apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Any and all local/regional food that I can't find in my hometown. On our recent trip to the big island of Hawaii, I brought back Kona coffee, macadamia nuts and Hawaiian vanilla beans.

That photo was taken at Oyama Sausage at the Granville Island Market in Vancouver! Next time you're in Vancouver, another great place to check out the cheeses is Les Amis du Fromage. There is one location just off of Granville Island on 2nd Avenue, and another on East Hastings, as well as one in West Vancouver.

For coffee, most Vancouverites swear by J.J. Bean. The roast their own beans at the Powell Street location, but they have cafes all over the city.

Agree with the idea of looking for local and regional food that isn't found at home. I like hitting farmers markets too.

My favorite food city in the US is Portland Oregon, there are some AMAZING things going on in the restaurants there.

City-wise, I think San Francisco is the best I've been to for food across the board- at all price ranges and in both markets and restaurants.

But just for destination food, Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam has an especially interesting combination of Southeast Asian, Chinese and French influences. And the coffee is wonderful for a caffeine addict like me; in fact, I still buy the instant vietnamese coffee for a quick fix.

@theripetomato I agree, but as a Portlander I might be a little bias ;)

I love finding local markets when I'm traveling and just see what the locals are eating and copy them. My most memorable free-for-all with street food was in China...

But my favorite food towns have been Essaouira, Istanbul & Tokyo.

What kind of food and inspiration do I seek out while on vacation?

all of the above

Most rewarding towns in US (so far):

SF, NY

But there are many culinary rewards in just about every town I've been to.

In Europe:

San Sebastian, Spain

I definitely look out for regional food phenomena, a "when in Rome" kinda thing. If that means Jello salads in Minnesota, or an entire plate lunch in Hawaii, so be it.

I think New Orleans is the ultimate food town, haute cuisine or low, crawfish bakes on the sidewalk, cochon du lait poor boys at Jazz Fest, cocktails at Luke; everyone seems to love food in that town and it's incorporated into community gatherings in a way that isn't perfunctory. Food matters there and its connected to the history and culture of the place. I love it.

I must find that Maple Cheddar in NYC!!

We always look for farmer's markets and local food co-ops. We've found some of the tastiest, fresh and healthy meals at co-ops. I love looking for yogurt, like cheese, it's usually way better in europe and canada.

When we were in Berlin, shopping at the Bio store, we resisted buying yogurt in glass jars for a couple of weeks, too heavy to carry we thought, and they had these great yogurt buckets that kids play with at beach and sanbox when you're done with the yogurt. Then one day we tried it and we never went back. The yogurt in the glass jars were thick, creamy and fresh. And although I usually only purchase plain yogurt, we couldn't resist the coconut which was better than eating ice cream!

In the Kitsilano neighborhood of Vancouver, we notice that there seems to be a hand-made chocolate shop almost every few blocks. Great chocolate is always a treat and nice gift to bring back if you don't have to worry about melting.

That maple syrup cheddar is the sh*t!!! Oh, how I have been loving it this year...

Thanks for visiting! :)

Aside from trying local specialties, I like to take in a pizza joint and a Chinese restaurant if I'm in a place long enough. Sometimes some dishes are better or more interesting in translation.

I had an amazing pizza in Morocco that was somewhere between a thin-crust pizza and a zatar, topped with local olives that were to die for. And being Chinese myself, I like to talk to the owners of Chinese restaurants around the world and to get their back story.

I'm a little disappointed you didn't buy coffee from a Seattle-based company while you were there... Lighthouse Roasters at the top of the hill in Fremont is awesome. I used to live a few blocks away - loved catching the bus right in front of the place in the morning.

I was in the Northern lower penninsula of Michigan last week. We kept driving by a cattle ranch (unusual, amidst all the cherry orchards) and I noticed a small, hand drawn sign advertising beef for sale. The steaks they were selling were all out of my price range, so I bought some homemade hot dogs on a whim. Those were the best hot dogs EVER!

I think the best travel food is discovered quite by accident. I certainly would have never set out to find hot dogs. I'll be back to that ranch again, possibly trying the steaks next time, but the greatest thrill of road food will always come from making a new discovery.

Other than the usual "When in Rome" local foods, I'm always on the lookout for crazy foreign variations of international snack foods, like Green Tea Kit Kat from Japan, Chocolate Baklava from Rhodes, or Deep Fried Spicy Battered nuts from Amsterdam. There's nothing like wandering in a foreign grocery store, not being able to read the labels and buying based on looks. (The only place you can get away with buying for looks. :P )

My favorite foodies cities to date are NY, NoLa, Prague..
and anywhere in New Brunswick, Canada. Man, those Acadians have more specialty local home cooked food and food festivals than there are BBQ joints in Texas. Ok, maybe not, but it's darn good homey food.
http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/acadianfood

I look for the local market squares, farmers markets, etc. for local fare and staples. Like the Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax in L. A. (my hometown, I grew up going here), Mercado Central in San Jose Costa Rica, or Marche Jean-Talon in Montreal.

If I am staying in a place with a fridge I also look for a local Lebanese restaurant for hummus and other veggie food that I can keep to eat if I don't feel like heading to a restaurant.

I buy spices, herbs, flowers, salts, peppers, jarred sauces, vinegars, oil, wine, coffee, tea, chocolate. I specifically buy ingredients, for my home kitchen, but with an eye toward using them in a line of filled chocolates I'm developing.

Anything recommended by hotel/restaurant staff (with the exception - yes, exception - of a concierge, who often gets a kickback from certain places). They usually know where the good stuff is. :)

Disclaimer: Not every concierge will steer you directly to the place they get money from, true. But it's a trend, is all I'm saying.

Also, hooray for NOLA! 504 representing. *misses it*

http://www.abreadaday.com

Local wines and spirits are a good thing (easier to transport than cheese!).

Every place is different though -- in Prague last week, I went to the supermarket and stocked up on coarse flour, which I can't find here (it's 00 milled flour -- they have it in Italy, but can't find it in France or Switzerland). Can't make dumplings without it.

Actually, when we moved overseas, I came with a stash of White Lilly -- I'm all out, and don't know what to do. Haven't found a local equivalent. Amazingly, I can't find a cake flour here -- instead, they sell 45 milled flour (all purpose) with some baking powder, and they package it for cakes. Not cake flour in my book! It will be impossible to make a red velvet cake this September for my daughter's birthday!

Haven't found local coffee roasteries when we travel through Europe (didn't even come across any in Italy, although I'm sure they were there) -- that is a lovely idea. (at home, we have started drinking a good supermarket brand -- Illy)

But every place has a local specialty, and so we try to take some home with us. Every town in France has a renowned cheese or sausage, a special bread, a pastry or cookie. In Prague, I also brought home ground poppy seeds, and jams for linzer cookies.

Torino (a 3 hour drive from here) is great, because there is an EATALY store there, which is an amazing source of regional specialties.

We get fruits and vegetables from the Drome and Provence in our local market. Today, we had strawberries that literally made me weep: the most delicate and fragranced strawberries I have ever had, from the Drome, a mara cross. I am thinking I never want to leave, just because of those strawberries. And the cheese. And the butter... (I bought a butter from Bretagne today in the supermarket -- a Lait Cru Le Gall. Sublime. And had it for lunch with a Tome Crayeuse and St. Nectaire, along with a baguette au levain. With the strawberries for dessert, it was no wonder I was weepy-eyed!).