I live in California. We loved our two weeks in Europe, but the first thing (and second and third) thing we ate was Mexican food. Spicy Mexican food. Good lord how we missed spices.
lol same here. I’m Mexican, after being in UAE, Qatar, Italy, France and England.
All I was craving was Mexican food. I got home went bought tacos and it wasn’t hitting the spot. Ate pozole and it still wasn’t what I was looking for. Finally, they invited us to a party where they were serving birria. I had 3 plates after that I was satisfied.
In March I went to Japan, S Korea, Malaysia and Turkey. And when I got back I want craving Mexican food. All the food from those places was off the charts.
My partner brings a tiny bottle of hot sauce when we travel to western Europe. The food is fantastic but sometimes he just misses the sparkle that hot spices bring to food.
i was talking to my mexican friend the other day about how we should move to europe and open a mexican restaurant/taqueria, (and bring his mom to help set it up, she's a GREAT cook)
it's actually really weird how difficult it is to find good mexican food in Europe, *especially* considering JUST how freaking popular it is in America. you can find a decent mexican restaurant in basically **any** town in the US, no matter how small or remote. i've had good mexican food in the middle of nowhere Alabama, like in a town so small they didn't have a walmart.
yet, i've tried mexican food in Budapest, Athens, Prague, Barcelona, and a few other huuuge cities in Europe, but it's *always* terrible. like worse than an [Old El Paso dinner](https://www.oldelpaso.com/products/dinner-kits) kit from the grocery store.
it just feels like such an untapped market...but i can't tell, do europeans not like mexican food? or have they just never *had* good mexican food?? it's almost like a chicken/egg situation. maybe there just isn't demand for mexican food over there?
That’s awesome for a whole month I can only imagine. That’s so cool. For me a plate of birria hit the spot.
I’ll be back in Europe for 2 weeks in October.
Have a lot of fun and enjoy.
Same. I miss spicy foods. I’ve done some extended travels abroad and after I get my fill of the local food, I always end up eating a lot of Thai or Indian trying to satiate my spice cravings. Even Thai and Indian are mild in most European countries.
Yes, Europe in general is not great for Mexican food. If you’re in need of some spicy food, the next time you’re in London, try some Indian/Bangladeshi curry. We’ve got great curries and they’re spicy!😀
Funnily enough, best Mexican food I had outside of Mexico was in London. There is also a shop near Euston that stocks a lot of the good stuff - my suitcase back to the swamp was basically 2/3 dried peppers and hot sauces
Well London has all cuisines of the world and there will be the odd decent Mexican restaurant, but in general, if you just pop into a random Mexican anywhere in London or the U.K., as an American, there’s a good chance you’ll be disappointed. A Bangladeshi/Indian curry on the other hand……
I live in Germany now. When I go back to the US to visit family, Mexican food is the first and last meal I eat before I go back, with plenty of it sprinkled in between.
When I was in London for weeks in the 90s, I craved Mexican food. We drove all over town to locate a Taco Bell, which was awful, but it kind of satisfied my craving. Then always Mexican at home as the first meal back.
From Texas and live in the north east now but good lord did I miss spice the two weeks I was in France this summer. First thing I did when landing was order some enchiladas. They aren't very good but I needed something.
Same thing for me when I was living in Texas. I went to the American embassy in Russia and they were serving American food and I was stupid to trust their take on Mexican food which just ended up being a cheese stick with some vegetables wrapped in a tortilla. I was so disappointed, but I should’ve known better the risk of a way below par imitation. Should’ve stuck to a burger which would’ve been way safer bc even if it tasted a little different, it’s simple beef and bread at the end of the day. I had tacos and salsa at the back of my mind until I was back in Austin and I went immediately to a 24hr taco restaurant from the airport, it was 3am.
I think this will be the answer for any American. I spent 4 months in New Zealand and wolfed down the first burrito I found at the airport when I got back!
hell, just any spice. i was in france for 2 weeks and i was craving anything spicy so i found a Vietnamese joint and it was sooo mild. i understand they serve the local palate but i finally got the waiter guy to bring me out some sriracha so i could have any spice.
Aussie in Chongqing, China. I JUST had a chocolate milk craving...settled for a chocolate milkshake, more like a thickshake though.
(No choc milk just strawberry, banana and other weird fruit flavours.)
It's always vegetables or something fresher - I feel like whenever I go on holidays I usually eat and snack with abandon :D so the first meal (usually the first week's meals) home will usually be a salad or vegetables. My go to is a tomato and avocado toast drizzled with caramelized balsamic and mint ♥️
Fellow Aussie here so if I had to pick something from my country I would say I miss the cafe experience. The amazing coffee, the pretty plates and being able to enjoy it all in the beautiful sunshine - there isn't any place like home :)
I agree with this, but when I returned from Greece I didn’t have this feeling because I ate my weight in Greek salads because they are so unbelievably tasty and refreshing. Also flakey fish, Greek yogurt honey & walnuts, it’s all so good.
Normally I would agree with you but unfortunately I have no real willpower and Greece is also the home to moussaka. And roast lamb with lemon potatoes. And those amazing pita wraps. And fried donut balls slathered in honey. I had no chance of making good food choices :D
When I lived in LA, the two things I would likely get after coming home from a trip was hitting up the taco truck by our house (even after a trip to Mexico lol) or In-N-Out.
I usually crave simple home cooked food for similar reasons. And veggies.
I am not vegetarian but I will pick veggie meals while away from time to time as my digestion misses the fibre.
One thing I miss about US cuisine is a garbage pail-sized lunch salad.
Yes the produce is better in many other places but sometimes I just want to eat a huge hunk of lettuce like a barn animal; commuter laborer habits die hard.
We normally wind up eating too much on vacation, so our first meal when we get back is normally something light with a lot of vegetables like poke, Vietnamese (like bahn xeo, ban khot, or bun rieu), or Mediterranean (hummus, eggplant, falafel, etc..).
When we are in Asia, I miss bread (where I am in the San Francisco area, we have amazing bread), so avocado toast on some local crusty sourdough is normally one of our first meals back.
Like others in California, I also miss Mexican food when we travel (unless we are coming home from Mexico), but our favorites are too heavy to have as one of our first meals back.
Fried chicken. Whenever I go back to the US I try to fly through Atlanta so I can get soul food at Paschal’s in the airport: fried chicken, mac and cheese, greens, and iced tea.
First thing off the plane last trip: chile relleno burrito. Heading over next week and hope to recreate this (exceptional) experience.
Damn! I miss Mexican food.
I’m German and before I finished reading your post I thought ,bread’. So I’m sticking with the rest of the Europeans, bread is everything. For me personally it would be a fresh, super seedy and heavy loaf with some butter and/or cheese
Slightly different take on the question since I’m an American who lives abroad. The first thing I want when I visit home is a g*ddamned Reuben sandwich with a properly sour pickle on the side. There are a lot of pickles where I live now, but they’re all upsettingly sweet.
Brazilian living abroad and for me it's our usual "everyday meal" of rice, beans, a piece of meat and veggies. And fruit. ALL the tropical fruit that either sucks or is not available in Europe
When going back to the Netherlands, it's peanut butter with chocolate flakes on a slice of bread
Kiwi meat pies are incredible. Every town seems to have a bake house with freshly baked pies with so many flavours - pepper steak, butter chicken, beef and cheese, chili beef and cheese. Hoo boy.
Code Black coffee from my fave barista in Southbank Melbourne. Usually followed that night by me cooking a perfect med-rare eye filler with lots and lots of fresh veggies!
Before we left on our last Europe vacation I put disposable aluminum pans of Lasagna in the freezer. We got in and I threw one in the oven and we unpacked while it was cooking. Had a nice dinner and went to bed in our own beds. It was lovely. Highly recommend.
I haven't been back to the US since 2019 (lived in Edinburgh, moved to Berlin, and now in London), and I am flying to Florida this weekend. My first stop will be Mexican food.
I have basically planned my trip around food I can get in the Jacksonville area. On the list: Buc-ee's, Whataburger (I'm a Texan.), Dickey's BBQ, boiled peanuts, Cantina Laredo, fried catfish, esquites, etc.
Man, I don't even care about the calories, because I don't know when I'll get back to the US after this trip. I am about to start a three-year PhD in Scotland in October so this week-long trip to Florida gotta last me!
I’m from the UK and it’s 100% a roast dinner. Roast potatoes, veg, Yorkshire puddings and loads of gravy. In South America right now and nothing comes close
I always found it strange when my brother who lived in the UK for a few years would rave about roast dinners. I would think "it's literally roast meat, who cares?"
But now I'm in the UK myself I get it. It's all of the sides that make it - the veg, the potatoes, the gravy and the Yorkshire pudding. It's like a big savoury hug.
My favorite bread experience was in Northern Thailand. Bread is garbage in the south of Thailand. Up north the influence of French bakers was obvious in every hostel. I will never forget my first sammich in Chiangmai after traveling from the islands.
Aside from France, I’ve never been blown away by bread in Europe. The US there are bakeries everywhere with great bread. I think people that travel here maybe are buying wonder bread at the supermarket?
My wife makes the most amazing pasta Bolognese. It takes a long time to make so it's a rare treat, but she always makes it when I return from my travels.
Fellow kiwi. When I got home after years away I ate a steak n cheese pie, sausage roll, custard square and LnP. What threw me was how tasty our fruit and veggies and meat is. I missed sweet juicy apples.
I'm Australian, and for me it was a few things, though i did eat great food on all my travels.
I ate spicy food in Europe (I'm a migrant from the former Eastern Bloc and my hometown is home to a super hot paprika sausage and salami...yum!), but missed great, fresh Asian food in Europe. As soon as I got home I had to go to Footscray for a crispy pork bahn mi, and a chicken pho (with lots of chilli, lemon, and mint). In Asia, I craved fresh, crisp salads (as eating unpeeled fruit and veg there is not recommended if you want to avoid Bali belly). In the US I craved proper bread, coffee, and good Italian or Turkish food.
The best food on my return home from anywhere however is eating my mum's great food - she's an amazing cook, especially of our traditional foods
This is going to make me sound like a horrible uncultured slob but the whole time I was in Mexico I was dying for Old El Paso taco kit tacos. I was disappointed by every taco I had there despite knowing they were actual (or at least more, I was still in restaurants catering to tourists, so might not be THAT authentic) authentic Mexican food.
But I wanted ground beef cooked with taco seasoning, and cheese and sour cream. Not some chicken on a tortilla with a bunch of avocado and only options being “way too spicy” or “no flavour at all.”
So that was the first thing I cooked when I got home lol
The truly cultured take is American tacos are their own unique and beautiful thing. It’s not an attempt at authenticity it’s just a tasty family dinner you can have ready in 15 minutes
I used to miss favourite foods when traveling in the 80s and 90s but not anymore as so much is available everywhere now. I am traveling right now in Sofia Bulgaria where we got amazing pizza last night. You can now get sushi, burritos and Thai curry just about anywhere.
What I used to miss when traveling in Asia was a cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with sprouts, mixed greens and lots of mayo. Now I can pick up the ingredients to make that just about anywhere in the world.
Depends on where I'm returning from and how and what I've eaten there. Returning from the States I opted for soup and a light, home cooked meal while returning from Asia it's usually some steak, fries and green salad...
I used to live in Mexico so it used to be street tacos. Spicy and delicious tacos.
I live in western Canada now, so it's Asian food. Vietnamese especially. I freaking love pho, banh mi and salad rolls.
Unpopular opinion but I just wanted to get back to home comforts that I know and love? As a Brit people laugh at this but we have such a variety of foods available in the shops? Talking ready meals lol
I live in England but I’m from NY. My first meal is ALWAYS a pepperoni pizza and then when I wake up an everything bagel with cream cheese and an iced coffee. It’s been the same for the last decade for every visit.
Haha, I'm German and during my travel in SEA, I've missed bread so much! But I could eat some good bread in the Philippines and now, I'm only craving for some tasty "Maultaschen" (german ravioli).
Our go-to after travel is a hole in the wall type Chinese place near our home, for hot & sour soup and chicken lo mein. We usually stop on the way home from the airport since the house is empty of food. I am sure we could find this type of Chinese food all over, but we tend to eat more local flavors wherever we are. Even in Boston's Chinatown recently, we went with ginger lobster. Because lobstah.
something really healthy to make up for all the fruit and veggies I probably didn't eat enough of while traveling, which usually means making a smoothie at home with blueberries, spinach, banana, etc
Potato Chips (bonus if it’s Better Made brand) and French onion style chip dip. I live abroad and can never get chip dip, thus I eat my body weight in it when visiting back home.
In New Zealand we make a dip called a “classic kiwi onion dip” and it’s reduced cream with a sachet of powdered onion soup mixed in and a splash of vinegar or lemon. Chuck it in the fridge (or keep the reduced cream in the fridge so it’s ready to go) and once it’s thickened up it’s good to eat! Soo yum!
Coming back home to Mexico after graduating and living in USA for 4 years and the first thing I had were pulled beef and potato tacos dorados with lettuce, cucumber, queso fresco and sour cream on top. I had forgotten for a bit what heaven tasted like
Fellow kiwi here! I miss coffee and bakery items when overseas. I also miss roast meals with all the trimmings (rosemary lamb or chicken) and seafood. I do have to say I felt right at home in Ireland with their quality of food after spending a while in Eastern Europe, something about having similar dairy industries I think!
Swiss here:
Zweifel Paprika Chips and a Rivella red (milk serum based soft drink) after basically every 2 week holiday. Or who am I kidding, we‘re on stock basically all year round at home.
When I‘m away for a longer time I might also crave good bread (but bread has gotten SO MUCH better overseas in the last 20 years). Or a local sausage like a cervalat. Cordon-bleu is high up on the list as well.
I’m Dominican from the NYC tristate area and the first thing we always eat when we come back is some good ol’ rice and beans with chicken or meat. Or some good Chinese
Unless I'm coming back to the States from Mexico (about half of my foreign travel), my first meal is something Mexican, or even Tex-Mex. I've never had good Mexican food in Europe, despite several increasingly ill-advised attempts. Europeans are generally scared of chiles, and too fussy for even water-down Mexican. Generally once you are south of Mexico, there is no interesting cuisine in the Americas until Peru. The blandness extends to the local attempts at Mexican food too. In most places in Asia, the local cuisine is interesting enough that I'm not tempted to disappointed by the local botchery of Mexican, if it exists.
First time I went to Cuba, it was for two weeks, early 2001. Food in Cuba is dire, even worse in 2001. By the time I flew back to Cancun from Havana, I was dreaming of fresh veggies. At terminal in Cancun, I beheld a Subway outlet. I had never, ever been excited to see a Subway, nor have I been since. This time, I strode straight up to the outlet, almost drooling over the full line of fresh veggies. I ordered a sub with just veggies, all of them, and it was marvelous.
After a week or two of travel I always crave simple food that is traditionally eaten in Latvia - soups (sorrel, solyanka, beetroot soup, sauerkraut soup), Latvian style pork chop with boiled potatoes, dill and sour cream. Heavy salads like meat salad(beef, mayo, potatoes, cucumbers, sour cream etc.). I don't know what it is , but they just have this comfort food quality to them that is impossible to get abroad. Also when traveling there is always way too much bread and flour based food.
American- almost always Thai (sometimes Chinese). For some reason we don’t eat a lot of Asian food when we are traveling, so usually craving it when I get home.
Usually it’s lots of veggies or salads and fish/seafood. I feel like I never get enough veggies when traveling and they are often more overcooked that I like or have sauces all over them. Just give me lightly cooked peas or roasted veggies with salt and pepper. Or a multi ingredient salad! Lettuce and tomato does not a salad make.
I live in Southern California. I went to Japan for 2 weeks. I loved the food there, I could go the rest of my life only eating Japanese food. But as soon as I was back at LAX I asked my dad who picked me up to take me to In n Out for animal fries. Then dinner was Taco Bell 😭
No offence meant, but I have to ask...
Looking at the responses from Americans, is Mexican food the only well spiced food in some parts of the States? I'm a Ghanaian (West African) who has lived almost their entire life in the UK (Midlands and London) and totally understand that English and European food in general is not, shall we say, heavily spiced... however, as someone who comes from a culture where scotch bonnet chillies are a staple base for most dishes and we cannot live without well spiced food, the UK still has a wide variation of cuisine available to satiate spice cravings. We have Asian from various countries, Caribbean from various countries, African from various countries and more... We also have Mexican fast food places like Chipotle, but for well spiced food, we have way more than Mexican. Obviously, I can't speak for all of Europe, just the UK, and most especially London (most foreign tourists don't venture beyond London anyway). But it just struck me that so many Americans mentioned Mexican food when, to me, there are so many other world cuisines that offer well spiced options that are available, I will assume, not everywhere, but in many major cities around Europe, and I would have assumed, the States. Maybe it depends on where you're from in the States that some world cuisines are less accessible? Or maybe foods from some parts of the world haven't caught on yet? Or maybe Mexican food just feels like home?
Hope I don't sound offensive. it just struck me, and I was curious. Please don't come for me. It's a sincere question, lol.
I think it's more that you cannot really find good Mexican or Tex-Mex food outside of North America at any price.
So if you are accustomed to being able to enjoy that whenever you feel like it, it's the thing you will really miss when you travel abroad.
It is of course easy to find other spice-focused cuisines like Indian in the USA (especially in coastal big cities), as there's a huge Indian population, but you can find that in many parts of the world so you're less likely to miss it if you've got a craving.
I assume here we're talking about "spice" in the sense of using spices to build complex flavours, not the sense of hot chillis to create sharpness.
I grew up in the south/southwest US. Tex-Mex, Mexican, New Mexican foods are comfort foods for me. I don't think it's the spice aspect or the availability. In fact, that is one of the things I love about living in the US - food from all over the world is available. Not so much in small towns are rural areas but any bigger towns and cities are going to have an immigrant population and with that comes restaurants of every strip. And you can specify spice levels at most Asian restaurants. :-)
Edit: plenty of Americans are bonkers for spicy foods. Most grocery stores are going to have 2-6 shelves of hot sauces, salsas, hot peppers, chile oils, etc.
You are right in assuming that Mexican food just feels like home to Americans--it's one of the most prevalent cuisines here, especially in those states that border Mexico or were formerly Mexican territories. Asian cuisine is also extremely popular on the west coast of the USA--I'm not very familiar with east coast cuisines.
In the bigger cities in the US, multiple ethnic cuisine is the norm and there are many restaurants that provide them although not so much in smaller cities or in middle America.
I get what you say about London but in my limited experience of just a couple of months overall in London, I found the food to be a bit underseasoned. (Scones to die for though!) Indian food was the big surprise to me because I know it is popular in Britain, but we found it not really spicy at all. Maybe we just went to the wrong places?
That said, the best Indian food (northern India) or Asian food I've had in my limited experience was in France. Of course, just about every food is better there.
I live in europe, but when i went back to the states the first thing i absolutely needed was boneless buffalo chicken with extra ranch and extra bleu cheese 🤤
My word is Guatemalan and we have black beans for dinner 2-4 nights a week. We returned from the land of Gruyère and gipfels and the first thing I made was black beans. We just never get tired of them.
The one I remember most was after being in Tokyo for 10 days, eating a ton of sushi and ramen and tempura and then desperately wanting (and indulging in) pizza when I went home to the U.S.
Whether it was coming home from vacation in the past, or now that I’m living abroad on visits to my home country, my first (restaurant) meal is usually Wurstsalat at a restaurant in a tiny village near my hometown. They have awesome traditional food at unbeatable prices. Gone there after every family holiday since I was a little kid.
This is terrible and I know it but the first thing I always get after clearing US Customs is a diet Mountain Dew!!! I haven’t seen it internationally- probably some of the ingredients are illegal elsewhere. But it’s my favorite and that first sip is always soooo good.
Interesting because we don’t get diet Mountain Dew in NZ so I was desperate to try it when I got to the US. I thought it was god awful! Took a sip and threw the rest out.
Baja blast tho? I would do unspeakable things to get that here.
I’m from Colorado but I live in Mexico now. I miss green chili all the time. It is a Mexican dish but from that area, as the peppers are grown in New Mexico and CO. Can’t wait to crush some when I go home next.
For me, I start to miss clean eating so no matter where I'm returning from, the first meal is always a giant salad and a boneless/skinless chicken breast.
After 3 months in Italy, I wanted a fully dressed roast beef poboy. There’s a place with a sandwich that has roast beef, ham, turkey, with melted cheese, lettuce and jalapeño mayo. Entire length of bread is bathed in butter on outside and inside. It’s like 1500 calories but so damn good.
Came back after 10 days in Italy, picked my car from the airport and embarrassed to say that I drove straight to Chipotle 😪
Don’t know if anyone has ever asked for extra lettuce at chipotle but I just wanted some veggies.
In the past, I’ve just come back to the US after visiting India (where I’m from), and just went for Thai. That’s comfort food for me.
Seattleite here - first thing I always crave when I'm home is spicy chicken teriyaki. I'm eating it multiple times a week normally, so I really miss it when I go on vacation.
I lived in Europe for 12 months, came back to Australia and was dying to have real fish and chips. Mum duly bought some, I ate them, and then proceeded to vomit them all back up because my gut was unaccustomed to the grease. Fun times.
Once, when I returned from Germany, I've got huge craving for a well-made Döner. So, right after getting off the train I went to my favorite kebab place and ordered a Döner. In German. The Dönermann wasn't amused, he didn't understand a word of what I said. Right after I realized that I'm not in Germany anumore and that I should speak my local language now, I repeated it in Czech, and finally got my delicious Döner. It was really good :)
Indian here. I’ll go for home cooked food - a potato or paneer based curry with Indian flatbread, lentil soup with cumin rice, spiced buttermilk. Masala chai to conclude the meal :)
I live in northern Europe and most of my travel is to the Middle East and Asia, so the only flavour I come home to is sadness. Literally not one thing here that I look forward to eating upon return.
From US, was in Australia for 6 months. First thing I wanted was a tie between a good slice of NY pizza, and a sub from the deli.
Also, meat pies and zinger burgers are what I miss most from Australia. I can't believe how much better the KFC over there is. I think I had it more in 6 months than I've had my entire life.
For my wife and I (white Americans living in Boston), it’s always chicken tikka masala. Get in a cab, order delivery from our favorite Indian spot, and see if it beats us home.
It’s the perfect, hearty-but-not-heavy, delicious dinner to just fall asleep right after.
I live in California. We loved our two weeks in Europe, but the first thing (and second and third) thing we ate was Mexican food. Spicy Mexican food. Good lord how we missed spices.
lol same here. I’m Mexican, after being in UAE, Qatar, Italy, France and England. All I was craving was Mexican food. I got home went bought tacos and it wasn’t hitting the spot. Ate pozole and it still wasn’t what I was looking for. Finally, they invited us to a party where they were serving birria. I had 3 plates after that I was satisfied. In March I went to Japan, S Korea, Malaysia and Turkey. And when I got back I want craving Mexican food. All the food from those places was off the charts.
Lol I’m heading to Europe for a month in two weeks and as a Mexican girl I am already prepping to beg my mom to cook something for me when I get back
My partner brings a tiny bottle of hot sauce when we travel to western Europe. The food is fantastic but sometimes he just misses the sparkle that hot spices bring to food.
i was talking to my mexican friend the other day about how we should move to europe and open a mexican restaurant/taqueria, (and bring his mom to help set it up, she's a GREAT cook) it's actually really weird how difficult it is to find good mexican food in Europe, *especially* considering JUST how freaking popular it is in America. you can find a decent mexican restaurant in basically **any** town in the US, no matter how small or remote. i've had good mexican food in the middle of nowhere Alabama, like in a town so small they didn't have a walmart. yet, i've tried mexican food in Budapest, Athens, Prague, Barcelona, and a few other huuuge cities in Europe, but it's *always* terrible. like worse than an [Old El Paso dinner](https://www.oldelpaso.com/products/dinner-kits) kit from the grocery store. it just feels like such an untapped market...but i can't tell, do europeans not like mexican food? or have they just never *had* good mexican food?? it's almost like a chicken/egg situation. maybe there just isn't demand for mexican food over there?
That’s awesome for a whole month I can only imagine. That’s so cool. For me a plate of birria hit the spot. I’ll be back in Europe for 2 weeks in October. Have a lot of fun and enjoy.
Same. I miss spicy foods. I’ve done some extended travels abroad and after I get my fill of the local food, I always end up eating a lot of Thai or Indian trying to satiate my spice cravings. Even Thai and Indian are mild in most European countries.
Yes, Europe in general is not great for Mexican food. If you’re in need of some spicy food, the next time you’re in London, try some Indian/Bangladeshi curry. We’ve got great curries and they’re spicy!😀
Funnily enough, best Mexican food I had outside of Mexico was in London. There is also a shop near Euston that stocks a lot of the good stuff - my suitcase back to the swamp was basically 2/3 dried peppers and hot sauces
Well London has all cuisines of the world and there will be the odd decent Mexican restaurant, but in general, if you just pop into a random Mexican anywhere in London or the U.K., as an American, there’s a good chance you’ll be disappointed. A Bangladeshi/Indian curry on the other hand……
I love Indian food and London did not dissapoint.
That first burrito feeling 🌯
Always come back home to street tacos. Don’t matter how much we’ve spent overseas were coming home to street tacos always.
I live in Germany now. When I go back to the US to visit family, Mexican food is the first and last meal I eat before I go back, with plenty of it sprinkled in between.
Same—I have a tradition of ordering a perfectly timed delivery burrito during the ride home from the airport so it arrives just after we get home!
I live in Germany and the "Mexican" food here is garbage.
Ditto. From Texas. Some good Mexican is always top of the list.
I'll try that next time. My first time back from Europe and especially from Italy is always In-n-out.
For sure, Mexican food.
When I was in London for weeks in the 90s, I craved Mexican food. We drove all over town to locate a Taco Bell, which was awful, but it kind of satisfied my craving. Then always Mexican at home as the first meal back.
From Texas and live in the north east now but good lord did I miss spice the two weeks I was in France this summer. First thing I did when landing was order some enchiladas. They aren't very good but I needed something.
Same thing for me when I was living in Texas. I went to the American embassy in Russia and they were serving American food and I was stupid to trust their take on Mexican food which just ended up being a cheese stick with some vegetables wrapped in a tortilla. I was so disappointed, but I should’ve known better the risk of a way below par imitation. Should’ve stuck to a burger which would’ve been way safer bc even if it tasted a little different, it’s simple beef and bread at the end of the day. I had tacos and salsa at the back of my mind until I was back in Austin and I went immediately to a 24hr taco restaurant from the airport, it was 3am.
I think this will be the answer for any American. I spent 4 months in New Zealand and wolfed down the first burrito I found at the airport when I got back!
hell, just any spice. i was in france for 2 weeks and i was craving anything spicy so i found a Vietnamese joint and it was sooo mild. i understand they serve the local palate but i finally got the waiter guy to bring me out some sriracha so i could have any spice.
in n out first for me, cause i landed late. but Mexican the next day for lunch. i had Mexican on my trip to Europe and it was.... "interesting "
This is the way. Grab a California burrito with hot sauce on the way home from the airport, toss in the first load lof laundry, and enjoy.
I am the Australian - a sausage roll and a choccie milk.
Aussie in Chongqing, China. I JUST had a chocolate milk craving...settled for a chocolate milkshake, more like a thickshake though. (No choc milk just strawberry, banana and other weird fruit flavours.)
It washes away the spicy goose intestine flavour like nothing else 😂
Oh we also had to explain chicken salt! The Americans and Europeans don’t get chicken salt! I craved some dirty bakery chips with CS on them.
It's always vegetables or something fresher - I feel like whenever I go on holidays I usually eat and snack with abandon :D so the first meal (usually the first week's meals) home will usually be a salad or vegetables. My go to is a tomato and avocado toast drizzled with caramelized balsamic and mint ♥️ Fellow Aussie here so if I had to pick something from my country I would say I miss the cafe experience. The amazing coffee, the pretty plates and being able to enjoy it all in the beautiful sunshine - there isn't any place like home :)
I agree with this, but when I returned from Greece I didn’t have this feeling because I ate my weight in Greek salads because they are so unbelievably tasty and refreshing. Also flakey fish, Greek yogurt honey & walnuts, it’s all so good.
Normally I would agree with you but unfortunately I have no real willpower and Greece is also the home to moussaka. And roast lamb with lemon potatoes. And those amazing pita wraps. And fried donut balls slathered in honey. I had no chance of making good food choices :D
Nothing beats Aussie and Kiwi brunch culture!!
Agreed it’s the freshness of a home cooked meal! And Aussie coffee haha
I was craving salads after being in Thailand for 3 weeks.
My last 3 international trips I’ve come home to In-n-Out
Hits different after being gone for a while
When I lived in LA, the two things I would likely get after coming home from a trip was hitting up the taco truck by our house (even after a trip to Mexico lol) or In-N-Out.
soup and rice. I need to regulate my digestion after a vacation
I usually crave simple home cooked food for similar reasons. And veggies. I am not vegetarian but I will pick veggie meals while away from time to time as my digestion misses the fibre.
Same, I usually make a big pot of chicken soup and eat that all week.
One thing I miss about US cuisine is a garbage pail-sized lunch salad. Yes the produce is better in many other places but sometimes I just want to eat a huge hunk of lettuce like a barn animal; commuter laborer habits die hard.
I was excited to get chips and salsa with 🥶 margaritas and tex mex.
Big roast dinner. Beef, horseradish, yorkshire puddings, roasties, every vegetable under the sun, stuffing, thick gravy. Dreamy.
I craved salt and vinegar chips so bad when I was in Japan, apparently it's not really a thing there. I went through a couple bags when I got home lol
Oh man I LOVE salt and vinegar chips! I used to eat them til my mouth would go numb.
We normally wind up eating too much on vacation, so our first meal when we get back is normally something light with a lot of vegetables like poke, Vietnamese (like bahn xeo, ban khot, or bun rieu), or Mediterranean (hummus, eggplant, falafel, etc..). When we are in Asia, I miss bread (where I am in the San Francisco area, we have amazing bread), so avocado toast on some local crusty sourdough is normally one of our first meals back. Like others in California, I also miss Mexican food when we travel (unless we are coming home from Mexico), but our favorites are too heavy to have as one of our first meals back.
Fried chicken. Whenever I go back to the US I try to fly through Atlanta so I can get soul food at Paschal’s in the airport: fried chicken, mac and cheese, greens, and iced tea.
Because I travel mostly for business, it is any meal my spouse and dogs are near me. Food matters- love more :)
Pizza, is traditional. I'm in NYC. Sorry world, IMHO NYC pizza tastes exceptional.
Best in the U.S. right there! Italy wins though
I always miss SoCal-style Mexican food, so that’s usually the first thing I get when I return home
First thing off the plane last trip: chile relleno burrito. Heading over next week and hope to recreate this (exceptional) experience. Damn! I miss Mexican food.
Chile relleno burritos are the best! I live in San Diego and that’s my go-to return burrito
Spent 20 years eatin burritos and never considered shoving my favourite thing in the world into it! I once asked nicely and they put TWO in!
I’m German and before I finished reading your post I thought ,bread’. So I’m sticking with the rest of the Europeans, bread is everything. For me personally it would be a fresh, super seedy and heavy loaf with some butter and/or cheese
I live in California- I order a bean and cheese burrito the second my Uber pulls up, it gets dropped off with 2 minutes of my arrival
the american dream
It's a beverage but it was a proper flat white (Aussie)
God yes. Kiwi and Aussie coffee culture is unbeatable. I missed a good coffee!
Salad, lots of salad. I never seem to get enough veggies in me while I travel
Slightly different take on the question since I’m an American who lives abroad. The first thing I want when I visit home is a g*ddamned Reuben sandwich with a properly sour pickle on the side. There are a lot of pickles where I live now, but they’re all upsettingly sweet.
Fellow expat and I miss dill pickles so much 😭. I know I could make them myself but it’s not quite the same
Mutton bunny chow. First thing I eat when I land at home. My family always organizes it for dinner the day I come home.
How to say you are from Durban without saying you are from Durban
Waar ekse
Bloody love bunny chow from when I lived in RSA … but chicken was my preference
In n out or a super burrito
From Alberta and I never realize how good Alberta beef is until you have other places beef. Always go for a burger or steak as soon as I’m home
Love ‘Berta beef.
Just coming back to comment as I read through these, so many of us are from CA, and SoCal at that! Yes for Mexican food!
Brazilian living abroad and for me it's our usual "everyday meal" of rice, beans, a piece of meat and veggies. And fruit. ALL the tropical fruit that either sucks or is not available in Europe When going back to the Netherlands, it's peanut butter with chocolate flakes on a slice of bread
haha kiwi here too and i love a good mince and cheese pie when i get home :)
Kiwi meat pies are incredible. Every town seems to have a bake house with freshly baked pies with so many flavours - pepper steak, butter chicken, beef and cheese, chili beef and cheese. Hoo boy.
yeah we dont eat them day to day but when you’re on a road trip through small towns they’re like ALL you eat
Sushi!
Code Black coffee from my fave barista in Southbank Melbourne. Usually followed that night by me cooking a perfect med-rare eye filler with lots and lots of fresh veggies!
Before we left on our last Europe vacation I put disposable aluminum pans of Lasagna in the freezer. We got in and I threw one in the oven and we unpacked while it was cooking. Had a nice dinner and went to bed in our own beds. It was lovely. Highly recommend.
A piping hot plate of khichdi with veggies. Best way to reset my system after all the bread, meat and Aperol!
Bread with cheese (I’m Dutch)
A chicken parmigiana- I’m Australian
I haven't been back to the US since 2019 (lived in Edinburgh, moved to Berlin, and now in London), and I am flying to Florida this weekend. My first stop will be Mexican food. I have basically planned my trip around food I can get in the Jacksonville area. On the list: Buc-ee's, Whataburger (I'm a Texan.), Dickey's BBQ, boiled peanuts, Cantina Laredo, fried catfish, esquites, etc. Man, I don't even care about the calories, because I don't know when I'll get back to the US after this trip. I am about to start a three-year PhD in Scotland in October so this week-long trip to Florida gotta last me!
I’m from the UK and it’s 100% a roast dinner. Roast potatoes, veg, Yorkshire puddings and loads of gravy. In South America right now and nothing comes close
Yep! I do Sunday roast with my mum and my first night back after a month away she did a classic roast dinner for me. God it was delicious!
I always found it strange when my brother who lived in the UK for a few years would rave about roast dinners. I would think "it's literally roast meat, who cares?" But now I'm in the UK myself I get it. It's all of the sides that make it - the veg, the potatoes, the gravy and the Yorkshire pudding. It's like a big savoury hug.
From Ireland and a roast dinner would be high on my list too.
Saying America has shit bread is a broad stroke.
There is plenty of good bread in the United States. Just need to go to a bakery. Great breads!
Pretty much any food generalisation is a broad stroke. People here saying they missed spicy food in Europe, as if Europe has no spicy food.
To be fair, it typically is pretty difficult to seek out spicy food. I guess you can go to Indian or a Kebab place.
My favorite bread experience was in Northern Thailand. Bread is garbage in the south of Thailand. Up north the influence of French bakers was obvious in every hostel. I will never forget my first sammich in Chiangmai after traveling from the islands.
Aside from France, I’ve never been blown away by bread in Europe. The US there are bakeries everywhere with great bread. I think people that travel here maybe are buying wonder bread at the supermarket?
I’m half Mexican. When I’m in Mexico it’s street tacos Coming back from Europe my first meal was an iced coffee 🤣. I also had McDonald’s after 🤣💀
Proper bread (Western Europe)
I lived and studied in London for a while when I was younger, and whenever I flew home to Singapore I’d always hunt down a big bowl of laksa!
My wife makes the most amazing pasta Bolognese. It takes a long time to make so it's a rare treat, but she always makes it when I return from my travels.
Fellow kiwi. When I got home after years away I ate a steak n cheese pie, sausage roll, custard square and LnP. What threw me was how tasty our fruit and veggies and meat is. I missed sweet juicy apples.
I'm Australian, and for me it was a few things, though i did eat great food on all my travels. I ate spicy food in Europe (I'm a migrant from the former Eastern Bloc and my hometown is home to a super hot paprika sausage and salami...yum!), but missed great, fresh Asian food in Europe. As soon as I got home I had to go to Footscray for a crispy pork bahn mi, and a chicken pho (with lots of chilli, lemon, and mint). In Asia, I craved fresh, crisp salads (as eating unpeeled fruit and veg there is not recommended if you want to avoid Bali belly). In the US I craved proper bread, coffee, and good Italian or Turkish food. The best food on my return home from anywhere however is eating my mum's great food - she's an amazing cook, especially of our traditional foods
Good Mexican food. Hard to find outside Mexico or the US.
This is going to make me sound like a horrible uncultured slob but the whole time I was in Mexico I was dying for Old El Paso taco kit tacos. I was disappointed by every taco I had there despite knowing they were actual (or at least more, I was still in restaurants catering to tourists, so might not be THAT authentic) authentic Mexican food. But I wanted ground beef cooked with taco seasoning, and cheese and sour cream. Not some chicken on a tortilla with a bunch of avocado and only options being “way too spicy” or “no flavour at all.” So that was the first thing I cooked when I got home lol
I feel you! I am afraid of spicy food so I always end up with the flavorless tacos when I’m somewhere with authentic tacos
The truly cultured take is American tacos are their own unique and beautiful thing. It’s not an attempt at authenticity it’s just a tasty family dinner you can have ready in 15 minutes
Saimin and Futomaki
I used to miss favourite foods when traveling in the 80s and 90s but not anymore as so much is available everywhere now. I am traveling right now in Sofia Bulgaria where we got amazing pizza last night. You can now get sushi, burritos and Thai curry just about anywhere. What I used to miss when traveling in Asia was a cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with sprouts, mixed greens and lots of mayo. Now I can pick up the ingredients to make that just about anywhere in the world.
Depends on where I'm returning from and how and what I've eaten there. Returning from the States I opted for soup and a light, home cooked meal while returning from Asia it's usually some steak, fries and green salad...
I used to live in Mexico so it used to be street tacos. Spicy and delicious tacos. I live in western Canada now, so it's Asian food. Vietnamese especially. I freaking love pho, banh mi and salad rolls.
When I come back to France, I always want to eat baguette and cheese lol
I always get a Brezel and Spezi when I arrive at the airport in Germany
Unpopular opinion but I just wanted to get back to home comforts that I know and love? As a Brit people laugh at this but we have such a variety of foods available in the shops? Talking ready meals lol
Not a meal but as an Australian, I will get myself a large flat white as soon as possible.
I live in England but I’m from NY. My first meal is ALWAYS a pepperoni pizza and then when I wake up an everything bagel with cream cheese and an iced coffee. It’s been the same for the last decade for every visit.
Haha, I'm German and during my travel in SEA, I've missed bread so much! But I could eat some good bread in the Philippines and now, I'm only craving for some tasty "Maultaschen" (german ravioli).
Our go-to after travel is a hole in the wall type Chinese place near our home, for hot & sour soup and chicken lo mein. We usually stop on the way home from the airport since the house is empty of food. I am sure we could find this type of Chinese food all over, but we tend to eat more local flavors wherever we are. Even in Boston's Chinatown recently, we went with ginger lobster. Because lobstah.
something really healthy to make up for all the fruit and veggies I probably didn't eat enough of while traveling, which usually means making a smoothie at home with blueberries, spinach, banana, etc
Usually a salad! When I went to India tho, it was 24/7 Indian food so I didn't have the urge for Indian food for over a year 😆
When I came back home (California) from my exchange year in Switzerland I got tacos immediately 🌮
It depends on what my mom cooks. lol
Vegemite on toast
Potato Chips (bonus if it’s Better Made brand) and French onion style chip dip. I live abroad and can never get chip dip, thus I eat my body weight in it when visiting back home.
In New Zealand we make a dip called a “classic kiwi onion dip” and it’s reduced cream with a sachet of powdered onion soup mixed in and a splash of vinegar or lemon. Chuck it in the fridge (or keep the reduced cream in the fridge so it’s ready to go) and once it’s thickened up it’s good to eat! Soo yum!
Not really a meal but rye bread. In general less salty food since eating out tends to be a lot saltier than what I cook at home.
Coming back home to Mexico after graduating and living in USA for 4 years and the first thing I had were pulled beef and potato tacos dorados with lettuce, cucumber, queso fresco and sour cream on top. I had forgotten for a bit what heaven tasted like
Good old British fish and chips, with mushy peas on the side. Can’t beat it, nowhere else in the world you can get the real deal
Deep dish pizza :)
Fellow kiwi here! I miss coffee and bakery items when overseas. I also miss roast meals with all the trimmings (rosemary lamb or chicken) and seafood. I do have to say I felt right at home in Ireland with their quality of food after spending a while in Eastern Europe, something about having similar dairy industries I think!
As a south Indian, a good dosa or idli for me
Swiss here: Zweifel Paprika Chips and a Rivella red (milk serum based soft drink) after basically every 2 week holiday. Or who am I kidding, we‘re on stock basically all year round at home. When I‘m away for a longer time I might also crave good bread (but bread has gotten SO MUCH better overseas in the last 20 years). Or a local sausage like a cervalat. Cordon-bleu is high up on the list as well.
I’m Dominican from the NYC tristate area and the first thing we always eat when we come back is some good ol’ rice and beans with chicken or meat. Or some good Chinese
Chili!
Unless I'm coming back to the States from Mexico (about half of my foreign travel), my first meal is something Mexican, or even Tex-Mex. I've never had good Mexican food in Europe, despite several increasingly ill-advised attempts. Europeans are generally scared of chiles, and too fussy for even water-down Mexican. Generally once you are south of Mexico, there is no interesting cuisine in the Americas until Peru. The blandness extends to the local attempts at Mexican food too. In most places in Asia, the local cuisine is interesting enough that I'm not tempted to disappointed by the local botchery of Mexican, if it exists. First time I went to Cuba, it was for two weeks, early 2001. Food in Cuba is dire, even worse in 2001. By the time I flew back to Cancun from Havana, I was dreaming of fresh veggies. At terminal in Cancun, I beheld a Subway outlet. I had never, ever been excited to see a Subway, nor have I been since. This time, I strode straight up to the outlet, almost drooling over the full line of fresh veggies. I ordered a sub with just veggies, all of them, and it was marvelous.
I’m from the UK but lived in Australia for about a year. My first proper meal when I got home was a roast dinner :)) made by my mum of course!
One time I came back to Australia from the uk all I had for dinner was a cooked carrot and mash potatoes
After a week or two of travel I always crave simple food that is traditionally eaten in Latvia - soups (sorrel, solyanka, beetroot soup, sauerkraut soup), Latvian style pork chop with boiled potatoes, dill and sour cream. Heavy salads like meat salad(beef, mayo, potatoes, cucumbers, sour cream etc.). I don't know what it is , but they just have this comfort food quality to them that is impossible to get abroad. Also when traveling there is always way too much bread and flour based food.
American- almost always Thai (sometimes Chinese). For some reason we don’t eat a lot of Asian food when we are traveling, so usually craving it when I get home.
Fish and chips. I hardly ever eat it normally, but I always crave it when I come back to England after a long trip somewhere else.
Usually it’s lots of veggies or salads and fish/seafood. I feel like I never get enough veggies when traveling and they are often more overcooked that I like or have sauces all over them. Just give me lightly cooked peas or roasted veggies with salt and pepper. Or a multi ingredient salad! Lettuce and tomato does not a salad make.
Whether returning from international travel, domestic travel or backcountry camping it will be either pesto pasta or roast chicken.
Always a greasy poutine 🇨🇦
I live in Southern California. I went to Japan for 2 weeks. I loved the food there, I could go the rest of my life only eating Japanese food. But as soon as I was back at LAX I asked my dad who picked me up to take me to In n Out for animal fries. Then dinner was Taco Bell 😭
No offence meant, but I have to ask... Looking at the responses from Americans, is Mexican food the only well spiced food in some parts of the States? I'm a Ghanaian (West African) who has lived almost their entire life in the UK (Midlands and London) and totally understand that English and European food in general is not, shall we say, heavily spiced... however, as someone who comes from a culture where scotch bonnet chillies are a staple base for most dishes and we cannot live without well spiced food, the UK still has a wide variation of cuisine available to satiate spice cravings. We have Asian from various countries, Caribbean from various countries, African from various countries and more... We also have Mexican fast food places like Chipotle, but for well spiced food, we have way more than Mexican. Obviously, I can't speak for all of Europe, just the UK, and most especially London (most foreign tourists don't venture beyond London anyway). But it just struck me that so many Americans mentioned Mexican food when, to me, there are so many other world cuisines that offer well spiced options that are available, I will assume, not everywhere, but in many major cities around Europe, and I would have assumed, the States. Maybe it depends on where you're from in the States that some world cuisines are less accessible? Or maybe foods from some parts of the world haven't caught on yet? Or maybe Mexican food just feels like home? Hope I don't sound offensive. it just struck me, and I was curious. Please don't come for me. It's a sincere question, lol.
I think it's more that you cannot really find good Mexican or Tex-Mex food outside of North America at any price. So if you are accustomed to being able to enjoy that whenever you feel like it, it's the thing you will really miss when you travel abroad. It is of course easy to find other spice-focused cuisines like Indian in the USA (especially in coastal big cities), as there's a huge Indian population, but you can find that in many parts of the world so you're less likely to miss it if you've got a craving. I assume here we're talking about "spice" in the sense of using spices to build complex flavours, not the sense of hot chillis to create sharpness.
I grew up in the south/southwest US. Tex-Mex, Mexican, New Mexican foods are comfort foods for me. I don't think it's the spice aspect or the availability. In fact, that is one of the things I love about living in the US - food from all over the world is available. Not so much in small towns are rural areas but any bigger towns and cities are going to have an immigrant population and with that comes restaurants of every strip. And you can specify spice levels at most Asian restaurants. :-) Edit: plenty of Americans are bonkers for spicy foods. Most grocery stores are going to have 2-6 shelves of hot sauces, salsas, hot peppers, chile oils, etc.
You are right in assuming that Mexican food just feels like home to Americans--it's one of the most prevalent cuisines here, especially in those states that border Mexico or were formerly Mexican territories. Asian cuisine is also extremely popular on the west coast of the USA--I'm not very familiar with east coast cuisines. In the bigger cities in the US, multiple ethnic cuisine is the norm and there are many restaurants that provide them although not so much in smaller cities or in middle America. I get what you say about London but in my limited experience of just a couple of months overall in London, I found the food to be a bit underseasoned. (Scones to die for though!) Indian food was the big surprise to me because I know it is popular in Britain, but we found it not really spicy at all. Maybe we just went to the wrong places? That said, the best Indian food (northern India) or Asian food I've had in my limited experience was in France. Of course, just about every food is better there.
I live in europe, but when i went back to the states the first thing i absolutely needed was boneless buffalo chicken with extra ranch and extra bleu cheese 🤤
A big salad. Always a big salad. No one does that like the US.
It's as much tradition as any craving, but Johnnie's Beef is pretty much always my first stop after flying back into O'Hare.
I tend to get chipotle 🤣
We usually drive straight to In-N-Out.
My word is Guatemalan and we have black beans for dinner 2-4 nights a week. We returned from the land of Gruyère and gipfels and the first thing I made was black beans. We just never get tired of them.
Fries with andalouse sauce 🇧🇪
The one I remember most was after being in Tokyo for 10 days, eating a ton of sushi and ramen and tempura and then desperately wanting (and indulging in) pizza when I went home to the U.S.
Some of the best pizza I have ever had was in Tokyo.
We hit our favorite taqueria (California) immediately.
Whether it was coming home from vacation in the past, or now that I’m living abroad on visits to my home country, my first (restaurant) meal is usually Wurstsalat at a restaurant in a tiny village near my hometown. They have awesome traditional food at unbeatable prices. Gone there after every family holiday since I was a little kid.
This is terrible and I know it but the first thing I always get after clearing US Customs is a diet Mountain Dew!!! I haven’t seen it internationally- probably some of the ingredients are illegal elsewhere. But it’s my favorite and that first sip is always soooo good.
Interesting because we don’t get diet Mountain Dew in NZ so I was desperate to try it when I got to the US. I thought it was god awful! Took a sip and threw the rest out. Baja blast tho? I would do unspeakable things to get that here.
Always an Italian beef at the O’hare portillos
Thick cheese quesadilla with sour cream plus rice and beans. Get this every time at the Hilton by SFO
The In-N-Out by LAX.
Order a pizza. Not that I love pizza that much, but that’s all the effort I’m going to put in when I just got home.
Fat Boy burger and Poutine with ketchup - Winnipeg specialty lol
Toast with Vegemite or a cheesymite scroll from bakers delight.
I’m from Colorado but I live in Mexico now. I miss green chili all the time. It is a Mexican dish but from that area, as the peppers are grown in New Mexico and CO. Can’t wait to crush some when I go home next.
I love all of Asia but they don't have shit on Sichuan food
After traveling, I always crave my mom's homemade lasagna. Nothing beats that comforting, cheesy goodness.
I live in Sri Lanka for a good part of the year and when I get home to the US I go right for the cheese and Tex Mex foods.
I’m ready for anything cooked at home when I get home.
For me, I start to miss clean eating so no matter where I'm returning from, the first meal is always a giant salad and a boneless/skinless chicken breast.
Cevapi sa kajmakom
Man, always back to the OG, no matter what time of the year- rice/meat/veggies in hopefully some kind of broth lol
Went to Omaha Nebraska for a week once and first thing I wanted when I was home in the boot was a poboy.
A vadapav (I'm from mumbai)
A big salad!! Preferably kale!
After 3 months in Italy, I wanted a fully dressed roast beef poboy. There’s a place with a sandwich that has roast beef, ham, turkey, with melted cheese, lettuce and jalapeño mayo. Entire length of bread is bathed in butter on outside and inside. It’s like 1500 calories but so damn good.
Its just my local Serbian food, something home cooked, like "stuffed paprika with meat and rice"
We lived in SE Asia for 3 years…my first meal back was Spaghetti Factory, I don’t know why. lol. I also REALLY missed good Mexican food!
Came back after 10 days in Italy, picked my car from the airport and embarrassed to say that I drove straight to Chipotle 😪 Don’t know if anyone has ever asked for extra lettuce at chipotle but I just wanted some veggies. In the past, I’ve just come back to the US after visiting India (where I’m from), and just went for Thai. That’s comfort food for me.
Seattleite here - first thing I always crave when I'm home is spicy chicken teriyaki. I'm eating it multiple times a week normally, so I really miss it when I go on vacation.
Sanunad (Somali veg stew) and other nice hot home made meals. I don't get much veg in when travelling haha.
I’m in NC and we always go for BBQ as soon as we get home.
I lived in Europe for 12 months, came back to Australia and was dying to have real fish and chips. Mum duly bought some, I ate them, and then proceeded to vomit them all back up because my gut was unaccustomed to the grease. Fun times.
Once, when I returned from Germany, I've got huge craving for a well-made Döner. So, right after getting off the train I went to my favorite kebab place and ordered a Döner. In German. The Dönermann wasn't amused, he didn't understand a word of what I said. Right after I realized that I'm not in Germany anumore and that I should speak my local language now, I repeated it in Czech, and finally got my delicious Döner. It was really good :)
Vegetables, I missed broccoli. I always freeze a batch of vegetable soup before I travel. By the end of my journey I look forward to that soup 😋
Something spicy is always a must!
Depending where I travel to, I typically want Mexican or Asian food when I return home.
After coming back from a trip from Italy, I devoured some spicy butter chicken
Ice when getting back from Europe lol
usually a massive pot of ramen, or some kind of soup. I feel like a dried-out sponge after traveling.
Indian here. I’ll go for home cooked food - a potato or paneer based curry with Indian flatbread, lentil soup with cumin rice, spiced buttermilk. Masala chai to conclude the meal :)
Any time we return to the US from Europe, I want Coke with ice, water with ice, and chips and salsa.
I live in northern Europe and most of my travel is to the Middle East and Asia, so the only flavour I come home to is sadness. Literally not one thing here that I look forward to eating upon return.
After two years in India, I had a steak. I arrived home at 7 am but I needed a steak badly m
After traveling and returning to Texas I eat BBQ. Brisket specifically. ✅ Nobody does it like Texas.
Khichdi. IYKYK
I just missed making my fresh fruit smoothies in the Vitamix.
From US, was in Australia for 6 months. First thing I wanted was a tie between a good slice of NY pizza, and a sub from the deli. Also, meat pies and zinger burgers are what I miss most from Australia. I can't believe how much better the KFC over there is. I think I had it more in 6 months than I've had my entire life.
Raw food. Salads, etc. As a rule I don’t eat ANYTHING raw while traveling. I learn the hard way when I ate raw foods in Turkey!
For my wife and I (white Americans living in Boston), it’s always chicken tikka masala. Get in a cab, order delivery from our favorite Indian spot, and see if it beats us home. It’s the perfect, hearty-but-not-heavy, delicious dinner to just fall asleep right after.