It Tastes Better Off The Street
What was the last thing you ordered off the street? Whatever it was, I bet it tasted delicious. Everyone knows food tastes better off the street.
Corn Dog - United States
First invented by German immigrants in Texas, the corn dog—a hot dog on a stick, coated in cornmeal batter and deep fried—is one of the most iconic American street foods today.
Andreanna Moya Photography, Flickr
Coxinha - Brazil
When you first see a coxinha, you might think it's a deep-friend chicken wing. Or maybe an enormous deep-fried Hershey Kiss? But it's really shredded chicken meat that's shaped into a wing or teardrop shape, then battered and deep-fried.
Curry Puff - Southeast Asia
Popular across Southeast Asia, curry puffs are flaky, turnover pastries filled with vegetables or meat—and you guessed it, plenty of curry powder.
Currywurst - Germany
When cultures collide! Nowadays in Germany, you can order a currywurst on the street—a traditional German bratwurst topped with curry powder and curried ketchup, often served with french fries.
Ziko van Dijk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dahi Puri - Mumbai, India
Originally from the city of Mumbai, Dahi Puri is one of India's most popular street foods today. It's made of mini puffed bread shells called "puri" stuffed with potatoes, vegetables, and spices.
Panku00143, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dak-kkochi - South Korea
If you're ordering street food in South Korea, you'll probably see some dak-kkochi, the country's spin on BBQ chicken skewers.
Charles Haynes, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Danger Dog - Mexico
A hot dog, wrapped in bacon and deep-fried might seem like a quintessentially American snack, but it was actually invented by street vendors in Mexico first.
Doner Kebab - Turkey
Though most people call it "shawarma," the original vertical rotisserie was the döner kebab from the Ottoman Empire, now Turkey—but you can find it in pretty much any city on Earth today.
Doubles - Trinidad And Tobago
If you're in Trinidad and Tobago, you NEED to order doubles. Two curried flatbreads with curry chana, mango, cucumber, tomato, coconut, tamarind chutney, and pepper sauce.
Doubles are most popular for breakfast—but like all great breakfast foods, they hit at any time of the day.
Douhua - China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, And Southeast Asia
A sweet or savoury soft pudding made from tofu, douhua has no real comparison in the West, but it's an extremely popular street confection in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and across Southeast Asia.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
Egg Waffle - Hong Kong
A fluffy, eggy, bubbly waffle popular on the streets of Hong Kong. Can be rolled and filled with fruit or ice cream, or just served on its own fresh out of the iron.
Elote - Mexico
You haven't had corn until you've had an elote: Corn on the cob that's grilled and coated with butter, salt, chili powder, cheese, and lime, often served on a stick.
Ines Suarez R, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Empanada - Philippines, South America, And Spain
Spanish pastry turnovers stuffed with savoury fillings like meat or potatoes, a fresh empanada from a street vendor always hits the spot.
Esquites - Mexico
Esquites is a street corn salad found in Mexico made of sauteed corn with butter, onions, chile peppers, spices and lime. Delicious.
Farinata - Genoa, Italy
Farinata are thin, crepe-like pancakes made from chickpea flour. First made in Genoa before spreading down the Mediterranean coast to France, farinata are a savoury dish, usually served simply seasoned with rosemary.
Salvatore Mazza, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Fish And Chips - United Kingdom And Ireland
You can order fish and chips all over the world—even places where we call them "fries"—but you haven't had proper fish and chips until you've gotten true, batter-fried whitefish and chunky deep-fried potatoes, wrapped in newspaper, from a vendor by the ocean. Sorry.
Fish Balls - Southern China And Southeast Asia
Guess what shape fish balls are? Ball-shaped. Guess what's in them? Fish paste. They're deep-fried, delicious, and you can find them at street markets all over Southeast Asia.
Wee Keat Chin, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Thai Fried Chicken - Thailand
Maybe the most underrated kind of fried chicken, in Thailand they'll serve you your wings with coriander, garlic, fish sauce, and other Thai spices. My mouth is watering.
Frybread - Southwestern United States
In the 19th-century, the US Government forced the Navajo people to migrate to New Mexico from Arizona. They gave the migrants simple staples like flour, sugar, salt and lard, which the Navajo used to make the first frybread, which is exactly what it sounds like.
It's still popular across the Southwest today.
John Pozniak, Wikimedia Commons
Funnel Cake - United States
A lot of people are surprised when funnel cake looks more like a deep-fried net than a funnel, but it gets the name from the funnel used to pour batter directly into hot cooking oil. When they're done frying, the cakes are removed and topped with powdered sugar and sometimes ice cream.
DavidSandbrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Galette-Saucisse - Brittany, France
A staple street food of the Brittany in Northern France, galette-saucisse is a sausage wrapped in a thin, crepe-like buckwheat pancake. Great for eating on the go!
Trizek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Gimbap - South Korea
Sushi, Korean-style: Gimpab looks like Japanese sushi, but it's made with regular cooked rice, vegetables, and meat. Korean cooks likely started making gimpab during Japanese colonial rule.
Ginanggang - Philippines
Saba bananas—a popular, stubby cooking banana common in the Philippines—grilled on a stick with margarine and sugar. Ginanggang is very similar the banana cue, but not as rich.
Lokalpedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Gorengan - Indonesia
Gorengan are Indonesia street fritters that come in a myriad of varieties, from dessert banana fritters to savoury ones with tofu, sweet potato, or cassava.
Sakurai Midori, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Grilled Cheese Sandwich - United States And Canada
The grilled cheese sandwich was one of the only good things to come out of the Great Depression in the US. Nowadays you can get all kinds of fancy versions, but the original is still just a simple slice of American cheese friend between two slices of bread—and that's all you need.
Gukhwa-ppang - South Korea
You can always recognize gukhwa-ppang pastries from South Korea because of their distinctive chrysanthemum flower shape—and from the delicious red bean paste inside.
LWY, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Gyeran-ppang - South Korea
Street vendors in Korea have gyeran-ppang machines to make these fluffy, egg-filled pastries fresh for you.
travel oriented, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Gyro - Greece
It wasn't a long journey for the doner kebab to jump from Turkey to Greece. The Greeks made their own vertical rotisserie, and called their flatbread sandwiches stuffed with meat, cucumbers, and tzatziki "Gyros".
Antonio Fajardo i López, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Halo-Halo - Philippines
Halo-Halo from the Philippines is one of the most beautiful street foods you can get in the world—and with shaved ice, evaporated milk, and fruit, it's as delicious as it looks.
Hot Dog - United States
Meat tastes better on the street. This is the street meat philosophy. Ideally purchased outside of a baseball game. Mustard required.
Hotteok - South Korea
You might think a hotteok is a regular pancake at first glance—just wait til you take a bite. The brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, and peanuts inside take it to the next level.
Korean Culture and Information Service, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Imqaret - Malta
Order an imqaret from a street vendor in Malta. This sweet pastry filled with dates, flavored with aniseed and bay leaf tastes like the Mediterranean.
Simon Cutajar, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Isaw - Philippines
There's no other way to put this: Isaw is boiled chicken intestine grilled on a skewer.
Jerk Chicken - Jamaica
Heatseekers should seek out jerk chicken cooked fresh on the street in Jamaica. Scotch bonnet peppers—the best spicy pepper—are the star of the show if you can handle the heat.
Jambon - Ireland
Jambon in France is just ham. Jambon in Ireland is a square pastry stuff with cheese and ham. Both are good.
Legoless, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jambon-Beurre - France
You might say that jambon-beurre is just a ham sandwich. But when you get a baguette, sliced open and slathered with butter and ham on the streets of France, you won't say that anymore.
Boulanger, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jerusalem Mixed Grill - Jerusalem
The signature street food of Jerusalem, the city's mixed grill consists of chicken livers, gizzards, and hearts, braised then grilled. They say don't knock it til you try it...but I'm not sure I'm trying this one.
Peterjerusalem, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kaya Toast - Singapore And Malaysia
Kaya is a coconut jam eaten in Singapore and Malaysia. Popularly eaten in a buttered toast sandwich with eggs and coffee, kaya toast is one heck of a way to start your day.
Pinklily08, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kati Roll - Kolkata, India
Popular to this day in Kolkata, kati rolls are skewer-roasted meat, wrapped in paratha bread.
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