Foodie Travel Destinations

Discovering new food can be the whole reason many of us travel. It’s simply all about that destination meal. According to Eater.com, a renowned foodie source, there’s good food everywhere, but destination meals are different. They whisk travelers from their cooking routines and familiar takeout spots, drawing them out with flavors that can’t be replicated, service that can’t be matched, and most of all, a story that can’t be told elsewhere. Below, you’ll find Eater’s best foodie cities with captivating stories written by a diverse cast of chefs, home cooks, street hawkers, and restaurateurs telling us why we need to visit these cities right NOW.

Guadalajara, Mexico

Street Food - Guadalajara, Mexico

Markham, Canada

Guadalajara is the new Mexico City. After years in the shadow of CDMX, Tapatíos are threatening to nab the title as the country’s gastronomic center. Financed by local tech and tequila industries, celebrated young chefs are drawing international diners and expanding on their parents’ success. The buzz builds on the city’s famed taquerias, fondas, and street food, as well as Jalisco’s ancestral agave spirits. It’s also a destination for mariscos, spicy tortas ahogadas doused in incendiary Yahualica chile salsa, and antojitos (snacks) like red and green enchiladas and crispy tacos dorados. And then there’s birria, found at honored institutions and street stands. Strolling through the city, sizzling comales awaken the senses with aromas of chiles, tomatoes, and spices, while young locals can be heard toasting the enlivened dining scene. Grab a glass. —

Bill Esparza

The most diverse city in Canada, Markham brings an amalgam of gastronomic riches from the Asian continent to its gleaming plaza s and bustling streets.

For a decade, construction has sprawled across Markham, always augmenting the suburban Toronto enclave. These new buildings provided space for new immigrants, further diversifying a complex community, and for thriving local restaurants to expand. More often than not, those places spotlight Asian cuisines, from high-end Chinese restaurants to strip-mall Hakka noodles to Afghani kebab shops. It’s no wonder David Chang, who runs restaurants downtown, believes Markham has the best food in Toronto.

Toronto imposed a longer ban on indoor dining than other major cities. But when Ontario lifted most capacity limits in October, it roused restaurants, cafes, and bars from their slumber. Joints are jumping again, and the neighborhood has resumed its rocket growth. Don’t make a quick stop to Markham on your next trip to Toronto; plan your whole trip around Markham. —

Faiyaz Kara

Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia

Another city that never sleeps, the capital of Malaysia boasts an overwhelmingly diverse culinary scene. Take a listen to Kuala Lumpur. Most days the streets reverberate with hawkers exchanging friendly banter, utensils ricocheting off woks, chendol trucks rumbling by, diners chatting excitedly at tables spilling out of open-air restaurants. Then, in 2020, an eerie silence took hold, interrupted only by scattered footsteps echoing through deserted alleys. Lockdowns caught the food and beverage industry off guard. But the noises of dining have returned, along with brand-new sounds: Home bakers zipped by delivering bitesized Nyonya kueh, private chefs warmly greeted guests for homecooked meals, and proud locals paraded culinary tours through plates of nasi lemak and char kuey teow. The smells, sights, sensations, and of course tastes returned too, as locals and expats fill the streets again, not only in the city center but in lively suburbs and coastal enclaves. From the sound of it, Kuala Lumpur is hungry for visitors. —

Ian Poh Jin Tze

Saint-Martin, Caribbean

The Saint-Martin tourism board declared 2022 as the year of gastronomy, a signal that the dining industry is bouncing back from both the devastating Hurricane Irma in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic. The optimism isn’t misplaced; the island’s restaurants, from haute tasting menus to beach bars, are thriving, pairing delicacies like accra salt cod fritters with Champagne in celebration of the Creole and French flavors that drive the culinary scene. Unlike some nearby Caribbean destinations (including the touristy Dutch half of the island overrun with cruise ships and casinos), it can feel effortless to eat well in French Saint-Martin, even on a budget. Wake up with fragrant herbal bush tea and warm johnnycakes, guava turnovers, or pain au chocolat. For lunch, taste the oceanic bounty of fresh spiny lobster with crisp frites. Follow that with beef samosas at the bar paired with epic blended concoctions. And for dinner, goat curry or a nouveau tasting menu, followed by Cuban cigars and aged rhum agricole. — Maria C. Hunt

San Antonio, Texas

For a city named after the patron saint of lost things, San Antonio is great at holding onto its heritage. From the Alamo to the River Walk, the city is home to an assemblage of historic cultural landmarks, as well as institutions of tacos, barbecue, and other food traditions. Diners still rely on homegrown staples like the 65-year-old Ray’s Drive Inn (home of the puffy taco) and Schilo’s delicatessen (serving German-style deli meats since 1917), as well as decades-old local chains like Bill Miller Bar-B-Q and Burger Boy. Over the last decade, San Antonio has embraced change without losing its grip on its roots. Just look at the Pearl; following the opening of the Culinary Institute of America in 2008, the mixeduse development became a hotbed for dining, including Southern coastal eats at Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery and new Asian American cuisine at Best Quality Daughter. Same with Southtown, where restaurants like Little Em’s Oyster Bar and Battalion are becoming must-visits for splurge meals. — Polly Anna Rocha