One of the fun things about traveling is discovering new foods. Usually, since I live in a multicultural, coastal city, after my trip I find out that I can get those newly discovered foods at home, too. It’s not a waste, because my palate is still broader for the experience. I still remember the first time I ate paella and drank vinho verde – at a Portuguese restaurant in Macau. And I regularly visit Asian grocery stores to stock up on foods I discovered in Japan. But sometimes a food seems to be endemic to the place you find it. The fish jerky I can buy in Seattle is Asian and doesn’t taste like (or last as long) as the dried fish they eat as road snacks in Iceland. My kids fell in love with Sumol soda in the Azores. And I’ve yet to find a local source for that, too. I guess we just have to go back.
