One of my favorite things while traveling is finding new and interesting foods. I look for food carts and street vendors, dives and anyplace the locals go for traditional foods. While I do have to exercise caution, given my allergy to shellfish, I don’t use it as an excuse to not be adventurous with my dining options. One of my favorite things to stumble upon, has been green honey…
That’s right, there’s such a thing as green honey. I’ve seen it twice: Once in Macedonia from wild mountain flowers (I’d love to go back to Skopje for the honey, wine, yogurt and lamb! #FoodLove)
The other time I found it in Jordan, though I believe the honey actually came from Yemen, from avocado flowers. The avocado honey (in the picture above) was a milder version of the honey we’re used to back home and went really well with the scones we had for a snack.
Swordfish and chips in Essaouira
Being adventurous with your food does not mean being careless: Sour cream or mayonnaise can be vacation sabotage, if the electricity is not dependable in your location, that means the refrigerator storing your egg-based condiment is probably not doing its job.
Food tips for the adventurous eater:
- Check for cleanliness and freshness of the food beforehand if you can.
- Ask the vendor to describe the dish, the sauce, etc. Language barriers may prevent this – restaurants with picture menus are helpful in this case.
- Salads: If you can’t drink the water… guess what they wash their salad with.
- Fruit: If it has a peel, go for it, if you eat the skin, make sure the water is potable.
- If you’re eating at a street vendor, the busiest ones have the biggest food turnover, meaning their product isn’t sitting in the sun, spoiling.
- Ask a local which places to avoid, look for places the locals are eating.
- Straws – I’ve seen places re-use straws. I never use them. If your strawberry shake tastes like Oreos…
- If you can, drink out of the bottle.
When in doubt, stay on the safe side, but don’t miss a chance to try an exotic local dish. If you can score a dinner with a local family, take it, it’s hard to beat gramma’s cookin!
