Hello, Snackers. I thought I’d take a break from deep-dive archival research and spend some time poking around Google Maps instead. Let’s explore!

Also, some news: I reported an episode for Proof, a food-history podcast from America’s Test Kitchen. It’s about old-timey candy and you can find it here or wherever you find your podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Google, etc.). The episode is based on this Snack Stack post but goes a LOT deeper. Go listen!

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For some reason I thought this would be a simple task. Instead of spending hours in the newspaper archives, looking for details about a specific food, I’d just do a quick search for snacks in each of the countries competing in the World Cup. Simple!

But…there are 32 countries. And I couldn’t leave any out. And it seemed too easy and boring—and not in the let’s-get-lost spirit of this newsletter—to just look up some popular snacks in each country. And it was also too simple to look up snack bars in the largest cities. I’m from Minneapolis—I like to celebrate the sorta medium-sized places. Second- or third-largest cities would also be too obvious and, in a lot of cases, too likely to turn up tourist restaurants based on my methodology (see below). So that wouldn’t work.

All of which is to say that for today’s issue of Snack Stack, I’ve found snack stands in the fourth-largest cities in every country participating in the World Cup.

Some notes:

• Teams are listed according to their group in the tournament.

• Each selection has a link that goes to a map. Click! Look around! Get lost! Find snacks!

• My methodology: figure out what city was the fourth-largest, search “snacks near [city]” on Google Maps, choose a place that had an interesting-sounding name or intriguing photos. Not the most scientific approach, and it meant that all results were places with the English word “snacks” in the business name or associated text, which means this is not necessarily reflective of actual everyday snacks eaten by local residents.

• Even though this isn’t a scientific study, it’s worth noting that fried chicken (in wing, finger, or nugget form) and french fries are popular damn near everywhere. So, too, is Coca-Cola.

• Even if you click on no other links, go check out the photos of the restaurant in Iran.

Group A

Qatar

Fourth-largest city: Al Wakrah

Snack stand: Fresh Way Cafeteria

On the menu: Wraps, burgers, elaborate fruit/ice cream dishes, fries

Ecuador

Fourth-largest city: Santo Domingo

Snack stand: Calle del Colesterol (AMAZING NAME)

On the menu: Chicken tenders, tacos, fries

Senegal

Fourth-largest city: Thies

Snack stand: Restaurant Damel’s

On the menu: Grilled meat kebabs, fries

Netherlands

Fourth-largest city: Utrecht

Snack stand: Rhijnsnack

On the menu: Fries topped with various meat and sauce options

Group B

England

Fourth-largest city: Sheffield

Snack stand: Snack Attack Cafe

On the menu: Meat-and-veggie sandwiches

Iran

Fourth-largest city: Karaj

Snack stand: Tanoorak Fast Food

On the menu: Over-the-top burgers and pizza. Like…I know you’re busy, but I need you to stop what you’re doing and click through these photos (more here!) and ask yourself why this place isn’t in every mall in the world. Marvelous excess here.

USA

Fourth-largest city: Houston

Snack stand: Don Pinguino

On the menu: Elaborate ice cream concoctions, tortas, bags of corn chips and potato chips

Wales

Fourth-largest city: Wrexham

Snack stand: Caroline's Viennese Patisserie

On the menu: Cakes, pastries

Group C

Argentina

Fourth-largest city: La Plata

Snack stand: Carne

On the menu: Burgers, shakes, fries (but all, like, slightly fancy; it feels very Gentrified Neighborhood in this place )

Saudi Arabia

Fourth-largest city: Medina

Snack stand: Al Baik Fast Food

On the menu: Fried chicken, fried shrimp, fries

Mexico

Fourth-largest city: León

Snack stand: Snacks Lokos León

On the menu: Dorilocos, vaso loco, paleta loco, everything loco (Google says this is a health food store, LOL)

Poland

Fourth-largest city: Wroclaw

Snack stand: Nasza Pączkarnia

On the menu: Doughnuts

Group D

France

Fourth-largest city: Lyon

Snack stand: The Food Factory (because if there’s anything that embodies the French approach to gastronomy, it’s factories)

On the menu: Big ol’ burgers, fries, the famous French tacos

Australia

Fourth-largest city: Perth

Snack stand: King’s Park Kiosk

On the menu: Pastries, premade sandwiches, novelty ice cream bars

Denmark

Fourth-largest city: Aalborg

Snack stand: Caféministeriet

On the menu: Burgers, tartes, fries, something called—if I’m reading the chalkboard right—the “Slutty Pancake Sandwich”

Tunisia

Fourth-largest city: Ettadhamen

Snack stand: Snacky’s

On the menu: Elaborate hot dogs, corndogs, burgers, and French tacos

Group E

Spain

Fourth-largest city: Seville

Snack stand: Cafetería Pastelería La Canasta

On the menu: Sandwiches, pastries, lovely platters of jamón

Costa Rica

Fourth-largest city: Heredia

Snack stand: Mingo Snacks

On the menu: Hamburgers, fries, hot dogs

Germany

Fourth-largest city: Cologne

Snack stand: Rievkoochebud Reibekuchen

On the menu: Potato pancakes (with sauce)

Japan

Fourth-largest city: Nagoya

Snack stand: Fujiyama 55 Muneharu Zone

On the menu: Ramen, tsukemen

Group F

Belgium

Fourth-largest city: Ghent

Snack stand: Pitta Snack Metropol (At some point, I need to write a post about stands in Europe; someone please remind me in a few weeks)

On the menu: Kebabs, fries buried under mounds of meat and cheese (see photo above), tiny side salads that are honestly a nice gesture but kinda hilarious when they’re next to … (again, see above)

Canada

Fourth-largest city: Ottawa

Snack stand: Snack O’Shack

On the menu: “The melting pot of Asia,” so they claim. Spring rolls, roti, gyoza, samosas.

Morocco

Fourth-largest city: Marrakesh

Snack stand: Snack Aziz

On the menu: Paninis, pizza, French tacos

Croatia

Fourth-largest city: Rijeka

Snack stand: Munch Bar

On the menu: Waffles with a LOT of chocolate. Can be ordered in a paper cone, for maximum portability.

Group G

Brazil

Fourth-largest city: Salvador

Snack stand: Acarajé da Dinha

On the menu: Acarajés (fritters made with black-eyed peas)

Serbia

Fourth-largest city: Kragujevac

Snack stand: Snack Bar Smaz

On the menu: Sandwiches, pasta, fries

Switzerland

Fourth-largest city: Bern

Snack stand: Swiss Snacks

On the menu: Kebabs, pizza, falafel, burgers

Cameroon

Fourth-largest city: Kousseri, but I couldn’t find a single restaurant in town with a menu on the internet—Google kept trying to send me across the river to N'Djamena, Chad—so instead we’ll go to Garoua, the third-largest city in Cameroon.

Snack stand: Double Bite Restaurant

On the menu: Grilled chicken, fries, ice cream, popcorn

Group H

Portugal

Fourth-largest city: Braga

Snack stand: Tibias de Braga

On the menu: Pastries. Endless pastries.

Ghana

Fourth-largest city: Sekondi-Takoradi

Snack stand: Mummys Pastries and Food

On the menu: Pastries, meat and rice

Uruguay

Fourth-largest city: Paysandú

Snack stand: La Nueva Paychivito

On the menu: Chivitos (giant sandwiches but also way more than just that)

South Korea

Fourth-largest city: Daegu

Snack stand: Banwoldang Gimbap

On the menu: Gimbap

Happy snacking!

—Doug

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