I was thinking about traveling again today (it happens quite often). I started out thinking about my favorite places that I’ve visited and somehow ended up thinking about some of the best foods I’ve had in my travels. This led me to try and put them in order so join me if you will for my top 5 favorite meals while traveling…

#5 Haggis at the Black Bull Edinburgh, Scotland

We spent the first day of our Scotland trip in Edinburgh and tried to squeeze as much out of it as we could. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and made our way across the Grassmarket and up the stairs to see Edinburgh castle. After that we ate at the Witchery, which is another story in and of itself. We made our way back to the hotel to freshen up and take a nap. Later on we decided to go across the street from our hotel and get a pint and some dinner. I had been dying to try haggis all day and this would be my first time ever. Considering everything I had heard about it I was wonderfully surprised. I don’t know if the Black bull makes their haggis in house but it was incredibly tasty with a good amount of spice and a curry kick, which I was not expecting at all but loved! I tried Haggis at several other places on our trip to Scotland and all of them were at least decent but none of them came close to surpassing the one I had first at the Black Bull.

https://www.blackbulledinburgh.co.uk/

#4 Onion rings at the Frog and Onion Bermuda

The Frog and Onion is a staple in Bermuda, right in the middle of the royal navy dockyard, so almost anyone who has taken a cruise to Bermuda has either heard of it or been to it. I’ve been there twice now and tried several different items off their menu but nothing in my mind beats their onion ring tower! I’m sure it seems silly because its something so simple but whatever the secret is to how they make them it works. they’re so addicting that I think about them even when I’m eating really good onion rings from other places!

https://www.irg.bm/frog-and-onion

#3 Fish and Chips at the Royal George Thornbury, England

We stumbled upon this place late in the day on a Sunday I believe in the small town of Thornbury. I had been in England for a few days at this point and had yet to try any fish and chips. Being from New England you can find this dish almost anywhere and some of them are really well done, so I wasn’t expecting this. The portions were huge and the batter was crispy yet delicate and the chips were a perfect companion. To be honest I don’t think I’ve had fish and chips since then here in the states because as good as they are I really don’t think any will stand up to the one I had at the Royal George! https://www.royalgeorgethornbury.co.uk/

#2 Mac & Cheese at Murano (Celebrity)

My trip on the Celebrity cruise ship the Equinox was my first cruise and my first time ever leaving the US. I spent the better part of two weeks looking around in awe like a little kid on Christmas morning. It is some of my best memories ever and I ate some amazing foods in three different countries and on board this gorgeous ship.

At the time, one of the specialty restaurants, the Murano, had a Mac & Cheese dish which absolutely blew away any mac & cheese I had had previously and I’ve eaten a lot of mac & cheese in my time. This stuff was just levels above anything else though. It came in a large ramekin and had a buttery, crunchy crust over mounds of ooey gooey cheese and perfectly cooked pasta. I’m not sure what else it had in it, there may have been some truffle oil, but it was so good that I ate two servings of it and thought really hard about ordering a third!

#1 Gelato in Rome, Italy

You would think that when I think of traveling to Italy and food I would think about the amazing pasta dishes or pizza or even things like Steak Florentine and I do. Italy has some of the most amazing food in all the world and even cheap eats over there can taste better than anything you can find in the states. But to be completely honest nothing comes to mind faster to me when I think about food in Italy than Gelato. I know this one is much more vague than the previous four entries but I couldn’t really narrow it down more.

The amount of Gelataria’s in Rome when I was there was just staggering. there were literally multiple stores on most blocks all selling hand made gelato. Some were traditional and other’s were far out weird flavors but they were all delicious. I have to admit that in four days there I sampled at least 10 different places and usually at least 2 flavors from each place. All of which were of amazing quality and creaminess. I think they all work so hard to make their gelato the best because there is so much competition on every block. If you are ever in Rome pick any of the hundreds of Gelataria’s and give it a try, if you like ice cream, you won’t be disappointed (it’s much better than any gelato you can find in the states and I don’t know why) !

Thank you for joining me on this trip down memory lane, now I’m really hungry. I’m sure I could have made this list more extensive and maybe I’ll remember something that should have made the top 5. For now this is my top five favorite eats from my travels. Maybe next time i’ll do a top five of my favorite drinks or the weirdest foods I’ve tried in my travels (Haggis will be on that one too!)