There’s been quite a trend in my blogs lately, and it has to do with my favorite way to experience the culture of a location. You may have guessed it…food! I have no shame in this topic. I. LOVE. FOOD.
Tiramisu in Madrid
Food is the foundation to all of my itineraries. I lay the groundwork with three solid meal choices per day (maybe even an acclaimed coffee shop and snack stop), and then find experiences and sites near those restaurants. I take food VERY seriously. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…I’ve never met anyone who has planned a trip to Italy without making a point to indulge in the pasta or pizza. I think that this example, while very cliche, makes my point quite nicely.
This logic is exactly why I spend the bulk of my time planning on researching restaurants. The research pays off, and I am going to share my secrets with finding the perfect gastronomic delights!
1. Don’t trust Yelp. I should note two things here: 1) this is a rule that applies more with international travel and 2) I don’t mean specifically and exclusively Yelp. I am referring to all the review sites that tend to be a perfect beacon of light towards great meals in the U.S., but don’t always work in other countries. Yelp and the likes aren’t popular everywhere, and therefore, most reviews tend to be written by tourists. If a restaurant is #1 with hundreds of reviews in English, you are most likely going to be sitting with many Americans and wondering why you took an international flight to sit next to someone from Nashville, TN. Nothing against anyone from the Volunteer state, but it just may not be the authentic experience you were hoping for. As a last note on this point (and minor clarification), it isn’t that all places that are popular with tourists are bad, but depending on their location they may be able to get away with lesser quality because they know they will always have guests knocking on their doors. For example, I learned why Parisians had a stereotype of being rude while eating at a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. There was no incentive to provide excellent service, or food, because their tables were full just by catching the eye of hungry tourists during their site-seeing around town. Your best bet is to wander off the main streets and dip into a place that entices your tastebuds.
Steak frites in Paris
2. Trust your gut. Have you ever walked by somewhere and just known that you were meant to eat there? As if there was a gravitational pull towards their menu? I have actually been en route to a restaurant and walked past a cute courtyard and derailed my entire evening. And you know what? It was perfect. Better than perfect…it was kismet! It also turned out that the restaurant that I wanted to had been packed that night and was full of tourists. Instead, what I found was a historical nook away from the world where I only heard one table speaking English…my own! We had found a gem, and I will forever return and suggest that restaurant to anyone visiting that city because of the hospitality, food, and incredible background of the building.
3. Get busy reading blogs! Not every blogger has the same tastes or insight, but that is what makes the blogging world so helpful. I read close to dozens of blogs on each location I visit just to make sure that I am getting as much information about a place as possible before arriving. This removes the intimidation of travel, but also provides me with time-saving tips to get the real “meat and potatoes” of a city. I will compare suggestions on blogs to on-line reviews (taking it with a grain of salt, per my recommendation on #1), and continue my search until I feel like I have found the best matches for the budget, ambience, and geographic location that I am seeking. After all, the information is free and available, so it may be better to invest time than waste the coin on a meal that was mediocre.
If you don’t have the time to search, compare, and plot…that’s what we are here for! We can take the searching off your plate (pun intended) and tailor your itinerary dreams specifically to your style. Our team will read countless blogs, reviews, magazine articles, and forums to make sure that we get it “just right.” And we promise…we are good at more than just eating.
