Bowman’s Travel Brief: 5 Best Things I Ate While Traveling in 2021

I love to eat.

Food is a strong part of my identity, and I thoroughly enjoy feasting upon delicious meals while traveling – whether it’s for business or leisure travel.

I was a pretty picky eater growing up too. My wife helped break me out of that shell and now I will try pretty much anything while out there exploring the world.

In 2021, I visited some amazing destinations. I also dined at some fabulous eateries and trying to pick out the best has proved to be quite the challenge.

That said, here are five of the best things I ate while traveling in 2021.

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The number one thing I ate all year was the Korean Seafood pancake at Japengo, located at the Hyatt Regency Maui. It featured kimchi, crab and shrimp, with a gochujang aioli and sesame-soy sauce. My wife and I both still dream about this dish.

The Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger at Disney's Contemporary Resort was super filling and oh so tasty. It’ is only available for lunch, which I think is because they want people to order steaks at dinner and not this burger. It’s that good, and I would eat it over a steak 10 out of 10 times.

The lobster mac n cheese at Rudi’s Seagrill by famous chef Rudi Sodamin onboard the new Carnival Mardi Gras is possibly the best side dish I’ve ever eaten. It came in a cute little crab bowl serving dish and had the perfect lobster to noodle ratio. Would I bathe in the cheese sauce if I could? Yes, and I’m not ashamed to admit that!

I ate a few different steakhouses throughout 2021 and the one that stole the show was the huge ribeye steak with roasted cauliflower at Oryx in Tijuana, Mexico. They bring the meat out before it’s cooked and ask you how big you want it cut. It was cooked perfectly and just melted in my mouth. The cheddar sauce on the cauliflower was so good it made me forget I was eating cauliflower. Job well done. Sadly, I didn’t get a picture of the steak because the venue was a bit dark and we dove right into all the food so quickly. When the smell captivates you before the food even hits the table, you know it's going to be good.

And rounding out the top five goes to the traditional Dutch pancake at Pancakes Amsterdam, located right in the city center near the Amsterdam Central Train Station. This one has a bit of nostalgia, as I ate here before when I visited Amsterdam back in 2017. Re-visiting it and re-ordering the bacon and cheese Dutch pancake brought back so many memories and filled me with great joy. Europe had been shut down for so long and to be able to visit again and explore a familiar destination topped with devouring a dish I longed for just made the entire experience that much better.

What did you love eating while traveling this year?

Let me know on Twitter and Instagram: @EricBowman_

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