Have a Home-Cooked Meal With a Local Thanks to MealSharing.com
I recently wrote a column for Men’s Journal on how to find the best restaurants on the road. As usually happens, someone contacted me after the piece ran and mentioned a new crowdsourcing site called MealSharing.com. Sign up to be a guest or host and simply share a home cooked meal around the world with locals. How cool is that? Guests are asked to bring a bottle of wine and share stories of their travels. Hosts typically want to discuss their culture and turn you on to their favorite things to do in their city or village. Some of my most memorable meals have been at local’s home, like the Friday night dinner I had in Jerusalem sitting next to an 11th-generation Yemenite Torah scribe. Or dinner Lisa and I had with an Amish couple in their home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Found a little notice at the local general store about this rare opportunity and had to show up. I remember the food was excellent and we discussed not only the differences but the striking similarities between our religions. Fascinating. Then he told me about his favorite homemade root beer joint in town. After all, no one knows his or her neck of the woods better than a local.