Do you embrace local street foods when you travel? (hotels, best, price)
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Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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Or do you just get a safe hamburger from a restaurant .... or something similiar.
I shall share. When I was in the service, I did a year in Korea. For the first 3 months, I thought I had contracted some type of horrible disease. I literally had a bout of ..shall we say, Ok, when I hit the can, it was like my body was in purge mode. I even mentioned it to my mom one time, teling her I thought somethng was wrong with me. I should also mention that me and some friends in Korea would go downtown after work and get hammered at some random club. This invariably meant I was gonna eat some chicken on a stick.
There was a guy right by the gate, just BBQ'ng like a fiend. Man, they smelled good! I'd buy a few for our drunken stumble/walk back to the dorms. I had a friend one time, he told me "How you eat those? You know they pick the sticks up off the street that people drop, right?" and I said "Wha....?" Needless to say, I happened to stay out one night past curfew and saw it with my own eyes.
In Japan, I've eaten lots of street food. (LOVE YOU TAKOYAKI!!!) But never the ramen. The ramen cart has like .. 10 bowls max, I'd imagine. They feed people for cheap, too. If I remember right, the going price at the time was 300 yen, while a real shop charged 500-600 yen. The ramen shop has a bucket. Full of water. Which they rinsed the bowls in and, hey, Clean Bowl for You, Now. ERmmmmm... no. No thanks.
I had a friend in Bangkok try to give me something from a street vendor once. I declined. Forgot what it was. It didn't really matter. It wasn't touching these liips.
I also have never eaten a hot dog from a cart. But I will, one day before I die.
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NJ Sherri
Embrace? This is something I seek out. I have never gotten ill.
This is the true soul of a city or a country, the street vendors.
Oh you should really try a hot dog, falafel or a knish.
I went to New York once on business and had a sandwich at the local deli. They gave me a sandwich that looked like this: I mean, that is one awesome looking sandwich. It's like a McDonald's sandwich picture, but it looked that in real life. http://www.mainstbageldeli.net/images/pastrami.jpg
I ate there, like every day. Man, New York delis should be like, EVERYWHERE. I know it's not street food, but I had to shout out to New York delis.
...I also have never eaten a hot dog from a cart. But I will, one day before I die.
I ate hot dogs from a cart in New Orleans once. The "hot dog guy" looked like he slept in his clothes and shaved twice a month. Anyway, he was in the right place at the right time so I bought a couple. I lost a good five pounds that night <errrrrp>. It was definitely a "dirty water" dawg.
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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I had a friend who's friend ran one of those "Funnel cake" trucks. I took a look at his oil. Looked like it came out of a '42 Buick. I always get the turkey legs. Never got sick from the turkey legs.
Okay, there's another seemingly inedible "street food" - those turkey legs. We went to an outdoor festival a few years back and lots of folks were walking around with a Fred Flintstone turkey leg. They looked good so we all bought one - they were "smoked turkey drumsticks." We just about ripped our teeth out trying to eat the things - talk about tough. We finally gave-up and tossed them in the bin. We wondered if they might have actually been dog chews.
I'm a vegetarian and when I travel, I absolutely try to eat the local fare in as much as I can.
I'll never understand people who travel to another state or region and then eat at Mc Donalds or get wildly happy when they see a fast food or chain restaurant.
I don't eat that junk at home. I never did even when I ate meat.
So yes I do eat like the locals - at a stand or a restaurant.
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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Just an FYI.... foreign McDonald's actually have some awesome stuff, sometimes..
If you’ve never had a shrimp burger, do so as soon as you can. It is (unsurprisingly) one of the best fast-food burgers you’ll ever have. The Japanese Ebi Fillet might even rival an In-n-Out burger, though that might be pushing things a little bit. The Japanese McDonalds Menu (I’m actually lovin’ it!)
Japan also had a Chicken Tatsuta burger, which is unbelievably good. It's super crispy chicken with a delicious sauce. I don't see it on their menu at the moment, though. Here's a pic. http://s3-media4.ak.yelpcdn.com/bpho...HK41UagA/l.jpg
Absolutely. Anyone that bypasses all street and local food while traveling shouldn't travel at all. I've gotten a little bit sick before from eating street food in foreign countries in Asia, and that's simply because I didn't use any discretion at all when eating. If it looked good I ate it. And ya know what? I would trade in being a little bit sick for access to eat some of the most amazing foods ever every single time. Basically people need to stop being so whiny and clean. Humans have been on the Earth for 1000s of years and sanitary conditions for millenia weren't like what they are today in the Western world, yet people still lived.
It absolutely boggles my mind when American tourists travel abroad, refuse to eat the local foods, and only eat at chain restaurants or hotels. Just stay at home where you belong.
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