Wondrous food to explore and enjoy

Gastro Obscura

For a time, the burger resided at the Bus Hostel Reykjavik.

How a Big Mac Became a 'Historical Artifact' in Iceland

A 12-year-old Big Mac, to be exact.

BY Alexandra Yingst

Places to Eat & Drink

Opelika, Alabama

Melanin Cafe

At this coffee shop, each drink celebrates African-American history and luminaries.

Pose with a giant pretzel outside the landmark bakery.

Lititz, Pennsylvania

Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery

Don't get it twisted: This is the oldest pretzel bakery in the United States.

Frère Jean in the monastery kitchen.

Saint-Julien-des-Points, France

Skite Sainte Foy

Cloistered comestibles are served with style at this French Orthodox monastery.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sea Palace

Europe's first floating restaurant is home to a hilarious legend.

See All Unique Places to Eat

Stories

An egg coffee in Hanoi.

How to Make Vietnamese Egg Coffee

And appreciate the country's beans and brews.

BY Alex Mayyasi

Rodney Scott mopping sauce onto whole hogs at Scott's Bar-B-Que in South Carolina.

Inside the Decades-Long Effort to Build a Barbecue Trail

The Southern Foodways Alliance is documenting the oral histories of pitmasters.

BY Diana Hubbell

The Farming Colony That Grew Under the Midnight Sun

How the New Deal seeded giant vegetables in Alaska.

BY Vivian Wagner

A recently-unearthed pot of rye bread sits on the shore of Lake Laugarvatn.

The Icelandic Bakery That Buries Its Bread in Hot Springs

Laugarvatn Fontana's sweet, cakey rye gets baked by geothermal energy.

BY Tiffany Eastham

The Tower House Hotel and adjacent orchards, circa 1860, painter unknown.

How to Resurrect Gold-Rush Era Orchards Ravaged by Fire

The 2018 Carr Fire destroyed historic fruit trees—but not the will to make them bloom again.

BY Ashley Stimpson

Empanadas are traditional across Latin America.

The Challenges of Writing a Continent-Spanning Cookbook

22 countries, 600-plus recipes, one giant book.

BY Anne Ewbank

Peek inside our new gift box!

Flavor Trip With the New Gastro Obscura Box

Try miracle berries, canned bread, and more.

BY Rachel Rummel