If you don’t know what those funny looking things are in the photo, they are called churros. A little like an extruded doughnut, but crunchier. I found them all over Madrid. I indulged one morning when I was tired. It is a luxurious experience not only because you are eating fried sweet bread, but also because you dip it in that chocolate sauce that is so thick it is almost chocolate pudding.
Will You Find Something to Eat, or Will You Dine?
This is just an example of a food I had not tried before until I went to Europe. Now they can be found in major American cities, but yet I would not know where to find them near my home in the morning.
This is a humble example of a food experience that is there for the taking in Europe. I have never tried octopus, squid, eel, veal liver, white asparagus, bitterballen, or reindeer, but I am looking forward to it. (Well, mostly. I’m not really sure about the eel.)
Choose your destinations right, and you can try all of that and much more.
It’s not only the individual foods that may offer an opportunity for a new experience, but it’s also the way the foods are presented or combined that will catch your attention.
Sometimes it has been the quality or quantity of ingredients that have surprised me. I remember that it seemed like every restaurant in Italy must have grown the salad greens on their patio and just picked them when I ordered the salad.
Tourist attitudes toward food in Europe seem to vary widely. Some well-traveled people have said to me that they could care less, as long as they relieve their hunger. I heard advice to save money by buying food from grocery stores, by creating picnics from the findings at a bakery and fromagerie (cheese shop), and by eating more street food such as currywurst (a Berlin specialty sausage with curry ketchup). A couple of friends seem to frequent the American chain restaurants that you will find in abundance in European cities of any size.
All of those are options, of course, but I am a bit more of a foodie than people who rely on a steady diet of any of this stuff. I like both mom and pop restaurants and fancy sit-down restaurants. I patronize both on my trips. Yet, I also will not hesitate to go to McDonalds if that is the most convenient, time-saving choice and I’m hungry.
Toward the end of my first long trip, I learned to shop at grocery stores in London and Paris both to save some money and to find something quick to eat because I was pooped. In Vienna, I shopped at the convenience store near my hostel and found a pre-made sandwich, apple, and unfamiliar candy bar, and took it to Vondelpark and ate all of it.
But also I had lunch at a Michelin star restaurant in Paris and a very upscale meal at a traditional Paris restaurant. In London I frequented the Portuguese chain Nando’s because I became so hooked on the spicy peri peri chicken and also a setup that felt familiar for American fast casual. Those are my extremes and you will find yours.
When You Want a Drink
I’m not much of a drinker, so I can’t really tell you a lot about bars in Europe. I did enjoy a British pub, the Eagle in Cambridge where Francis Crick announced the discovery of the double helix of DNA to a probably surprised lunch crowd. I probably have forgotten a couple of other bar or pub experiences.
In Dublin the bartender at my hostel lectured me about the proper way to drink a Guiness. I assured him that a husband had taught me that, but we had fun trading bar talk.
Then of course in restaurants or hostels I must have sampled wines that were local and unfamiliar to me. It’s just not memorable for me.
However, I surely would avoid a familiar mixed drink or brand of beer just to reach for a new experience.
There Is Plenty More to Say about Food in Europe
I will talk about meal times, tipping, restaurant etiquette, reservations, choosing restaurants, and specific food experiences in the blogs and stories section of this website under the category Food and Drink I will share links to these blogs just below this.