Being a foodie, I have always wanted to travel for the purpose of visiting the best food spots that the world has to offer. I decided that this summer was finally the time to begin this journey. I picked my destinations carefully, and with the help of the local residents, popular food travel shows, and Instagram foodies, I tried as much of the best foods as I could this summer. Now, I want to share the drool-worthy foods that I have been dreaming about!
Philadelphia, PA
First up was Philadelphia, although technically my trip started in HersheyPark. In HersheyPark, I took a chocolate tasting class called the "Chocolate Tasting Experience" to learn the skill of detecting the nuances of various types of chocolates. This experience was great because it was educational yet fun and helped developed my palate and foodie-senses.
I learned about how chocolate is made and some interesting facts about the different notes that milk, dark, and white chocolates can have. They can be floral, nutty, or earthy. For example, did you know that Hershey's signature Milk Chocolate has a slightly cheesy undertone?
On the drive from Chocolate World to Philadelphia, I had the pleasure of eating at the Classic Diner in West Chester, PA. I ordered the Strawberry Nutella French Toast that was the definition of drool-worthy.
The french toast itself was the perfect soft texture without being soggy and or very sweet. The strawberries were beautifully ripe, and the Nutella was...well... good old amazing Nutella. It was so delicious that I still dream about it months later.
Once I finally made it to Philly, the real food mission began. I ate many cheese-steaks, salads, ice cream, noodles, and more, but I mostly ate many donuts.
I got "Hot Fresh" donuts with cinnamon sugar and with strawberry lavender sugar from Federal Donuts. All of Federal Donuts' donuts are cake-donuts, meaning they are batter based rather than yeasted dough, resulting in a denser donut with more of a crumb texture. I also tried a couple of their "Fancy" flavors, my favorite of which was the Blueberry Cake donut.
However, this is not where my donut eating ended! I also loved the donuts from Beiler's Donuts in Reading Terminal Market (which was an amazing food experience on its own). This spot was awarded #18 of Fodor's "America's 20 Best Dessert Spots," and it was well deserved. Beiler's has a variety of cake donuts and yeasted donuts as well as other confections like cinnamon rolls and fritters.
Finally, I found what I considered the best food spot that I visited: Capofitto in Philly right by Independence Hall. Capofitto has the best gelato I have ever eaten. I ordered the dark chocolate gelato. It was as thick and rich as pudding yet it did not leave me feeling sluggish or tired like a rich chocolate cake might. I would probably eat a whole tub of that gelato if it was offered to me!
Here are a few more of the highlights from my foodie trip to Philadelphia:
Philly Cheesesteak from Pat's King of Steaks (yes, I tried Geno's too but I will not officially state my opinion on which was better).
Muscles with a side of asparagus from Red Owl Tavern.
Birthday Cake Ice Cream from Bassetts Ice Cream, which is America's oldest ice cream company.
Washington D.C.
In August, my foodie travels took me to visit a friend in Washington D.C. where I had some more of the best food I've ever consumed in my life. Washington D.C. is a cuisine hot-spot with lots of famous restaurants and more variety than you ever knew existed. I was only there for 3 days but those 3 days were filled with easily some of the best foods I have ever experienced.
On my first day, I visited 2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria. Based on the recommendation of my kind waitress I ordered an appetizer of Bruschetta with Tomato Fondutta and a Margherita pizza with sausage.
The Bruschetta consisted of grilled bread with a light tomato mixture spread over top. As soon as I took my first bite, my tastebuds died and went to heaven. It was so exceptionally delicious that my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Then the pizza happened, and I was like:
This pizza was the best pizza I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I want to make sure that I point out that this pizza is D.O.C. certified which means that it follows the extensive requirements of the Italian government to be called true Neapolitan pizza.
The crust was thin where the toppings were but thick and chewy around the edges. The toppings were fresh and generous. It was simple in composition, but the chefs at 2Amys did an exceptional job at making this pizza a delicious experience. Honestly, I really miss this pizza because it was that good, and I would happily get on a plane just to get more of it any day.
Next up were a Venezuelan street food called tequeños. I tried the tequeños from a place called ArepaZone, which has both a food truck and a permanent location in Union Market.
Tequeños are essentially the Venezuelan version of mozzerella sticks but better! They are a white cheese that is wrapped in dough (similar to a crescent roll-type dough) and fried, but the amazing part is that they were not greasy at all. They were also served with a garlic cilantro dipping sauce that I would probably drink with a straw if given the chance because it was awesome.
Now I would like to talk about a restaurant called Medium Rare. This is a restaurant that only really has one meal option: bread for starters, then a salad with a light Dijon vinaigrette, followed by not one, but TWO SERVINGS of steak and fries with gravy. That's right, once you finish your first plate of steak and fries with gravy, they bring you another whole serving of steak and fries with gravy. It's what dreams are made of, actually.
I would like to kindly request that if anyone from Medium Rare happens to read this article, please open a location in Providence. I will be your number 1 customer.
Finally, here are some more features of my trip to D.C.:
Tacos from Chaia, which is entirely vegetarian, fresh, and delicious.
A large meat sampler (the sausage was my favorite) with sides of mac and cheese, coleslaw, and corn bread from Texas Jack's Barbecue.
Assorted donuts from District Doughnuts. My favorite was the Snickerdoodle donut (unfortunately only on their summer menu) but the milk chocolate (bottom middle) was also delicious and is available year-round.
So that was my first summer of foodie-traveling. And while for now I will happily dream about and long for those amazing Philly and D.C. food spots, I am also looking forward to many more drool-worthy foods to come. Please comment below or message @Spoon_bulldogs on Instagram if you have suggestions on where I should go next summer!