Roads & Kingdoms’ Favorite Things We Published in 2018
2018 was a challenging year for us at Roads & Kingdoms, but one constant remained: the incredible talent of the writers, photographers and illustrators who chose to publish their work with us. The following are some (not all!) favorites from the year, as chosen by R&K staff. Get ready for paan, pickles, progressive porn and so much more.
Read more of our 2018 selections here.
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Not Your Mother’s Pickles by Muna Gurung
Loved this sweet, simple portrait of a mother-daughter relationship. It really captures how the way we see our parents changes over time. Nice kicker, too. – Danielle Renwick
Eating Black Forest in Lahore by Saba Imtiaz
Saba is a fantastic writer, and I can’t get enough of her sharp, witty commentary on South Asian culture. – Shivani Mehta
Why a Belgian Librarian Flew to Canada to Find Sourdough Yeast by Rafael Tonon
I’ll use any excuse to indulge in my favorite food, and learning about its anthropological origins through this article gave me even more reasons to talk about, admire, and eat it. – Emily Marinoff
A History of Mexico in 10 Dishes by Alonso Ruvalcaba
Many of the dishes are unexpected and everything sounds delicious. – Tyler Elmore
Run, Iman, Run by Diana Khachatryan
Reporter Diana Khachatryan masterfully captures the harrowing tale of Iman Muzaeva, a former ISIS wife who finds the strength to flee Iraq with her two children. The images from Yuri Kozyrev tell an equally complex narrative about the scars Muzaeva and her family carry with them. R&K may be obsessed with food and travel, but this story is a reminder that our roots are firmly planted in foreign correspondence. – Matt Goulding
Love, Nostalgia, Secret Sauce by Yumna Mohamed
For our Johannesburg city guide, Yumna Mohamed wrote about Mohideen’s, a no-frills takeaway joint in Marabastad township where her father grew up. The elder Mohamed had his final Joburg meal—a steak sandwich, drenched in the restaurant’s famous gravy—before leaving to study medicine in Mumbai. Fifty years later, the gravy is still as magical. As Mohamed writes, “Friends, you have not lived until you have dipped a buttery sandwich into a teacup full of meaty gravy without shame.” – Alexa van Sickle
Spiti Coffee in Himachal Pradesh by Fabiola Monteiro
It reminds me of the figurative happy place I go to when the present moment is too much: a quiet cafe, a good travel companion, and reflections on a much-needed journey. – Aleesa Mann
Love, Loss, and Small Rebellions at Delhi’s Paan Stalls by Aparita Bandhari
It’s a small, intimate story about a food and a place I (personally) love told with grace and humor and a poignant sense of nostalgia. A lovely read. – Michael Snyder
Living in a Cycle of Fear and Danger by Ali M Latifi
This deep reflection on the hopeless violence in Afghanistan and the death of Ali’s colleagues is heart wrenching and important. – Cengiz Yar
Love, Loss, and Small Rebellions at Delhi’s Paan Stalls by Aparita Bandhari
This essay is an intimate and loving tribute to the author’s late grandfather that taught me about a Dehli culinary tradition. – Tafi Mukunyadzi
The New Pornographers by Mitch Moxley
Writer Mitch Moxley went under the covers (heh) for this incredibly entertaining story about a school for making liberal arthouse porn in the Bay Area. Mitch’s stories for R&K all have a certain swagger that is well-balanced with genuine curiosity. His stories were consistently among Anthony Bourdain’s favorites that we ran in his Dispatched series, and Tony liked this one a great deal as well. Bonus: the appealing, but still safe for work, illustrations from Daisy Dee. – Nathan Thornburgh