Incredible foodie destinations to add to your trip-list
Provençal inspired stew with local shrimp and clams thickened with a saffron and garlic mayonnaise from FIG
Charleston, South carolina
There’s a diner in Charleston, a short walk from downtown, called Little Jack's Tavern, which has a beef burger on the dessert menu. It’s there because they are so confident you’ll love their burger as a main course, that you’ll order a second for dessert! It’s this kind of gastronomic genius that makes Charleston such a paradise for food lovers.
For a city that you can easily walk around in a day, this place full of colourful architecture, cobblestone streets, and brimming with southern hospitality packs a huge culinary punch. If you’re seeking out typical Southern fare like shrimp and grits, pimento cheese or fried chicken you won’t be disappointed, but Charleston’s buzzing food scene has much to offer for everyone’s taste buds. There are multiple restaurants whose chefs have won the coveted James Beard award (special shout out to Husk, Hominy Grill and FIG). At the other end of the spectrum you can also enjoy world-famous BBQ from the likes of Louis and Hometeam. And while you’ll find chucktown oysters everywhere, Leon’s Oyster Shop must not be missed.
Direct flights to Charleston from the UK are expected to resume early next year so pop this on the bucket list.
Charleston is the place for you if you like:
Seafood
Beautiful architecture
Laid-back travel
Great hospitality
A great time to visit Charleston is from March to May or from September to November when temperatures are mild but not stifling.
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Catalan-style squid with orange ali-oli at Restaurante Oriza
Seville, spain
While San Sebastián has been in the headlights for a long time, the Andalusian capital Seville has been quietly making a name for itself as a place of gastronomic delight. Renowned as the home of tapas, Seville is the perfect place to enjoy local specialities including pavias pavías de pescado (marinated fish fried in olive oil) and jamón Iberico de Bellota (cured ham) - top tip, these are best washed down with a glass of Manzanilla, fino sherry from nearby Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
History as always, has impacted the cuisine you’ll find in Seville, with Moorish influence especially visible in desserts such as Torrijas (bread soaked in wine and honey, sprinkled with cinnamon). If you want to eat like a local, we’d advise you take a tour of a number of bars and sample different dishes in each one but you can also take a table at a restaurant for a more relaxed experience. Our favourites include deconstructed patatas bravas at Ena, Catalan-style squid with orange ali-oli at Restaurante Oriza, Cantabrian anchovies on toast with roast peppers at Salvador Rojo and Cordobese soup with quail eggs and Jabugo ham at Taberna del Alabardero. Yum!
Seville is the place for you if you like:
To try a bit of everything, tapas style
Quick city breaks from the UK
People watching
Al Fresco dining
The best time to visit Seville is from March to May when the temperatures are mild, the rush of tourist traffic hasn't reached summer volume and the hotels tend to offer lower rates.
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Bologna is the home of firm favourite Bolognaise
bOLOGNA, ITALY
For ‘best of’, you’re spoilt for choice in Italy. But while there are obvious contenders, one that’s perhaps a little more unassuming than the usual tourist hotspots, is Bologna in Northern Italy’s Emilia Romagna region. The thing about Bologna is that you probably won’t discover new dishes that you’ve never heard of...if that’s your vibe it might not be for you. What will delight you is that many of the favourite Italian dishes you’ve been enjoying for years originate from Bologna and take it from us, nobody does them better.
Italy’s famous ‘Bologney’ (Bologna sausage), and Ragu (Bolognese) sauce was created in Bologna and they are fiercely proud of it. The sauce was originally prepared to go with Tagliatelle pasta (another local delicacy) but you’ll also enjoy the best Lasagne Alla Bolognese you’ve ever eaten in this city too.
It doesn’t stop there...the nearby town of Parma is the birthplace of...you guessed it, Parma Ham, and Parma Cheese. Imagine eating a plate of antipasti with a glass of chilled Italian wine, right where it came from? And no culinary spotlight on Emilia Romagna would be complete without a mention of balsamic vinegar, which heralds from nearby Modena.
Back to bolognese...for the best of the best in Bologna head to Trattoria Anna Maria, Ristorante Diana or Osteria Broccaindosso. Their recipes are closely guarded family secrets but to experience home-grown cooking like this is a real privilege.
Bologna is the place for you if you like:
Home-cooked food and down-to-earth dining
To eat local
La Dolce Vita! (who doesn’t!)
The best time to visit Bologna is during spring and autumn when the weather is not too old from the winter and neither is it too hot from the summer, with pleasant wind at all times, making it the perfect time to see this beautiful city.
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Lobster-topped Poutine from Le Garde-Manger in Montreal
Montreal, canada
Canada’s Montreal is known for a few things; Celine Dion and Cirque du Soleil just to name a couple. What it isn’t really known for, but should be, is its food scene. According to Chef Pencil, which gathered the opinion of over 250 top chefs across the world last year, the city is one of the most underrated food destinations in the world. The reality is that eating well is very easy in Montreal, whether you’re after boundary pushing Michelin-star cuisine, hearty recipes passed down from grandmothers or a Canadian twist on world-street food.
A few iconic foods that you should make you think about a foodie tour to Montreal include the smoked meat sandwich from Schwartz’s Deli and the tasty trifecta of cheese curds, cheese and gravy that is Poutine. While you can find the latter all over the city, we’d recommend you take it with lobster chunks at Le Garde-Manger. And then there’s the Montreal bagels, which even New Yorkers can’t argue against - grab them fresh out of the oven from neighbouring St-Viateur Bagel or Fairmount Bagel.
Montreal is the place for you if you like:
A vibrant city atmosphere
Experiencing a city like a local
Incredible street food
Visiting alternatives to the usual tourist hotspots
There isn’t really a bad time to visit Montreal but if we had to choose, we’d say the best time is between March and May and from September to November.
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A sample of the Saturday Farmer’s Kitchen spread at Tawlet
BEIRUT, LEBANON
It’s quite hard to do the Beirut food scene in just a few words, but I’ll give it a crack. In short, it is unreal. To eat in Lebanon's capital is to take a front seat of the city’s deep culinary heritage, and to enjoy much-celebrated dishes that can be traced back thousands of years to when the Romans and Phoenicians ruled. But while food and history are deeply intertwined here, that’s not to say that Beirut isn’t progressive in its pursuit of culinary excellence.
A new generation of chefs, tour guides and restauranteurs are driving innovative and authentic dining experiences, from honey-making to write-home-worthy hole in the wall fast food joints, to food markets celebrating small-farmer produce, and guided tours offering visitors the chance to eat in someone’s own kitchen. Eating garlic-heavy shawarmas, hot meat pies (sfeeha) and other local specialties while you listen to the stories of those who made them is an experience you won’t forget in a while.
If you’re spending a weekend (or more) in Beirut don’t miss Farmers Kitchen Saturday brunch at Tawlet, where women from all over Lebanon travel in to create a buffet of colourful dishes from their own kitchen.
Beirut is the place for you if you like:
History
Experiencing a city like a local
Trying new ingredients and dishes
Immersing yourself in the local culture
We’d advise that you visit Beirut between April and November, when you will have a pleasant temperatures and limited rainfall.
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