If you could travel to any place in the world...
...just for the food, where would you go? What would you eat? I'd go the the Colorado mountains & cook all my meals over a campfire...to me, this is the best tasting food I've ever eaten.
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24 Comments:
I haven't had the opportunity to really travel outside of the U.S. much. I'd love to hit up anywhere in Italy and France- specifically Paris. I mean, what girl doesn't want to go to Paris? I'm rather weird in the way that I would JUST go for the food though.
PumpkinBear at 3:12PM on 03/01/08
Without a doubt Italy. Wait... maybe bbq on the beach in Jamaica, fresh seafood on the beach in Mexico. Japan. NYC. Darn You JEP, this isn't fair!!!!
evilchefmom at 3:33PM on 03/01/08
If I had the money and got started, I might never stop. I'd research the world's best shellfish and seafood and begin there and then I'd want to sample the best cuisines, fruits, nuts, vegetables, meats, breads (oh mama!) the world has to offer. I'm not interested in eating insects and that type of adventuresome eating. I think I'd prefer tried and true dishes, cooked and raw of the best to be had, wherever that takes me - hopefully all over the world. Of course, my daughters and granddaughter and other loved ones would have to come along and share all that wonder with me, or it wouldn't be as much fun and the food wouldn't taste as good. ;)
PerkyMac at 3:45PM on 03/01/08
I'm vegetarian so that makes my options a little more limited. I would love to try some awesome Thai street food but I doubt much of it is vegetarian. I'll have to go with Italy on this one. Ah, Italy. I want to go back so badly. :(
raspberry eggplant
charm city cupcake at 3:46PM on 03/01/08
Another wistful vote for Italy! Greatest food I've had in all my travels. Everything, whether it was from a Mom-and-Pop hole in the wall, an elegant restaurant, or an open-air market, was lovingly, lusciously prepared, with the freshest ingredients...
baboo at 4:02PM on 03/01/08
southern france. i confess i can't get past peter mayle's books about provence. his descriptions of the food he ate there are a gourmand's delight.
cybercita at 4:03PM on 03/01/08
I'm with you cybercita! I have to go to France - it's a requirement. I want Paris, Provence, Alsace, Bordeaux. Cooking French food in my Michigan kitchen is such a tease. I just feel time ticking away and me not getting there. I'm totally passionate about experiencing the food of France IN France. sigh...
frederika at 5:01PM on 03/01/08
We travel overseas fairly regularly. Deciding where to go is always tough, because there's really no place we wouldn't want to experience. We once tried to make a list of top ten places to see before we die, and basically had to give it up. It was a virtually impossible exercise.
So, one of the biggest criteria in choosing the next destination is eating. Actually, unless there's some enormously fascinating landmark that we're just obsessed with seeing, food is almost always the #1 consideration!
If I could only go on one more overseas trip, it would probably be France, and it would be all about the food. And, it doesn't hurt that the people are so nice, and the sights so numerous and varied.
;-)
LoCo at 5:05PM on 03/01/08
I have to say I'm rather enamored with 'roughing it' fare like JEP. The best foods are rustic, simple and rely entirely upon the ingredient itself. I would love to do an agritourism trip to Italy and get my hands in the dirt with the farmers, and then cook up some simple, but quintessentially rustic Italian meals.
lesliepariseau at 5:27PM on 03/01/08
I'd go out to the washington coast gather a bunch of mussels and maybe a few clams, wrap some corn in foil and start a campfire, throw in some salt and a good bottle of wine and I'm in heaven.
huney_bumper at 6:31PM on 03/01/08
I dream of a true Philly Cheesesteak.
I would also return to Europe with more money than I had the first time and eat as many places as Julia Child lived or recommended in France.
Back to Italy when I can appreciate wine instead of how much I could consume at once, and back to London where I'd still consume too much beer with some fish and chips.
And finally back to the British Virgin Islands where we got off our rented yacht (from St. John, USVI) and had lobster rolls for lunch that were caught from the beach 20 feet away. Yummm. I am feeling very blessed that I got to experience these trips once, but craving a return to paradise!
bobcatsteph3 at 11:47PM on 03/01/08
japan, italy or vietnam. real sushi, authentic ramen and pho and the greatest italian food. what more could I ever ask for?
alosha7777 at 1:06AM on 03/02/08
Well, I'd really rather go to the Maldives, but not necessarily just for the food, ahem. I'd like to visit Malaysia, India and Thailand for food. What I've eaten of their cuisine elsewhere just knocks me out, and I'd expect it's mind-blowing there. I'm a big fan of street food (somehow it's so satisfying to eat in such a casual and noisy environment), but have really only had that in Hawaii and Mexico, and during festivals etc in Europe.
TikiPundit at 8:46AM on 03/02/08
Italy, and if I couldn't do a tour of the whole country, I'd just stick with the northern cities--Turin, Florence, Venice and, if my journey permits, Rome and Sienna.
heartnibbler at 9:59AM on 03/02/08
Tough question. Having traveled to half the US states and across Canada and Japan, as much as I loved the food everywhere I went, I would have to choose somewhere I haven't been.
My grandmother and father vacationed extensively in the Middle East, Mediterranean countries, eastern/western Europe, as well as the "Soviet Union," China/Tibet, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Australia/NZ. They've even toured parts of Africa/South Africa and traveled on the Orient Express. From what I recall, they really enjoyed the food in SE Asia the most. Perhaps it's because we're Asian, but it may have been because the food was somewhat familiar and the *experience* totally different.
My pick would be Vietnam, Korea, or Germany...hmm maybe I'll cheat and say Switzerland to cover Swiss, French, German, and Italian cooking. I would have to stay away from anything dairy-based... :O
Cassaendra at 11:05AM on 03/02/08
@frederika, you can do France relatively cheap if you plan well. Ideally, you'll get lucky, and the exchange rate will improve. But, if you can spend sufficient time there, it actually gets cheaper. Rent a flat or pensione in Paris for a month or two (or, a minimum of two weeks), buy a Metro pass (no real need for a car in Paris), take the train to see Provence, etc., shop for those bargain airfares that pop up a few times a year -- you're set to go. And you can eat so well there, cooking for yourself, for not so much money, that you'll be able to afford to eat at a bigger variety of places.
@Cass, you're too smart. I might have to change my answer from France to Switzerland...
Or, better yet... is Europe an acceptable answer?
p.s., Frederika, I forgot to answer your question on another thread about my third favorite food city. So far, after Paris and NYC (which I think might be tied), it's Vancouver BC of all places.
LoCo at 11:19AM on 03/02/08
I like to sample the foods of my ancestoral homelands in their original settings, but being half Scot and half Serb I'm not only too cheap to buy a ticket, I probably couldn't get through airport security anyway.
srhcb at 2:51PM on 03/02/08
@frederika, you really can do france fairly cheap. my partner and i went to france for a month. we did one week in london england, one week in the area around lyon, one week around paris, and one week in menton (near monaco). we stayed in hotels, no hostels and still managed to spend less than $4000 USD for the two of us - that includes hotels, food, airfare, attractions, transportation, etc.
as for my food travel dream. right now we are desperately trying to get back to montreal to eat at au pied du cochon again. we are scouring our calendars trying to find a weekend we could go. we want to do a southern BBQ road trip. i'd give a lung to eat at per se or the french laundry...
non-food travel - i'd love to see japan.
lexophile at 4:02PM on 03/02/08
@srhbc - you are a hoot!!!! lol.....
@LoCo - Thanks for all the travel info. I hope to be able to use it sometime. I'm envious and depressed at the same time. This is life as I know it, right now. sigh...
Seattle/Vancouver is yet another area I've really wanted to experience. Over on my side of the world, Montreal is a sensational city to soak up ambiance and cuisine. Have you been?
frederika at 4:02PM on 03/02/08
@lexophile - I wish I had known about au pied cochon when we were in Montreal several years back. Next time. From our experience, Per Se is easier to get a reservation than French Laundry, if you don't mind dining at 10:00 P.M. We left the restaurant after 1:30 A.M. and the staff was all just as pleasant and congenial as the moment we arrived. It was something we are very grateful we were able to experience and I highly recommend it when you are able.
frederika at 4:45PM on 03/02/08
@frederika - the only reservation we could get at au pied de cochon when we went was 1030pm. if that's what is available you take it, right? it was totally worth it. the food was incredible. my neighbour is a fellow foodie and he heard we'd gone so he lent me the cookbook this morning. watching the dvd and looking through the book has me drooling. if we get back it won't be until the summer though.
how have you managed to get per se reservations? i need tips! we'd be coming from canada, so it is a 14 hour drive but we'd do it if we could get a table. realistically, my guy's sister is living in san fran at the moment so i think we will happily settle for bouchon - which is hardly settling.
lexophile at 9:12PM on 03/02/08
@srhbc: Sampling the food of my ancestral homelands is my choice, too. This would take me to Lima/Peru, Athens/Greece, Limnos/Greece, and somewhere in Germany (i.e. deceased maternal grandfather = German immigrant, yet he never discusssed his background).
Susquehanna at 8:39AM on 03/03/08
I've been to France and Italy -- but for such short trips, I clearly need to go back! Also would love to go to Japan, southeast Asia, Greece or Morocco.
CookiePie at 10:10AM on 03/03/08
Oh man, what a question! There are a thousand and two places I could list, if not for the food's reputation, just to experience different foodways throughout the world. But if I had to pick one for now...I'd say Paris (how very typical, I know :)).
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 6:02PM on 03/03/08