Las Vegas. Vegas was fun, but is not one of my favorite places. The Burger Bar, however, stood out. We had amazing burgers, decadent milkshakes, and crispy fries with a variety of dips. Then there was the burger dessert: fudge on a Krispy Kreme donut. Oh my.
4. The Red Roost, Maryland’s Eastern Shore. This was one of our earliest food adventures, and one we’ve never, ever forgotten. All you can eat crab, ribs, corn, and apple pie a la mode.
3. Roman Pizza. Everyone says Naples is the place for pizza, but the best pizza we had in Italy was in Rome, at a fun place with a wood oven. We ordered a giant pizza that had 4 different “flavors” on it.
2. Tea at the Orangery at Kensington Gardens, London. This was a wonderful experience in a beautiful setting. The tea, sandwiches, and desserts were magnificent.
1. Sorrento Lemon Cake. We enjoyed this regional specialty on the Amalfi Coast of Italy at several restaurants. It’s a light lemon sponge cake, covered in a lemon meringue. I’m still hot on the trail of a recipe for this one.
Come on back tomorrow for Best Children’s Books that Inspire Young Travelers. Hasn’t this been the BEST week???
travel for me is often about music, but I really enjoy the food too, especially spending time in markets and food stores.
thanks for sharing your food favorites, Brette. speaking of pizza: the best pizza I have ever had *anywhere* is at Danano’s in Derry, Northern Ireland, but I’ll take your suggestion on Rome under advisement… and I’ve not been back to Derry for a bit, time plan a trip to go check out that the pizza is still that good, I think…
Trying new food is my favorite part about travel. It’s so hard to eat healthy, unprocessed foods in the States
My mouth is so watering right now!
Some of my travel food experiences include my extended stay in Portugal.
1) Their “ice cream,” which was actually more like Italian gelato was heaven! I’ve never tasted such an incredible frozen dessert in my life. I really miss that!
2) I tasted my first octopus in Portugal. I was nervous at first, but it turned out to be one of the best meals of my life!
Nothing beats the fun foods you can try while traveling.
Now I’m hungry.
I loved trying rich gooey desserts all over Germany. Heavy, hearty, and delicious.
I remember wonderful sites and art from France. But Germany makes me think of those desserts first.
travel for me is all about food. for in no other way can you learn what is important to a culture! you’ve got some great ideas here – sparking travel plans for many, i am sure!
Is it getting more and more acceptable to talk/write about food — or is it just a Baby Boomer thing? I don\’t remember whipping out my camera to take pictures of food when I traveled in my 20\’s. Now, I do it on a regular basis — accompanied by some eye rolling by my husband. We\’re just back from a trip to Miami and Key West. Stone crabs, Baby!
I think it is becoming more acceptable, although I have to say I don’t see a lot of people doing it. I still get some funny looks when I do it, particularly when we pass the camera around the table to photograph each dish! I LOVE stone crabs and am looking forward to having them when we go to Naples, FL in February!
YeeeUM! So much wonderful food makes me want to hit the road. 🙂
Cheers,
Casey
Funny, when I return from travel I talk about food so much that my friends have been known to ask if I did anything BESIDES eat! But when I have to pick a memorable dish or food experience–I’m overwhelmed with so many choices. A crab bake on the shore in Cape Cod, put on by the local American Legion is definitely my most memorable, although I certainly wouldn’t want to slight those Michelin 2-star restaurants at Chateaus in France. Thanks for your mouth-watering choices, Brette.