If your go-to food destination in India has been Kolkata, then give the foodie inside you some patting. Your sensory organs, especially taste buds, are accurate to pin the best hub of culinary delicacy in a massive land of eclectic flavours like India. In its recent ranking of 'Where to eat', in 2023, the 11 best food destinations in the world were chosen. Kolkata is the only Indian city to secure a place. Apart from the sumptuous local Bengali cuisine, the capital city of West Bengal has been a porous pot absorbing almost every flavour from different cultures of domestic and international origins.
The said website, Eater, considered various factors in adjudging the cities which made it to the final list. A few parameters were the history of food, must-try dishes, the culture that shaped the food scene, the milieu, people and their equation with food in these cities etc.
Taking to its Instagram handle, Eater announced the names of the winning cities. The post stated, "In picking 2023's dining destinations, we thought not just about hit lists and must-try dishes (although those are important, too), but also the aspects of meals that make them feel immersive: the people, environment, culture, and history behind foods that force us to pause and tempt us from pre-planned paths."
Eater's post on Where To Eat, Image Source: Eater@ Instagram
The list of 11 places included Tamaki Makaurau (New Zealand), Asheville (North Carolina), Albuquerque (New Mexico), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Cambridge (England), Dakar (Senegal), Halland (Sweden), Sardinia (Italy), Kolkata (India), Manilla (Philipines) and Ho Chi Minch City (Vietnam).
Kolkata is not just about native culinary fares. It offers diverse global grubs. Be it the happening Park Street serving Bengali, Mughlai, Lebanese, to American, Thai, and Korean grubs or a dedicated corner serving some of the best Chinese foods. Kolkata has it all. For example, Tiretta Bazar in central Kolkata has been identified by the World Monuments Watch (WMW) as "one of the 25 cultural sites of remarkable significance, facing severe concerns." For many generations, Kolkatans have chosen Tiretta Bazar as their go-to breakfast place. Every Sunday, the local Chinese community serves up Cantonese food on the streets of Tiretta Bazar, which has become a foodie hotspot.
Time and again, various regions within and outside India tried replicating the iconic dishes of Kolkata. But nothing could ever outplace the original taste and feel. Be it Kolkata's famous rolls, puchka or world-famous sweets. Perhaps the City of Joy itself has a soul of an epicurean. And its appetite for delicious grubs is ever-growing.