Milk Street on the Road: Thessaloniki & the Pelion Peninsula

The idyllic Pelion Peninsula, which sits halfway between Thessaloniki and Athens, is a magical place, one where old culinary traditions thrive, fresh produce and superlative seafood are king, and coastal villages dripping with unspoiled charm sit on centuries of history. On our nine-day trip through this region, we’ll get chance to explore – and taste – a side of Greece that most visitors to the country have yet to experience.

Milk Street on the Road: Osaka to Kyoto

Fermented foods are at the heart of traditional Japanese culinary culture and there’s no better place to experience this than within Japan’s Kansai region, a living repository for some of Japan’s most important and ancient traditions. Join us on this nine-day trip through this historic heartland of Japan – home to the food-loving cities of Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto – as we meet craftspeople whose knowledge and expertise stretches back generations. From sake distillers to miso producers and tea farmers, Michelin-starred chefs and knife craftsmen, we’ll get a once-in-a-lifetime grounding in what makes this region’s cuisine world-class, while along the way eating meals both delicate and outrageous in their flavors.

Milk Street on the Road: Penang

Fragrant with lemongrass, galangal, ginger, coconut and spices, the food of Penang tells a story of geography, trade, class and time. From the intricately prepared dishes of the Nyonya Peranakan culture to the vibrant hawker stall scene to the farms and fisheries of the rural lands, Penang is a rich classroom for the culinary traveler. Located at the strategic entrance to the straits of Malacca, Penang was once a trade powerhouse, gatekeeping the sea route between the East and the West. As a result, it’s home to many different immigrants and the birthplace of new, blended cultures. One of these is the Nyonya Peranakan, and their historic and contemporary foodways are the focus of our trip with Linda Tay Esposito and Captain Poh Hoo Peng. You’ll make Linda’s family recipes at a cooking school inside a spice garden, cook a multi-course traditional Nyonya Peranakan feast with culinary ambassador Su-Pei, visit historic homes and villages, learn about intricate Nyonya beadwork and fabrics and stroll George Town’s picturesque streets.

Dan Pashman’s Pasta Pilgrimage: Naples, Puglia & Rome November 12-20, 2024

On this 6-day Pasta Pilgrimage in Rome and Puglia, you’ll retrace Dan’s steps, eating at many of the same places where he ate, with many of the same people – including Dan himself, who will join the trip for several action-packed days!

L.A. Taco on Tour: CDMX

The taco, at its most simple or its most complex, may be the world’s most beloved food vessel, and for good reason – it makes just about any good food better. Stuffed peppers, stewed nopales, pork rinds, table salt, whatever, put it in a freshly-made corn tortilla and you are moving in the right direction. This is the philosophy in the taco kingdom of Mexico City and on this 5-day, 4-night trip, available only to the L.A. Taco and Culinary Backstreets audiences. Our agenda is not only to live like a taco-obsessed Chilango, but to better understand the history, ingredients, and heroes of the trompo who keep these traditions alive. You’ll be in the company of some of Mexico City’s most informed and fanatical taco specialists – who will give access to locals’ celebrated and lesser-known spots.

Milk Street on the Road: Catalonia

Considering its small size, Catalonia has had a profound impact on the food world. From this bountiful territory nestled between Spain and France have come an almost hard-to-fathom number of culinary traditions and innovations, groundbreaking chefs, and iconic dishes – both new and old – that are celebrated the world over. On this exclusive-to-Milk Street journey, we’ll explore Catalonia from the Mediterranean up to the Pyrenees in search of an answer to the question: Just what is it about this land that produces such culinary greatness? Along the way, we’ll meet the chefs, artisans, producers and families who are all part of this edible success story.

Milk Street on the Road: Trás-os-Montes, Portugal

Greece off-the-beaten-path is the theme of our trip to the Peloponnese. An experience available exclusively to Milk Street guests, this week will focus on the hyperlocal cuisine of the Mani Peninsula in the far south of the country. Your teachers and guides are Greek food expert and chef Carolina Doriti and Maniot chef Stavriani Zervakakou.  We’ll start with a short stop in Athens where we will position the cuisine of Mani within the diversity of Greek cooking. We’ll sample it all—traditional items like spanakopita and real-deal Greek coffee, Maniot cured meats and custard pies, honeys from all regions of Greece, a flight of Greek wines from small producers, and a shot or two of raki. Then, we head south.