Food is a major contributing factor as to why I travel. Food is regional and differs from state to state, country to country. In my lifetime of travel, I’ve never really had a bad food experience abroad. Sure some cuisines I like more then others, but sampling food excites me no matter where I am. I’ve been to some surprising locations, like Lima, Peru that had some of the most flavorful and authentic dishes. Other places like Guatemala where the food was not as exciting, but still can’t go wrong with basic tortillas, beans, and a side of meat. Regardless of the location, I do my research prior to visiting a country so I don’t miss out of any of the must eats! I love food, and trying new things, so I want to share some of my favorite dishes from around the World.
I’ve never heard of a Burek before my trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sure, I’ve had similar baked goods but the Burek might be my favorite savory pastry. A Burek is basically a flaky pastry filled with ingredients like meats, cheese, and/or vegetables. It is usually rolled up in a spiral or cooked in a large pan and cut into pieces for serving Jill and I took a day trip to Mostar, Bosnia from Split, Croatia and our tour guide stopped along the route and surprised us with a sampling of two types of Burek’s. One was filled with meat and the other with cheese, they were both phenomenal. This was our first encounter with Burek, so we instantly knew we had to find a bakery in Mostar that served fresh Burek. We did find Burek at a local bakery and it was ridiculously cheap, less then a dollar and oh so good!
Cracked Conch - The Bahamas
Conch, my favorite snail of the sea! They are found throughout the Caribbean, but the Bahamas in particular is known for them. In fact, many countries have Conch seasons, but not the Bahamas, you can eat them all year long. For being a Mollusk they are very cute and their shell is beautiful.
There are many different recipes and styles to prepare the conch. You can have Conch Fritters as a snack, fresh conch salad, and cracked conch, which was my favorite. I ordered cracked conch at every restaurant I went to in both Nassau and Exuma. I know not very healthy, but oh so tasty! I mean conch is hard to come by in Kansas.
Cracked Conch is a meal in itself where they take the conch meat and tenderize it, coat it in batter and fry it to perfection! In the end you get fried little conch pieces generally served with fries, beans, or some type of slaw. Most restaurants in the Bahamas have outdoor seating, so eating fresh seafood while starring at the waves in the picturesque setting of the Bahamas is Paradise!
Döner Kebab - Germany
Oh, the Döner Kebab. I literally have day dreams about it. It seems like such an easy creation, yet does not exist in the United States. It can be found in Europe, particularly Germany, on every street corner. The Döner Kebab is filling, flavorful, and just down right mouth watering. The closest thing to a Döner Kebab is a Gyros, but trust me, no comparison, the Döner is 100x better.
The Döner is a German creation created my Turkish immigrants. It seems like many food creations start this way. You bring a traditional dish to a new area and realize everyone is on the go, so you wrap up the ingredients in a type of bread and Walla! you have a tasty meal on the go! So yes, the Döner was invented in Germany.
So what is a Döner Kebab? The meat is layered and seasoned on a rotating spit, that way it gets evenly cooked. It is then shave off the spit and added to somewhat of a pita bread layered with cabbage, onion, tomato, and smothered in a white garlic sauce.
Such a simple and quick meal and relatively cheap for the size of the kebab. The Döner Kebab dominates the late night and fast food industry in Europe, kind of like a fast food burger joint in the States. People, including myself crave these after a late night out, or after swimming, hiking, watching tv, you get the idea, I crave them 24/7. It’s weird, I love Döner so much, I have Döner stories, but that is a whole other topic!
I absolutely love the Döner Kebab and lets be honest, I love most German Dishes. But I don’t want to make this post all about German food. Instead, if you want to learn more about popular German dishes or love them as much as I do then check out these 16 mouthwatering foods that are a must try.
Fried Seafood - Lima, Peru and New Orleans, USA
A mound of fried seafood on a plate might just be my favorite all time meal! I’ve had fried seafood in several states and countries but two places really stand out to me of having the best. The cities of New Orleans, LA and Lima, Peru. One city is in the northern hemisphere on the continent of North America while another cities lies in the southern hemisphere in South America. One thing they each have in common is their proximity to the ocean and fresh seafood.
In New Orleans, you can order a mix of seafood and you will generally get crawdad tails, crab, and a variety of shrimp and fish. I am not entirely sure about the mariscos (seafood) platters in Lima, my best guess is a mixture of fish, shrimp, and clams. For sides in NOLA the seafood will usually come with slaw and fries. The mariscos platters I had came with yuca fries. Yuca is starchy like a potato, but it is a root and so delicious! The seafood platter in Lima is about a third of the cost as in the States. I paid anywhere from $7 to $12 for a gigantic portion along with a pisco sour! In the states you are looking anywhere from $15 to well over $30 for a platter of fried seafood. Price is not really an issue to me when it comes to seafood. Living in Kansas I am deprived from great/fresh seafood.
Lomo Saltado - Lima, Peru
Both Jill and I have never heard of Lomo Saltado and had no idea it was a staple in Peru even after doing research beforehand. After a day of traveling, we went to the nearest restaurant we could find near the Historic Center of Lima. The restaurant was named Tanta and we asked the waiter a recommendation and he referred us to Lomo Saltado.
Lomo Saltado is pretty basic and some sort of dish is found throughout the world, but it was so good! The dishes we had were stir fried strips of steak mixed with onion, peppers, tomatoes usually served over rice or fries. The food in Lima is multi-cultural with a lot of Asian influences regarding rice and spices. Lomo Saltado comes in different varieties based on traditional Peruvian spices or Asian spices, or a mixture of the two. You get your veggies and protein all in one flavorful dish!
Mofongo - Puerto Rico
Mofongo is another dish we randomly stumbled upon while asking for local recommendations. We both love plantains in all variations. Mofongo is probably my favorite dish that consists of plantain. Basically, Mofongo is mashed plantain that is used as a base with a combination of chicken, pork, seafood, or any type of meat or anything you want really! I had mofongo at several restaurants and it is served in various forms whether it be as a side dish or crusted on the inside of a soup bowl, which happened to be my favorite.
Poutine - Montreal, Canada
Poutine is the weirdest name for a food item. I read that the names origin is not exactly known but possibly derived from the English word for pudding. What is poutine exactly? Well, it’s definitely not the healthiest dish. Canadians need a hearty meal to get through the brutal winters. Poutine is a Canadian dish that consists of french fries smothered in gravy and topped with cheese curds. I like the squeaky-ness of the curds, they have a fun texture! Poutine to me sounds like a great hangover cure. In fact restaurants in Canada don’t just have poutine listed on the menu as an appetizer. You can find restaurants that specialize in different variations of poutine. My first dish in Montreal was poutine served with pulled pork! They must have had at least 15 other combinations of poutine available. I wish poutine was more popular in the states, maybe it is in the northern US, but not where live.
Schweinhaxe - Germany
Picture a caveman with a huge hunk of meat and the bone is protruding out. That is the image I see when I think of a Schweinhaxe. These are a delicacy in Germany, at least in Bavaria and can be found on most menus. Beware! Come Hungry!
The Schweinhaxe is basically a ham hock or pork knuckle where the meat is left on the bone. The Bavarian style is super crispy and slightly salted on the outside and beyond tender on the inside, usually served with gravy and knödels (knödels are dumplings typically made from flour, bread, or potatoes). The meat is so tender and flavorful it just falls off the bone. Schweinhaxe is one of my favorite cuts of meat served at restaurants especially when paired with a dark German bier!
Torta, Mexico City
Mexico City is a food mecca with everything imaginable. I would say traditional Mexican food is far different then Tex-Mex, I mean Burritos aren’t even widely served throughout Mexico. Tacos with a hard shell loaded with lettuce, onions and cheese don’t exist in Mexico, weird right? A traditional taco in Mexico consists of a smaller corn tortilla, with just meat and pico de gallo or something similiar. But I am not here to talk tacos or other dishes. My favorite food in Mexico City was the torta! In fact, we had a torta for the first time on our last night, it was so good we went to another restaurant to try one.
While walking around Mexico City, we noticed a lot of restaurants with a spit out front with meat, similar to the Döner Kebab. The spit had a pineapple, onion, or orange on top allowing the juices to run down the meat, this is known as Al Pastor deriving from Lebanese immigrants. I was honestly surprised I walked by so many and didn’t stop to try until the last day. As I sat down at a restaurant, I wanted to try something new, I had a torta with al pastor. To me, a torta reminds me of a combination of a taco and sandwich, basically you have the taco fillings between two buns. The bread was fluffy and the fillings were phenomenal. Our tortas consisted of al pastor, beans, guacamole, and a variety of veggies. Now I know, next time I am in Mexico, I will live off of Street Tacos and Torta’s!
Zapiekanka - Krakow, Poland
Zapiekanka, or as I call it a Polish Baguette. Is a popular street/fast food item in Poland. I only spent a day in Krakow, but saw these all over the place. I don’t really know much about Zapiekanka or its origins but they make for a great quick bite to eat while on the go. Basically the Polish baguette is a baguette or some type of bread, with sauce, toppings and melted cheese. The toppings vary as you can decorate your own, I had one with mushrooms and prosciutto, such a delight! I love the zapiekanka so much, I make them at home all the time. For my recipe, I use a mayo, olive oil, and garlic sauce along with chopped mushrooms and meat and stick it under the broiler until the cheese is melted. I am not sure if that is traditional but it is easy to make and tastes fantastic!
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