When you travel...

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
What are your particular dining out habits? Do you eat the cuisine of the region to the exclusion of anything else? Mix in some other 'ethnic' favourites? Just eat what you know??

When we travel (yeah, we used to do it quite a bit, haha) we' dive in to the local cuisine for days. Eventually, we'd get to a point where we'd say 'can't eat any more xyz...gotta get some abc'.
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
Tough question, VB. Sure, try the local stuff, but how do you find out where the good locals are? It's worth the effort to ask around. Then, Italian is found everywhere and many of the restaurants are excellent no matter where they are located. What are you hungry for?

The act of traveling is different for everyone. Traveling where? Are we talking about heading off to the relative's for the holidays or are we doing a month long "see all the western states" vacation. In my case, we pack much of our own food when making the 1600 mile trek between FL and WI. On vacation oriented trips we truly try and find something small, local, and with excellent food, like at your place in New Orleans.

The one thing I won't do is fast foods with the single exception of Subway, and I'm careful about my selections....
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
We don't do too much traveling anymore since DD graduated from college and quit playing softball. When we do travel though, I either pack stuff to make sandwiches or we stop and get whatever we are hungry for. About the only fast food we do is Chick-fil-a. If we go to the beach however, we ALWAYS get seafood. If we've not been there before, we trust the locals to recommend the best spots.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Oooo, this is a GREAT question!

I would prefer to eat whatever the locale is famous for, provided that I like it, or think I have a chance of liking it.

However, I don't like a lot of the same sort of thing several days in a row, so even if I was in Tuscany (the food vacation of my dreams!), I'd eventually order a cheeseburger or a tuna sandwich, or something like that, if I could get it!

Lee
 
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joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I really haven't traveled in decades but when I did usually airline food going and local when I got there. Traveling by car in the US though we stop an know places and once to our destination then local.
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
we have always dined regionally. i have a love for trying new foods. wouldn't be the person i am today sans early food adventures. i luv my city, tho wold not snub another place's food.
 

loboloco

Active member
When I traveled a lot I always asked around and tried the 'real' local foods, often at out of the way places or in small markets. Now I would stick closer to the chain restaurants as my stomach has started to appreciate consistency.
 

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
Thanks for the responses! There were several thoughts that prompted the question. I'm always amazed by the visitors to New Orleans that aren't interested in trying jambalaya, gumbo, oysters, etc...yet equally amazed by the number of people eating breakfast in IHOP, when there are a dozen locally owned places within 5 blocks of it. Personally, I'd always try to support the local economy rather than pay into the pockets of a national chain.

The other thing that prompted the question is the hopes of a summer trip to California. Just started doing the homework for some locally loved restaurants. By the way....dinner for two at the French Laundry could cost us a thousand bucks if we want to include wine pairings with the 9 course tasting menu. Wonderful:wink:
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
When we are in a new city, we will ask the locals where a good "Mom &Pop" restaurant is nearby. I don't remember ever being disappointed, mainly because we tend to talk to people of our age group who would more than likely have similar dining choices. Local dishes are frequently in these places. DW did not care for New Orleans cuisine...it's the Irish on her that like meat and potatoes over new dishes. I'm adventurous where she is über conservative with food when traveling.
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
Site Supporter
I travel to a new town every 10-14 days. Every region of the country is know for something different. I try to eat regionally if possible.

I use an app on my called "Places" and go from there. I also use the site Yelp.

Some things I keep in mind is that I know not to eat Cajun food in California. Lol

Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Tapatalk
 

GotGarlic

New member
We eat locally as much as possible when we're traveling and are pretty adventurous when it comes to trying new things.

Lee, you might be surprised by the variety of foods in Tuscany. We stayed in Florence for five days during our 25th-anniversary trip to Europe and ran across some interesting, unexpected combinations, like tiny meatballs in a lemony sauce over penne. We took a side trip to Pisa and I had a marinated seafood salad that I just loved. We just looked at the menus posted outside; one place was so good, we went back a second night.
 

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buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
When I was working we used to go to European restaurants four times a month. Funny how, according to the crews, the best restaurant in town was always no more than a three block walk from the layover hotel. :yum:
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
GG, I love that you took those pictures on your trip!!!

The meatballs in lemon sauce over penne looks wonderful.

I wouldn't touch the seafood you had in Pisa unless I was on Survivor for a couple of weeks.

Lee
 

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
Local fare ALWAYS! One gains so much by embracing the local culture of which cuisine is an integral part. However, I do draw the line at gravy on my french fries. No offense to my Canadian friends :)
 

Bells

New member
I always go out of my way to find small privately owned restaurants and try local cuisine. They seem to be getting harder to find. The corporate run and franchises seem to be taking over.
 
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