Whether your desire is to visit a faraway locale for a taste of the local delicacies, or just to shake up your weeknight cooking with some new, unfamiliar spices, there is so much inspiration to be found at the library.

When learning about an unfamiliar place, why not start by trying the country's traditional cuisine or national dish? Have you ever eaten phở, biryani, currywurst, pepperpot, poutine? Have you visited the regions that celebrate these dishes, been to restaurants that serve them in major cities, or tried cooking them yourself at home? Better yet: does your grandma make them for you (and can I come over)?

After reading some of these cookbooks, I know that even if I can't travel to these particular places any time soon, I can content myself with the kinds of recipes that can take me there.

General Food and Travel

The Food Traveler's Handbook: How to Find Cheap, Safe and Delicious Food Anywhere in the World by Jodi Ettenberg
The author has celiac disease but she doesn't let that prevent her from making the most of her travels around the world. This guidebook will build up your confidence, help you locate the best foods while overcoming language and cultural barriers, and avoid foodborne illness too.

An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies by Tyler Cowen
An almost-too-rational look at the economics of eating. The author provides insights on how to find the best tasting (which can also be the cheapest) food in an unfamiliar community. (Cowen and Ettenberg both suggest chatting up your cab driver.)

Try This: Traveling the Globe Without Leaving the Table by Danyelle Freeman
The author wrote this book "for anyone who's ever looked at a menu and had a question." She walks you through the basics of 14 varied cuisines, providing some history, culture, and trivia behind their flavors, and clues you in on appropriate table settings and manners too.

Eating Out in Five Languages
English, French, German, Italian and Spanish translations of food and drink terms. Useful phrases for those on special diets, and even tells you how to complain in the local tongue.

• A Fork in the Road: Tales of Food and Travel by Anik See
• All Around the World Cookbook by Sheila Lukins
• Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure by Cheryl Alters Jamison
• Cindy's Supper Club: Meals from Around the World to Share with Family and Friends by Cindy Pawlcyn
• Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe
• Frommer's 500 Places for Food and Wine Lovers by Holly Hughes
• In Her Kitchen: Stories and Recipes from Grandmas Around the World by Gabriele Galimberti
• Street Food: Exploring the World's Most Authentic Tastes by Tom Kime
• Susan Feniger's Street Food: Irresistibly Crispy, Creamy, Crunchy, Spicy, Sticky, Sweet Recipes by Susan Feniger
• Ultimate Food Journeys: The World's Best Dishes and Where to Eat Them
• The World on a Plate: 40 Cuisines, 100 Recipes, and the Stories Behind Them by Mina Holland
• World's Best Street Food by Lonely Planet
• What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio
• Where Chefs Eat: A Guide to Chefs' Favourite Restaurants by Joe Warwick

Regional Cookbooks

What faraway lands will your kitchen transport you to? The titles below are mainly books you will be able to check out and take home or access online. Yellow markers indicate e-books that are available to download. You can find even more in the noncirculating research materials in the catalog. Follow the subject headings "Cooking, (country)" or "COOKING / Regional & Ethnic / (cuisine)" and let your taste buds be your guide.

Does your favorite regional cookbook need to be added to the map? Leave your suggestions in the comments.