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Eating in Europe is more than just food.
The best dining experience is a sensory experience where you can not only eat delicious dishes;
You also enjoy the age of bronzes, colorful customers and their chatter, and the crunchy sound of cutting freshly baked bread with a knife.
After years of traveling, I found it as important as museums and churches experience culture through fireplaces, kitchens and dining tables.
To have an unforgettable meal, you don't need to eat in a Michelin-starred place, you don't need to wait in line, and you don't need to use a website like TripAdvisor to tell you what is hot.
You just need some trusted advice on where the locals eat
Just ask the hotel owner.
You will find that the most authentic restaurant has a small choice on the menu hand written in its native language.
The menu is small because they will cook out what they can sell out one day, which is handwritten because it is shaped by something fresh on the market that morning, and it is a language, because they are targeting local repeat visitors, not tourists.
At the end of the evening, the chef may be with you and he wants to enjoy the fun people have because of his cooking.
In a market hall like Kleinmarkthalle in Frankfurt, you can have dinner with the locals;
Torvehallerne KBH, Copenhagen;
Or central Mercato of Florence.
Whole Europe, glass in the industrial ageand-
As a stylish food hall, the steel farmers market is getting a new life lease.
They still carry the size of the farmer's market, but they have joined great restaurants to price local shoppers and offer the freshest ingredients.
Since many people are working-oriented, they tend to be the most dynamic at lunch time.
To choose a booth, find a line 9-to-
Five locals: they eat out every day and always know the best place to afford, fullthe-tank bite.
I'm not a happy person.
The hour cocktail is a bit like a man, but in Europe I like to have a glass of hot wine on a day of sightseeing and have a meal in the city square.
In the evening, in bars all over Europe, students and interesting people
All the loving people went out to drink.
While you generally don't want to eat in these places, I'm happy to pay too much for a coffee or cocktail on one of the most expensive properties in town and watch the scene go.
Think of it as renting a place to enjoy the show.
It is said that in most parts of Europe, smart diners can identify the region and the month through the menu of a good restaurant.
I tend to order daily specials, which usually highlights what is seasonal (
Or let me see what the locals are eating).
For example, white asparagus is a pleasure for your palate in spring . . . . . . But for the rest of the year, it will come out of the fridge.
If there is French onion soup and cheese hot pot on the summer menu, then this place is a tourist trap --
Local restaurants do not offer these winter dishes in July.
I would also like to try out local specialties such as cassolet in southwest France, kochiello asado (
Roast suckling pig)
Segovia, Spain, Florence, Florence.
Made from cattle of white Chianina breed grazing in Tuscany).
Rattan pots in Portugal are expensive but worth it-
The best seafood I 've ever had
I order family style dishes whenever possible so I can eat through more menus.
Sometimes I share a little appetizer or first dish with my travel partner, instead of eating two dishes --
They are fillings, cheaper and more local than the main course.
These small plates have different names throughout Europe: tapas in Spain, mezedes in Greece and antipasti in Italy.
After an epic meal, one of my favorite ceremonies was to walk back to my hotel and enjoy the peaceful scene of a village at night.
Several times, I saw a chef stop in a chair outside the restaurant, sipping a glass of wine or liqueur while smoking cigarettes.
An unforgettable European meal was an overall experience for me.
Walk 20 minutes to the bistro by the Greek sea, select dishes cooked with market ingredients from the display cabinet, and the best catch of the day purchased directly from the fishermen, or feast for three hours
Blow the Italian dinner with multiple dishes and endless wine, then chat with the chef at the end of the dinner peak.
This is part of the European food culture and what makes the trip here so special. Rick Steves (www. ricksteves. com)
Write a European travel guide and host a travel program on public television and on public radio.
Email him at rick @ ricksteves.
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