Austin, Texas

South by Southwest put Austin on the map for its indie music scene, but the city is gaining just as much recognition for its street food such as Lucky J's fried-chicken waffle tacos (wrapped in a waffle shell) and kimchi fries from the Chi'Lantro Korean-Mexican fusion truck.

 Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is the ultimate tourist destination for any street-foodie, It boasts thriving markets throughout the city, along with some of the most robustly flavored street snacks from neon-lit Yaowarat Road in Chinatown. Here, makeshift stands offer pork skewered on sugar canes; fragrant fish curries, and sweet bananas deep-fried in rice-flour batter; as well as the notoriously stinky fruit durian.

Berlin, Germany

Beer flows freely in Berlin, so there's almost always a street-food vendor (imbisse) within stumbling distance. The best offerings are influenced by outsiders,such as Turkish doner kebabs and currywurst—fried sausage covered in a gloopy sauce of ketchup and curry powder (ingredients sourced from British soldiers in the 1940s). The boho Kreuzberg neighborhood is also home to one of city's best-known vendors, Curry 36.

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago street food is only semi-legal, since cooking technically isn't allowed on carts and trucks, but that hasn't deterred operations like the Gaztro-Wagon (naan-wich), the Meatyballs Mobile (meatballs) and the Southern Mac (mac and cheese) from launching trucks that assemble cooked ingredients. Although some 30 trucks have now entered the race, operators still foster a positive competitive spirit with weekly meet-up events, like Food Truck Tuesdays at North and Halsted Avenues in Lincoln Park, and Food Truck Thursdays at Ethyl's Beer and Wine Dive in the West Loop.

Istanbul, Turkey

Turkish doner kebabs can be found in nearly every city in Europe,, but Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, offers much more, with specialty kiosks scattered throughout the city hawking börek (flaky stuffed pastries), simit (ring-shaped sesame bread resembling a pretzel) and kumpir (baked potatoes stuffed with everything from ketchup and pickles to olives and sausage).

Los Angeles, California

Credit Los Angeles for kick-starting the US food-truck craze, which followed the success of F & W Best New Chef 2010 Roy Choi's Kogi Truck and its Korean tacos. You can now find almost any kind of casual food on wheels: dim sum, grilled cheese and even Top Chef Masters alum Ludo Lefebvre's fried chicken and honey-lavender biscuits from his truck, Ludo Bites.

Mexico City, Mexico

There's no denying the appeal of a good taco, but the Mexican capital has plenty of other great antojitos (street snacks), such as roasted elotes (corn on the cob), fried corn masa huaraches and cornmeal cakes known as tlacoyos. Food stalls can be found throughout the city, or centrally located in the bustling Mercado San Juan, in the Cuauhtémoc borough, and La Merced, in the La Merced neighborhood.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Saigon's street foods range from the savory soup known as pho and the French colonial–influenced banh mi (pâté sandwiches on French bread) to regional southern specialties like banh xeo (stuffed pancakes) and canh chi (fish soup). A trip to the mega-sized Ben Thanh Market will also yield spring rolls, spices and a knockoff designer handbag.

Hong Kong, People's Republic of China

Visitors flock to the jam-packed night market on Temple Street in the Kowloon neighborhood to feast on cheap hot pots, curried fish balls and fried seafood such as squid, prawns and oysters. This is also the city for adventurous finds such as skewers of stinky tofu and a wide range of organ meats.

Marrakech, Morocco

Source: Food and Wine