Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide

A New York Times, USA Today, and national indie bestseller.

A Feast of Wonder!
Created by the ever-curious minds behind Atlas Obscura, this breathtaking guide transforms our sense of what people around the world eat and drink. Covering all seven continents, Gastro Obscura serves up a loaded plate of incredible ingredients, food adventures, and edible wonders. Ready for a beer made from fog in Chile? Sardinia’s “Threads of God” pasta? Egypt’s 2000-year-old egg ovens? But far more than a menu of curious minds delicacies and unexpected dishes, Gastro Obscura reveals food’s central place in our lives as well as our bellies, touching on history-trace the network of ancient Roman fish sauce factories. Culture-picture four million women gathering to make rice pudding. Travel-scale China’s sacred Mount Hua to reach a tea house. Festivals-feed wild macaques pyramid of fruit at Thailand’s Monkey Buffet Festival. And hidden gems that might be right around the corner, like the vending machine in Texas dispensing full sized pecan pies. Dig in and feed your sense of wonder.

“Like a great tapas meal, Gastro Obscura is deep yet snackable, and full of surprises. This is the book for anyone interested in eating, adventure and the human condition.” -Tom Colicchio, chef and activist

“This exquisite guide kept me at the breakfast table until dinner time.” -Kyle Maclachlan, actor and vintner

Cecily Wong is a writer at Atlas Obscura, and the author of the novel Diamond Head, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, recipient of an Elle Readers’ Prize, and voted a best debut of the Brooklyn Book Festival. She lives in Oregon.

Dylan Thuras is the cofounder and creative director of Atlas Obscura. He lives in Rosendale, NY.

Atlas Obscura is the definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders. Based on the community-driven, editor-curated website atlasobscura.com, Atlas Obscura uncovers unusual and overlooked places not found in your average guidebook.