Tom Kime champions the importance of street food as a gateway to culture in his travel book full of great recipes and beautiful photography.
This week I reviewed Tom Kime's book "Street Food: Exploring the World's Most Authentic Tastes" and really enjoyed it.
As I have explained in the past, I love street food. It's a great way to affordably eat well, mix and mingle with locals, and take a bite out of local culture.
I spent most of the time in Kime's Latin America and Caribbean section where I found a lot of familiar recipes: bistec con chimichurri, sopa mexicana de flor de calabaza (Mexican soup made with zucchini blossoms), salsa verde, and empanadas. Many of the recipes presented were new though and I look forward to trying them out.
Kime presents the reader with a list of suggestions on how to find the best street food in a city after his world wide trip.
1. Look for stalls near a city's main vegetable market
2. Look for stalls near a port city's main fish market (the earlier the better on this one)
3. Explore around major transportation hubs, particularly bus stations
4. Follow locals to where they eat; ask around what people's favorite spots are
5. Go to packed stalls. This is an indication of good food, and a high turnover of the product making it safer for non-native stomachs.
Don't just think of these tips on your next trip to a foreign nation, these are great tips even in your own city. Fearless eating is the only way we will preserve good food in a culinary environment where homogeneity and mediocrity are becoming the standard of eating out.
