5 Best (and 5 Worst) Foods We’ve Eaten While Traveling

When you stop drinking, good food becomes exponentially more important, especially on vacation. It’s one of life’s pleasures, and a way to connect with people and cultures. Back when I was actively drinking, I could care less whether I ate or not, and if I did eat it was usually a Wawa soft pretzel at 2am. Now, a highly-regarded culinary scene is a top selling point for me when planning my next trip. While we’ve eaten some life-changing foods over the course of our travels, we’ve also ingested some maddeningly disappointing morsels that were just as memorable. Read on for our 5 Best and 5 Worst meals, appetizers, and desserts we’ve eaten on our sober vacations!

5 Best Foods

1. Churros

Location: Mexico City & Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Now, you can royally screw up churros, and I’ve had my fair share of lousy ones. But when you find a place that takes pride in its churro-crafting, the result is devine: crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, warm and sugary with a dose of cinnamon. Places like Churreria El Moro in Mexico City and La Romantica Churros & Cafe Bar in Puerto Vallarta take it a step further with churro ice cream sandwiches and sundaes, which is basically dying and going to heaven.

In Puerto Vallarta, The Churro Guy is a can’t-miss gastronomic experience. For over 40 years, he has parked his cart in front of the church at the intersection of Calle Lazaro Cardenza and Calle Aguacate in the Romantic Zone, doling out bags of fresh, hot churros to customers for 10 to 20 pesos each.

2. The Breakfast Sandwich at Tandem Coffee

Location: Portland, Maine, USA

Waiting in the long line that usually snakes out the door on weekend mornings is 100% worth it. In addition to boasting amazing coffee and baked goods, Tandem Coffee in Portland, ME presented me with the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever consumed, highlighted by the fluffy, buttery biscuit with a crunchy exterior and a sprinkle of sea salt on top, in addition to the melty egg and cheese inside. They wrap it in paper and tinfoil so you can easily eat in the car–or on a hike!

3. The Chile Relleno Omelet at Coco’s Kitchen

Location: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

A favorite local brunch spot, Coco’s Kitchen is tucked into a side street close to the beach in the Amapas neighborhood of PV. While they offer an array of delicious options, I always get the chile relleno omelet–a soft, battered pepper tucked inside an egg omelet with cheese and re-fried beans. We usually go to Coco’s on our last day in town and I end up dreaming about that omelet all week.

4. The Artichoke Soup at Articok

Location: Split, Croatia

After a long drive from Dubrovnik to Split, we wandered around near our Airbnb looking for a place to eat dinner. We stumbled upon Articok, which had a rooftop terrace and water views, and I ordered the artichoke soup for an appetizer. I figured it would be pretty good, since the restaurant was in fact named after said vegetable. I devoured the entire bowl, and I am not a soup person.

5. Pasteis de Nata

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

These delicious custard tarts can be found all over Portugal. After experiencing them for the first time while on a tour in Lisbon, I sought them out on multiple occasions during the rest of our trip. Not long after returning home, Tim and I drove 90 minutes to a Portuguese bakery in Newark, NJ just to buy a box of them.

5 Worst Foods

1. Papas Locas

Location: Tenerife, Spain

While pretty much every meal we ate in Tenerife was garbage, the papas locas were beyond the pale. When I ordered them thinking I was trying a traditional Canarian dish, I was presented with a plate of fries topped with cold blocks of ham and cheese. It was basically a meal a 4-year old would make when he was bored.

2. The brownie ice cream sundae at Moo Time Creamery

Location: Coronado Island, San Diego USA

During our trip in San Diego, we were perusing local Yelp and Google reviews looking for a place to indulge in a unique dessert. Moo Time Creamery boasted hand-made ice cream and a Nifty-Fifties vibe, so we decided to go there one night. I was jonesing for a big sundae so I starved myself all day in preparation. When I finally dug in, it was devastating. It was basically a grocery-store brownie with fake chocolate Hershey sauce and very average ice cream. It was two years ago and I’m still angry about it.

3. Lunch at Pujol

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Named by the Wall Street Journal as the best restaurant in Mexico City, and appearing on multiple lists of “best restaurants in the world”, Tim and I were excited to book reservations for an 8-course tasting menu lunch at Pujol. I’m pretty sure those list-makers never actually ate there.

Maybe we just don’t have sophisticated palates, but by the second course we wanted to run out of there and eat tacos from a street cart. For the two of us, just food and no alcohol it was $300, and we hated every course. To make matters worse, the servers were over-attentive and asked me what was wrong every time I didn’t clean my plate.

4. Any restaurant on the Malecon

Location: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Pretty much any spot you go to on the mile-long promenade is overpriced and not very good. We’ve made the mistake of going to four of them (for the view!) and ate soupy Ceasar salads and mediocre Italian food and got sick after eating at one of them.

5. Street cafe near the Eiffel Tower

Location: Paris, France

While the meal itself was fine, the waitstaff did not do anything to dispel the French reputation for being rude. We checked in a few minutes before a French-speaking family and we were seated after them and also served after them, and it was clear that the restaurant staff weren’t very interested in serving American tourists.

Just like travel, food takes on new meaning when you don’t imbibe. Whether good or bad, these experiences are always memorable. I hope you get a chance to enjoy (or avoid) some of these meals, apps and desserts on this list!

Looking for things to do in-between meals? Check out 6 Fun Things to Do on Your Sober Vacation!