Five Surprising Culinary Scenes in Europe

Cities such as Florence, Paris, and Barcelona are renowned for their gastronomic offerings.  With culinary tourism on the rise, more people are traveling with the sole purpose of experiencing local cuisines, attending food and wine festivals, or taking cooking classes at culinary institutes.  On a continent showcasing a wide variety of high quality fare, tourist classics often overshadow more offbeat food locales.  Consider eating your way through these culinary hidden gems.

Gothenburg, Sweden: “Hey honey, let’s go out for a nice Swedish dinner tonight.”  Sounds weird, doesn’t it?  Aside from in the cafeterias of a certain big box furniture store, Swedish cuisine has yet to catch on in America.  The cards are stacked against the country’s chefs, who are working with barren landscapes and five-month winters that make crop growth and harvest difficult.  But the Swedes are making the most of their local ingredients, and Gothenburg is at the helm of the charge.  Chefs here are whipping up dishes featuring traditional staples, such as reindeer and herring.  Before you cringe, savor the thought of this:  crayfish and squid with a shellfish sauce and crispy potato filled with crab.  Yum. 

Hungarian Palacsintas

Budapest, Hungary:  Hungarian cuisine goes way beyond goulash.  Meats, rich sauces, and hearty dumplings are simmered together in cast-iron skillets, creating the ultimate amalgamation of Eastern European comfort food.  “Lighter” dishes include a wide variety of stews and savory palacsintas (pancakes stuffed with meats and bathed in cream sauce).  The Hungarians are also passionate about their pastries and wine, so raise a glass or a slice of Dobos torte (a layered sponge cake with chocolate butter cream filling), and toast to indulgence. 

Thessaloniki, Greece:  Though you can get amazing food in Greece’s more popular tourist spots, true foodies will want to verge off the beaten path and head north to the country’s second city.  Influenced by neighboring Turkey, Thessaloniki’s cuisine is distinguished by its use of spices.  Ouzeris serve mezedes (Greek small plates), the selection of which changes with the seasons.  Summer dishes feature seafood, while winter is more about game meats.  Meals are complemented by ouzo (an anise-flavored aperitif) and local wines.

Traditional Pie and Veggies

London, England:  We all know the stereotype:  British food is terrible.  After all, any cuisine that uses malt vinegar to enhance its food probably needs to be re-evaluated, right?  Over the past couple of decades, London chefs have been doing exactly that.  Fergus Henderson is largely responsible for the resurgence of offal cuisine (or nose to tail eating), which makes use of every part of an animal.  Don’t necessarily expect a new take on the food – offal cuisine has deep roots in British history.  Just plan to be impressed by how good it is.  And if British food still isn’t your thing, try chicken tikka masala, the UK’s national dish.    

Lyon, France:  Most people head to Paris or one of the famous wine regions to enjoy French food.  But Lyon, located in east-central France, is the birthplace of the country’s time-honored cuisine and is the real food capital of the country.  Squeeze into one of the city’s affordable bouchons (eating taverns) and try a Lyonnais specialty, such as a quenelle (egg, cream, and flour dumpling) or andouille sausage.  More adventurous eaters can sample tripe (pig or cow’s stomach lining) or cerverlas (raw pork sausage).  

Bonus tip:  Lyon is to France as Bologna is to Italy.  For Italia’s best food, skip Rome and Florence and head straight to the city nicknamed La Grassa (the fat one).