Panino Lampredotto  @ Sergio Pollini
All hail the “food of Florence.” Nothing is more local than a bursting-with-flavor sandwich made of tripe, topped with spicy sauce or salsa verde (with capers, parsley, lemon, garlic and olive oil). And this quintessential street food is served best at Sergio Pollini’s truck on a busy little corner of Via dei Macci, near the Sant’Ambrogio market. This food is sacred in Florence and for good reason. Locals clamor up at lunchtime, while sitting on the benches of the nearby piazza to gobble up these tasty delights.

‘Flavor of the Week’ Panino  @ Semel street food
A Florentine institution that will have you salivating for more than one panino, the menu changes daily at this small, squeeze-in-while-you-can spot in the historic Sant’Ambrogio market. Seasonal ingredients meet clever flavor combinations, like anchovies, oranges and fresh-sliced fennel, all washed down with a small glass of wine, taken to-go or eaten on the small bench outside. Prices are astronomically low, ranging from 4 euros a panino and a euro for a bottle of water or glass of wine.

Passatelli  @ Trattoria Anna Maria
Imagine having lunch with your grandmother, a grouchy old lady who spent her entire life in the kitchen. We call them “sdzore,” but Anna Maria Monari is a lot more than that. She opened Trattoria Anna Maria in 1985, and a visit to her restaurant is like going back to Bologna of that time. Portraits of Bologna’s celebrities adorn the walls and traditional dishes, like the pasta, are handmade in the lab just a few steps from the restaurant. Try the passatelli. Exclusively handmade with eggs and kitchen scraps such as stale bread, hardened cheese and a pinch of nutmeg, passatelli, or rather passatelli soup because it is served with meat broth, is tasty dish typical of the ancient culinary tradition of the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna.

Whole wheat risotto  @ Santa Brasa
Tijuana Culinary School graduate Jaime Galindo teamed with Chilean Master Chef Carlos Vargas in 2013 to create the menu and run the cocina for their seasonal campestre kitchen, built around the gardens from which their produce is sourced. They serve a variety of grilled meats and seafood as well as a hearty whole wheat “risotto” with grilled carrots, asparagus, nuts and garden greens. The dish pairs well with Santa Brasa’s Dama del Valle house Chardonnay.

Sea snail aguachile  @ Bodegas F. Rubio
Bodegas F. Rubio is a new family-owned vineyard and wine producer that features a year-round “deli.” Brother Alexandro Rubio thoughtfully prepares his aguachile (chili water) of sea snails with jalapeño, tomatoes, red onions, micro greens and green onions from their garden. The snails are the perfect balance of chewy and tender and the aguachile of jalapeño provides just the right amount of heat, not overwhelming the main ingredients. Pair with Bodegas F. Rubio’s Palomino/Chenin Blanc blend.

Katsu Sando @ Tsuru
Sometimes it’s best to keep things simple, and Tsuru does just that with its excellent katsu sando. The best choice of meat here is the thigh (more flavor). It’s then breaded and deep-fried until golden and the perfect crisp contrast with the super soft white bread. There’s very finely shredded white cabbage, plus mustard mayo and tonkatsu sauce. It is nothing ground breaking, but it is perfect in every detail, and it hits the spot every time. Let’s hope Tsuru never takes this sandwich off the menu.

Bacon Naan  @ Dishoom
I doubt anyone would’ve predicted that one of London’s best bacon sandwiches would come with an Indian twist. The bacon naan at Dishoom pops up on everyone’s Instagram feed at least once a day … a true modern classic. Ginger Pig bacon (dry cured with rock salt and demerara sugar) is grilled and served inside a freshly baked naan with cream cheese, coriander and a tomato-chilli jam. This went on the menu at Dishoom as a special but received so much love they’ve kept it on for good. I’ll always be a fan of a classic white bread, bacon and brown sauce arrangement, but there’s room to shake things up a little every now and then.

Salt Fish Bokit  @ Bokit'La
A bokit is a sandwich from Guadalupe and miraculously, there’s a stall in South London specialising in them. Get yourself down to Vauxhall Farmers’ Market and look for the stall with the massive queue. This bokit is basically a deep fried ball of dough, which is flattened, deep fried (yes), then split and filled with salt fish, avocado, salad and your choice of hot sauce (mild, medium or hot). I would recommend the hot. Made with Scotch bonnet chilies, it is mega punchy, but the flavor is incredible.

Ham Egg ‘n’ Chips  @ Max's Sandwich Shop
A riff on a British greasy spoon classic, this is ham, egg and chips between two slices of bread. The ham is slow-cooked ham hock, in lovely big chunks. The egg is fried and crisp at the edges, the yolk still runny. The chips come in the form of crunchy shoestring fries, which is a work of absolute genius and, of course, we should never argue with a spot of double-carbs. Sounds a bit rich? Fear not, because Max has thought to add a cracking piccalilli, which counteracts the richness and keeps you going back for more and more. There’s a spot of mustard mayo to keep things moist and punchy, too.

Bao  @ BAO
Bao London started as a stall and is now a hugely popular restaurant in Soho. Their light-as-air steamed milk buns are legendary and you’ll need to arrive early or be prepared to queue. The pork fillings tend to be the best, garnished with coriander and crushed peanuts. But the crispy (deep fried) daikon version shouldn’t be dismissed. The problem with these is that one is never enough. The texture is so incredibly moreish and the fillings so savoury, it’s very nearly always a three bun job. Load up.