41 Legitimately Life Changing Meals People Have Eaten Abroad, And I'm Planning My Next Trip Around Some
We can all agree that food is one of the most exciting aspects of traveling. And I will be the first to admit that when I travel, a bad meal can ruin an otherwise perfectly good day.
So I asked the BuzzFeed community to share the most memorable, incredibly delicious meals they've eaten while traveling.
Here were some of their responses — plus a few of my own, and you're going to want to take note for when we can all travel again.
1.Contramar, Mexico City
"Whenever I travel, I'm usually wary of the restaurants that are written up in every guide book and every blog. I'm always expecting them to be over-hyped. But let me tell you — a late and excessive lunch at Contramar lived up to every expectation. The tostadas were topped with the freshest, most melt-in-your-mouth tuna, and the famous red and green grilled red snapper served with soft corn tortillas was basically my definition of heaven on a plate. I would go back to CDMX exclusively for that meal."
—Hannah Loewentheil
2.La Grotta Guelfa, Florence
3.Dishoom, London
4.Toula's Seaside, Corfu
5.L'Avant Comptoir, Paris
"I can rattle off a dozen very memorable meals I've had in Paris, but none stand out in my mind like a wine-filled lunch at L'Avant Comptoir. This tapas bar in the 6th arrondissement is cozy and snug, and the various menu items hang from little cards on the ceiling. I stood at the bar and ordered far too much food — silky tuna tartare marinated in grapefruit, peppery cured meats, and stinky, creamy cheese — and everything was incredible."
—Hannah Loewentheil
6.La Casita de Papi, Dominican Republic
7.Le Noailles, Bordeaux
8.Roti King, London
9.Quimet & Quimet, Barcelona
"While studying in Barcelona, I severely missed bagels and lox, my New York staple. Then I discovered Quimet & Quimet, a closet-sized tapas restaurant in Barcelona, and I discovered something even more delicious: a montadito (open-faced sandwich) on crispy bread topped with creamy goat cheese, smoked salmon, and a drizzle of honey. It quickly became my new comfort food, and I would return to Quimet & Quimet often for Barcelona's take on a bagel. All of the other tapas are delicious as well, especially the various montaditos topped with everything from smoked oysters with caviar to tuna belly with olives and peppers."
—Hannah Loewentheil
10.White Duck Taco Shop, Asheville
11.Westcliffe Diner, Nova Scotia
12.B?jarins Beztu Pylsur, Reykjavik
"IMO, Reykjavik is a hugely underrated food city, but for the most part dining out can be really expensive. One of the best (and by far the cheapest) thing I ate on my trip to Iceland was a hot dog from B?jarins Beztu Pylsur, a little stand off a pedestrian road in Reykjavik. The hot dog itself is crispy and crunchy and juicy, and there's something phenomenal about the sweet mustard on top. In fact, I loved it so much that I bought a poster to hang up in my NYC kitchen to remind me of this incredible street eat."
—Hannah Loewentheil
13.El Fogon, Mexico
"Some of the best tacos I've ever had are the al pastor tacos at El Fogon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. They slice the meat and the pineapple right in front of you. There are SO good."
14.Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap, Berlin
15.Din Tai Fung, Taipei
16.Tacón de Marlin, Puerto Vallarta
17.Ristorante Max, Positano
"I'll never forget the spiny lobster pasta I ate at Ristorante Max in Positano on the Amalfi Coast."
18.Beal's Lobster Pier, Maine
19.Swan Oyster Depot, San Francisco
20.Howlin' Ray's, Los Angeles
21.La Cuchara de San Telmo, San Sebastian
22.The Inn at Little Washington, Virginia
23.Palace Cafe, New Orleans
24.Pici, Hong Kong
25.Tane Vegan Izakaya, Honolulu
26.Irmita's Casita, Utah
"It's a tiny, unassuming spot in St. George, Utah, that cooked up the best Mexican food I've ever had. I’m from SoCal, so I like to think I’ve had some great Mexican food, but holy cow this place blew all that out of the water. Best of all, it was so cheap!"
27.Seirinkan, Tokyo
"I expected to eat some incredible food in Tokyo, but I never thought that one of my absolute favorite meals in Japan would be pizza. Seirinkan, a Neapolitan pizza spot in Tokyo's Meguro neighborhood, was truly just as good (if not better) than any pizza I've had in Italy or the United States. The pizza was perfect as could be, with a chewy, slightly charred crust and basic yet intensely flavorful toppings."
—Hannah Loewentheil
28.Restaurante Dourum, Porto
"I ate a traditional Francesinha sandwich in Porto at a place called Restaurante Dourum, which overlooks the Douro River. This place served absurdly cheap wine, olives, delicious bread, and the greatest sandwich God has ever gifted to man. The glory of the Francesinha sandwich is indescribable, but it's made of chewy slices of bread stuffed with loads of ham, smoked cured pork sausage, cheese, and slices of steak. Then it's covered with even more hot melted cheese, and served in a thick tomato sauce that tastes almost like french onion soup. It was undoubtedly the best sandwich I have ever eaten. And surely the most caloric."
29.Mokyo, New York
"Luckily, I live in New York City, so I don't have to travel too far to this East Village Korean spot...but I would make a trip out of it. Everything on the menu is incredible, but the corn-filled dumplings and the mini lobster rolls drizzled in decadent truffle cream sauce are two of my favorite bites of all time."
—Hannah Loewentheil
30.La Banquise, Montreal
31.Shiro’s Sushi, Seattle
32.All’Antico Vinaio, Florence
33.Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, Nashville
34.Le Pastis, Cannes
35.Osteria dell'Orsa, Bologna
"I had the best tagliatelle ragu of my life here. I almost cried while eating it, and it cost just 6 euros. Thinking of it makes me want to go back to Italy just to eat it again."
36.O'Neills The Point Seafood Bar, Ireland
37.Lardo, Portland
38.Kostas, Athens
39.Bar Ca?ete, Barcelona
"I've eaten at more tapas bars in Barcelona than I would like to admit, but Bar Ca?ete is the best of the best. The best seats are at the bar, where you can watch the chefs prepare unique spins on classic Catalan dishes from the big, open kitchen. The motto here is "f your diet," and that's exactly what you should do. Everything is absurdly good, but the one dish I'll never forget is the ham croquette — basically a large fried ball of mashed potatoes and cured pork — served smothered in a mixture of creamy aioli and salsa brava."
—Hannah Loewentheil
40.Tsukemen Gonokami Seisakujo, Tokyo
41.Peach Fuzz International, Panama City
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