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Halva stracciatella from Gelupo

Gelupo frequently comes up on lists of the best ice cream in London, and based on this one flavour — yeah, that makes sense.  Though it’s hard not to compare all future gelato to the mind-blowing stuff I recently had in Italy, for gelato outside of that country’s borders, this is top-notch stuff.  It’s rich and creamy, and the addition of halva to the classic chocolate and sweet cream stracciatella combo is actually fairly ingenious.  It works really, really well.

Sausage roll from Pekarna Bu & Ba

As far as I can tell, this place isn’t even in Google Maps — it just happened to be near my Airbnb.  The guy behind the counter spoke perfect English (which seems to be pretty common in Zagreb), so I asked him what he recommended, and he pointed to the sausage roll, which he said he eats every morning for breakfast.  It’s not the most Croatian thing ever, but you know what?  The guy’s got a point.  This was really satisfying — the pastry was fluffy and fresh, and its slight sweetness contrasted very nicely with the salty hot dog.  I don’t know if I’d want to eat this on a daily basis, but every now and then?  Sure.

Croissant from Boulangerie Pâtisserie Ounissi

On this particular morning, I randomly decided that I should probably eat a croissant and found a well-regarded place that was within a few blocks of where I was; Paris being the magical place that it is, this just happened to be one of the best croissants I’ve ever had.  It’s intensely buttery; borderline too buttery, but it never crosses that line (the paper bag it came in was spotted with grease within seconds, and was practically translucent by the time I finished).  The exterior was delicately crispy in all the best ways, and the interior was light and fluffy, with just enough substance to hold together (it might actually be a touch too light and fluffy, but that’s a minor complaint).  And that buttery flavour.  Wowza.

Octopus sandwich from Rosticceria Lo Sfizio del Borgo Antico

There were several vendors selling octopus sandwiches in the old area of Bari, so I figured I should probably try one.  This was totally fine; the octopus was quite tender and tasty, but otherwise none of the flavours here particularly popped, and the bread was so aggressively crusty that it was difficult to bite through.

I know Guy Fieri gets a lot of flack, but I like him.  Yes, he’s got some pretty strong bro/frat-boy vibes, but that’s mostly just part of the act.  He’s way more knowledgeable about food than your standard Food Network personality — he’s a professionally trained chef who already had his own restaurants long before he stepped foot in front of the camera.

He’s also a fairly charismatic host.  Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is a good show, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

Jose Andres is a celebrity chef who specializes in higher-end Spanish eats.  He has a bunch of restaurants in various States, but I mostly know him from a delightful cooking/travel show called Made in Spain he hosted several years ago.  His enthusiasm for Spanish cuisine was infectious.  I wish he’d do another one.