We love writing about food and drink. We love celebrating the good things and lashing out at the bad. This is our take on some of the best culinary cultures and destinations, but of course it is subjective. It’s time to discover once and for all, which cuisine is the queen and know how to plan where you will travel next:
10. United States
This may be because most of the popular foods in the US originate from some other country. The slice of pizza is Italian. The fries are Belgian or Dutch. Burgers and sausages? Probably German. But in America’s kitchens they have been improved and added ingredients, to become global icons for foodies around the world. Don’t neglect homegrown American dishes either. There are the traditional things like clam chowder, key lime pie, and Cobb salad, and most importantly is the locavore movement of modern American food that began with Alice Waters. This promotion of ecological awareness in food culture is carried out today by Michelle Obama.
Delicious
Cheeseburger – a perfect example of making good things bigger.
Chocolate chip cookie – the world would be a little less livable without this American classic.
Read about: What does it mean to dream about food?
9. Mexico
If you had to choose a single country to eat food for the whole life, choosing Mexico would be a smart option. The cuisine of this Mesoamerican country has a bit of everything, you will never get bored. Among the enchiladas, the tacos, the ice creams and the quesadillas, you will find the flavor of Greek salads and the richness of an Indian curry; the warmth of Thai food and tapas. It is also the central station for nutritional superfoods. All that avocado, tomato, lime and garlic with beans, chocolates and chili peppers, is rich in antioxidants and good things for your health. Although it does not taste healthy. It tastes like a party in your mouth.
Delicious
Mole – an ancient sauce made from chili peppers, spices, chocolate, and magical enchantments.
Tacos al pastor – the roasted pork taco.
Tamales – an ancient Mayan meal of masa cooked on a corn husk.
8. Thailand
Eating on the street is a Thai attraction. Flip through a Thai cookbook and you will have a hard time finding an ingredient list that is not a long page. The combination of so many herbs and spices in each dish produces complex flavors that somehow come together like orchestral music. Spicy, sour, salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy, and slippery can fit into one plate. Thai cuisine is the best of many worlds like its a mixture of China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar. Hospitality in Thailand makes it even better to eat Thai food in Thailand. Sun, beach, service with a smile and a plastic bag full of som tam. That is a good life.
Delicious
Tom yam Kung – a rave party for the mouth. The floral notes of lemongrass, earthy galangal, the freshness of kaffir lime leaves, and the warmth of chili peppers.
Som tam – The popular green papaya salad is tangy, very spicy, sweet and salty. It is the best of Thai flavors.
Not so delicious
Pla som – A fermented fish eaten uncooked is popular in Lawa and is said to be responsible for cancer of the bile ducts.
7. Greece
Traveling and eating in Greece feels like being in a glossy magazine. Blue seas and white buildings make all the locations postcard perfect. The secret? The glistening olive oil. Olive oil is one of Greece’s biggest exports. Eating in Greece is also a way of consuming history. A bite of dolma or a sip of lentil soup adds a little flavor to life in ancient Greece when they were invented.
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Olive oil – drizzled with other foods, or absorbed into bread, is almost as varied as wine in its flavors.
Spanakopita – makes spinach palatable with its feta cheese mix and flaky pasta topping.
Gyros – eating drunk at night wouldn’t be the same without the roast beef pita bread and tzatziki sandwich.
Not so delicious
Lachanorizo - basically cabbage and onion cooked and then mixed with rice. Filled, but one-dimensional.
6. India
When a kitchen uses spices in such abundance that meat and vegetables seem like an afterthought, you know you’re dealing with chefs dedicated to flavor. There are no rules for the use of spices as long as the result is something delicious. The same spice can add flavor to savory and sweet dishes, or it can sometimes be eaten alone – fennel seeds are enjoyed as a digestive aid to freshen the breath at the end of meals.
And any country that manages to make vegetarian food taste great every time deserves some kind of Nobel Prize. The regional varieties are vast. There’s the seafood from Goa, the wazwan from Kashmir, and the rich coconut from Kerala.
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Dal – India has made boiled lentils exciting.
Dosa – a crispy pancake filled with mashed potatoes and delicious spices.
Chai – not everyone likes coffee and not everyone likes plain tea, but chai is hard to resist.
Not so delicious
The chicken balti, an invention for the British palate, probably should have died out with colonialism.
5. Japan
The Japanese food is as good and precise as Japanese engineering. This is the place that spawned the tyrannical sushi masters and ramen thugs who make their staff and customers flinch with a withering glare. You can get a luxurious multi-course kaiseki meal that features the seasons in a variety of visual and culinary poetry. Or take a seat at a restaurant with a rotating sushi band for a solo feast. It is impossible to eat badly in Japan.
Miso Soup – shows some of the fundamental flavors of Japanese food, simple and healthy.
Sushi and sashimi – who knew raw fish on rice could become so popular?
Tempura – the perfection of frying. Never greasy, the dough is thin and light like a crispy tissue.
Not so delicious
Fugu: Is there something really so delicious that it’s worth risking your life? The poisonous puffer fish recently killed several diners in Egypt, but it is increasingly available in Japan
4. Spain
Let’s eat and drink, then sleep, work for two hours, then eat and drink. Long live Spain, that country whose hedonistic food culture we all secretly wish to be ours. All the bars and restaurants, the minimal work, the 9 pm, the dinners, the endless porrón challenges – this is a culture based on, around and sometimes even within the food. Spaniards eat the way they danced flamenco, with unbridled passion. They eat snacks throughout the day with intervals of large meals. From the fruits of the Mediterranean Sea to the offal of the Pyrenees, from the saffron and cumin notes of the Moors to the crazy molecular experiments of Ferran Adria, Spanish food is timeless and avant-garde.
Delicious
Jamón Ibérico – a cured ham hock usually carved by fastening it on a wooden stand as a medieval ritual.
Churros – the best version of sweet fried dough.
Not so delicious
Gazpacho – it’s refreshing and all, but it’s basically a runny salad.
3. France
If you are one of those people who does not like to eat because “there is more to life than food”, visit Paris. It is a city notorious for its grumpy inhabitants, but everyone believes in the importance of good food. Two hours of lunch for three-course meals are de rigueur. The entire two-week vacation focuses on exploring wine and cheese pairings across the country. The realistic cuisine will surprise those who regarded the French as the world’s food snobs (it is the birthplace of the Michelin Guide, after all). Cassoulet, pot au feu, steak fries are eye-opening when eaten at the right bistro.
Delicious
Escargot – Attributes to the French the fact that the pests that inhabit the garden become a delicacy. Admittedly, they managed to make them delicious
Macarons – like unicorn food. In fact, anything from a pastry shop in France seems to have been evoked by sugar, fairy dust, and girlish wishes.
Baguette – the first and last thing you’ll want to eat in France. The first bite transforms you, the last will be full of longing.
Not so delicious
Foie gras – Tastes like 10,000 ducks roasted in butter and then reduced to a velvet pudding, but some animal advocates denounce the cruelty of birds force-feeding to fatten their livers.
2. China
People in china greet each other by saying “Have you eaten?”. China is one of the many countries that is obsessed with food. Food is like an escape for the Chinese culture throughout. People are crafty and food-crazed. The Chinese not only cook and sell whatever, but they also make it taste great. China is the place to go to get food shock a dozen times a day.
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Bittersweet Pork – A guilty pleasure that has taken different forms.
Dim sum – A great tradition from Hong Kong to New York.
Roast Suckling Pig and Beijing Duck – Wonders of different oven styles adopted by Chinese chefs.
Xiaolongbao – Amazing soup-filled surprises. How do you get the skin of the dumpling to contain all that hot broth?
Not so delicious
Shark fin soup – Protests for Chinese restaurants to ban the dish has been a favorite topic of environmental activists in recent years.
1. Italy
Italian food has enslaved taste buds around the world for centuries, with its tasty tomato sauces, those clever things they do with wheat flour, and desserts that are basically vehicles for cream. Everything is so simple. Get some noodles, some olive oil, some garlic, maybe a tomato or a slice of bacon. Bam, you have a party on a plate. And everything is so easy to cook and eat. From risottos with cheese to crispy fried meats, Italian cuisine is a compendium of comfort food for the public. Many people make it in their homes, especially novice cooks.
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Ragu Alla Bolognese (spaghetti bolognese) – The answer to those who do not know what to eat
Pizza – Incredibly simple but satisfying dish. Diet for school and college students
Italian-style salami – Surpassed only by cigarettes as a source of addiction.
Is cappuccino coffee for breakfast? Forget this. We want it all day and all night.
Not so delicious
Buffalo Mozzarella – those fluffy, off-white cheese balls subtly flavored with buffalo milk water. The flavor is so subtle that you have to imagine it.