One of my absolute favorite things about being abroad is, of course, the food! I love eating local food wherever I go, whether I am in Italy or another country.

Concert at Augustiner Keller

First off, some of my favorite things to pick up at the grocery store here in Milan are patate gnocchi, Italian sausage, and ravioli. I have always loved pasta and the amount that is available to me here is almost dangerous. I had never tried gnocchi (small dumplings made with potatoes) before and now I am hooked. I also had to Google search how to prepare the Italian sausage because it comes wrapped and tied in floured-paper. All you have to do is boil it a little, especially if the sausage isn’t already easy to slice, and “voila!” Ravioli is another favorite, being that it is a type of pasta. I usually get ricotta and spinach or prosciutto stuffed ravioli and have it with a little bit of salt or pesto.

The Belgian fries with mustard in Brussels

Recently, I was able to go to Brussels, Belgium and Munich, Germany for a couple weekend trips. While there, I tried the most popular foods and loved every bit of it. In Belgium, I had Belgian fries with the most amazing spicy, honey mustard on top. I later went back for some more fries and got mayonnaise instead of mustard. I never knew mayonnaise would be such a delicious dipping sauce for fries. I also tried Belgian waffles from a street vendor with strawberries, whipped cream, and melted white chocolate drizzled on top. Just typing this blog post is making me hungry for more Belgian fries and waffles!

Pretzels from Augustiner Keller

I did not have as much experience with German food until arriving to Munich. My travel buddies and I found a beirgarten on our first evening in town, called Augustiner Keller, and had our first full meal in Germany! I had Bavarian style beef loung with a dumpling, and giant pretzels with more mustard on the side! This mustard was also incredible. We also got to join in on a concert that was happening at Augustiner Keller after our meal! Some of our classmates at NABA in Milan are from Munich and recommended a restaurant called Hans Im Glück, which was a type of burger place. I had the “Klassik” burger and it was so good!

The many choices of waffle toppings

The last couple of things I tried in Germany were apple strudel with vanilla sauce and chicken schnitzel. I don’t know if I can even choose a favorite out of all of these foods because I have liked everything so far. I cannot wait to continue on my self-made food tours!

– Kolbyn is an SAI Milan student from Kansas State University