Lisbon City Guide

(Updated April 2014)

General / Getting Around: The neighborhoods of Lisbon are actually quite small, and close together. It will often be quickest to walk between them, though be forewarned that the streets can be very steep.

We never did have a good breakfast or lunch in Lisbon. I don't know if it's because those are meals that city dwellers eat at home, or if we just had bad luck. We had considerably better luck with dinner and bar-hopping. Note: Acceptance of credit cards was a bit spotty; if that's all you have left on you, ask first.

The neighborhood where we found the best food was Barrio Alto. It did involve navigating around some very small, winding, dimly lit and sometimes deserted back streets. We had dinner in the tiny Restaurante BarAlto and it was lovely. Lots of bars in the area to wander around, after.

Do not miss Tasca da Esquina - a very enthusiastic recommendation here. We learned of the place from the very nice women in the wine tasting room, and in a burst of travel magic, happened to see it from the tram we took right after. We impulsively jumped off the tram and were able to get a table with no reservation. It was so good we went back on our last night, just to be sure we ended on a good note. We got the 7-course tasting each time (€35), which is actually more like 9 courses because the dessert is a sampler of 3 (créme brulée, île flottante and chocolate mousse for us). Absolutely fantastic.

The wine tasting room on the Praça do Comércio and the port tasting room (affiliated) were also fun. The wine tasting was a wee bit expensive, but the single tasting of port gave us a good benchmark, and it was also here that I discovered Portuguese espumante (sparkling wine) which is delicious, cheap, but rarely exported because of low volumes.

The port tasting room can be hard to find, as it's inside a set of old gates, more or less across the little park with the great lookout point. If you're walking uphill and you hit the Independente, you've gone too far. The first day we went, the wine list was a bit more extensive than the second. The decor is fantastic, with a very retro, old school club feel. Closed on Sunday but open to midnight on Sat. (Sorry for the lack of links and names!)

The port tasting room also sold bottles. Unless you absolutely fall in love with a super specific rare thing, though, I'd get my port at the Lisbon airport - the duty-free has a very extensive selection of port, including the exact Dow's vintage I wanted. Saved me from having to check my bag. (Incidentally, transit through Frankfurt was no problem for the carry-on liquids rule. They have some machines that can test the bottles without having to open them.)

For the view, definitely hit Portas do Sol's massive terrace. It's just off the St. Jorge Castle lookout point. (If you're up there, you can't miss it.) They have two giant round cushion things under umbrellas - as soon as I saw it, I wanted to go to there. We managed to score one of the cushion things and spent a supremely enjoyable couple of hours slurping down a huge pitcher of sangria, snoozing, and taking in the stunning, stunning view.

Santiago / Valparaíso City Guides

(Updated 2015)

Santiago

DO NOT MISS:

• Bocanáriz. Our favorite place in Santiago, hands down. We were in town seven days and ate here three times (albeit a little sheepishly that last time). They have a very deep local wine list and serve single glasses and tasting sizes on a lot of it. The food is uniformly excellent and easy to share. My favorites were the duck confit, followed by the vodka-celery seafood ceviche bowl.

OTHERS:

• Sandwich restaurant: José Ramón 277. Found using my restaurant Spidey sense on a little street just around the corner from our apartment. This place was also worth a repeat visit. I very much enjoyed their lengua sandwich, and Karen raved about their vegetarian chickpea patty.
• Sandwich lunch counter: Fuente Alemana. The sandwiches here are *massive.* Chileans love them some sandwiches.
• Empanadas: Bombon Oriental. Their chicken empanada was the winning empanada for the trip. I'd pass on their baklava, though.
• Ice-cream: Emporio La Rosa
• Fancy French: Astrid y Gastón. We didn't actually end up eating here, as it was a bigger, richer meal than we were in the mood for that night. The location is sort of randomly in the middle of a suburb but the restaurant looked very nice and was recommended by Lonely Planet.

AVOID:

• Mercado Central: More like Tourist Trap Central. Do not eat at any of the restaurants here!

GENERAL NOTES:

Like in Buenos Aires, people eat late in Santiago - like, 10pm is a normal dinnertime. Places do also tend to be closed unpredictably, so call ahead to make sure they're open on the day and time you want to go.

Chile is known for its wine - I loved the Carménère, loved the Chardonnay - but don't forget to check out the budding microbrew beer scene, influenced by German immigration into Chile. Kuntsmann and Kross were both excellent.

A good foodie souvenir to bring back for yourself and friends is merkén - a Mapuche spice blend containing smoked peppers and coriander. Unlike pisco and wine, you can throw 10 packets into your carry-on bag, no problem.

For a non-food activity, I highly recommend the Los Dominicos Handicraft Village. Shopping in town is otherwise underwhelming.

ACCOMMODATIONS:

We stayed at the Lastarria Apart-hotel and loved it. Our apartment had two bedrooms, two full baths, a kitchen, and a HUGE private patio. The neighborhood is great, with most of the restaurants I mentioned above within walking distance. Highly recommended.

Valparaíso

DO NOT MISS:

• Ápice. Small, oft-updated menu, all local ingredients. Really sophisticated and intriguing flavor combinations. This place is tiny - make reservations.
• Chilean cooking class with Boris. Boris is a character. Very cheerful and campy (though I'm pretty sure we brought the latter out in him). He was also very flexible about the dietary restrictions in our group. The class includes shopping for materials in the market, which is always fun. We made ceviche, empanadas, pastel de choclo, and leche asada. Cocktails and wine are also included. Well worth the time and money.
• Bar de Pisco. Check out the national cocktail in all its forms here. If you ate dinner early, this place might be empty when you pass it. But don't be deceived - it fills up.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

• Café Vinilo: Diner with a sort of a retro, boho, Brooklyn vibe. I had a nice stewed rabbit here. They make their own beer.
• Pasta e Vino: Italian, on the fancier side.
• Norma's: Nice prix fixe lunch.
• Emiliana Vineyards. Its organic and biodynamic philosophy make for an interesting tour. They have lots of chickens and alpacas roaming around - very charming. And they make damn good wine too.
• Indomita Vineyards. The wine is average but it's worth a visit just for their stunning, stunning view. No need to take the tour here, just get a tasting and sit out on the patio.

Marrakech City Guide

(Updated 2011)

DO NOT MISS:

• Moroccan cooking class: Both Souk Cuisine and the Riad Kniza offer cooking classes. You get to go shopping in the market with Souk Cuisine, but you'll get more personalized attention at Kniza. Can't go wrong, either way.

MOROCCAN:

• Traditional: Le Marrakchi
• Modern: Mama Ti Lee

RIAD:

• In addition to being a simply gorgeous, luxurious place to stay, Riad Le Clos des Arts serves an amazing breakfast to its guests, including homemade yogurt and fresh pastries. They can also serve you dinner the central courtyard upon request.

ART GALLERY / LUNCH:

• Dar Cherifa

Note: You can also search for other Marrakech blog entries using the tag "MAR-Marrakech."

Seoul City Guide

TOFU:

• Tofu House

DUMPLINGS:

• Sinpo Mandoo

MISC:

• Old Tea Shop

Note: You can also search for other Seoul blog entries using the tag "KOR-Seoul."

Tokyo City Guide

(Updated 2010)

SUSHI:

• Super fancy, with 3 Michelin stars: Sukiyabashi Jiro. I haven't been, but this place is definitely on my international restaurant bucket list. The omakase costs a breathtaking ¥30,000 (about $400); if you eat quickly, you could be in and out in 20 minutes.

YAKITORI:

• In addition to the regular variety of skewers, Momotaro serves chicken sashimi if you're feeling adventurous.

RAMEN:

• Menya Musashi
• For other options, refer to the ramen map below, provided by the Keio Plaza Hotel. (It's dated March 2010 so double-check any place you want to go, to make sure it's still open.)

MISC:

• Activity / market: Tsukiji Fish Market

Note: You can also search for other Tokyo blog entries using the tag "JPN-Tokyo."

Stockholm City Guide

(Updated 2011)

VEGETARIAN:

• Hermans. You know it's good when a carnivore like me digs it.

CARNIVOROUS:

• Hot dog stand: Östermalms Korvspecialist
• Djuret (Swedish for "animal"), also known as Svinet ("pig") in the summer
• Traditional: Pelikan

MISC:

• Ice-cream: 18smaker Glassmakeri
• Market: Östermalms Saluhall

Note: You can also search for other Stockholm blog entries using the tag "SWE-Stockholm."

Buenos Aires City Guide

(Updated 2009)

DINING TIME:

• People eat very, very late in Buenos Aires. And I say that as a New Yorker. If you go for dinner at 8:00 pm, you will see the staff just starting to set up. 10:00 pm is respectable, but it's not unusual for restaurants to seat tables at midnight.

DO NOT MISS:

• Casa Felix. Chef Diego Felix cooks out of his house (you're allowed to do that in Buenos Aires). Space is limited so book in advance. It's a pescetarian tasting menu, with a focus on local ingredients and indigenous cuisine. Absolutely amazing.
• Diego cooks stateside too - he does a few private parties to subsidize his annual trip to the US. Read about my experience with that here. Get on his mailing list if this is something you might be interested in.

STEAK:

• It's delicious pretty much everywhere and cheap to boot. Be aware that locals like their steak cooked well done. To get medium rare, ask for "jugoso."

THE LOCAL EXPERIENCE:

• Enfundá La Mandolina. It helps if you speak Spanish, but I never let a thing like a foreign language get between me and a good meal.

MISC:

• Bakery: Best empanadas I had all trip were from Las Familias

AVOID:

• The dinner + tango show offered at El Viejo Almacén. Crazy overpriced and food that even an airline would be embarassed to serve. Blech.

Note: You can also search for other Buenos Aires blog entries using the tag "ARG-BuenosAires."

Madrid City Guide

(Updated 2011)

DO NOT MISS:

• Activity / market: Mercado de San Miguel

HOT CHOCOLATE AND CHURROS:

• Chocolatería San Ginés

BAR/RESTAURANT:

• Mercado de la Reina

Note: You can also search for other Madrid blog entries using the tag "ESP-Madrid."

Reykjavik City Guide

(Updated 2011)

FISH AND CHIPS:

• Icelandic Fish and Chips. Go early, and be prepared for a bit of a wait.

INDIAN:

• Indian Mango. Good, but pricey.

YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY:

• Sægreifinn's lobster soup. Mark Bittman loved it; I thought meh.
• Fancy seafood: Fish Market. Yining and I were underwhelmed but Meredith loved it.

Note: You can also search for other Reykjavik blog entries using the tag "ISL-Reykjavik."

Taipei City Guide

(Updated 2014)

DO NOT MISS:

• Basically, in Taipei, the one place you can't miss is Din Tai Fung. To start, get a couple of steamers of xiao long bao. The pork is the classic, the crab is the luxury item and there's a fantastic newcomer to the party - the shrimp and loofah. It's delicate and light and perfect for giving your palate some relief from the richness of the pork or the crab.

Aren't they bee-yoo-tiful?

Bamboo with mayo

Sautéed water convolvulus

Shrimp fried rice

Eight Treasure Rice

BUBBLE TEA:

• 50 Lan. Multiple locations. Look for the below logo. You can get all sorts of crazy bubble tea concoctions, including ones with Yakult or an entire creme caramel pudding mixed in. They will ask you to specify the level of sweetness (regular, 90%, 70%, 50%, 30%, 10% or none) and the amount of ice (regular, reduced or none). My beverage of choice here is the milk bubble tea with the small bubbles, reduced ice and 30% sugar. It's about $1 a cup.

NOODLES:

• Xa jiang mien at my little noodle stall - if it has a name, I don't know it. It's on Da-an Road, just off Xin-yi Road. There's a little strip of shops and the noodle stall is the last one before you get to a little children's playground. If you hit the 7-Eleven, you've gone too far. This one's a sentimental favorite; I've been eating these noodles since I was eight years old. The perfect amalgamation of chewy homemade noodles, a hearty meat sauce and some crunch and bite from braised greens and pickled lettuce. A bowl will run you just under $2.

CASUAL:

• Ban Mu Yuan at the corner of Da-An Road and Dongfeng Street. Grab some small dishes out of the refrigerated case in the back, order a few of their beef or veggie xian bing (sort of a Chinese Hot Pocket) and a bowl of congee.

DESSERT:

• Dong Qu Fen Yuan in Lane 216 off Zhong Xiao East Road. Best place to get a big carton of that weird Chinese ice dessert topped with various stewed beans and odd chewy bits. Also famous for their soft tofu. 

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS:

• The really quintessentially Taiwanese food cannot be easily documented. It's the street stalls, food carts, night markets. Be adventurous. If a stand is busy, that's a good sign. Order what everyone else orders and you should be okay. Don't ask too many questions.