On the way to Au, Austria, our shuttle driver asked me a question, “Do I like food?” Do bears *#I@ in the woods? I adore food and every place we go not only gives us a chance to eat old favorites but also introduces us to new tasty morsels. (There are foods I have no intention of trying like dog, skewered bats and tarantulas.) Some are simple and found everywhere while others unique to the country, for example, Injera in Ethiopia. Here is the short list of my favorite food memories:

- A huge dessert table loaded with tarts, cakes, mousses, pudding and other goodies served every night at our hotel in Chamonix, France (sadly, this hotel is no longer operating…boo-hoo);

- Raclette in France and Switzerland. A huge hunk of Raclette cheese is slowly melted either in front of a fire or at your table on a special machine. You then scrape off this gooey, melted cheese over boiled potatoes and snarf away. Raclette is usually served with a green salad, cold meats, pickles and lots and lots of red wine.

- The unending variety of different rolls and breads in Europe. Freshly baked with grains – pistachios, caraway, sesame, nuts, dark breads, wheats, baguettes – soft, hard… spread with tons of real butter. Forget margarine and other synthetics. There’s absolutely nothing like real butter;

- Gelato. What can I say about Gelato that hasn’t been said before. Rich, creamy, bursting with fresh flavors. Mango. Coconut. Tiramisu. Yum, yum… Happiness is a trip to Italy or Buenos Aires, Argentina for the best Gelato ever;

Gelato flavors in Europe
- Bircher Muesli is a simple combination of grated apples, yogurt, rolled oats, and an assortment of fresh fruit and nuts.  We have only eaten Bircher Muesli in Switzerland and Austria but you can easily make it yourself, refrigerate, dump in a cereal bowl and eat a wonderful, healthy breakfast;

- Any kind of pastry. Love them all. Topfenstrudel (Cheese sweet rolls), cinammon rolls, rolls filled with nuts, schnecken, pecan tarts…everything;

decisions, decisions…which pastry to buy in Europe
- Grilled Calamari served in restaurants along the waterfront in Slovenia. Fried calamari is everywhere in the world but it’s a little more difficult to find Grilled Calamari;

- The best tuna fish sandwich ever in Douz, Tunisia. There was a little stand on the square of tiny Douz that filled with locals at lunch time. Dubious, we watched swarms of people coming and going and decided to give it a try. The counterman picked up a fresh French bread baguette and hacked it in two. We pointed and he spread chunks of tuna, hard-boiled eggs, onions, tomatoes, olives, oil over the entire thing and Harissa. Harissa is a spicy chili-garlic condiment that is made from oil, garlic cloves, chili paste, cumin, chili powder, and other ingredients and plays an important role in the Tunisian diet. It will bring tears to your eyes, make your nose run and set your mouth on fire, but so delicious. The two of us sat on the sidewalk and devoured this delicious sandwich. Subway? Forget it. Nothing has ever compared to the taste of this ultimate tuna sandwich and even when I try to recreate it, it doesn’t taste the same;

more Tunisian breads
- Tiny cut up sections of pork spareribs in Yunnan province from more little local eateries along the road. No sauce, just rubbed-in spices, deep-fried and the best ever. (You can tell “low-fat” isn’t in our vocabulary when we travel.) Why, oh why didn’t I ever think to have the guide write down the name and “how to make” in Chinese? How sad…;

- Fresh sweet potato chips (crisps) and the world’s best spicy, stir fried noodles at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Tolai, Sulawesi, Indonesia; and

- A taco/burrito type dish in another local restaurant, Dengfeng, China, called Lo Mah;

The list is endless but I’m drooling too much to continue. Feel free to e-mail me with your international favorite foods.