- These cities, while greatly underrated, have some of the best food in the world.
- While Canada might not be the melting pot that is America, its province of Alberta has a vast variety of menu options that could compete with NYC.
- Foodies from all over will take pleasure in these delicious cuisines.
The pleasures of eating turn downright mysterious when you combine them with world travel. Why should a cup of coffee taste like angel tears just because you're drinking it on a hotel balcony looking out over Florence? How can a taco curl up in your soul like a warm cat just because it came from a steam-belching street cart in Oaxaca? Why does a coconut taste sweeter than flame-kissed crème brûlée when a dude machetes it open right on a Hawaiian beach?
Maybe travel makes you hungry. (It does.) Maybe travel opens you up to romance, and the passions alive inside new flavors. (It must.) And maybe travel gives you the feeling of true discovery, as if you, and only you, have communed with this dumpling or sashimi or empanada that you flew 14 hours to track down.
If that feeling of exploration drives your foodlust, you should head to any of these cities that traditional foodie travelers might overlook. (If you don’t want to stamp your passport, the US also has some scandalously underrated food cities you have to visit to believe.) Some of these destinations are close by, while others will require a legit journey. In every one, you’ll find a meal that may change the way you taste everything you eat from here on in. You’ll try to explain it to your friends later, but — you know, sometimes you really just have to be there.
Palermo, Sicily
Italy's overlooked godfather of street food
They don’t make cities like Palermo anymore. Its 2,500-year history is a tale of conquests and reconquests, as Sicily was relentlessly squabbled over by a who’s-who of Mediterranean superpowers: Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Byzantines — hell, even the Normans popped in for a while. Each left its mark on Palermo’s storied streets, where baroque palaces stand alongside Moorish mosaics. At the crossroads of the Mediterranean, this is a melting pot of cultures — and some seriously good cooking.
They call it cucina povera: the kitchen of the poor. Forget polished pop-up trucks and artisanal superfoods; in Palermo, the street food is served quick and dirty at wizened markets around town — Ballarò, Capo, and the granddaddy, Vucciria. Kick off with a slice of spongy sfincione pizza and a North Africa-inspired pane e panelle, a carb-tastic sandwich of chickpea fritters and fried potato cazzilli (literally “little penises,” but not literally little penises); add some eggplant if you’re feeling guilty. Now steel your stomach for the main event, stigghiola — a skewer of lamb's guts stuffed with fat, scallions, and parsley, all barbecued to a crisp. Finish up like a don, with some exemplary cannoli, made with candied Sicilian orange and whipped ricotta fresh from the hills.
If you have just one meal: Palermitanos won’t take you seriously until you’ve had your first pane ca meusa, preferably from Rocky Basile’s mobile cart — they don’t call him King of the Vucciria for nothing. The specialty sandwich consists of beef spleen sliced up and sizzled in lard, then packed into a sesame roll with a generous helping of grated ricotta. OK, it sounds kinda gross, but with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon, it’s an offer you can’t refuse. — Jonathan Melmoth
Mumbai, India
A movable feast of India’s flavors
Mumbai is a riotous urban kaleidoscope: the pace is frenetic, the streets manic, the energy pulsing. Its 500-year journey from fishing village to megapolis is rich with Hindu kingdoms, Muslim dynasties, Portuguese and British colonists, and rabid modern development. Colonial buildings stand alongside modern towers, seaside mausoleums face Portuguese churches, and hipster enclaves serve the same clientele as dusty Irani cafes. Even when this city overwhelms you, it’s electrifying.
The fast pace cues everything in Mumbai, even the food, the best of which is eaten on-the-go and found on the streets ‘round the clock. Look for the vada pav, which pairs batata vada (a chickpea-coated potato fritter) with the Portuguese-origin pão (bread roll) and a host of red-green chutneys — Mumbaikars swear by Anand vada pav stall in Dadar. Then there’s chaat, a catch-all phrase for crunchy sour-spicy snacks, the most famous of which is bhelpuri, a flavor punch of puffed rice tossed with potatoes, onions, tomatoes, crispy sev, and tamarind chutney. Try the coastal Konkani cuisine next: fresh and tangy fish curries fiery with chili and coconut, and if you still have room, get a meat fix with tender kebabs and chicken tikka rolls at the always-packed Bademiya. Finish up with a glass of sweet, part-dessert part-drink falooda from Badshah at Crawford Market to abate the fire that’ll no doubt be raging in your belly, by this point.
If you have just one meal: Make a beeline for a plate of pav bhaji, Mumbai’s most powerful culinary metonym in popular culture. A crimson mash of potatoes, spiced vegetables, and tomatoes, with unimaginable quantities of butter, pav bhaji might not sound like much. But when you eat it seaside from one of the many stalls on Juhu Beach, it becomes a definitive experience in Mumbai. — Nidhi Chaudhry
Edmonton, Alberta
A smorgasbord of gustatory adventure in North America’s northernmost metropolis
Despite the best efforts of poutine promoters and maple syrup maniacs, Canada has no widely recognized national cuisine. The Great White North remains a blank culinary canvas where chefs can draw whatever they want. For many restaurants in Edmonton, that means the chance to make shockingly good food that was invented somewhere else. Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta, Canada’s version of Texas — fewer guns, more snow, but the same number of pickup trucks per capita. And it’s fair to say, like Texas, it’s low-key diverse as heck.
You want Italian? Jasper Avenue downtown has three top-notch joints standing back-to-back-to-back, all owned by the same culinary savant with Italian roots. Bar Bricco, Corso 32, and Uccellino each offer different flavors prepared with consummate skill and passion.
You want Mexican? Tres Carnales slings some of the tastiest traditional tacos north of Tijuana. Skip the line by grabbing takeout, or head to Rostizado for more modern Mexican and succulent rosti puerco or arrachera.
You want Asian? NongBu slings a charming mix of classic and modern Korean banchan, while Boualouang’s pad Thai is legendary. You want dessert? Duchess Bakery is a world-class patisserie with macarons that will make you go all Anton Ego.
If you do make the trip, consider heading up in the summer, when a chain of festivals turn the city’s too-brief warm weather into a continuous party. Interstellar Rodeo, the Folk Music Festival, and the Edmonton Fringe, which is the second-biggest in the world behind Edinburgh’s, all pair very well with copious eating, as do the brief and never-quite-dark nights.
If you have just one meal: Arancini and tonnarelli at Corso 32 might make you wonder if Italian cuisine has reached its apogee thousands of miles from Italy. — Lewis Kelly
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