For me, one of the best parts of travel is cultural immersion. I want to experience something different than my normal day-to-day, and I prefer to do that as wholly as possible, within the basic limitations I have as a visitor. So while I may not know all the customs, speak the language, or have the ability to feel like an integrated member of society, there are things I absolutely can do to gain that immersive feeling. I can take public transit. I can stay in places that are a bit more local. And I can eat food that the local people eat.

Food is a huge part of travel. But it can take so many forms, and some of those can be rather outside our comfort zones. So today, let’s talk about how to eat like a local, while not aggravating your anxieties about new cuisines.

Pre-research a cuisine

When we travel, most of us do a bit of research on a place. We look up things to do and see. We figure out where to stay, and how to get around. Yet we don’t spend a ton of time researching a cuisine. A simple Google search for “dishes to try in xyz destination” is a good starting point. See what comes up. While it is unlikely that all iconic dishes in a given country or region will sound appealing to you, it is a statistical improbability that none of them will. Find what seems like something you’d enjoy, and do a subsequent search for places to find that.

On my recent trip to Guatemala, a search of things to try netted me the national dish, pepian, a stew of chicken and root vegetables. That sounded like something I’d enjoy. A subsequent search for the best pepian in Antigua Guatemala gave me some options, as did just searching Google Maps for pepian and seeing where it came up in reviews.

You might decide that some of the dishes on these lists don’t sound like things you want to eat. That’s totally ok! Focus on the ones that sound the best, at least to start.

Food as culture

Sometimes, a single dish is so iconic that it makes its way past being a simple meal and into a cultural experience. Bouillabaisse in Marseille, France is one of those, as is haggis in Scotland. In cases like this, even when a dish doesn’t sound quite as tasty to me, I am a bit more likely to seek it out to try, valuing that cultural immersion. I end up enjoying most of them; a few just aren’t to my taste. But I can still chalk up the experience to one of culture, akin to a museum visit, even if the meal itself isn’t at the top of my list.

Haggis is a particularly challenging one for people. It doesn’t sound appealing. But assuming you can eat it (we will talk about dietary restrictions in a moment), I’d urge you to consider trying it. Don’t spend £50 on the “best” fine dining version, but see what neighborhood joints might have one that’s cheaper, so if you don’t like it, you can just order something else. Or, better yet, ask a local where they would go.

Work around dietary restrictions

Some cuisines are more challenging for people with significant dietary restrictions, whether those are religious, based on allergies, or just likes/dislikes. If you are vegan, you won’t be eating haggis, or fish and chips, or pepian. If you truly hate plantains, ordering tostones in Puerto Rico is probably not going to happen. As it shouldn’t.

But cuisines aren’t a monolith. There are vegans in Scotland and Germany, and people who don’t like plantains in Puerto Rico. If you don’t eat pork and want to try bratwursts, you might be able to find one made of beef or turkey in Berlin with some digging. Or you’ll just focus on those aspects of the cuisine that you can eat.

The instinct can be for people to make blanket statements about a cuisine. “I don’t like curry so I don’t like Indian food.” Or “spicy food doesn’t sit well with me so I can’t eat Thai food.” Or “German food is all meat and potatoes so being a vegetarian there will be terrible.” Dietary restrictions can make eating local food harder, to be sure, but there are Indian dishes that have zero curry, Thai dishes that are mild as can be, and vegan German dishes. Try not to close yourself off completely.

Overcoming language barriers

In many countries, restaurants commonly offer English language menus. But what happens if they don’t? Google Translate only works so well, and sometimes you are left guessing what something is, especially if it doesn’t have a direct translation. If you don’t have any dietary restrictions, it can be ok to just guess. You might understand most of a dish description, and hope the rest is to your taste. (If you have restrictions, this can be harder.)

I recall being at a taco stand in Mexico City. There was no menu, just a huge pot of various meats simmering away. I pointed to what others were having. That seemed to work. On other occasions, I’ve made animal noises to guess what sort of meat something is. Use what you’ve got.

If you are eating at places generally frequented by locals, these issues will be more common. If you are able to let go of anxiety – and again, if you don’t have many restrictions – just go with it and have fun. You might be very pleasantly surprised!

Ask locals for advice

This is easily the best tip. If you aren’t sure what to eat, ask a local. Whether it’s the person at the front desk of your hotel or a security guard at a museum, if you have language in common and can make sense of each other, ask where they would go for a good local lunch.

Are all of these suggestions going to be good? Of course not. But it isn’t any worse than just searching Google Maps.

Street food can be ok

I wanted to add a few lines about street food, since many are – with some justifications – concerned about eating from street vendors or market stalls. As Anthony Bourdain once said, these guys don’t stay in business by poisoning their neighbors. The food will be fresh, cooked to safety standards, etc…

However, just because it works for the dietary systems of locals doesn’t mean it will for you. Locals in Mexico or India can drink the water and Americans definitely shouldn’t. So err on the side of only eating completely cooked through food from such vendors if you are in a place with those basic health concerns.

If in doubt, just try it

In my opinion, few things are as accessible during travel as food. So while you might love pasta, and want to eat pasta as often as possible, it would seem to be a bit of a waste to seek out pasta in Mexico or Turkey. (This doesn’t mean those places don’t have extraordinary pasta; they well might.) I understand that it can be a bit scary to go outside of one’s comfort zone, and it can even be a bit of a shock to the system if you are a person who eats mainly the same sorts of things on a daily basis.

But when all else fails, lean toward a yes. An Italian place sits next door to a local kebab shop in Istanbul; maybe say yes to trying the kebabs. A server suggests a local liquor or beer you’ve never heard of; a yes can be fun. Same with that haggis or another dish that might sound weird. Your life and trip might just be enriched by that experience.

While some cultures aren’t as known for their cuisines as others, I can guarantee you this: all places have good food. You just have to eat what a place does well, to eat what the locals eat, to find it.