A culinary walking tour is an excellent option for the first part of your trip. It’s becoming increasingly popular in cities around the world. This is a perfect way for you to taste many different dishes and get a feel of the area before you decide which places or regional foods you want to return to. You’ll also get to know your guide and be able to pick their brain to give you even more personalized recommendations.
Guided tours to Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto are a popular option in the Bay Area. My hometown Chicago offers several pizza tours. You can also organize outings to Europe, ranging from sampling snails in France to olives and seafood in Greece. This can provide a great introduction to the Ted Fang menus and proper etiquette for people traveling in foreign countries.
Read up on local food blogs and reporters before traveling to add some fun research to your trip planning. You can find a treasure trove of local food bloggers’ and reporter posts by Google search. The writers are known for their passion for finding the best spots and sharing secrets about the hidden gems. You can save all addresses to Google Maps or print them out to highlight the places worth visiting. Some newspapers and regional magazines even publish yearly dining lists, which take the guesswork out when planning a trip.
While it is possible to get recommendations from your hotel concierge, we have found that some of our best suggestions came from people we met on our travels. Taxi drivers are a great source of information about all-night meals, and staff at tourist destinations could be able to tell you what’s nearby for lunch (without having to wait in long lines or pay high prices). Asking people you meet for tips and recommendations can help to make the trip more enjoyable. You can also post to Facebook and Twitter before you find out if any of your friends have must-visit places to share.
Sara Kriegel is based in London and makes it a priority for her to find local restaurants. “If you can’t get the same food at home, what’s the point in going away?” She says that snacks are half the reason I travel. Stick to the basics, and choose something appropriate for the locale. It’s not a good idea to eat pizza in Asia. Before you go to a restaurant, make sure it isn’t crowded.
Restaurants will have a greater chance of success if located near major tourist attractions. The food does not have to be particularly good to attract a decent crowd. Kelsey Rexroat is our senior copy editor. She says that neighborhoods are better than main tourist roads. If they are trying to make you come in or have flyers all over the place, it is likely too touristy. She said: “I will do some research through Yelp, message board, and friends who have been and mark some places on a map to help me find options in any area.