I tend to feel like a stranger in a strange land until I familiarize myself with a country’s cuisine. And I don’t mean ordering Pad Thai in Bangkok because I could simply walk down most streets in Manhattan and find this noodle dish, (albeit for ten times the price). I like to eat whatever it is that Americans don’t usually classify as food. So in Thailand, I ate Thai-spiced grasshoppers and beetles and whirligigs. Down Under, I went over the top on kangaroo. In Fiji, I sipped Kava with the locals, who honored me (or mocked me) with the title of Kava King. (Only in Peru was I less daring and avoided devouring the relatives of my second grade classroom pet: Sam the Guinea Pig.)

On my recent trip to Dubai, my stomach would not settle until I ate something unique to the region. Read more