In Search of the Best Dishes with National Geographic and Chef Nobu

Traveling this holiday season? Regardless of your destination, there are probably a few local dishes worth seeking out. The challenge is tracking them down. In 2010, you’ll have dishKarma to help guide your search. Until then, your solution may be a new book from National Geographic.

Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe, is an illustrated overview of the best food from around the world. There’s also a great promotional video that covers a few highlights from the book. For example, the video suggests the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Japan as the go-to place for fresh tuna.

I'm a huge fan of tuna (check out this post if you dig it too), so I decided to do a bit more research. Eventually I landed on a top ten list created in Google Maps by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The map outlined his favorite places in the world and included a brief commentary on each location. It turns out the Tsukiji fish market was where he got his start as an apprentice in a small sushi restaurant. This use of the map application is very cool. You almost get the feeling he was just playing around with Google one day and decided to create this awesome little tool. Check out all of his favorites here.

Have you ever been to the Tsukiji market in Japan? How about one of Chef Nobu's other favorite spots? Perhaps one of his restaurants?