40 Local Food Blogs to Follow Around the World

If you're anything like us, food is a very important part of your travel plans. Whether we're on the road for work or flying halfway across the world for fun, we always try to sample the best local food.

That's why the coolest thing about traveling to London, San Francisco and New Orleans with Chowzter over the past two years has been meeting all the other contributors from around the world. They write blogs, run tours and share incredible photos of the local food/culture that we're dying to experience.

Even better, we've realized that they are just like you and me - regular people who love to eat/drink, love their cities and love the communities that are built around food. That's the perspective we trust and want to lead us to our next meal.

If you're traveling to any of the following cities this summer, please check out these great local writers we've met for their posts, videos, podcasts, tweets, instagrams, etc. with ideas on what to eat. And remember that much of what they write about are "fast feasts" - not fast food and not fine dining, but all the great local, affordable dishes in between (can you say Rotolo?) And if you don't see your destination city here, check out Chowzter.com and their new video site www.foodiehub.tv for quick suggestions in about 100 other cities.

Best croissant in Paris at Grenier a Pain,
as told by Paris blogger Mathilde!

North America:

Austin - Man Up Texas BBQ
(great name! he does BBQ tours too)

Buffalo - Buffalo Eats

Charleston - Charleston Food Bloggers
(check out his video of San Francisco, too)
Chicago - Roam & Home
Dallas - FoodBitch
Detroit - The Hungry Dudes

Houston - Urban Swank
Los Angeles - Gourmet Pigs  

New York - Feisty Foodie

Orlando - Tasty Chomps

Portland - Talk. Eat. Drink. Portland.
(middle school teachers write on happy hours!)

Queens - Chopsticks & Marrow
San Diego - Kirbie's Cravings   

San Francisco - FoodHoe's Foraging

Savannah - Savannah Foodie
Seattle - The Gastrognome
St. Louis - St. Louis East and Drinks

Toronto - Food Junkie Chronicles  

Vancouver - Follow Me Foodie
Washington, DC - Capital Cooking

Around the World:

Bankok, Thailand - Thai Street Food
Barcelona, Spain - Forever Barcelona (hosts food tours!)
Baja California and western Mexico - A Gringo in Mexico
Beirut - No Garlic No Onions
Bristol, England - Bristol Bites
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Pick Up the Fork
Caracas, Venezuela - Milsabores
Dubai - Ishita Unblogged
Glasgow, Scotland - The Glasgow Food Blog
Hanoi, Vietnam - Sticky Rice
Istanbul, Turkey - Istanbul Food
Jakarta, Indonesia - Eats and Treats
London, England - Eat Like a Girl
Manila, Philippines - Our Awesome Planet
Mumbai, India - Finely Chopped
Paris, France - Mathilde's Cuisine
Puebla, Mexico - All About Puebla
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Eat Rio
Seoul, South Korea - Seoul Eats
Singapore - Camemberu
Sydney, Australia - Simon Food Favourites
All around Latin America - New World Review

Trip to San Francisco to Count Down the 7 Tastiest Feasts in North America

Just before Thanksgiving we traveled to San Francisco with Chowzter, a cool new website/startup that helps you figure out what to eat as you travel across the globe. The mobile app is coming soon, so stay tuned...

Foodies from around the continent, chowing
down (and taking photos, of course) at
Mission Chinese

Chowzter simplifies your dining options down to the 7 "tastiest fast feasts" in each city, as recommended by a local foodie. Not necessarily the top rated restaurants or fanciest fois gras dishes, but a quick, trustworthy list of affordable eats that anyone should check out while in town.

We are the Philadelphia contributors so on the Philly page you'll find several of our current favorites, which will evolve over time as we try new things. 

There are recommendations listed for more than 100 cities on the website: http://www.chowzter.com. 

In San Francisco, we joined an awesome group of food bloggers from around the U.S. and Canada to celebrate the 50 tastiest fast feasts in North America and help build excitement for the app launch. (Last spring we went to London for the worldwide awards.) Three Philly items were part of the top 50 countdown: the Lasagna Bolognese at Paesano's, the Millers Twist Cheesesteak Soft Pretzel at Reading Terminal, and the Signature Pie at Tacconelli's.


The #19 Pastrami Sandwich at Langer's Deli in Los Angeles was named #1 - who knew?? Guess we have to try it. The others in the top 7 were:

• Poutine at Poutini's House of Poutine in Toronto, Canada
• Oyster Sliders at The Ordinary in Charleston, SC
• Buffalo Wings at Nine Eleven Tavern in Buffalo, NY
• The Tipsy Texan at Franklin Barbecue in Austin, TX
• The California Burrito at Super Sergio's in San Diego, CA
• Wontons with Hot Chili Oil at White Bear in Flushing, NY

Check out Chowzter's quick videos on each of these 7 dishes. They will absolutely make your stomach growl.

... and to see where we actually ate in San Francisco, check out all our photos on Facebook! Below are four of the best things we ate. Stay tuned for a post all about the lunch date we squeezed in with Google while on the west coast. 

Dungeoness crab at Crustacean - just a week after SF's crab season opened!

one of seven delicious burritos we tried at Farolito, supposedly the best in San Francisco. 

MeMeli food truck's greek honey balls, drizzled with Nutella and peanut butter. WHAT.
As seen at StreatFood Park, a very cool roundup for food trucks.

La Taqueria. This is how many tacos our group ate AFTER lunch at Mission Chinese AND all those burritos.

3 Food Photos of the Week

Here are three pics we snapped in the past week(ish) of food we liked. HAPPY FRIDAY!

Barbecue chicken egg roll from Foo Truck. The roaming foo-wich shop occasionally offers a little somethin' extra/fun on the menu, in addition to their traditional lunch pita/wrap hybrids and kickass red velvet cake balls. On a recent Friday at The Porch at 30th Street, Foo Truck sold this amazing treat - it was like barbecue chicken pizza in an egg roll. Two of my favorite things. If you see it on the menu again, GET IT.

Hot Bagels & More in Margate, NJ, was the perfect Sunday morning savior after a night out in Atlantic City and on the beach bar circuit. Also found in Somers Point, Northfield and Brigantine, NJ, it was a refreshing change from the giant bagel void in Philadelphia. Below is an egg bagel un-toasted with chive cream cheese.

I've been a NatureBox subscriber for about 6 months now. For $20 per month I get a new selection of 5 no-fake-anything healthy snacks sent right to my office. So far, it's maybe 60/40 success rate on snacks I liked vs. didn't like. These cranberry macaroon granola chunks were the best so far. Check out NatureBox if you're looking for something different but healthy. I found a number of other bloggers who researched what it would cost to buy similar snacks at Whole Foods and vouched that the $20 price was an alright deal. Plus it's just fun to get a monthly package of surprise food.

Food Links: Industrial Food Complex

An important component of any food experience is understanding the work that goes into preparing the meal. Knowing the origination of the food you're about to eat by going to the market, choosing vegetables from your garden, or simply reading about it, adds to the joy of both cooking and eating a meal.

Sadly, the underbelly of our industrial food system is taking us away from this concept. This has lead to my passion for reading about the industrial food complex, which is sometimes disgusting, surprising or revealing.

This edition of food links is focused on sharing some articles I've read recently to educate myself about the industrial food complex. After all, it’s up to each of us to know how our food is made and where it comes.  Only then can we make informed decisions for ourselves.

Please share with us your favorite food related articles.  Enjoy!

1. Hybrid Fruits.  An interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about commercial fruit breeders specializing in hybrid fruits. Food companies see this as a market with huge potential.  It’s easier to market pluots and apriums than it is the old and tired plum.  This article explains how companies such as Zaiger's and Kingsburg Orchards choose and create hybrids.

2. Industrial Grown Tomatoes.  Depressing NPR interview with Barry Estabrook, author of Tomatoland, a book about tomatoes grown in Florida.  I’m a huge fan of tomatoes and one of my great joys is growing my own tomatoes and eating them fresh with all their imperfections, goofy shapes, etc.  Florida tomatoes are grown in the sand and picked green before they are artificially turned red.  No wonder so many store bought tomatoes taste terrible.  You will also hear about the slave labor it takes to pick them. A must listen.

3. Superweeds and Superinsects.  Reports are rampant that widespread use of Monsanto’s Roundup pesticide has led to superweeds resistant to pesticides.  Additional reports also suggest insects are developing resistance to Monsanto's genetically engineered corn.  More proof that taking on Mother Nature is difficult.

4. Synthetic Meat?  Teams of scientists, likely funded by the biggest food companies in the world, are trying to create fake meat.  This is eerie.  Makes you think about all the other fake foods and flavorings we digest every day.

5. Making Frito-Lay Chips. Quick video about how Frito-Lay chips are made.  It also delves into how Frito-Lay tries to make the process as energy efficient and sustainable as possible.  Shocking fact: this factory only serves the Northeast and goes through about 21,500 pounds of potatoes PER HOUR or several millions pounds per week.  People love chips!

6. Super Salmon or Frankenfish?  Fascinating read about the drive to create genetically engineered animals.  This article is about AquaBounty, company that has added a growth hormone to an Atlantic salmon so that it grows twice as fast as wild salmon.

Food Links: Philly Style

Another dose of food-related articles. This time all Philly-related. Enjoy.


1. Food writing at St. Joe's. A class at St. Joe’s about food writing and food culture. Looks to be a growing trend. A positive sign to me since people need to be engaged about food, food production and what they are putting into their bodies. 


2. 10 Places Like Italy. On the list - the Italian Market in Philly.  This is a list of 10 places that feel like Italy according to Sheryll Bellman, author of America's Little Italy's.   


3. Urban Farms in Philly.  Blog post from Beyond Green by Weaver's Way Co-op - a community-owned market.  Check them out.  


4. Food Trucks:  A few food trucks in Philly from Mobile Cravings.  Weak list so add to it if you know some.  


5. Boooooooo!!!  Ok, so this is not really Philly-related.  It's a list of America’s 10 best restaurant cities according to Esquire.  And no mention of Philly! Get with it Esquire. Still worth the look if you are planning to make any trips.  For me, it's another reason to make a visit Chicago.  

Your Dose of Food Links

Another collection of food related links (articles, recipes, trends, etc).  Enjoy!

1. Jose Garces on Nightline:  Famous Philly Iron Chef Jose Garces is profiled on Nightline.  Jose talks about his family  history, opening his first restuarant and a variety of other topics.  
2. Reducing food waste: Article from Slate on 10 ways to reduce your food waste.  As this article explains 40 percent of our food is lost in the food supply chain.  

3. No corkscrew?  Here’s how to open a wine bottle with a shoe!  I haven’t tried, but if you do let us know if it works.

4. Grilled Corn, Indoors. I love grilled corn in the summer.  Here’s how to grill corn indoors with fall and summer upon us.  

5. Philly Food Blogging Wars.  Despite leaving out 22nd & Philly, this is an excellent Philadelphia Mag article on the restaurant and foodie scene in Philly and the bloggers who battle it out for scoops and information.

6. Frozen food from big names.  Frozen foods coming to a grocery story near you from PF Chang’s, Jamba Juice and others.  A big trend - household names makes deals with giant food distributors to put their name and brand behind frozen food.  Do yourself a favor and leave it in freezer.  Take another 15 minutes and make it from scratch.

Food Links

Here are a few more food-related links that I have gathered over the last few weeks.  Some good ones so be sure to click, read, etc.

1. 10 Steps to Reduce Food Waste.  Article from Slate.  Some useful tips for an issue that we all face.  Any other suggestions?

2. Grilling with buckets.  That's right.  A ready-made bucket for easy traveling and cooking.

3. Summer Corn Chowder.  You can watch this one not read.  Enjoy and let me know if you make it.

4. Hay Monsanto Not So Fast.  Short recap of a Supreme Court case about Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa seed and biotech crops.  Worth the read. Similar to posts we've done about ConAgra and Cargill.

Stay tuned for the next edition of Food Links.  As always, let me know if you find others worth reading or mentioning.

Some food links

Starting today, I will occasionally post some food related articles to read.  These could be recipes, trends, reviews, industry news, etc.  Basically, anything food related you might want to read.

1. Is There Still Hope for Syrah: Article in New York Times about rise and fall of syrah. Maybe rise again?

2. 28 Best Philadelphia-Area Beers: Extensive review and ranking of local Philly beers by Philadelphia Inquirer.

3.  Nutella Cupcakes: Let me know if you make.  

Sorry.  I had more links, but Chrome crashed and lost them all.