Comments on: 7 Secrets For Eating Like A Local

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:33:44 +0000

I can’t agree strongly enough with going grocery shopping – the familiar/peculiar paradox of foreign supermarkets and the sheer sensory overload of a great market and frequently more interesting and fun than any sights you intended to see!

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By: HannaH

HannaH — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:27:30 +0000

Dear Ross,

Remember me?

Thinking about you lately, and wonder how you’re doing and where you are (japan?). Contact me.

Love,

HannaH.

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By: Jon

Jon — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:28:47 +0000

I totally agree with you! These lists are all, for the most part, right on the mark. I am an urban American vegetarian and had never had a problem eating exactly what I wanted how I wanted. However, moving to Spain and Korea for significant lengths of time taught me to ease up on my strict vegetarianism simply for survival’s sake and later for the sake of being polite. And if something looked/tasted good, but had an aura of meat around it, it was better not to ask. I learned about so much more food and had so many great meal time conversations over meals I NEVER would have eaten back home in New York.

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By: Audrey

Audrey — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:15:26 +0000

Great article and so true! Eating local food at markets and local joints (like traveling by local transport) is maybe the easiest and most fun way to connect with real people. Some of our best travel experiences have happened because of our curiosity with food at a market or small restaurant. We’ve even gotten some impromptu cooking lessons along the way.

That said, we do occasionally start dreaming of a pizza or deli sandwich. After three months in Central Asia with almost nothing but mutton, we were doing a lot of fantasizing about food!

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By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:51:19 +0000

Loved this article. I am going to refer to it.

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By: skip

skip — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:44:20 +0000

I agree completely, and would like to add something that I’ve found – go to a Chinese restaurant in a foreign country. I went to several when traveling through Europe, and they were all different from each other, reflecting the local cuisine, and they were totally different from “American” chinese food.

You ride and are in DC, I see… you should join DC-cycles.

Blue Skies, Black Death.

–skip

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By: Kango Suz

Kango Suz — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:26:56 +0000

Ross,
I agree with you, eating the local food is one of the absolute necessities when traveling. I’ll never forget when I went to Baja Mexico while in college with some friends from the midwest. As a native Southern Californian, I’ve basically grown up down there. I drink the water, eat the street vendor food, swim in the ocean, etc. My friends kept insisting that we go to the ‘tourist’ type party places. It was fun, yes, but definitely NOT a true experience of Mexico.

For me, when I’m traveling (or frankly when at home as well) it’s all about the street vendors. Mind you, I’ve a gut of steel, my husband always suffers the worse for wear when I make him eat from them, but once you’re hooked they’re positively an addiction. That’s the only thing I missed when we went to Montreal recently – no little street vendors! The bonus is that they’re relatively cheap which is always my budget amount.

Thanks for the great article!

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By: Mark Evans

Mark Evans — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:45:54 +0000

Great advice! Some of the best travel experiences I’ve had have involved food.

Mark

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