Asia fed us well this year, with some of the most interesting foods coming from small rooms and backstreets. These weren’t the dishes anyone expected, but the ones that stayed in mind long after they were eaten.

Sweep across the Americas and the year’s most memorable bites lead to small rooms and backstreets: a potato alfajor in Buenos Aires, trout tostadas in Mexico City, coffee in Oaxaca, a roast beef po’boy in New Orleans, and a peach scone in Queens.

From century-old pintxo bars to modern Basque grill houses, this is your essential guide to where to eat in Bilbao, Spain

The smell of clean clothes with a lavender sachet from grandma’s closet; the family farm in nearby Lleida province during summer with apple trees and wild aromatic herbs growing all around; peaches washed in seawater during a beach day; an afternoon snack of popsicles while playing under the pine tree in the garden. These are just some of the memories that neighbors left in the mailbox of Mamá Heladera in Barcelona’s Poblenou, where owner Irene Iborra turns them into gelato flavors – an initiative that was recently awarded by the Barcelona City Council as best new innovative business (XVII Premis Barcelona Comerç). Mamá Heladera sits next to Tío Che, a classic horchateria and ice-cream parlor on Rambla del Poblenou that opened in 1912.

Anyone who takes more than a fleeting interest in Georgia’s traditional cuisine beyond the inescapable khachapuri and khinkali will probably agree that walnuts are the real gastronomic workhorse of Georgian cuisine. This versatile ingredient is deftly woven into a range of delightful dishes from soups and salads to rich, creamy stews, of which the Megrelian kharcho is one of our favorites. A slow-cooked dish of beef or veal simmered in creamy walnut sauce tempered with fried onions, garlic, and a generous amount of spices including coriander, a local variety of blue fenugreek (Trigonella caerulea) and marigold flowers (often called “the poor man’s saffron”), Megrelian kharcho is a heavy, hearty dish. It’s usually served with corn grits, locally called ghomi, or the cheese-saturated version called elargi – a combination that often calls for loosening the belt after indulging.

In a side street in Nishi-Tenma, Sobakiri Arabonpu serves hand-ground, hand-cut soba that must be eaten within minutes. A family-run shop with a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a devoted local following, it shows how far craftsmanship can go in a city known for fast, casual food.

It is 6:30 pm – the workday of most of the taco, quesadilla and memela vendors in the city is over, but “The Artist’s” shift has just begun. Every day, as the dusk light bathes the streets, 34-year-old Caleb Santiago sets up his food cart right below the centuries-old clock that overlooks the corner of 5 de Mayo and Murguía. By 7:00 pm, he is ready for another night of juicy hamburgers and hot dogs. Among all the late-night hamburger stalls sprawled across the city, Caleb’s is something else. Initially known as just “Cangreburgers,” this little SpongeBob Squarepants-inspired cart has been feeding Oaxacans for the last 16 years.

A one-woman seafood show on three wheels, Treiz’envie brings the spirit of Marseille’s Mediterranean to the street.

A beloved Cinisi food truck serving Sicilian panini layered with memory, technique, and local flavor. U Puparu shows how street food can be art.

Lisbon is changing so fast that it’s quite refreshing when a restaurant opens without proclaiming a twist or a “concept.” When Canalha was announced, it stirred great curiosity among local diners – and for good reason. A talented chef, renowned for Michelin-starred restaurant Feitoria, as well as the itinerant project Residência in 2023, was leaving fine dining to open a place with Portuguese fare sprinkled with a bit of Spanish inspiration. Just a few days after opening in November, Canalha became the talk of the town, and now you need to book a table for dinner weeks in advance.

A quiet neighborhood izakaya in North Shinjuku, Jin has been serving seasonal fish and steady hospitality for decades.

Once a ritual of fine dining, Paris’s gilded cheese carts have nearly vanished. But a new cheese culture, one that is smarter, smaller, and more dynamic, is redefining how Parisians indulge in their favorite dairy obsession.

In Istanbul’s still-local Samatya district, Tarihi Mimoza serves fiery bowls of kelle paça soup deep into the night - the ultimate post-meyhane comfort.

Explore our 2025 guide to gifts from the backstreets featuring culinary treasures from Europe, The Americas, and Asia. We've sourced one-of-a-kind kitchenware, spices, and specialty foods like Sicilian Moorish-head planters, artisanal Korean gochujang, Turkish kaymak, and Mexican barro negro pottery – and avoided Amazon altogether.

Tucked into a sunlit corner of Villa Ortúzar, Bar Oriente offers the kind of milanesa that keeps Buenos Aires running, a straightforward neighborhood refuge where tradition lives on through family hands and handwritten menus.