The Best Local Dish I’ve Ever Eaten While Traveling

Now, I’ve been to food meccas all over Europe—Italy, France, England—and while I’ve enjoyed the local dishes in each country, there’s one meal that still stands out as the best local dish I’ve ever eaten while traveling.

And surprisingly, it was in Israel.

If you had asked me growing up if Israel was a country I’d ever visit, I probably would have laughed. It simply wasn’t somewhere I had ever imagined myself going.

But when I was thirty, my best friend and I took a Birthright trip to Israel.

It was a ten-day guided tour throughout the country. I’m not usually much for group activities or organized tours, but a free trip to a country I had never visited? I couldn’t pass that up.

And it ended up becoming one of the most memorable trips of my life.

The history, the culture, the Mediterranean scenery—it was all completely different from anything I had experienced before.

I don’t know why, but in my mind I had pictured Israel as being mostly dusty desert. And yes, we certainly experienced the desert. We rode camels, went stargazing, and climbed to the top of Masada in the early hours of the morning.

But there was so much more.

We explored Tel Aviv, a vibrant city filled with restaurants, nightlife, and energy. The crowded market streets that were busy with vendors during the day transformed into something completely different at night. We visited the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, and Haifa.

And it was in Haifa that I had a meal I still think about.

Haifa is a city rich in history, culture, and art. After spending the day exploring the streets and museums, my friend and I had some free time to grab something to eat.

We were craving shawarma.

We had heard there was a place that served some of the best shawarma in the country, and of course, I was intrigued.

One of my favorite things about traveling is eating my way through a culture. I want to try the foods people actually recommend. I want to find the little restaurants and hole-in-the-wall places that locals love. I want to taste the things that make a place feel like itself.

This restaurant was exactly that.

It was tiny. There were only a few tables, and it had that classic grab-your-food-and-go kind of atmosphere.

And the moment we walked in, I saw it.

A huge piece of meat turning slowly on a vertical spit, roasting away while the juices glistened on the surface.

I was sold.

My friend and I grabbed a seat near the window and dug into our shawarmas.

Oh boy.

I died and went straight to food heaven.

It was, without a doubt, the best shawarma I had ever eaten.

The meat was tucked into fresh pita along with toum, that incredibly garlicky, creamy sauce that I still dream about, pickled red onions, peppers, and all those little flavors that somehow came together perfectly.

My picture doesn’t do it justice.

There was something about that first bite that felt bigger than just eating a really good sandwich.

It felt like taking a bite out of the country itself.

I’ve eaten incredible food in a lot of places. And honestly, Italy would normally be an obvious contender for the top of my list. I’ve had pasta in Italy that I still think about.

But for whatever reason, that shawarma in Haifa stayed with me.

Maybe it was because I wasn’t expecting it.

Maybe it was because of where I was.

Or maybe it was simply that perfect combination of fresh ingredients, incredible meat, warm pita, garlic, pickled onions, and the kind of hunger you work up after spending an entire day exploring somewhere new.

Whatever it was, I still remember it.

And that’s one of the reasons food has always been such an important part of traveling for me.

Food is one of the easiest ways to immerse yourself in another culture.

You can learn about a place through its history and architecture. You can walk through its museums and explore its streets.

But you can also sit down at a table and taste it.

You experience the spices people use. The ingredients they grew up with. The meals they eat with their families. The foods they grab on a busy afternoon.

You don’t just observe the culture.

For a moment, you participate in it.

And I think that’s what makes a great travel meal so memorable.

Years later, I may not remember every street we walked down that day in Haifa.

But I remember that shawarma.

I remember sitting near the window with my best friend.

I remember taking that first bite.

And I remember thinking, Oh my God. This is really, really good.

Sometimes the best travel memories aren’t the grandest ones.  They’re the unexpected little moments that stay with you.  

For me, one of those moments will always be a tiny restaurant in Haifa, a warm piece of pita, and the best shawarma I’ve ever had. 

Check out this awesome recipe I found for beef shawarma

What food instantly takes you back to a place you’ve traveled?

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”— Virginia Woolf