Basic dishes you might consider getting on a plane for. 

Travel isn’t travel without eating. You can’t get to know a place without tasting the local specialties, and food is often one of the best mediums to explore a culture. Be it in a market, on the street, at a restaurant, or in someone’s home, food gives us a very personal look into another culture. Sure, not all your travel culinary experiences are always good ones, but even when you try a local food that doesn’t suite your palate (pickled herring isn’t for everyone) at the very least, it makes for a good story.

When you travel, it can be fun to choose one local food to always go after. In my experience, being on the hunt for something in particular often leads to interesting adventures. Whether you like to travel to eat, or are just looking for an excuse to plan a summer trip, here are eight local meals worth traveling for.

1. Socca: Nice, France

The local street food of Nice, socca is a crepe made from garbanzo bean flour. While street food often makes its way around the world – you can get a döner kebab in just about any city –  socca is a little harder to track down. Even in Paris, there’s only one guy making it. Here are a few recommendations on some of the best ones you can find in Nice. Just make sure to get a chilled glass of rose while you’re at it.

2. Pho: Hanoi, Vietnam

Pho is one of those dishes that has made a name for itself outside of its homeland. In most food metropolises it’s easy to track down a few Vietnamese restaurants that top local foodies’ list of recommended places. But pho is best consumed on a hot street corner in Hanoi, sitting on a small plastic chair and drinking a cold beer. Go all out on the dish of garnishes that is served with it: a bowl full of broth, cilantro and lime is a good thing.

3. Stroopwaffel: Netherlands

A bike ride in Amsterdam followed by a stroopwaffel: is there any better way to spend a trip? Stroopwaffels are cookies made from two layers of thin waffles and held together by a sweet caramel. They’re all over Amsterdam, both sold in bags and packages at stores and markets as well as larger versions as street food. Hint: the day before you head home, go to the local grocery store and buy a few packages to take home with you. They’re that addictive.

4. Asado: Argentina

They’re not for the vegetarian, but asados are acclaimed events, barbecuing many kinds of meats at one time. Argentina is known for its steak, and raised on wild grasslands, you’re assured a leaner meat than standard feedlot-fed US cattle. Try a traditional asado in Patagonia, grilled by local gauchos.

5. Smørrebrød: Denmark

The Danish open-faced sandwich is one you’ll find on almost any traditional Danish menu. It’s a buttered piece of rye bread topped with an assortment of options, from cured meats to cheese. For a truly Scandinavian meal, get one with shrimp and pair it with a local light beer.

6. Accras: French Caribbean

Most Caribbean countries have some form of the accras, a fritter made from fish or shrimp. Accras de morue are popular appetizers in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The word “accra” is most commonly used in the French-speaking part of the Caribbean, but you will also see them listed as fritters in the English-speaking parts. You’ll often find them served as street food and they make for a great snack.

7. Pa amb tomaquet: Barcelona, Spain

Bread rubbed with olive oil and tomato might sound basic, but sometimes, it’s the simplest foods that are the best. Such is the case with Pa amb tomaquet, the classic Catalan dish (pan con tomate in Spanish) that you’ll find in almost any tapas bar. The oilier and juicer the better. If a place does it well, you can be sure that the rest of their menu will be up to par.

8. Amok Trey: Cambodia

This popular Khmer dish is made of steamed fish and coconut milk. With an emphasis on zesty flavors, it has a softer and less spicy taste than most curries. The fish is wrapped with other ingredients in a banana leaf and steamed in the coconut milk.

Images: katinalynn, Tran’s World Productions, sindy, dr_pablogonzalez, fredrikrynde, SnippyHolloW, Jen SFO-BCN, Ben Yapp

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Rosalie Bay Resort on the Caribbean island of Dominica is a colonial-style paradise with an eco-conscience.

When you’ve been to the Caribbean, you’ve probably stayed on one of the bigger, more famous islands: Antigua, Martinique or Barbados. Tiny Dominica is just 18 miles wide and 29 miles long, so it may have been off your radar, especially since its hotels aren’t much to shout about being neither super-stylish nor particularly green. Until now.

Rosalie Bay Resort, which opened just one year ago, sits on the Atlantic coast, in a secluded spot on the southeast of the island, with a perfect sunrise view over the sea. Although the rocky, black sand beach is too rough for swimming, the staff are delighted to drive you to other locales more suited to frolicking in the surf.

Or you can just lounge by the pool drinking cocktails from the bar. Well, you are on holiday in the Caribbean, after all.

Accommodation is in 28 rooms and suites, housed in picturesque wooden cottages with verandas some with swings, looking onto the beach, the Rosalie river, a garden or hills behind. Decor is classic colonial, without being stuffy: locally-built, four poster beds and comfortable armchairs, plus exotic flowers and plants; the grounds are rich with fragrant tropical flora including frangipani, ginger lily and hibiscus. Some rooms have vaulted ceilings and old-fashioned fans.

In the spa, which is elevated above the surf, you can enjoy treatments such as massages using local organic products. The new wellness program promises lots of innovative health-focused activities.

Rosalie Bay is self-sustaining in terms of energy with a wind turbine (the island’s first) and solar panels, as well as a water filtration system. The local environment in the 22-acre estate is carefully protected – the resort has its own turtle monitoring program, which guests can help with. Many locals are employed as staff, some after working on the construction of the property, an eight-year labor of love by the owners, Bev and Oscar.

The restaurant offers highly-rated, original dishes, featuring organic fruit and vegetables grown in the resort’s own kitchen garden with a Caribbean twist: conch ravioli, guava-glazed pork ribs and duck with coconut rice are a few specialties on the menu.

Rates start at $125/night plus tax, including cocktails without umbrellas and baby turtle-minding.

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

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