BBC Good Food

Food abroad

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Googling for food

Ever heard of Bryndzove halusky? No, me neither. Not until a few hours ago that is. It's Slovakian and apparently, if you ask "one hundred Slovak people to tell you one and only one Slovak traditional meal, usually at least 90 of them will say Bryndzove halusky."

Whenever a business trip looms the first thing I do, before looking at hotels, the sightseeing options, whether or not I'll need my thermals or the what nick-nacks I can buy, I Google for food. On the internet, someone somewhere always has an opinion, a tip and an address to share.

The first stop is usually the excellent forums within eGullet. A quick dip into the Europe section tells me all I need to know about Bratislava including the scrummy menu at one restaurant and the thoughts of a Slovakian chef about to open a new restaurant.

Whenever a business trip looms the first thing I do... is Google for food.

Meanwhile over at Chowhound I can read the recommendations of someone who lived in the Slovakian capital for a year. His "most cravable food in Bratislava is losos... a fried dough concoction and I like to order it with garlic (cesnakom) or cheese (syr), or both." I now have two dishes and one solid restaurant recommendation to follow up and I haven't so much as picked up a guidebook yet, let alone thought about where I'm going to sleep.

Next I hit the food blogs. And if it's a digestif you're after, The Foreigner's guide to living in Slovakia has it. Here Margarete blogs about Tvrd˝ alkohol, or strong spirits and the do's and don'ts when it comes to drinking alcohol with Slovaks, "If your host wants to make a toast and is pouring you a shot, you'd better have a darn good reason why you can't drink it, or you may be insulting your host by refusing... you'll avoid a lot of hassle if you just drink it, even if you don't want to. I know, that sounds terrible, but there you have it in a nut shell."

So, that's me pretty much set for Bratislava, but what about you. Do you Google or head to the nearest library? And if you Google, what food sites do you most often turn to?

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