“Eating may be the most immersive, visceral travel experience,” suggest authors Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras in their introduction to Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide (Workman. $40). Every meal served around the world incorporates some common ingredients: History, culture, geography. Many also include a dash of religion, a pinch of politics, and even a sprinkle of entertainment. Its these abstract elements of the global larder that enliven the hundreds of eating experiences spotlighted in this beautifully designed compendium whose entries range from profiles of esoteric edibles (fried octopus ink sacs; Kool-Aid brined pickles) to oddball restaurant recommendations (the meat lover’s buffet with all-you-can-eat camel and crocodile along with beef and chicken; the coffee bar in a London public men’s room) to surprising food festivals (Louisiana’s Giant Omelet Celebration; the massive Indian gathering at which 4 million women simultaneously cook rice pudding). The book is organized by geography, so in addition to randomly browsing it like a culinary Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, you can make it your go-to reference before you go just about anywhere. One note though: The articles here have been selected and refined from the Gastro Obscura website’s much larger, and continuously growing, crowd-sourced motherlode. The book offers an enticing amuse bouche, but the full banquet is online.
