THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE MAY 11, 2024, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. On social media, I’ve watched a lot of videos of people making tiny food. There's something about seeing a person crafting a mini plate of pancakes or a petite hamburger that scratches some part of the human brain. But I've...

Opened in May 2023 (the 100th anniversary of the invention of Vegemite), this quirky little museum resides in servo@23, a repurposed '50's petrol station in Beaufort, Victoria. Travelers from Melbourne en route to the Grampians drive right past it.  The museum is primarily an ode to Cyril Callister, the chemist who invented Australia's most famous...

In Germany’s capital, Sonnenallee is colloquially known as Arab Street. The avenue in Berlin’s Neuköllin district, is lined with every kind of Arab-owned commerce you can imagine—bakers, butchers, shisha cafés, antique shops, and electronics dealers from the city’s Middle Eastern diaspora communities. Since the 2016 refugee crisis, its storefronts...

An unusual spherical observatory sits on the highest point of a 200-foot diameter earth mound in Dublin, Ohio. The Watch House is constructed out of copper, bronze, and stucco, and features holes in the spherical roof in the shape of everyday objects. A reference to the expanding universe. The earthen mound is also inspired by the Native American...

Around 280 million years ago, a huge river flowed through Gwondana. It carried tree trunks from the north in an enormous flood after an ice age. The trees were covered under thick mud and became petrified over time  Today, Damaraland is an arid semi-desert, and erosion has revealed petrified tree trunks. The two huge trees are ancient Cordaites,...

Princess Kristina of Norway, born in 1234, was the daughter of King Haakon IV. She was known for her intelligence and grace. Her marriage to Prince Felipe of Spain was arranged to strengthen the alliances between their kingdoms. Due to the Castilian and Norwegian alliances within the Holy Roman Empire, Kristina undertook a long journey in the summer...