TripAdvisor recently ranked the Top 10 Food Cities in the World. There should be no surprised that the top three cities are on one continent! Ranked one through ten were Rome, Florence, Paris, Barcelona, New Orleans, New York City, Venice, Madrid, Tokyo and Bangkok. Bob’s and my love of travel has allowed us to visit six of the top food cities on TripAdvisor’s list. In an effort to enjoy eating our way through these cities, we have taken the increasingly popular food tours. Below are highlights from three of our favorites, Paris, Barcelona, and New York City!
PARIS
We were able to make a quick trip to Paris in January, which was glorious. Do not be wary of touring Paris in the winter. The crowds are gone from the main attractions, warm cafes and brasseries are welcoming on chilly days, and the temperature is rather moderate, holding in the 40s. With the missing crowds, comes the warmth and caring nature of the Parisians, which is sometimes lacking due to all the people.
We were able to enjoy a food tour through the historic and food forward, Latin Quarter, with the Food Tours of Paris company. https://foodtoursofparis.com
Our guide, Naomi, met the three of us in the Latin Quarter (another bonus to winter travel, we had the food tour to ourselves!). We tasted butter croissants at a bakery as well as the only offered in January, Epiphany cakes. Naomi explained the story behind the galette des rois – an almond pastry cake with a crown inside – is similar to King cakes baked at Mardi Gras.
We walked through the Latin Quarter tasting crepes, tasty sausages, and local cheeses. The highlight for us was the open air market with fresh seafood. The french oysters were in season and we enjoyed the oysters with some french white wine. Our tour ended by Notre Dame with pastries from Odettes.
BARCELONA
While in Barcelona, we spent an evening with Marta from Taste Barcelona Tapas and Wine Tour. http://www.taste-barcelona.com Recommended by my dentist (really!!), this was one of the highlights of our stay in Barcelona. Six of us enjoyed a tour of four neighborhoods, four restaurants, 16 different kinds of tapas and five different wines. The restaurants ranged from upscale eateries to third generation family tapas spots. We tasted all kinds of wine from white, red and cava.
We learned about the Iberian ham, which are feed acorns for the best quality, and is characterized by its unique black hoof.
While we tasted 16 kinds of tapas, our guide, Marta, described life in Barcelona from sports to politics and the Basque region of Spain.
NEW YORK CITY
On a winter weekend in New York City, we tried the Chelsea Market Food Tour offered by Food Tours Of NY. https://www.foodsofny.com
Met at Chelsea Market, we walked through the historic shopping place sampling all the fares. We enjoyed scones from Sarabeth’s Biscuits and Jam, scarfed down fried Oreos at Creamline, Kale salad at the Aussie based Tuck Shop, ice cream from the Creamery, smooth hot chocolate….we left stuffed! The meatpacking district of New York is interesting with the old warehouses turned into restaurants, boutiques and upscale lofts.
A food tour is a wonderful way of seeing the neighborhoods of a city, the local color and feel, tasting your way through what makes a city unique.