Top 10 Cities for Street Food

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Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Vietnamese cuisine has received some major street cred in recent memory (Anthony Bourdain's praise comes to mind), and a quick visit to Ho Chi Minh City's Ben Thanh or Binh Tay Markets explains why. Similar to the other Southeast Asian destinations listed, the street food in Saigon embraces a mix of cultures, primarily the city's French colonial background with Vietnamese spices and ingredients. In addition to Vietnamese standards of pho and bánh mì, some other notable dishes include cơm tấm (cooked broken rice) with a fried egg on the top, Bo La Lot (seasoned beef in a leaf), and spring rolls. A member noted that no matter what Cơm tấm dish you get, it will always be served with nước mắm (fish sauce), and since each street food stall usually makes their own, people will often choose which stall to return to based on their nước mắm. However, since hawker registration and street food health standards aren't as stringent in Vietnam, travelers should be careful to always choose popular, crowded stalls with high turnover.

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Istanbul, Turkey
It's not hard to imagine why a city that straddles two continents is a must-see stop for street food. From the visually-striking stalls selling döner (lamb, chicken, or beef on a vertical skewer) to the balik ekmek (fish sandwiches) sold off of boats, one of the greatest attributes of Istanbul's street food is the variety of options. Mornings can start with simit, a ring-shaped bread topped with toasted sesame seeds and akin to a crisper bagel, afternoons begin with a kebab, and a snack of midye dolma (stuffed mussels) is a great break from site-seeing. Two locations noted for their street food are the beginning of Istikal Caddesi in Taksim, and near the Galata Bridge in the Eminonu area if you're hankering for a fresh fish sandwich.

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Mexico City, Mexico
While Mexican cuisine in other countries has sadly been oversimplified to the taco and quesadilla, a quick stroll around the Mercado San Juan, the La Merced, or Centro Histórico in Mexico City will open your eyes to a variety of antojitos (street snacks) available. Some aspects of Mexico City's street food are well-known, like tacos al pastor, made with pork and pineapple and served on small corn tortillas, but other treats have been adopted in so many places that it's surprising to find out they originated in Mexico. A perfect example of this is elote, or roasted corn on the cob, which is typically served with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, chili powder or flakes, and a squeeze of lime. One street food that may not have originated in Mexico, but was certainly perfected here, is the churro, a tube of fried dough then powered with cinnamon. In Mexico City, churros are often filled with chocolate or dulce de leche, but can also be known to include fruits such as guava. It's important for travelers to remember that the street food scene in Mexico City is not very well regulated. Play it safe, go to a spot that has been recommended to you or join one of the street food tours offered throughout the city.

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Brussels, Belgium
Two stands vying for top spot in French-influenced Brussels are Frit' Flagey in Place Flagey and Maison Friterie Antoine in Place Jourdan, which is also famous for its variety of sauces, from the traditional Flemish topping of mayonnaise to a Brazilian take on ketchup and quatre poivres. Multiple VT members noted that waffles in Belgium, apparently vastly different from the American version of Belgian waffles, are alone worth the trip on the Eurostar. While the Brussels-style somewhat resembles the wide-spread notion of a Belgian waffle, the Liege waffle is denser and coated in a caramelized sugar. Either variety can be topped with powdered sugar, fresh whipped cream, strawberries and/or chocolate. One final treat not to miss are Brussels' shellfish specialties of moules frites (mussels served with fries) and caricolles (small snails boiled in broth).

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Beachside Ceviche in Ambergris Caye, Belize
While most street food involves a cart or a hawker center, isn't the definition of street food supposed to be fresh, on the go, and not in a formal restaurant? If we define it that way, it's impossible for us to not mention how great food can taste on a beach, freshly caught in salt water and prepared in front of you. While recouping from a snorkel or sail in Ambergris Caye, Belize, you might be offered red snapper or barracuda, but lucky travelers who visit Belize between September 30 and April 24 will be able to have conch ceviche, a seafood dish comprised of raw fish marinated in acidic citrus such as lemon or lime and spiced with chili peppers, cilantro, or regional spices. This specialty, at least the conch variety, must be enjoyed while it can, since conch recently became an endangered species and the season has actually been cut two months short for the time being in Belize. VirtualTourist members also recommended Peru, Costa Rica, and Isla Mujeres in Mexico as great spots to get some beachside ceviche. If you can't make it quite that far, a slightly easier option is My Ceviche, a small takeout window in South Beach, Miami, that despite only being open for two months has already garnered great word of mouth around town.

Source: www.virtualtourist.com via Reuters

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