Tamales for the holidays is a true Houston (and Texas) tradition. It’s almost like having mom’s favorite Turkey at Thanksgiving - we just can’t go without it! From traditional pork, to brisket, jalapeño and even a “sweet” flavor, there is no shortage of tamale options in the Houston area. Molina’s Cantina was one of the first Mexican restaurants in Houston back in 1941 and the tamale tradition has lived on through the years.

The Viennese cuisine has an excellent reputation. Especially cakes are a class of their own, for instance the famous Malakov Torte. Reportedly, it was created in Vienna in honor of the French marshal Pélissier who was awarded the title Duc de Malakoff after he had successfully defeated the Russian fortress Malakow during Crimea War. The cake’s particularity is that it does not have to be baked.

New trends, wine-growing traditions and advantageous geography make Prague one of the top cities for wine lovers right now. Central Europe is just waking up to its winemaking appeal and Prague is exactly the right place if you want to be part of it. Over recent years many new businesses have opened up in Prague, bringing in a whole gamut of worldwide gastronomic trends.

If cooking is indeed the salt of a culture or even the soul of a country, then, in Belgium, we are definitely in seventh heaven. Its recipes pay tribute to the flavours of its high-quality ingredients that give us a true sense of pride. Amongst the numerous specialties of Belgian and more particularly Brussels cuisine, let’s unravel the waffle.

Be it at breakfast, on sandwiches, cut in cubes and served with mustard, or even fried in a croquette, you can find an excuse to eat cheese any time of day. The Netherlands produces a variety of tempting cheeses, but the most typical and best known are the hard or semi-hard cheeses. You might be familiar with Gouda – rightfully Holland’s most popular cheese.

Pizza, for starters. Walking in the city, you cannot help but notice the truly remarkable number of pizza slice shops known as pizzerie a taglio. Of course quantity does not always mean quality, but word of mouth is enough to avoid any mistakes. The type of pizza served, whether alla pala (a long rectangular pizza named after the pala, or peel)...