What Did I Eat in Morocco

I recently traveled to Morocco for work, and as is often the case with work trips, most of my meals were either hotel catering or wherever the client chose to take me. Fortunately, my client had excellent taste, opting for nearby restaurants in Casablanca like Rick’s and La Sqala—both of which were incredible and a welcome change from the hotel's western-style food.

When I had a free day in Marrakech, I finally had the chance to choose my own dining spots, and I made sure to pick some truly exceptional restaurants. While it wasn’t exactly the foodie adventure I might have dreamed of, I still managed to enjoy a good variety of flavors along the way.

Asian Food: Sushi (Japanese), spring rolls (Vietnamese), and Pad Thai (Thai)

Juices: Lemon, mixed fruit, cucumber, orange, and pomegranate

Desserts: my favorite being the black rice pudding from Rick's

Dips

Breakfast and snack at the Riad

Chicken Tagine, and Lamb Tagine

Western food

Client lunch at Petanque Social Club

Client lunch at Petanque Social Club

Cocktails 

at Petanque Social Club

Work Trip Rituals: Indian Take Out

Ever since I began traveling regularly for work, I’ve learned more about myself at this stage in my life — my wants, my needs, and my quirks — all through the lens of travel. For instance, I now know the perfect airplane bag, I’m extremely particular about my in-flight snacks, and I pretty much wear the exact same clothes on every business trip.

Another ritual I’ve developed is ordering Indian takeout on the last night of each trip. This habit started in Minneapolis, where — tired of cold sandwiches and uninspired pasta salad from the conference buffet — I wandered into the city and stumbled upon the best Indian restaurant of my life. Since then, I’ve eagerly sought out new Indian cuisine in every city I visit.

Part of the reason I indulge in Indian food during work trips is because my partner and daughter don’t like it, so I rarely order it at home when I know they won’t eat it. But since it’s my favorite cuisine, traveling solo gives me the perfect excuse to savor it guilt-free.

I also always order the same dishes: Lamb Biryani, Saag Paneer, Garlic Naan, and Chicken Tikka. 

Here’s a running list of the top Indian takeouts I’ve discovered on my work travels.

Minneapolis, MN: Kadai - The best Indian food ever

Washington, DC

New York City, NY

Tulsa, OK

Winnipeg, Canada

Sacramento, CA

The absolute worst Indian food I ever had was in Ireland. It was so bad that I threw it out and ordered the same dishes from another restaurant, only to discover the second place was somehow even worse. Both spots were extremely popular and highly rated, but the curries were sickeningly sweet — clearly tailored to Irish tastes. There wasn’t a hint of spice, and the sweetness was so over the top they might as well have served it for dessert. Truly disgusting.

Belfast, Ireland

Rhode Island In the Summer

It’s not every business trip that lands me in a $3M home right on the beach. But this work trip was special for many reasons. I had never been to Rhode Island, let alone a beach on the Atlantic Ocean. It took three full days for my colleagues to convince me to go into the water — I assumed it would be as cold as the Pacific, but to my surprise, it was warm.

I also ate there. A lot. All seafood and mostly lobster. 

I ate lobster 4 ways:

1. Lobster Roll

2. Lobster Bisque

3. Fried Lobster

4. Steamed Lobster

Lobster Roll

Raw oysters

Lobster bisque

Fried Lobster

Lobster roll again

Clams

Steamed Lobster

What Did I Eat in The Gambia?

I did almost no research on the food before I traveled to The Gambia. I was there for a work trip, so I knew I would not have time to go to any restaurants or cafes on my own. Also, I did not even see any cafes or coffee shops there. Mostly, people drink tea, a thick sweetened green tea called Attaya. So I let my client dictate when and where I ate. A few interesting things to note:

People don't usually have lunch until 3:00 pm. I found this to be very late - I was getting hungry around 12:00 pm and had to wait. Dinner is also late, around 9:00 pm, which was again too late for me.

My internet research was correct in identifying no coffee shops; indeed, I did not find any when I arrived. Instead, I brought my own coffee and coffee maker from the US. I am glad I did, or else I would not have had any coffee.

Attaya, packs of Green tea (that look like cigarettes) boiled for hours in sugar

Foreign food, mostly not good. Except for that Lebanese Shwarma in the top corner

Fruit, I did not come during mango season, but watermelon was abundant

Gambian banquet food, the best meal I had there

Gambia has the best juices: Kaaba, Ditakh, and Baobab

Fried meat cakes, rice, and more meat

AbCa's Lodge buffet dinner was excellent - the best chips I ever had

Gambian village food, served communal style, the curry is Domoda, a peanut stew

Wanjo juice, from the hibiscus, my favorite

What Did I Eat In Ireland

During my week-long work trip to Ireland, my dining experiences were predominantly confined to hotel meals and pre-selected restaurants. Ironically, the culinary pinnacle of my journey—a remarkable food tour in Dublin—remains undocumented, as I failed to capture it through photographs. Despite this regrettable omission, I must express my pleasant surprise at the exceptional quality of food throughout Ireland. I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity to savor what I could, and the overall gastronomic adventure exceeded my expectations.

Breakfast foods: top left is my all-time favorite grilled cheese sandwich in Dublin, followed by eggs benedict, English breakfast, and hash. 

Seafood was another wonderful surprise. I had not expected the seafood to be so good in Ireland, and I'm not sure why - it's an island with ample coastline!

Scotch egg was another favorite

After many heavy meals I ended up eating a lot of salads too

Some of my favorite soups

Meat pastries were ubiquitous

Familiar Burgers and fries

I also got to try a Korean fusion restaurant in Dublin and really enjoyed it

Ate many desserts there as well. My favorites were sticky toffee pudding and Murphy's Icecream in Dublin

A few nights I skipped the dinners with the client and ate Indian food alone in my hotel room. It was appalling. I ordered Chicken Tikka Masala from two of the most popular Indian restaurants in Ireland and I have never tasted such disgusting food. The Chicken Tikka Masala was so sweet it tasted like chocolate. Apparently Indian food in Ireland has a ton of sugar added into it. Do you see those crazy bright, unnatural colors of the curry? It was horrible. 

The whisky tasting experience was transformative. I never liked whisky or scotch or bourbon in my life, but after Ireland I learned how to appreciate it. 

Gin was another favorite. We went to many distilleries so I got to try all kinds of gin cocktails.