The favorite outdoor pastime of most Barcelonans is eating and drinking on a terrace. From the simplest bars to the most sophisticated, multi-starred alta cocina restaurants, something like half of our fair city’s eateries have space where diners can enjoy their meals a la fresca (and smoke a cigarette, too). Many of the best-known terraces sit on the rooftops of hotels, providing lovely tables and astonishing views that extend to the limits of the Mediterranean and menus that fill the pages of the latest Michelin guide.

Tea is to Turkey what fizzy, watery beer is to Milwaukee - consumed in copious amounts, a desired chemical reaction takes place, but its real value lies not in the taste but in the ritual of swilling. Without noticing it, tea has snuck its way into daily life for us. We never really enjoyed the flavor of standard Turkish tea, but it is part and parcel of the rich Turkish experience. In Kars, memorably, we guzzled it from a pockmarked, coal-fired samovar stamped with a Russian crest as we sat in the shade beside a river. In the eastern Black Sea, it was the offer of a tea that brought us into a village çayhane, where we eavesdropped on the local men speaking their Pontic Greek dialect, as they warmed their feet around a stove. Tea unlocks doors.

Nanxiang Steamed Dumpling Restaurant has one of the most historic queues in town. The creators of Shanghai’s famous soup dumpling have a suburban origin story that turned central when they relocated next to the tourist destination Yu Gardens in 1900, but time hasn’t been on their side. A government-owned company since 1945, Nanxiang’s passé dumplings are ones to take a pass on, even if they didn’t require standing single-file for an hour at peak meal times. But there are some restaurants and food stalls in Shanghai that are well worth the wait.

And the winner is... Okay, okay, it’s nothing like the Oscar ceremony. But everyone in attendance at Comida di Buteco 2014 – the most important popular gastronomy competition in Rio – did hold a collective breath moments before the winner was announced. When the hostess proclaimed Bar da Frente the victor, the Rio Scenarium, the old theater in Lapa where the award ceremony was held, almost came down. Screams, tears, emotional speeches – there was definitely some similarity to the Academy Awards, we have to say. After a month of extremely hard work and profound hope for the 31 bars that took part in the competition for “best botequim food” in town, this was the moment we had all been waiting for.

Editor's Note: Sadly, Özkonak closed its doors on Dec. 31, 2021. Regulars at Özkonak, a well-loved fixture in Cihangir’s ever-changing restaurant scene, must cluck in disapproval at the sight of a new generation of customers who walk right past the pudding display at the front and head for the steam table and its selection of prepared savory dishes in back. Though the lunch specials here are quite tasty, Özkonak is a pudding shop at heart and should be approached accordingly. To fill up on stuffed eggplant and beans before dessert is to deny yourself the sweet, milky pleasures that have made this a neighborhood institution for almost 50 years.

Several weeks ago, we visited the ecological reserve of Xochimilco to meet some of the people who are trying to make a difference in food production in Mexico City. Aboard a colorful trajinera, or boat, we enjoyed a delicious salad made with local produce, as well as chicharrón, guacamole and locally produced cheese while Ricardo Rodriguez, owner of De La Chinampa, explained to us what the project is all about. “We’re trying to connect producers with consumers. What we do is bring the food from the soil to the table, always making sure the small and local producers benefit from this trade and keeping in mind where the food comes from and its history. Our main goal is the ecological restoration of the zone through the commercialization of the local products.”

After Portugal, Spain is second in exerting the most influence over the traditional bars and botequins of Rio. Even though the number of immigrants from Spain is less than that of Germany or Italy, the Spanish, like the Portuguese, took over much of the popular commerce in the city at the end of 19th century and the first half of the 20th.

In Barcelona, these are fortunate times we’re living in, gastronomically speaking. We’re blessed with a growing multitude of tapas bars whose humble appearances belie the excellent culinary chops behind them. Bar Resolís is one of these. The eatery is known mainly because of its location in the heart of Raval, the most multicultural neighborhood in Barcelona. It sits on a street lined with vintage clothing shops and is outfitted with a cute mini-terrace, a small open bar and windows that frame a wall full of colorful graffiti in the passageway adjacent. It’s the ideal laid-back setting for us to enjoy a vermut with our elbow on the sill while checking out the intriguing handbags in the shop window in front.

There is something magical about the area where To Mavro Provato is located, near the rather mysterious Proskopon Square in Pagrati. The square itself, hidden behind Vasileos Konstantinou Avenue, is usually dark even in the daytime thanks to the tall shady trees that fill it.

Juan Pablo Ballesteros comes from a family of entrepreneurs. In 1912, his great-grandfather, Rafael Ballesteros, opened Café Tacuba, which is today a food landmark in Mexico City’s Centro Histórico. Not far from this culinary treasure is Los Limosneros, which Juan Pablo opened more than a year ago, seeking to continue his family’s legacy while building a reputation of his own.

The hardest part about dining in Hong Kong is choosing among the overwhelming number of options. It’s one of the most densely populated cities on the planet, with more than 7 million mouths to feed – and many with demanding palates. You can stand on just about any block in the city and find several affordable eateries above, below and across from you (kind of like Starbucks in Seattle).

Editor's note: We are profoundly sad to report that Beşiktaş Kaymakçı has closed.  In our imagination, kaymak – the delicious Turkish version of clotted cream - is the only food served in heaven, where angels in white robes dish out plate after plate of the cloudlike stuff to the dearly departed, who no longer have to worry about cholesterol counts and visits to the cardiologist.

The cuisine of Antep deserves every bit of the praise it receives. In the southeastern city known as the gastronomic temple of Turkey, the world’s most refined kebab traditions are obsessively guarded by a cadre of traditional ustas in the local grilling institutions. Baklava workshops are steeped in an odd mixture of science and voodoo that would titillate Willy Wonka himself. But coming down from a grilled meat and sweets binge, the body wants dolma, pilav, börek and çorba – the home-style food that is strangely absent in Antep’s restaurants.

Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring feature, First Stop, we asked Michael Costa, head chef at the award-winning restaurant Zaytinya, in Washington, D.C., where he heads first for food when he arrives in Barcelona. El Passadís del Pep is home to the best, most authentic Catalan seafood in the city. There is no menu but they curate the experience in such a warm, kind way that you may find that you prefer not to have to deal with a menu. The cooking is classic, minimal and serves only to enhance the natural beauty of the ingredients. No Egotarian Cuisine here, just excellent product treated with respect.

Dear Culinary Backstreets,My wife and I love to cook at home and for our friends, and we would love to learn more about Spanish cuisine on our next trip to Barcelona so that we can recreate our favorite meals when we return home. Where can we take English-language cooking classes in the city?