-Food is a powerful connector to the world we live in.

It's a source of joy that helps strengthen the bonds of family, friends, and even strangers.

It has always played an important part of the travel experience, and some feel completely defines it.

As with enjoying meals, we are also taking in the sights, smells, and sounds of the space food is created in.

Together, travel and food offer a total sensory experience that no recipe cooked at home can quite capture.

So let's enjoy this incredible partnership.

This "Places To Love" is all about food.

-Whoa!

[ Laughter ] -I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world.

And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences and, most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Samantha Brown's "Places To Love" is made possible by... -The rhythm of the waves.

The calming sounds of nature.

On the Southwest Florida coast, there are wide open beaches and hundreds of islands.

Sometimes doing nothing can mean everything.

♪♪ Learn more at fortmyers-sanibel.com.

♪♪ -We believe watching the world go by isn't enough.

That's why we climb... ♪♪ ...pedal... ♪♪ ...and journey beyond the beaten path, on storied rivers, with a goal to ensure that every mile traveled turns into another memory.

You can find out more at amawaterways.com.

♪♪ -All the untamed beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the American Southwest... experienced on a journey by rail.

Rocky Mountaineer, proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

-The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.

AAA wants to help turn vacation dreams into reality.

Wherever you want to go, AAA has services to help you before, during, and after your trip.

Learn more at AAA.com/LiveTV.

-Vienna, Austria, is an historic capital city known for its grand must-sees.

But it's actually the smaller places that locals gravitate to that will make you fall in love with it, especially one cafe in particular with a mission to bring people together that is unlike any other in the world.

Vienna is absolutely world renowned for its cafes.

Is there anything like this cafe in Vienna?

-No, no.

-This is the only one?

This is a special zone.

In our cafe, we are old and young together.

And grandmother bake every day fresh cakes, you know?

-The Granny Cafe was started by a group of young students who wanted a place where young and old shared the same space as a way of strengthening community and a feeling of belonging, a space that looks like just about everybody's grandmother's home and feels that way, too.

-And you come in, you must have time to eat, to relax, and to not look on the mobile phone, to speak to another.

-She tells them all.

She tells them all.

You want to wait.

-Yeah.

-So you greet everyone who comes in.

-They come in, and I go to the place, [ Speaking indistinctly ] French cakes, sit down, relax, yes.

-You said being with the younger generation makes you feel great.

I've seen the younger generation interact with you now and how they need it.

They need that love.

-And they appreciate us.

So that's important.

-So how many grandmothers are there that make up?

-We're about 12, 14.

-Whoa.

-We all have our very own recipes.

So if you come tomorrow, you will have different cakes because every one of us has our own special cakes.

So people say, "Oh, well, can I have that one we had yesterday?"

No, unless that grandma is here.

-Wow.

Since Judith was here, I got to try her special recipes, beginning with her apricot cake.

-This you must take.

[ Laughter ] -Mm.

This one she's been making for 40 years.

What is this called?

-Gugelhupf.

-Googen hoof?

-Gugelhupf -Gugelhupf.

-Hupf.

-Hupf!

[ Laughter ] -I struggled with the pronunciations but had no problems eating it.

What is the cake you're eating right now?

That looks fantastic.

-It's called the punschkrapfen and this middle piece is made up of leftovers, and they mix it with rum.

-Oh, wow.

But leftover cake, I mean, that's the ultimate grandmother recipe, right?

You don't waste anything.

Perfect.

Yeah.

-You became sugar.

-Whoa.

-You know what?

And this is this is like how every American child gets hooked on rum and whiskey, 'cause Grandmother put it in the cake, and it was okay.

I have a buzz.

[ Laughter ] -Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America and has its preserved ramparts to prove it.

And while this 400-year-old gem may look like a version of Europe, it has its own unique culture to experience.

Food, of course, plays a large part of that experience, and it's safe to say that no one does cozy comfort food quite like Quebec.

But within these stone walls is a restaurant where history and gastronomy are brought together in a dining adventure that begins in vaults that date back to 1686.

This is La Taniere.

Surprising your guests is what this restaurant is all about.

You really seek to disconnect people from any other restaurant experience we've ever had.

-Absolutely.

We are -- This is about a 3 1/2-hour experience, but we move the guests along three old cellar.

And every plate is a story to tell about our neighborhood or the building or the culinary culture of Quebec.

And it's very important for us to show a flavor that we have, you know, for us, or in our river that we never thought we have.

-Guests begin their 3 1/2 hour journey here, with a few cocktails and small plates.

I've made it to the chef's counter room, where I'm about to enjoy a signature dish with one of the prized products of Quebec.

-It's a caviar from a yellow sturgeon.

So it's in a region called Lake St-Pierre.

Only 10 fishermen are allowed to collect this precious caviar.

And we're lucky enough to have some.

So we decide to match it with scallops that we sliced in the ocean butter only a few seconds just to give them a little warm, but they're all almost raw.

-My goodness.

It's interesting.

So you really want people when you eat at your restaurant to sort of be deprived of our normal senses of what a restaurant are.

There's no windows letting in any of the energy of outside.

We're really enclosed, so we can really focus in on this dish.

-Absolutely.

-And then there's no menu.

So it really is this, I don't know, there's a sense of trust.

-Absolutely, we encourage our guests to trust us.

But I'll waver if there is any allergies or food restrictions.

We are more than than pleased to accommodate them.

-I have a lot of trust for you right now.

-[ Laughs ] -It's such a beautiful dish.

-Thank you very much.

-Even though I feel like I'm a part of this amazing adventure or journey, I'm also watching this well tuned to orchestra play.

And how you move together is also a part of the experience here because you keep this kitchen open.

-Absolutely.

-My next course is Rabbit Three Ways, a masterpiece of butchery.

-And so we like to use the old beast.

At the back, I'm sure you already noticed the small rack.

It's a lot of job to do this butchery on it.

But that's where, because this is the most tender part.

The centerpiece is the stubble that we glaze with sage and we stuff with the rabbit mousse, perfume with brandy.

And in between, you have the shoulder that we braise and shred, and we mix them with grapes.

-So much thought goes into each part of a dish, including using local acorn flavored gnocchi.

-And we had the idea to use it like the chestnut that you see front to do a kind of puree with it and to use it in the sweet side.

But that remains too much bitter because when you pick it, when they just fell from the tree, they are quite bitter.

So you have to dry them for a year to make them [ speaks indistinctly ] and to lose their bitterness.

-Wow.

So as a chef, you are taking in and observing not just food, but how this city is.

-Yes.

-Its physical presence, how it smells, what's in its waters.

I mean, you're really -- it's fascinating to me that you absorb it all and put it on a plate.

-That's what we are trying to do.

I feel like the culinary culture of Quebec is quite young from a few decades.

If you want to have fine dining, you have to go eat French or Italian.

But we have a lot of stuff in our forest, so we want to bring it to the table.

-So this is Quebec.

This is a Quebec on a plate.

-I hope that one day people will no longer think about poutine when thinking about Quebec.

[ Laughter ] -I would be very disappointed if I got French fries with cheese curds and gravy right now.

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ -Phoenix, Arizona, is a city known for its great outdoors, from its desert environment to its art to a setting for a five star meal.

With year-round sunny days and stunning sunsets, some would say the city offers the whole enchilada, but this woman might disagree.

What was your first tamale?

What was the one you sort of, "Okay, I've got this tamale now I can branch out"?

-Beef.

Beef.

-Marta Castillo owns The Tamale Store and runs it with her two daughters, Pauline and Maria, and her son Eddie.

So why do you think more people do Burritos or quesadillas or tacos and not the tamale?

-Because it's very difficult to make it.

First, we have to make the masa, okay?

Make it soft, nice, all day, the spices that we put in the masa.

The masa is the best part of the tamales.

-Heart and soul of the tamale.

[ Laughter ] -And then start cooking the meat with all the ingredients and the chicken.

The the salsa.

We make the salsa.

We soak the chilies, clean the husk, we steam the tamales.

The moment that you start making the tamales, it's gonna take three or four hours to have the product in your hands.

It's a process.

It's a process of love.

-These one and a half pound steamed bundles of love are handmade from scratch every day.

There's no heavy machinery or mixers, just elbow grease.

With a little hip thrown in for good measure.

The masa is a dough made with corn and spices, and it's different for every type of tamale, which Marta can size up in an instant.

-She'll be in the kitchen, and she'll like maybe glance at one and be like, "That one has too much red chili or that one has too much oil."

She doesn't even have to taste it or smell it or anything.

-The Tamale Store, as the name suggests, only sells tamales, but concentrating on one food item brings forth a huge variety of options.

There are chicken and green chili tamales, pork and red chili tamales.

There are vegetarian tamales, breakfast, lunch, and dinner tamales.

-And she has to figure out every ingredient.

-Yeah.

-[ Laughs ] -And if she doesn't know what it is, she will not sleep until she... [ Laughter ] -What was that?

-Yeah.

-I love tamales because these are very beautiful representation of the family all together around the table, making tamales.

The tamale means love.

-The Florida Keys offers one of the most iconic road trips in the world, and the enjoyment of food along the way not only plays an important role, but one that is "key."

For so many people, the first bite of key lime pie is the official start of their vacation in the Keys.

-Yes.

-It is the taste of "I don't have to work."

-And they have to worry about sugar or anything.

-Right.

-Because we're on vacation.

-Right.

Exactly.

-Tonya and her husband Roberto opened Blond Giraffe in 1999 as a vegetarian restaurant.

But when their key lime pie kept winning awards as the best in the Florida Keys, demand skyrocketed, and, well, a decision was made.

Now everything on the menu is key lime, with their pies being made right here.

How does that change the taste of the pie that you're using key limes and not just your regular store bought limes?

-Well, I believe in the tartness.

It's a little bit different.

When you taste it, you realize, like, I realize when it's lime or key lime.

-Mm-hmm.

Adding to the distinction of Blond Giraffe's key lime pies is the company it puts you in.

[ Ding! ]

And if the idea of eating key lime pie surrounded by chickens and bunnies seems odd to you, then what can I say?

You've been working too hard and you should take a vacation in the Florida Keys.

You will, however, have a controversial decision to make.

Key lime pie with whipped cream or key lime pie with meringue?

-In history, you see that on the boats, they had eggs, they had milk, and crackers.

They could not make the whipped cream at that time.

And they with the egg whites from the eggs, they made the meringue.

But of course, you have people like it also with the whipped cream.

For them, meringue is the best.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-I'm going to have to try both, just to be fair.

Mm.

And you know what?

Maybe I should try the chocolate dipped key lime pie slice, as well, just so we're not picking any favorites and people watching are going to get upset.

Is that okay?

-Of course.

-All right.

-[ Laughs ] -Okay, back to the first one.

[ Laughs ] -The city of Budapest in Hungary is one of the great capital cities in the world, equally romantic and mysterious.

It's a city of electrifying energy where interiors astound, baths renew, and music invigorates.

You will definitely work up an appetite.

And when you do, you'll come here, to the Central Market.

-I am Marti Bedo.

I love cooking, eating, and hospitality.

And I organize a lot of culinary programs in Budapest.

-So this is an overwhelmingly large space.

And not only do you have this main thoroughfare here, but then there are these wings off to the side, and all of this is food?

-There are three floors, and in this, the main floor.

But on the balcony, there are the place where the people can eat the Hungarian dishes.

And in the basement, there are some fish shops and the pickle stands, as well.

-One thing that's frustrating about being a traveler in these spaces is that I'm seeing so much wonderful food, fresh meats and beautiful vegetables and fruits, and I can't bring any of that back to my hotel room.

But this is where you come in.

We're going to cook a meal together.

-Yes, we make a chicken paprikash.

-Chicken paprikash?

-Yes.

-Oh, that sounds wonderful.

-Yes.

So we need some tomato and pepper and onion.

-All right.

I'm your assistant, Marta.

-Okay.

-Let's go.

-Yes.

This is a traditional yellow pepper.

-Okay, but it's -- -And this, paprika.

-Paprika.

Oh, okay.

I've never seen a fresh paprika.

-Oh.

[ Laughter ] -I love the smell.

-Oh, beautiful.

-Yes.

-So I've only ever seen paprika the way I know it.

Paprika only means the spices that comes in that little jar.

And it's just dawning on me that paprika means pepper.

-Yes.

-[ Laughs ] But the powdered version, whether sweet, smoked, or hot, is everything in Hungarian cuisine.

And in home kitchens like Marti's, is stored in large jars for the obvious reason.

-Please add 3 teaspoons, please.

-Heaping or...?

-Big.

-Big?

Oh.

[ Laughs ] [ Laughter ] So one.

look at that color.

Look at that brightness.

-Yes, that's enough.

Thank you.

-Now what's next?

-The chicken.

[ Speaking native language ] -So, what did you just order?

-We buy the chicken breast and the chicken leg.

I know a lot of people prefer the breast, breast, breast, but I think the taste is better when we use some leg, with the bones and the skin, as well.

And now we add the chicken pieces.

Please.

So please add the vegetables to the sauce.

-Okay.

The juice of the vegetables adds to the dishes.

-Yes, of course.

-The dish takes 40 minutes to simmer, and when finished, will be served with fresh pickles that we found earlier at the Central Market, which is so expansive that it has an entire section devoted to them.

-And you can see they have a lot of different versions.

-Great selection.

-This is a cucumber and, you know, and different chilies and cauliflower.

And do you know what this is?

-That one right there?

What it is?

Uh, a lime?

-No, this is a baby watermelon.

The pickled version.

-Pickled baby watermelon?

I have never heard of that.

-Oh, I love this.

-Oh, so this is unique to Budapest and Hungary?

-Yes.

And Hungary.

-So our 40 minutes of simmering time is up, and the paprikash sauce has cooked down.

Marti adds some heavy cream, and then we strain it over the chicken.

-And the texture, the sauce becomes... -Becomes silky smooth.

-[ Laughs ] -What's great about this dish is how simple ingredients and an easy to follow cooking method delivers an incredible taste and a meal to remember an entire country by.

Oh, that's so good.

Fantastic.

Dutchess County, New York, is where you'll find the city of Poughkeepsie, and there's a former church here where you can experience the culinary vibrancy of Oaxacan cuisine.

This is La Cabañita, where chef and owner Vicky Pinelo has been at the helm for 20 years cooking her grandmother's recipes.

Her cousin Elvis Pinelo has assembled the finest collection of mezcals in the region.

And I sat down with both of them to learn about this family business where 100% authenticity is everything, starting with how mezcal is actually served.

These are how you would traditionally drink mezcal.

-Yes.

-You don't drink it in a glass.

-Exactly, so in Oaxaca, tradition is to drink mezcal in a sipping kind of motion.

-I wasn't gonna chug it.

-You should definitely chug it because mezcal is a very good teacher, as well.

It's taught me many valuable lessons.

And if you don't have respect for it, like my grandfather said, it will make you show it respect.

-I have a lot of respect for this.

I'm going to sip it.

-Salud.

-Salud.

-It gives you its gifts.

It tells you its secrets.

It tells you where it's been, how it's been made.

-The mezcal goes perfectly with a platter of sopas, quesadillas, molotes, flautas, all homemade Oaxacan street food.

What makes Oaxacan cuisine so unique?

What makes that so?

-Well, most of the ingredients are roasted.

-Or sun dried.

-Sun dried, caramelized, some of them before before you blend them.

-Being a chef and owner in a new country was difficult.

But Vicky had a mission.

-When we opened, I felt like it was going to be very hard.

But the American people have accepted it so well.

They love our food.

It's different to what was commercialized for them.

You know, like sour cream, pico de gallo, it has no flavor at all.

It's really not Mexican food.

-So already this looks different than a quesadilla that I'm used to.

-Of course.

-Okay, so this is traditional?

-The flower tortilla is a traditional quesadilla.

-And what's in there, Vicky?

-It's cheese, [ speaks indistinctly ], onions, and -- be careful.

It has pepper.

A little bit of jalapeño.

-Fantastic.

-Those are my favorite.

-From the very beginning, we wanted to kind of stay true to who we are, continue our traditions, but embracing our culture, and it's led us down this path.

And, you know, we're happy to share the uniqueness of everything.

And that's what makes it so special for us.

And we just want to share that with the world.

-The South Island of New Zealand is famous for its bigness.

People travel from all over the world to experience the mountain peaks that astounded us in the "Lord of the Rings" movies.

[ Music playing ] But one of the gateways to that bigness is a small bayside city called Nelson, where I found a more down to earth establishment where a convivial sense of community can be enjoyed along with a pint.

The Free House, is it a pub, or is it different than a pub?

-The Free House word means or determines we aren't tied to any brewery.

So we can buy our beer from anybody we like.

We don't have contracts with any brewery.

We can serve what we like and do that.

But the concept of this Free House was based quite a bit on the English style pub, where it was everybody's living room and you converse and you have a couple of beers and you chat.

That's the aim of the whole -- of this Free House.

Started with a Friday night every three months.

And we just made a pop up pub, and we bought beer from all over New Zealand, and we tried to show people that there's really good beer out there.

We were hoping that somebody would see that and would think, "There's a niche in the market, I'm going to open a craft beer pub."

Then we would have somewhere to go and drink, and we could sit back and get on with our lives.

-So you actually thought that people would just, like, someone would see your enthusiasm... -Yeah.

-...just create a place like this for you, that you can hang out in?

-Yeah, exactly.

-So did that person ever show up?

-No, they didn't.

-[ Laughs ] -Interesting this country really was put on the international map because of wine?

-Yeah.

-Did you feel like you ever got over overshadowed because of the wine industry?

-No, I think it's good.

-Yeah.

It's complementary.

-We've done it with wine.

We're doing it with beer.

We'll do it with mussels.

But it's actually come a very long way in a very short period of time in regards of our product flavors.

We're developing quite a sophisticated palate.

-But I know you've made a lot of people here very happy with what you've built.

-Yeah.

Thank you.

I hope so.

We've tried to make a community center for people that don't normally get community centers.

And it's not tied to really a corporation, philosophy other than conversation and being together with people.

It's all about this relationship, and that's what we're about.

This is just the bit that allows us to pay the rent, and it tastes good while we're doing it.

-[ Laughs ] Cheers.

-Cheers.

-Eelco couldn't have said it better, whether it be food or drink, their undeniable power is the relationships they foster.

Sharing a meal breaks down barriers, shifts our perspectives, and gives us permission to let our guard down enough to get to know each other and ourselves.

Maybe it's simply because with full mouths, we are made to listen.

And listening to someone to understand, not just to respond, is one of the greatest acts of empathy there is.

May we never again take for granted the time we have enjoying a meal together, sitting across or side by side, mouths full and eyes wide.

A place at the table is undoubtedly a place to love.

-For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" was made possible by... -We believe watching the world go by isn't enough.

That's why we climb... ♪♪ ...pedal... ♪♪ ...and journey beyond the beaten path, on storied rivers, with a goal to ensure that every mile traveled turns into another memory.

You can find out more at amawaterways.com.

-The rhythm of the waves.

The calming sounds of nature.

On the Southwest Florida coast, there are wide open beaches and hundreds of islands.

Sometimes doing nothing can mean everything.

♪♪ Learn more at fortmyers-sanibel.com.

♪♪ -The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.

AAA wants to help turn vacation dreams into reality.

Wherever you want to go, AAA has services to help you before, during, and after your trip.

Learn more at AAA.com/LiveTV.

♪♪ -All the untamed beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the American Southwest... experienced on a journey by rail.

Rocky Mountaineer, proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪