Let’s start our foodie tour in the city of Melbourne, Australia at Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar. The 70-year-old restaurant is an institution that revels in its authenticity. Nonna still comes to the restaurant every day at 6am to start cooking. As a matter of fact, Pellegrini’s was the first place in Melbourne to have an espresso machine, giving birth to the coffee movement that has now blossomed into a bustling coffee culture. David Malaspina, owner of Pellegrini’s, treated me to my favorite pasta – spaghetti bolognese – and boy does Nonna know what she’s doing!

Grow, Eat, Shop, Local. It’s not just a saying for The Friendly Market, but a way of life for this North Carolina farmer’s market and nursery. What began as a humble roadside stand has turned into a must-stop destination for anyone in the Morehead City area. I spoke with Mindy Fitzpatrick about their iconic Tomato Pie. Using her mother’s very own recipe, it has become the market’s staple item ever since they opened. After making – and tasting – my own, I see why they sell 80 to 100 tomato pies a day!

In the medieval town of Rothenburg, Germany, tradition is paramount when it comes to making the city’s most beloved treat, the Schneeballen, or snowball. At Bäckerei Striffler, you can see all types of Schneeballen, but cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar are the most popular staples. I met with Florian Striffler, a sixth-generation baker, who is continuing the tradition of making his great-grandparents’ Schneeballen. He even uses their original iron molds in order to achieve a crispy, delicious perfection! I had a chance to make my own and Florian even showed me the proper way to eat a Schneeballen – one piece at a time!

There’s nothing better than some deliciously decadent chocolate – it’s one of my favorites! And Costa Rica’s diverse geography and climate help shape this delicious treat into one of the world’s finest. At Chocolate Sibaeli, they continue the practice that has been cultivated by indigenous tribes for thousands of years.

Chocolate here is crafted and grown organically while helping the environment. Plantation owner Juan Carlos Sibaja walked me through the entire process that is all done on site – from harvesting cacao beans, fermenting them to develop flavor and aroma, to roasting them. It ends with my favorite part of the process – getting to taste the chocolate!

There’s no city quite like New Orleans, and no city takes its food quite so seriously or joyfully. The port of New Orleans has been a major hub for importing coffee beans for more than 300 years. With a history like that, it’s no wonder the coffee here is beyond the ordinary.

At Current Crop Roasting Shop, you get to be part of the entire process of creating coffee. Their bean library has about 78 different coffee beans from all over the world – Asia, North America, Africa, Central America and more. Once you choose your beans from the library, you decide the level of roast you prefer, from light to dark. This is where you get to add your personality to the coffee. Catherine Mansell walked me through the process and helped me create two delicious blends of coffee. Both made delicious cups to start the day!

One of the best parts of traveling along Route 66 is discovering all the incredible local food spots along the way. And Mother Road Market, a non-profit food hall, is making sure local food entrepreneurs have the resources they need to get a jump-start with their food business. Mother Road Market works with the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation and Kitchen 66, a program dedicated to reducing barriers to success for food entrepreneurs in Tulsa.

Here, local businesses learn the ins and outs of starting a restaurant and make their recipes a reality. Katy Hall, Chief Comms Officer, and I walked the market and spoke with a few vendors, including Se Yeon Kim from Sobahn 82 and Sammy Cooper from the Big Dipper.

Is there a dining experience more iconic than the American steakhouse? Bern’s Steak House has been a Tampa institution for more than 70 years. It has served as a fine dining experience reserved for special occasions for locals and for people from all over the world. But the experience at Bern’s doesn’t stop after the melt-in-your-mouth steaks and crisp glass of wine. Guests can actually take a tour of the kitchen and wine cellar.

Brad Dixon, Senior Sommelier at Bern’s, showed me around a wine cellar unlike anything I have seen before. Their working cellar has 70,000 bottles of wine, while they have more than 500,000 bottles in the warehouse across the street! You can even check out their rare wine room, set to a cool 50-55 degrees to slow the aging process. This room houses vintages dating back to 1820!

If you’ve ever been to Traverse City, Michigan, you know they love one major food group above all else – cherries! But did you know that Traverse City is the perfect microclimate for cool-climate wines and boasts more than 50 vineyards? Chateau Chantal has two specialty wines not found outside this region. The first is, of course, a delightful cherry wine. The second is an ice wine.

Marie-Chantal Dalise, President and CEO of Chateau Chantal, and I sat down to enjoy these wines. Marie explained that the secret to a good ice wine is a deep freeze. Once the temperature goes down to about 15°F, the grapes freeze solid on the vine. They are then picked by hand and brought inside. As they warm up, they release the juice which is then fermented and turned into a beautifully balanced dessert wine. Cheers!