Cheapflights.ca Hits the Streets

TORONTO--(Marketwired - Apr 18, 2013) - According to the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association 2013 Canadian Chef Survey published last month, food trucks and street food have once again made their list of top 10 hot trends. The travel experts at Cheapflights.ca, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, decided to delve into this craze and explore it on a global scale with a list of Top 10 Street Food Cities. From quick, cheap and flavourful to gourmet and even award-winning, it's easy to see how street food has staked its claim, not only in Canada, but on cities across the globe.

Here are four cities in the Americas with street food that will make foodies stand up and take notice:

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Food stands are a staple in Rio de Janeiro. Vendors offer everything from cod fritters to feijoada (rice, beans and pork) and salgadinhos (salty aperitifs). The scene has stretched to the city's waterfront and its suburbs. Beverages are popular street-side buys here, especially drinks like fruit smoothies and suco de acai (acai juice). Sweet treats like tapiocas (crepes) and churros filled with chocolate or caramel are also popular. Stroll the boardwalk of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches to find 24-hour food stands. Street meat called churrasquinhos, hot dogs known as cachorro quente and cheese bread (pao de queijo) are all common street food fare in Old Rio. An added bonus? Vendors in this Brazilian city are known for being friendly and good natured.
  
  
• Boston, Mass., United States - Humble hot dog carts, step aside. Gourmet mobile meals are all the rage in several U.S. cities, including Boston where more than 50 food trucks (up from 15 in 2011) roam the city, planting themselves -- on any given day -- in one of 30 locations. The trucks also converge on various neighbourhood markets in the spring, summer and fall. Each truck has cornered its piece of the foodie market, and cuisine ranges from local specialties like lobster rolls (from the Lobsta Love truck) to Vietnamese favourites (from the Bon Me truck). The buzz around the treat-dispensing trucks is also a reflection of a growing food scene in this New England city. Truck chefs host food festivals and cooking contests, and on occasion, even end up launching wheel-less meals from restaurants inspired by their food trucks. On the flip side, some brick-and-mortar restaurants are now sending their meals on the road.
  
  
• Mexico City, Mexico - Affordable and authentic are two frequently used adjectives for street food in Mexico City. Thousands of food stalls and taquerias line city streets dishing up Mexican favourites like tostados, carnitas, tamales and quesadillas. But the key street dish in this city is tacos al pastor -- thinly sliced pork that has been spit-roasted and bathed in chili sauce, paired with chopped onion and coriander, then rolled into a small tortilla. Try the carts in the city's main square, Centro Historico's Zocalo or the Colonia Roma neighbourhood. For a treat, head to the cart on the corner of Delicias and Aranda streets, which offers blue-corn tlacoyos -- grilled corn patties with beans, cheese, cactus, cilantro and salsa.
  
  
• Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - Often over-shadowed by Vancouver and Toronto in the street food arena, Ottawa boasts a growing mobile meal scene, with 44 food trucks and carts already hawking their yummy goods and about 20 inventive newcomers ready to hit the streets in May. New trucks include the Urban Cowboy which will dish out self-proclaimed "innovative Texan street food" and the Ottawa "Streat" Gourmet set to feature local, seasonal eats. New specialty carts will serve everything from frozen yogurt to churros and baked potatoes with toppings. These additions will join the city's perennial street food favourites like hot dog and sausage carts, BeaverTails (fried pastries with your choice of sweet or savoury toppings) and poutine (french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds).

Hong Kong, China; Paris, France; Istanbul, Turkey; Marrakech, Morocco; Berlin, Germany; and Fukuoka, Japan, round out our cities where indulging in the street food will add flavour to your travel experience. To read the full details on these and Cheapflights.ca's Top 10 Street Food Cities, visit www.cheapflights.ca/travel/top-10-street-food-cities.

About Momondo Group
Momondo Group is an online travel media and technology company that is driven by the belief that an open world is a better world. The group now serves travel search and inspiration to over 13 million visitors a month -- plus 6 million travel newsletter subscribers -- via its Cheapflights (www.cheapflights.ca) and momondo (www.momondo.com) brands.

Skygate began the sourcing of complex air-travel data in 1992, while Cheapflights pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users in 1996 and momondo launched meta-search in the Nordic countries in 2006. 

The Group has offices in London, Copenhagen, Boston and Toronto, with a consumer base across 16 core international markets but users all over the world.

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