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Don’t judge me too harshly. But I secretly enjoyed a moment of quiet satisfaction when we walked right past the line of people waiting by the still-closed doors of Sobrino de Botín, officially recognized by Guinness as the world’s oldest restaurant, and knocked.
First time visitors to Madrid spend their time eating around Plaza Mayor, Mercado de San Miguel, and the historic Centro area.
Our food tour started at half past noon on a bright and sunny day in Madrid’s Plaza Santa Ana, across from the historic Teatro Español of the Barrios de las Letras (Literary Quarter).
So there’s this cooking experience tucked on the side of a hilly olive grove high above Riomaggiore in Cinque Terre. Once a day, a local Italian couple opens up their hidden stone cottage home and kitchen to a few people, where together you take part in a quintessential Italian past time of preparing a meal from scratch using only local ingredients and fresh herbs from their garden.
At 5:58 pm, I stood outside Cristina’s apartment entrance, just a few minutes walk from historic Piazza Maggiore, and pressed a buzzer to be let in.
For years, one particular food experience I’ve had on my bucket list for Italy is to “cook with someone’s nonna.” You know, a loud and lively kitchen, getting yelled at for adding too much salt or not enough salt, and of course getting a taste of the sauce before it hits the plate and being told that ‘that’s how you make the ragù.’
The 7th Edition of Chefs On Fire is back and it’s returning to Cascais from September 20 – 21, 2025. Hands down, this is easily the best food and music festival in Portugal and it’s been so well received that not only have they been bringing it back year after year, but they’ve started doing full pop-up events in other parts of Portugal.
Does food taste better when it’s miniaturized and arranged neatly on a tiered cake stand? Obviously. There’s just something about a tiny scone next to a delicate mousse tart that makes the heart happy and the stomach curious.
My food strategy is most cities is to seek out a couple of local recommendations or unique finds, and then just walk and walk to find menus or eye-catching restaurants that pique my interest.
