We’re very happy to announce that Culinary Backstreets turns one today! It’s been a wonderful first year and we’re thrilled to see how far we’ve come in this time. When we launched CB last year as the global expansion of IstanbulEats, we set ourselves the goal of covering authentic local eats around the world. As we described in our “Gastro Manifesto,” our mission was to get “off the eaten path,” sharing with readers our explorations of some great cities’ culinary backstreets. From four cities at the beginning – Istanbul, Athens, Barcelona and Shanghai – we grew to a network of six within the year, adding Mexico City and then Rio de Janeiro. Along the way, we’ve covered everything from family-run, hole-in-the-wall restaurants to quirky street foods in each city, from festive holiday culinary traditions to the sometimes fraught intersection of food and politics. A big “thank you” to our always curious and engaged readers, for your interest, support and feedback. Keep reading – and eating!

(photo by Yigal Schleifer)