Lavash Baked in a Tandoor at Yilma Tandir (Istanbul, Türkiye)

On our 2024 culinary tour to Istanbul, lavash oustas (master lavash bakers) showed us how thin flatbreads were baked in seconds in a blistering hot tandoor oven. Our education director Rosie Gill writes: "At Yilma Tandir (Tandoori), a restaurant spe

Romanian Musaca di Cartofi at Bucătăria (Bucharest, Romania)

In Bucharest, at Bucătăria, a restaurant owned by brothers Adrian and Gabriel Alexe, we were introduced to hearty, stick-to-the-ribs Romanian musaca di cartofi. A relative of better-known Greek moussaka, the dish layers precooked sliced potatoes wit

Culinary Tour: Mexico City 2024

This weeklong immersion into the culinary traditions of Mexico City offered a one-of-a-kind introduction to a vibrant metropolis where pre- and post-colonial foods and culture collide and combine. Guides included Paco de Santiago, the head of Culinary

Künefe, a Cheese-Filled Pastry of Shredded Filo (Antakya, Türkiye)

Künefe might be the ultimate savory-sweet dessert. It sandwiches salty, melty cheese between two layers of crisp, buttery kadayif (a type of shredded filo pastry), with a generous dousing of sugar syrup. Often garnished with plenty of chopped pistachi

Churros and Hot Chocolate at Xurerria el Trebol (Barcelona, Spain)

A 2025 Backstreets trip to Catalonia included a stop at Barcelona's Xurreria el Trebol, which is likely the city's oldest continuously operating churro shop. They specialize in churros and thick, pudding-like hot chocolate (xurros amb xocolata calenta

Mochi Like You've Never Had it Before (Japan)

On a trip to Japan in 2025, Matt Card stopped into a traditional Japanese snack and confection shop and encountered a mochi unlike any he'd tasted before. Mochi is a simple dish—just rice, flour, and sugar—but it turns out freshness can make all the d

Golden Choux Pastry (Paris)

At Chef Baptiste Borderie's Colvert in Paris, Chris Kimball encountered a fresh approach to the choux pastry used for profiteroles. It all has to do with liquid (or the lack thereof): the dough is beaten in the stand mixer until it has cooled down and

A Wienerschnitzel Masterclass in Salzburg

On a 2024 trip to Austria, Chris Kimball got a crash course in real-deal Wienerschnitzel from chef Thomas Partl at Salzburg's Wirtshaus Zwettler. Chris specifically wanted to learn how to achieve the signature wavy, puckered breading that indicates a

Stir-Frying Rice Noodles with Beef at Tai Ping Koon (Hong Kong)

These savory, sweet, slippery and chewy fried rice noodles with beef are a Hong Kong staple. Our favorite version was at Tai Ping Koon Restaurant, where cook Tsang Ying Kwan showed us how it’s made. To approximate the wide fresh rice noodles that are

Strawberry Season in Japan

Chris Kimball and Matt Card's 2025 trip to Japan coincided with strawberry season, which Japan takes very seriously. In these photos, you can see a store display with several different strawberry varieties, all packed in shiny boxes to show off each p

Why Roasting Produces the Best Mashed Sweet Potatoes

After several rounds of tests, we found that roasting (not steaming or simmering) is the best way to unlock sweet potatoes' natural sweetness, making for the best mashed sweet potatoes. Roasting works because the extended dry heat evaporates moistu

Bakeries in Istanbul

Istanbul is a city of culinary delights, and the city's bakeries are not to be missed. From sesame rings, pide and cheesy börek to the date- and/or nut-filled semolina cookies known as kömbe, Turkish pastries are among the best in the world.