Isn’t it funny how when you travel you discover foods you never knew back home, or an abundance of ones you rarely get to enjoy? That was the case when I visited New Mexico with my mother last spring. Chiles, chiles, everywhere. You could choose from red or green chile pepper salsa at every restaurant. They sold strings of dried chiles (I was never clear if they were just for decoration or if people ate them) on every corner. Chile jam. Chile candy.
Food is one of my primary joys when I travel, and the heartbreak I always experience is that, when I go home, I can’t enjoy the same foods I did while traveling. I’ll never find a baguette this side of the Atlantic that rivals even the worst bread in France. Cider here doesn’t taste the same, since it’s 5 times what it costs in England. Try finding a po boy in California. While those flavors I latch onto when I travel can never be recaptured when I return home, it always gives me more reason to travel again and discover some new flavor taste sensation.