Regan Stephens, a writer based in Philadelphia and a co-founder of the travel guide site Saltete, researches local experts before she hits the airport. She recommends restaurant critics, cookbook authors or food tour guides.
“I’m seeking out the people on the ground who’ve lived in the destination and know it better than anyone else,” Stephens said. She follows them wherever they write: their social media accounts, local publications, even Substack newsletters.
If you’re feeling particularly brave, you can even send an email or a direct message asking if they have a Google map or list that they share with friends and family — and more often than not the answer is yes, Stephens said.
This method also translates well to in-person interactions. Stephens will strike up a friendly conversation with a barista, a bartender or an employee at a small shop. Many are more than happy to share their favourite spots with a friendly tourist. But her personal preferred source for an accessible and delicious meal in a different city? Taxi drivers.
“If you were to drive somewhere right now on your lunch break, if you’re about to get off work and meet your friends,” she asks, “where are you going?”
ALWAYS BE RESEARCHING
For Lyndsay C Green, the restaurant and dining critic for The Detroit Free Press, seeking out restaurants for her travels is her “first call of action anywhere I ever go,” she said.
She saves up recommendations year-round, using Instagram’s bookmark function to save posts into folders organised by city. “I really just try to find where real people are going.”
For instance, Green visits New York City a few times a year, so she keeps a running list of leads. “Then I can refer to it whenever I’m there,” she said. And as a self-identified “Last-Minute Charlie,” she said keeping a running list rather than starting from scratch makes the planning process less stressful. A week or two before she lands, Green goes through her list, makes reservations and creates a list or Google map of the more casual spots she wants to visit that won’t require a reservation.
LEARN TO SPOT A TOURIST TRAP
Not all touristy restaurants are bad: Many New Yorkers still heartily endorse the more than century-old Katz’s Deli, even with the line of out-of-towners snaking down the block at all hours of the day.
But not every restaurant is Katz’s. Stephens of Saltete, for instance, generally avoids restaurants that display pictures of what’s on the menu in the window. “They’re obviously just geared toward tourists,” she said, “to make it easier for them to come in and choose, especially if it’s a place that is outside of the US”
Eric Asimov, a wine columnist for The New York Times Food section, is even more blunt: “This may seem obvious, but touristy restaurants are especially prevalent in touristy areas.” He suggests looking in “neighbourhoods less overrun with tourists.” Avoid the areas around the Eiffel Tower in Paris; think the Montmartre neighbourhood instead. “And to avoid waits, make reservations whenever possible.”
Susmita Baral, a senior travel editor for Travel + Leisure, agrees that standing in line to eat — which cuts into your time spent exploring — is not a fun activity.
“You have to be willing to wait, and more often than not, like, is a meal worth waiting in line for?” Baral said. “For me, no.”
BOOK A FOOD TOUR
Source: CNA
