Tops is Spain, and the Basque country in particular, with Galicia and Madrid are better than Catalonia and Andalucia in my experience.

My second favorite food destination is Belgium, with both outstanding street food (waffles, "french" fries, chocolates, etc) and outstanding restaurant meals and beer beyond all comparison.

A particularly fun food destination is Portugal, because everything is so cheap. Lisbon is miles ahead of Porto, I think.

I prefer Greece to Germany and Germanic foods, but probably more in summer for Greece, when you can eat lots of fresh salads, than at other times of year.

Basically, I'm an olive oil person, so I prefer the olive oil countries -- with Belgium being the big exception because I so love their use of cream. I've had an extremely hard time in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland finding native dishes I liked to eat (except cheese!)

Let me add that food (and wine) in Portugal is delicious not just because it is cheap but because of freshness, great olive oil, simplicity of preparation, and local integrity. Coffee is good in Portugal, too, as are breads and pastries (superseding Italy).

I agree about Spain - some food there is terrific, but most of it is pretty good, and the wine is excellent too.

Greek food, OTOH can be quite variable, though non-touristy spots can be good.

I can't speak about Portugal as sadly I've never been there.

Either Spain or France depending on your preferences. I love Greek food but, as noted, it is extremely variable.

Belgium is really good ... even in regional areas, little restaurants that you wouldn't imagine have good food, do. The Belgians draw an immense part of their identity from food, much in the same way the Italians do. I can't compare with Greece and Portugal (although I have eaten both cuisines outside of those countries). If you like huge portions of food, the Germanic countries should be on your list, and the Scandinavian countries for seafood. I also really liked the food in Finland, even though my trip there was really a long time ago now. Yum!

Lavandula

Spain, Portugal and France would be my top three choices for cuisine, with the País Vasco, Pays Basque, Navarra, Galicia, Ribera del Duero, Alto Douro, Alentejo and Vinhos Verdes offering some of the best selections of both food and wine.

IMHO Belgium has THE best food in europe. I have never been dissatisfied with anything I have been served there - in 6 separate visits encompassing different parts of the country. And this includes from quite upscale places to very casuale cafes. The food is just great!

Sorry, it's better than food in Italy - which is dragged down by a bunch of places in Venice and tourist traps in many cities - the places with the menus in 14 languages and pictures of the food. Now, we have had many excellent meals in Italy and I love many different types of Italian food - but you can get stuck with really bad stuff in some places.

Sorry - I'm not in love with Spanish food - just too many olives and olive oil. I have had many excellent meals there - but also some - at fairly expensive and well-reviewed places - that was mediocre at best. And twice have had to send things back that were just awful. And although my time in Portugal was limited - I would rate the food about the same.

France has - usually - very nice food - but not in the same class as Belgium.

As for freshness of food and local produce/resources - that is true of any decent restaurant in europe - and in the US too. (Although we have a very large number of bad restaurants - starting with almost all chains, but sadly, local places as well. We just don't demand that food be excellent.)

Belgium, hands down, followed by France, then Turkey.

Spain and Belgium.

StCirq mentioned Turkey which has one of the more underappreciated cuisines.

Spain and the best food is in San Sebastian/Donostia. Spain still has some ways to go on preparing beef, making bread, and increasing the selection of desserts but for an overall selection there is nothing like one of the tascas in San Sebastian with an overwheling choice.

"Spain still has some ways to go on preparing beef, making bread, and increasing the selection of desserts"! Really? I guess it all depends on where you've been in Spain.

In the País Vasco and the rest of Green Spain, you'll find great seafood, shellfish, veal, oxen, lamb, pork, partridge and a little rabbit, but very little beef and almost no chicken. But yes, bread can sometimes be a problem. They need to bring in a few more Portuguese to teach them how to make bread. And one can only each some many deserts...

Serrano and Manchego - nuff said.

Which European Country has the best food selections (other than Italy)....
Posted by: wandering_gal on Dec 27, 12 at 4:12pm

That's like asking which is the best wine. It all depends on your taste buds.

I can hardly disagree with any of the above comments, especially Belgium. But you have to remember that Belgium is basically two different countries, Wallonia and Vlanders. Then you have Brussels which is what most commentators are probably speaking of. If you like mussels you will love Brussels, and I do I do.

But my druthers for an eating holiday would be eastern France, mainly Burgundy but encompassing the region from Strasbourg to Dijon to Lyon to Geneva. I would plan an autumn trip, rent a car, and drive around trying lunch and diner in every road side auberge that I could find. The foods and wines are outstanding, the prices are reasonable, and I would be the first American that many of them have seen since the war. Been there and done that a few times and it was wonderful.

I disagree with the point on Portuguese coffee. It is tasteless. Italian espresso is the real article.

Food in Finland, and all of Scandinavia, is something I can live without, except for the herring!

Beef throughout Europe is a general disappointment. It is tough and has little of the flavor enhancing fat that American beef has. Eat the local fish, fowl, and wild meats. I chose autumn because that is the best time for venison and rabbit.

If you live on burgers, fries, pizza, and Chinese take-out ignore all of my comments.

So its between Belgium and Spain... but overall which food prices in these two countries is more reasonable?

how about on sea foods? Spain perhaps?

Now im leaning towards Belgium because of Belgian chocolate.

Im really in to traditional food. I dont like versions, so which of these countries has more original cuisine that you can only experience in that country?

tnx for all your comments.

Spanish cheese, wine, and cured ham products are all unique and all world class. And if you want traditional and unique, what beats tapas?

The Basque region cuisine is in a class of it's own but my tastes don't really trend toward the level of preparation that draws the oohs and ahhhs.

Prepare a simple food in a time honoured traditional way and put it on a plate and you have me. Spain does that better than any place.

for reasonably priced, traditionally prepared seafood, i think that spain would have the edge. You can eat as many or as few tapas as you like to make a full meal, [we've often done that] or have a menu del dia which can often be extremely good value.

as for tradition, seafood and value combined, there was a "mason del pulpo" in Granada that served only octopus dishes, and had always done only that, at very reasonable prices.

i suppose that we shouldn't let the thread go by without a mention of moules frittes though. and we did have a most lovely lunch in Brussels.

i feel so hungry now... omg. i will try all of these stuff thanks y'all.

wandering_gal,

Belgium tends to be fiercely traditional in its cooking. As for Spain, it really depends on where you go. Barcelona has practically made its "food reputation" by being cutting edge and "molecular." Interestingly, one of the strongest food "traditions" of northern Spain is a very competitive attitude among chefs to create fabulous new dishes -- and it really is a tradition of long-standing.

It is really worth your time to get over to a message board like Chowhound if you want to understand regional cooking in Spain. For instance, octopus is a regional specialty of Galicia and its fantastic coastline. Of course you can find octopus in a mega-tourist destination like Granada (the Alhambra), but if you are really planning a chunk of your trip around authentic, traditional food, you don't want a tourist experience of it. (I was really taken aback when someone above claimed Italian cuisine isn't fantastic because they ate in restaurants in Venice and can tell you that isn't true. Yikes!)

So try to get some grounding in what the regional cuisines of Spain are.

Chocolate in Belgium is almost a psychedelic drug it is so amazing. Beer is a revelation -- surely the very best in Europe. Belgium also produces unique flavored gins called genever that make a trip to Antwerp worth it in itself. (They are also available in Ghent). And of course memorable waffles. You can find blogs on Belgian cooking that go beyond moules & frites (although I am a huge fan) and where to eat this food.

It is true that I think you can get more control of a food budget in Spain, because eating tapas and pintxos and other small plates is a great way to sample a huge amount of Spanish food and tradition for a small investment. (Don't overlook Madrid as a great place to perform this experiment as well). However, with the right guidance and information, you can eat extremely well in Belgium for a fraction of what you will pay in Madrid or Paris -- especially if you are looking to eat well in restaurants and enjoy seafoods.

But dig into the food blogs and food-oriented message boards.

>>"which of these countries has more original cuisine that you can only experience in that country?"<<

That's a really hard question to answer, because if you do your research, you can find certain traditional dishes in both Spain and Belgium that you really can't get even other parts of those countries. There are some dishes that Spaniards themselves don't eat outside of the region where they are native foods, unless maybe they go to a restaurant in Madrid with a chef from that region who has an outstanding reputation for being able to cook those uniquely regional dishes.

BUT?

Spain exports a huge amount of its native food products, and the notion of "tapas" has just about taken over the world, especially the global capitals. You can actually get credible, delicious tapas and pintxos now in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London - I even had them in Amsterdam. (They are hugely popular in Brussels.) You can certainly get cabrales cheese, Iberico ham, Spanish olive oils, wines, Marcona almonds, etc.

By contrast, it is extremely difficult to get true Belgian cuisine, even in New York City. Many of the greatest Belgian beers are not exported (the gins and genevers, not at all). The freshness of handmade chocolates in Belgium is something to be experienced. True Belgian "waffles" and Belgian fries have a great flavor that doesn't remotely resemble waffles and "french fries" elsewhere.

So if you are coming all the way to Europe and would like to taste amazing food the likes of which you are not going to run across any time soon once you get back home, then you really do have to go to Belgium to eat Belgian food.

I love the food in Portugal, Spain, and Greece. I'm a seafood lover so they are perfect. I do not like the food in Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary..too heavy and meat based for me. It was hard to find anything on the menus to order after a day or two.
Dreaming of grilled octopus and a Greek salad right now!

Most travelers have a few mediocre meals in one country ( city) or several very good ones in another...and form their judgment on those experiences. Makes sense.
I have had bad/good meals in Brussels, Barcelona, Paris, New York, Berlin, Venice etc...
No guarantees one will have a great meal even in a highly recommended restaurant - never mind the whole country.

I never intended to say that Italian food isn;t good. Most of it is excellent. But - in Venice there are a lot of places that serve food that is mediocre to awful (among those that serve food that is very good.) We have had bad food several times in Venice - including twice in places that were upscale with good reputations and reviews. (Fish is NOT supposed to be grilled so it is crunchy all the way through.) the problem, obviously, is that tourists outnumber the locals - so bad restaurants somehow survive.

I have never had anything in several trips to Belgium, encompassing a fairly large number of cities and towns (and very little of Brussels) that was not excellent. And yes, the food does tend to be traditional. And the chocolates (made in chocolate shops, always fresh) are to die for.