Joel Hart is an urban anthropologist and writer based in London, who focuses on restaurants, food, drinks, music, and gastronomic travel. Bylines includes FT Weekend, Vittles, Eater, ES Magazine, Telegraph and Time Out, among other publications.
What does a journey mean to you?
As much as I’d love to get better at using travel to unwind, I see a journey primarily as a chance to learn something new about myself and the world. Experiencing the way other cultures are expressed is the best way to understand a place and its people. For me, that lens is usually food and drink, with a bit of meandering into art and music, but it could be any number of cultural universes.
Which other country or location most inspires you?
For a food, wine, and art lover like myself, it doesn’t get any better than Paris. I always leave feeling ecstatic, inspired, and like I need to move there immediately.
Where would you go back to, and why?
I visit Paris as often as possible and, after almost a decade, I finally made it back to India this year –something I hope won’t take so long next time – but one place I’m especially eager to return to is New York. I’m constantly thinking about the parallels between New York and London, particularly in how the same cuisines evolve differently in both cities, as well as how different ones develop more similarly in comparable neighbourhoods.
Top insider tip for London?
London is one of the most international cities in the world and that diversity shines through in its food scene. But it also means plenty of food that’s divorced from place. My insider tip? Eat at places that could only exist in London. That’s as much places like Beigel Bake on Brick Lane, and JB’s Soul Food, a Caribbean takeaway in Peckham, as it is the likes of St John and Noble Rot. When looking for insider recommendations – whether for food or something else – try to find experiences that sincerely embody London’s spirit.
What journey would you most like to go on?
I have been dreaming about visiting Japan ever since I watched Lost in Translation and began reading Murakami in my mid-teens. By the time I’d become food-obsessed in my early twenties and watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi and episode after episode of Anthony Bourdain and David Chang in different parts of the country, I’d convinced myself that a trip is coming the following year… year after year. Now I’m in my early thirties, with a love for sake, listening bars and Wim Wenders’ new film Perfect Days, as well as a conviction that I’ve only scratched the surface of Japanese cuisine, so the dream feels more urgent than ever.
