One of the great privileges of traveling is trying street food in other countries.  But how much does it suck to return home and not be able to get that food again?

Well, we don’t have to worry about that problem anymore thanks to a restaurant called Street in Los Angeles.

This up-scale eatery from chef and TV personality Susan Feniger has gathered street food from all over the world and put them under one roof.

Now, the food isn’t as cheap as it would be from a street cart, but at least you don’t have to worry about contracting food poisoning.

Even though the menu at Street isn’t that extensive, you’re bound to find some interesting flavors from nearly every continent.  Here’s what we tried:

Brazilian Acaraje – crispy black eyed pea fritters topped with a sweet and spicy citrus cabbage and chile sauce.  The dish comes with four fritters and each one is a two-biter.

Cheese Grits – creamy Southern-style grits made with butter and white cheddar cheese. A surprisingly light dish without an overwhelming cheese flavor.

Mexican Ricotta Noquis – light and airy sheep’s milk ricotta formed into small dumplings and simmered until they literally melt in your mouth.  They’re topped with two salsas: a mild, citrusy green tomatillo and a smoky chipotle.  The dumplings are delicate and nicely pick up the flavors of the salsas.

Smashed Potatoes – mashed Yukon gold potatoes that have been lightly fried to create a crisp outside and creamy inside. The mashed potato fries are topped with sour cream, chives and pink peppercorns that give the dish a real pop.

Vietnamese Corn – a dense dish consisting of corn sauteed with small chunks of pork belly, chile peppers and scallions.  Unfortunately the super salty fish sauce really overwhelmed the sweetness of the corn and pork.

Kaya Toast – by far our favorite dish.  This Malaysian sensation features toasted white bread topped with an egg, sugar and coconut milk spread, and served with a soft fried egg drizzled with soy sauce.  Once you dip the sandwich into the egg, you get these great complimentary flavors and textures of sweet and salty, custardy and crunchy.  It’s expensive for what it is, but here’s how I justify it: it’s cheaper than flying to Malaysia to get Kaya toast.

The food was so good, almost like taking a mini culinary vacation to various places around the world, but I wish the menu was more comprehensive.  It would be cool to go to a restaurant that had just about every popular street food in the world, even the big things like tacos from Mexico City or sausage from Germany or crepes from France.

But until that happens, we get to enjoy unique foods from exotic countries we may never get a chance to visit — all in one place.  And that makes Street a travel destination in and of itself.

Susan Feniger’s Street
742 North Highland Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038-3415
(323) 203-0500
www.eatatstreet.com

Imagine a place where thick, tender, juicy, mouth-watering steaks are available on nearly every street.  Then imagine Buenos Aires, home of the ubiquitous parilla (grill).  Everywhere you look in the city, there’s a world-class parilla offering a high-quality steak from a well-cared for, grass-fed cow raised on small farms by gauchos in the countryside.  And thanks to a low exchange rate, it’s completely affordable.  So get ready to meet your protein quota for the year — here’s a list of our favorite parillas in Buenos Aires…

La Cabrera

Not only was this restaurant highly recommended by various food critics and guidebooks, it’s rated #1 out of 629 restaurants in Buenos Aires on TripAdvisor.  If that’s not enough to get you there, consider that the owners had to open a second restaurant a block away to accommodate the huge crowds (called Cabrera Norte).

Because of La Cabrera’s immense popularity, they crammed more tables than the space allows, so prepare to make new friends.  The first thing you can talk about is the amusing metal plates shaped like a sitting cow.  Then you can share the assortment of 15 complimentary side dishes that come with your meal, such as mashed pumpkin with raisins and cocktail onions soaked in red wine.  And at the end of the meal, you can brag about who made the best selection from a lollipop tree featuring flavors like dulce de leche.

When we visited, the restaurant was offering a wine special that featured a bottle of Malbec for dinner and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for us to take home for only $15 US.  The wine went perfectly with our juicy and flavorful marinated tenderloin.  Our incredibly helpful and attentive waiter recommended we share one steak dish and one appetizer since the portions were so large, so we went with the provoleta for our starter.  That left just enough room for a chocolate lava cake and a berry pavlova for dessert.  An appetizer, a dinner, 15 side dishes, two bottles of wine, four bottled waters, two desserts, tax and tip, all for less than $70 USD.

Cabrera 5099
54-11-4831-7002
http://www.parrillalacabrera.com.ar/

Cabaña las Lilas

This famous parilla in Puerto Madero has won more gold medals than Michael Phelps.  The steaks are arguably the best in the city thanks to beef that comes directly from the restaurant’s private ranch.  The exorbitant prices reflect the high quality of the beef, but it’s much more laid back than you’d expect from a high-class restaurant.  Even though this two-story parilla is huge, reservations are recommended, especially if you want a view of the water.

One word of caution, if you accept the tray of olives and deli meats that are presented to you, you’ll be charged a table cover; we skipped the cover since this place was already pretty expensive (about $20 a steak, not including side dishes) but that allowed us to completely devour our meat like we were tigers are on the Serengeti.  While we agree that these were one of the best steaks we had in Buenos Aires, a restaurant this expensive should be reserved for a night when you decide to break the bank.

Avenida Alicia Moreau de Justo 516
54-11-4315-1010
http://www.laslilas.com/restaurant.php

El Desnivel

Don’t judge a book by its tattered, bland cover.  Despite the yellow walls, the eye-burning fluorescent lighting, the theme-less decor, the mismatched table cloths, the tiny tables, the college-age clientele, and the nonchalant staff, El Desnivel was our favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires.

The provoleta and the high-quality steaks were so delicious, we questioned why we paid three times as much at other restaurants.  This was the only parilla we visited twice, and we weren’t the only ones — we saw some of the same diners on our second visit.

Luckily, this place is so big that you shouldn’t have any problem finding a table.  If you leave room for dessert, go with the rich and creamy homemade flan that comes with a thick dollop of freshly made whipped cream.

855 Defensa
54-11-4300-9081

DaDa Bistro

Word of mouth led us to this tiny bistro near Plaza San Martin serving modern Argentine cuisine.  It’s hard to miss the bright red facade, but getting a seat at one of the restaurant’s ten tables is far more complicated (reservations are highly recommended).  However, you can wait at the mosaic bar, order one of their popular martinis, and try to make sense of the dada design — disco balls, pop art and strangely designed lighting fixtures.

When we visited, just about everyone ordered the Lomo Dada, a 2-inch thick filet mignon with a light cream sauce and an equally large cube of cheesy potato au gratin designed like lasagna.

941 San Martin
54-11-4341-4787
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buenos-Aires-Argentina/Dada-Bistro/32813121714

El General

The wood floors, wood seats, and wood banisters on the second floor of El General resemble an old west saloon more than a fine restaurant.  Although the expansive menu includes fish, chicken and Italian dishes, the real highlight is the page-long list of parilla offerings.  Every cut of cow was available in no-frills fashion (no toppings or sauces) and came with a choice of sides like French fries, cheese-covered rice or a potato pie called Pastel del Papa.

While waiting for your food to cook, the owners of the restaurant invite you to walk around and take a look at Peron family memorabilia.  The owners were once friends with Juan Peron, former president of Argentina, and his wife, Evita.  After that, you’ll need some time to explore the extensive wine list, though they recommend a few expensive ($75 US) bottles of Malbec.

Avenida Belgrano 561
54-11-4342-7830

Campo Bravo

On a corner with four parilla options, Campo Bravo was by far the most popular.  This large, minimally-designed restaurant was packed by the stylish people of Palermo.  And despite an up-scale menu featuring chic dishes like risotto and fancy salads, the huge steaks were the real draw.

The plates of food are spared decoration, but you don’t need a parsley garnish tarnishing steak this delicious.  The entire dining room was only managed by a couple of black-clad waitresses so service was a bit slow, but you’ll need time to sit and digest all that food anyway.  It wasn’t difficult to get a table at lunch, but word is the wait can be over an hour for dinner when the hip, young people start their night here.  Reservations aren’t accepted.

292 Baez
54-11-4514-5820

When you think of food in Argentina, you probably think of slabs of beef sizzling over an open fire or delicious empanadas filled with meats and cheeses.  But did you know that Buenos Aires is one of the best places in the world for… pizza?

Yeah, pizza.  That artery-clogging delight you fall back on when you’re too tired to cook anything.  Everybody loves pizza.  Pizza may be the only food in the world where we’ll still eat the entire thing even if it isn’t good.

Most people think good pizza can only be found in New York or Chicago or, of course, in Italy, the world’s pizza headquarters.  But back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, tens of thousands of Italians immigrated to Buenos Aires, bringing some of their best pizza recipes with them.

Yet, for some reason, the world has been oblivious to the fact that some of the greatest pizza parlors in the world are operating in South America.  Well, it was our mission to find ‘em.  For the good of humanity, we put more research into this than a senior thesis, and I think our efforts were met with greater reward.

After extensive interrogations conducted in secret, under-lit rooms, we’ve narrowed down the best pizza in Buenos Aires to two well-respected, long-standing establishments:  Guerrin Pizzeria and El Cuartito.

Both pizzerias are inexpensive (less than $1 US a slice or about $7 for a large), both pizzerias serve thick and hearty slices that require a fork and knife, and both pizzerias offer an extensive menu loaded with Argentine classics (as well as empanadas and desserts).

A popular pie that’s unique to Argentina is the Fugazetta.  Soft and chewy freshly-made dough is brushed with a rich olive oil, then blanketed with a thick layer of cheese and topped with a Vesuvius-sized mountain of roughly chopped white onion.  This sweet and savory concoction would probably be more addicting if it weren’t so dense.

Fugazettas may also come with a slice of ham or prosciutto buried underneath the cheese.  There’s also a version that comes without cheese called a Fugazza.

Another popular pizza is the Especial, which both pizzerias claim as their own.  Each slice is coated with homemade marinara sauce, then bombarded with creamy mozzarella cheese, slices of ham, soft and tangy red bell pepper, and topped with green olives (pit included).

You probably won’t find pepperoni on the menu but you will find the Spanish version, a mildly spicy sausage called chorizo.  Other toppings include vegetables (but if you’ve gone this far, why try to pretend like you’re being healthy now?), anchovies, and a choice of mozzarella or provolone cheese.

There’s also an unusual topping called a faina, which is a piece of bread the width of a pita made of chickpeas, flour and seasonings.  For people who consider forks and knives too much work, the faina turns a slice of pizza into a sandwich that can be handheld.

Both Guerrin and El Cuartito were delicious, and way better than any pizza we regularly order in the States.  But, if we had to choose between the two, we’d probably give Guerrin the victory.  After all, we DID have lunch there three times in our 8-day trip.

Indian food isn’t for everybody.  It’s a complex convergence of mysterious flavors and textures that bombards the senses.  But if you’re going to experiment with this delightfully exotic cuisine, you’ve got to do it somewhere amazing.  And we know just the place…

Our mission coming into London was to go on a tour of Indian restaurants, sampling the delicacies from each style of Indian cuisine.  After all, England is probably the best place to eat authentic Indian food without actually going to India.  But our mission was cut dramatically short when we had our first taste of The Punjab Restaurant.

We’ll admit that we haven’t been to too many restaurants around the world.  We’ve never eaten at those $200-a-plate restaurants that get rated “World’s Best” by serving one piece of shrimp and a sprig of parsley.  So our gauge of world-class cuisine is limited.  But we know a restaurant is a gift from the food gods when we return for dinner night after night and feel like we could eat there every day for years and never get bored.

Here’s what we ordered…

We knew we were hooked as soon as we received our appetizer: samosas.  Samosas are fried pastries filled with spiced potatoes and vegetables like sweet peas (or you can get ‘em with ground lamb).  The pastry was crispy, the filling was warm and soft and the tangy dipping sauce was amazing.  I debated about canceling my order and getting at least 20 more samosas for dinner.

But I’m glad I didn’t, because our dishes were so good, it actually made us mad.  Like seriously mad.  Mad because it was so tasty and we knew the flavor couldn’t remain in our mouths forever.

The chicken korma was this sinfully thick, creamy curry that enveloped the perfectly cooked pieces of white meat chicken.  It was lightly spiced and delicately mild, bringing out all that buttery, nutty goodness.  It was unusually rich for being so mild.  But good rich.  Like Donald Trump rich.

The anari ghost was this mind-blowing mixture of sweet and spicy and savory.  It was a tangy curry with tender pieces of lamb, topped with cilantro and pomegranate seeds.  When the seeds exploded in my mouth, the sugary juice amplified the spices, creating this unbelievable multi-faceted flavor storm.

The fluffy pilau rice and the soft and chewy garlic naan (bread) was a perfect accompaniment.

And the homemade cinnamon and honey ice cream had me asking the manager if I could work there just to be paid in ice cream.  I’m not kidding by the way.

The staff was wonderful — warm, welcoming and very attentive.  After returning three nights in a row for dinner, they had our orders memorized.  On our last night in London, the owner even came outside to pose for a picture with us.

I know there are mixed reviews on this place online.  But I’m convinced those reviews come from rival — and obviously inferior — restaurants nearby who are just jealous that The Punjab rocks.  With hundreds of Indian restaurants in London, it’s likely there is a superior (and subsequently more expensive) restaurant.  But we found the restaurant that works for us on all levels.  We hope it will work for you too.

I often dream of Punjab.  And in my dreams I’m swimming in a river of curry.  And it rains samosas.  And sandy beaches are made of pilau rice.  And I eat the entire world.  And then I’m sad.

The Punjab Restaurant
www.punjab.co.uk
80 Neal Street
Covent Garden, London WC2H 9PA
+44 20 7836 9787
Tube: Covent Garden

Some cities are more known for the food than the attractions.  Budapest isn’t one of those cities.  So we didn’t have high expectations for dining in Budapest.  But we gained a new appreciation for Hungarian food after dining at some great places.  Here are some our favorite restaurants in Budapest…

We enjoyed the Blue Tomato Pub so much, we went back twice.  The corn soup was thick and chunky, filled with pieces of bacon and topped with toasted almonds.  My favorite dish was a heart attack waiting to happen: bacon-wrapped chicken served over cheesy potatoes.  Also delicious was the paper thin steak topped with an inhuman amount of friend onion strings.

Mátyás Pince is an elegant, old-fashion restaurant that serves huge portions and entertains guests with traditional music and dancing.  It was a typical tourist thing to do, but it never felt tacky and was actually really entertaining.  I’m not sure if I was more impressed with the performance, the King Matthais feast (beef sirloin, leg of duck, bacon wrapped goose liver, sausage, potatoes, cabbage) or the table of 50 Germans who seemed to know the words to every song.

We put off going to the Nagyi Nonstop Palacsintazoja until the second to last day in Budapest and we regret the days we lived without it.  Nagyi Nonstop Palacsintazoja is a 24-hour palacsinta shop offering over 100 types of crepes for less than a buck each.  It’s a chain with a bunch of locations throughout Budapest.  We had a cheese crepe, a sour cherry crepe and a chocolate crepe, and that was enough to keep us filled until lunch.

Our favorite restaurant in Budapest was a trendy placed called Menza.  Read our review here.

Blue Tomato Pub
www.bluetomato.hu
XIII. Pannónia u. 5-7
+36 1 339 8099

Mátyás Pince
V. Március 15 tér 7-8
+36 1 266 8008

Let’s be clear:  Budapest isn’t the culinary capital of the world.  But that doesn’t mean restaurants like Menza are any less impressive.

Menza is a moderately-priced, trendy restaurant in central Pest that serves contemporary Hungarian cuisine in a fun and open atmosphere.   Menza is so popular that it’s ranked #7 out of 501 restaurants in Budapest, according to Tripadvisor.

On our visit, the clientele outside was made up of mostly young, fashionable men and women, mixed with the occasional older woman dressed for her midlife crisis.  There was a line of people waiting to get in, and hip music played in the background.

But the staff, the food and even the decor wasn’t anything like the people craving attention outside.  The restaurant has a playful, retro look with orange walls, wood panels and puffy blocks that look like a soundproof wall taken out of a ’70s music studio.  The crowd inside was mainly families and older people, and the atmosphere was still lively, but calmer than the patio.

We started with an appetizer that was so delicious, I would literally jump on a plane right now to have it again (if I was rich and capable of doing that).  It was a creamy garlic soup accompanied by pastry that can only be described as a doughnut stuffed with sour cream and topped with cheese.  This savory doughnut complimented the soup perfectly, but was so dense, I could barely conquer half my meal.

The food stayed with the theme of contemporary Hungarian, which means the basic dishes of meat and vegetables spiced with paprika are presented with more flair.  We ordered the pan-fried chicken over pasta and tomatoes, as well as a grilled pork dish that came with stewed tomatoes and onions and a heap of soft, steamed barley.  For dessert, we had fried poppy seed dough balls covered with a thin vanilla cream sauce.

Every dish was deliciously dense, and the prices were surprisingly reasonable for such a trendy establishment (the garlic soup was only $3!).  We can’t wait to return, but next time we’ll consider buying an imposter pair of Chanel sunglasses to fit in with the crowd outside.

Menza
http://www.menza.co.hu/
VI. Liszt Ferenc ter 2
+36 1 413 1482
Metro: Oktogon

We’re not sure if the French have what Americans consider “soul food.”  But if they did, Crémerie-Restaurant Polidor, in the 6th arrondissement on the Left Bank, would be the place to get it.

It’s a small, old-fashioned, homely little place serving food that feels like it came straight out of a French mom’s kitchen.  Instead of fried chicken and mac-and-cheese, there’s beef bourguignon and mashed potatoes.

The food was hearty and flavorful and it just felt good to eat.  It’s kind of like eating chicken noodle soup on a cold day.  It’s a cozy feeling that warms your entire body.  (If only Campbell’s could somehow put beef bourguignon in a can.)

People don’t just come to Polidor because it’s a near perfect restaurant.  No, they also come for the bathroom.  A bathroom so unfathomable, it can only be described as… an experience.

To get to the bathroom, you have to squeeze through long, communal tables and walk outside into a dark atrium.  There’s a wall with swinging wooden doors like a Wild West saloon.  And once you pass through the doors, you come to a dead stop.  Inside is one of the smallest, most confusing stalls you can imagine.

It’s like a coffin with lovable powder blue tiles.  There’s virtually no room, and if you’re over 5’6″, you have to duck to fit inside.  There’s barely any room to breathe let alone go potty.

This bathroom is like a game at the fair.  You put your feet in the designated foot holders and aim for a hole that will severely test your accuracy.  If you can somehow manage to urinate in the hole from beginning to end, you deserve some kind of prize.  And if you can escape without spraying all over your shoes, you deserve instant access to heaven because you’re a living miracle.

If it wasn’t already hard enough to hit the target, take a peek over your shoulder.  The wooden doors practically expose everything.  And the atrium has a direct view into the restaurant.  So while you’re peeing, there are people in the restaurant watching you.  Judging you.  Evaluating your progress with score cards.  (Not really, but it feels like it.)

And if you’ve gotta take a #2… don’t even think about it.  The lone toilet is in a room with only three walls, again with an open view into the atrium.  There’s no lock.  And worst of all, you have pass through this room to even get to the stall outside.  So unless you like people walking in and out of the bathroom, looking at you while you’re taking a #2 on a cold winter night, it’s best to hold it in.

Crémerie-Restaurant Polidor
http://www.polidor.com/
41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince
+33 1 43 26 95 34
Metro: Odéon

Chartier has been serving traditional French food in Paris since 1896.  And when I say traditional, I’m talking about all the things that you might be afraid to eat:  tripe, tongue, brains… all the gross-sounding left over parts.

But if you’re gonna get an authentic taste of the country you’re visiting, you’ve gotta step outside of your comfort zone and try something a little unusual.  In the end, it might be worth the risk.

The risk we took was trying escargot.  Snails might not sound like such a big deal, but to us, it was.  We see snails slithering down the sidewalk every day.  And the idea of eating a slimy, rubbery gastropod wasn’t appetizing.

When the waiter first placed the tray of escargot on the table, I was nervous and confused.  It was like “the first time” all over again.  I had these tools but I didn’t know how to use them properly.  There was some kind of clamping device that looked like those things women use to put on mascara.  And there was this tiny two-pronged device that looked like an evil instrument my dentist would wield.

It was intimidating.  But thank goodness for communal dining.  Our friendly neighbors, despite their limited English vocabulary, showed us how to pick up the snail shell and extract the meat.

We couldn’t delay any longer.  The snail was on the fork.  Our neighbors were looking at us.  We were in the spotlight.  Time to go for it…

And… It was delicious.  The snail itself was soft and slightly chewy.  But all I could really taste was garlic and butter.  You could put garlic and butter on piece of lint and I’d think it was delicious.

Our daring adventure ended there.  We went with a plain burger and a rump steak with a peppery-cream sauce for our meals.

File this under the “you learn something new everyday” category:  the French consider cheese a dessert.  I consider it an easy dinner when I’m too lazy to cook, but apparently cheese aids in digestion and that’s why it’s eaten last.

Restaurant-Chartier
http://www.restaurant-chartier.com/www/visit/filsdesans.php
7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre
+33 1 47 70 86 29
Metro: Grands Boulevards

When you think of restaurants that are open 24 hours a day / 7 days a week, you probably think of Denny’s or Norm’s or some other artery-clogging eatery named after a heavy-set man.  But in France, there’s a famous restaurant that’s open 24/7… and it’s fine dining.

Au Pied de Cochon has been a pork lover’s paradise since 1947.  They literally use every part of the pig:  shins, feet, ears, tail, snout, you name it.

They serve “normal” food too, like rotisserie chicken.  And in hindsight, I probably should have stuck to something I was familiar with.  I’ll try weird things, but I’m no Andrew Zimmern.

The name Au Pied de Cochon is literally translated as “To the Foot of Pig”, so I ordered the pig’s foot.  Underneath a breaded crust was a gelatenous, mushy substance that had the faint smell of bacon and the heavy taste of fat.  It was like eating a baked piece of grissel.  It melted quickly and coated my tongue with a waxy layer of fat.  Getting it down was like a game of pretend.  “Pretend it’s bacon.  Crisp bacon.”

That’s not to say this place was bad.  Au Pied de Cochon is a classic restaurant with a great reputation (and exorbitantly high prices to match that reputation).  The pig’s foot just wasn’t for me.

I’ll tell you what was for me: the dessert.  We had a deliciously dense crepe flombayed with Grand Marnier.  Now, I thought that when they set fire to the liqeur, it was supposed to burn off the alcohol.  Well, this thing must have been doused with like six shots of liqueur, and only one got burned off.  This thing was definitely intense.  Lip-numbingly intense.

They cap off your visit with a cute little merange shaped like a pig.  I ate almost the whole thing… except the foot.

Au Pied de Cochon
http://www.pieddecochon.com/
6, Rue Coquillière
75001 Paris, France
+33 1 40 13 77 00
Metro: Les Halles