Eating with Locals

One of the joys of travel is discovering local food, and generally home-cooked food is better than you will find in even the best restaurant. Now there is a new way to connect with people who love to cook and entertain in their own homes, while travelling or possibly in your own city.

A Website called www.eatwith.com provides information on locals who will welcome you for a meal in most of the major tourist destination countries. You see a picture of the host or hostess, information about the meal and a suggested price. Prices can vary widely, but are almost sure to be less than you would pay in a restaurant for a similar meal.

In looking at current offerings, I noticed that prices tended to be higher in Germany than in Argentina, but that is probably to be expected. And just because you are eating with a local for instance in the United States, doesn't mean you will get plain old American food. Russian, Israeli, Japanese and Mexican are among the cuisines you can sample in the U.S.

Speaking of Russian, there are a number of hosts listed in St. Petersburg and Moscow. One that looked especially interesting will provide a Soviet-style meal for as little as $15. As I recall, food in Soviet times wasn't very appetizing, but it was hearty and filling.