A Photographic Tour of Food Around the World

Our staff has returned from Spring Break with a cornucopia of stories to share about food.

This month, Verbatim is continuing tradition with Feature Stories about everything related to food: how and where it is produced, different types of foods, and more. Brownell Talbot’s Spring Break, which took place from March 6-10, was a time for BT students to explore different foods from around the world through travel. From Brazil to Boston, our Verbatim staff toured the world. Below is information about the various places our staff visited, as well as the deliciousness they indulged in along the way!

Claire Cenovic, Boston, Massachusetts

This break, I traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to see my brother, Jack Cenovic, ’22. Jack is currently a freshman at Harvard University, which allows him easy access to the food scene in both Boston and Cambridge, MA. During my time with Jack, we adventured around the two cities, eating at a variety of restaurants. Here are some of my favorite eats!

Mia Hatcher and Frida Silva, Brazil

This spring break, we traveled to Brazil with our friend, Giovanna Bertolini, who is an international student and BT. We stayed with her family and traveled around the country to see different tourist attractions and cities. We started in Castro, the hometown of the Bertolini’s, and spent multiple days with her family and friends. We visited their businesses, farm, and walked around in the town. After, we flew to Balneário Camboriú, a large beach town. After, we drove to São Paulo, the largest city in South America. We stayed with more of Giovanna’s family and went to a Coldplay concert. In each of the places we stayed, we ate delicious food and have wonderful memories.

Angel Bhandari, Jamaica

Over the break, I traveled with my family to Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was roughly a 6 hour flight time in total, without counting layover timing. Our first stop was at Midway in Chicago, and from there we went directly to Jamaica. When we arrived at the Iberostar resort, we were greeted with hot towels and some hot Jamaican chicken. My mouth was filled with foreign flavors such as the Jamaican fish. As well as the fresh salad, otaheite apple, rum cake, strawberry sponge cake, and the chocolate seaweed cake! Iberostar was booming with restaurants, and ice cream shops. Before we left we tried their ice cream, and it was LIFE CHANGING. The icecream was so good, and fulfilled all of my expectations! Safe to say, I would rate Jamaican food a 11/10!

Luke Knofczynski, Albuquerque, New Mexico

During the break, I traveled with my family to Phoenix, Arizona. Along the way, we stopped in Albuquerque to rest for the night before making the final trek to Phoenix. Just down the street from our hotel was a brewery that served food. We decided to eat there before heading back to the hotel. The brewery was called the Starr Brothers Brewing Company and I ate their buffalo Chicken Sandwich with a side of fries. The food tasted delicious after the 13 hour drive through mostly flat terrain.

Fruzsina Roka, Las Vegas, Nevada

Over spring break, my family decided to try a staple of the West Coast: In-N-Out Burger. I had heard many great things about it, but it honestly didn’t live up to my expectations. I ordered a Double-Double with fries and a vanilla shake. On the burger, there was a lot of lettuce and tomatoes, which I enjoyed. The American cheese was completely melted and stuck to everything, including the wrapper, which was a little annoying. Overall, it was probably one of the best chain burgers I’ve ever had, though it doesn’t come close to beating a non-chain burger. I liked that it wasn’t overly big like non-chain burgers, though. The fries came in a very small portion, which I didn’t get until I realized how bad they were, and how no one could manage to stomach more than that little portion. They came with extra salt packets, which I liked since I thought it meant the fries were going to be unsalted, but boy was I wrong! They were salted enough to give an elephant heart palpitations, and it made me regret not getting a proper drink. I can’t imagine how anyone would use the extra salt unless they were planning to murder someone. The fries themselves were mediocre, though I was glad they weren’t soggy. A couple were cold, but that wasn’t an issue compared to how salty the fries were. I powered through the tray with the help of my father, who enjoyed them about as much as I did. The fries themselves were cooked well, with a slightly crisp exterior and soft interior. I wish they had been cooked a little longer to achieve a better crunch. Thankfully, the shake was very good! Exactly what I was expecting. I’ve had the Mcdonald’s vanilla shake before, and this was definitely thicker. It was an excellent palette cleanser after the fries and kept its form for a long time, even as I’m writing this review. It’s very plain, which was exactly what I was looking for. Not too sweet either. The only problem I had with it was the small straw, which was a chore to use. A bigger straw would’ve helped a lot. Overall? It was better than your average chain restaurant, but nothing to lose your mind over. I don’t plan on eating here again.