Now safely ensconced in the ORD AA Flagship Lounge before my flight to LAX...

What a pleasant evening with good company and great food (I did avoid any carnivorous type food yesterday, basically making do with Pizza for my meal).

Great to meet some FTers for the first time and others who I had seen before.

Probably won't be back stateside until early in the new year and unlikely to visit New York then - but will be monitoring this thread and vicariously enjoying these events.

Hopefully I will be able to join in again before you guys get to the Z's ...

Haven't been able to make any others yet unfortunately, but would be very interesting in any of the future ones!

What a fantastic idea. I think you're all full for the next country (Botswana) but I am looking very forward to future exploration.

This is so awesome! Very creative way of exploring different parts of the city that you may never have made it to otherwise. I'll be following your adventure and hope to join a meal by 2023! :)

Hi, I've been lurking around flyertalk for a few weeks, but tonight ATWI5B has motivated me to register and post. These gatherings sound like a lot of fun with all the culinary exploration and socializing. I'd love to join you all sometime!

I spoke with my Batswana contact at the UN, and she has agreed to prepare a few dishes for us this coming weekend (Jun 28-29 - exact date remains to be confirmed). It now sounds like the intent of her offer was to prepare the meal for me to pick up, so the meal itself will have to take place elsewhere. If it looks like the weather will be nice, this might be a good time for the project's first outdoor meal. Details to follow later in the week.

I mentioned this to a few people at the Brazil dinner the other night, but will repost here: the Times ran a piece on the World Cup recently, and featured a few of our AW5B stops - Boca Juniors, The Australian, Cevabdzinica Sarajevo
Article Link - Watching the World’s Game, in the World’s City

It's also worth noting that work, life, and travel are shaping up to be a bit hectic this summer, so the pace of the project may slow just a bit until September or thereabouts. As always, I will still do my best to accommodate anyone visiting or passing through town.

jmj8778, plon, aacharya, jBrodes, akoichig - Thanks for reading; I hope you will all be able to join us sooner than later :)

Anybody want to skip ahead to Jamaica?
http://www.villagevoice.com/2014-06-...crown-heights/

Botswana is happening this Sunday, June 29. I'm picking up our meal of seswaa (+sides) from our chef/diplomat at 1:00pm, then we're going to find some place to eat outdoors (location TBD by Saturday), as the forecast looks nice. She is making enough food for at least 4 people, so anyone around on Sunday ~2pm is welcome to come to a Botswana-themed picnic - not something that comes along every day.

Hmmm.. with the spreadsheet projecting Jamaica for September 16, 2017, perhaps some advance research is in order?

I just came across your thread and your really cool idea. You got me thinking, I've lived in NYC 30 years and should have started something like this years ago or at least kept track of the places we've eaten and the countries represented. NYC is certainly a unique place, perfect for such a project. I am sure you will have plenty takers for the Seswaa meal. Would love to join but we'll be in LA BBQ'ing with friends. Thanks thewayofthefuture!

Meal #21 - Bolivia
 

On an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday night in May, 8 people connected by a love of travel ventured out to a tiny restaurant - Mi Bolivia in Sunnyside, Queens to try Bolivian food for the first time. It wasn't the most glamorous meal anyone in this group has experienced, but it was precisely the type of gathering this project set out to create.

A few of my pictures are below, but you can find additional photos and context in yunicorner's writeup:
http://foodwitness.blogspot.com/2014...s-bolivia.html

http://i.imgur.com/exrIN32.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/jlDZgG4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/HtnRvOW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/h0JvcaN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/R4o6mrH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/jSvcOOc.jpg

Honorable Mention - If you can't make it to Sunnyside, try to check out the Bolivian Llama Party, a stand at Smorgasburg every weekend. Just know that the salteñas aren't nearly as good as those at Mi Bolivia.
http://i.imgur.com/o6Uo4C8.jpg

I hope you'll be able to join us soon. I would love to hear about some of the unique places you've found over the course of three decades.

Any idea of general neighborhood/location? I have a commitment in the evening, but it does sound like a pretty unique and fun meal (to only be enhanced by the weather and company, I'm sure).

Since our meal is being sourced through UN channels, my idea was to find a location in view of the main UN building. I was planning to walk around that area tomorrow to see if any of the parklets nearby would do the trick. If not, the green space at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island (FDR Four Freedoms Park) may be the best option.

Too bad our resident Roosevelt Islander is out of town. :D

Actually, the rooftop terrace of his building has a decent view of the UN (partially obstructed by the 59th St bridge, but it's there) that could have worked out well.

I'm going to miss this unfortunately. I have some family stuff tomorrow I can't miss. Enjoy! Can't wait to see the pictures!