Tom Burson

Bio

Tom is a Germany-based writer who mostly covers travel and culture and nonsense.

The bizarre experience of dining at an illegal North Korean restaurant

The 500-seat restaurant looks more like the location of a wedding reception than an eating establishment. It’s virtually empty outside of the dozen or so waitresses donning tight ponytails and blue blazers with skirts that wouldn’t be out of place…

A quirky art exhibition in Berlin imagines what the future of food will look like

Eighty apple trees are fitted with IV bags in the courtyard of Berlin’s Kunstgewerbemuseum. The neon green liquid represents the plant’s fragility, a nod to the impact of climate change. Inside the museum, there’s “Bugs Bunny,” a meatloaf made from…

Tarantulas, fire ants and other bugs go from street food to gourmet dishes in Cambodia

Old men fry tarantulas in chili oil. People snack on crispy grasshoppers like they would a bag of Cheetos. Buckets of crickets, grasshoppers and giant water bugs lay next to yams, cilantro and curry leaves in the intimidating culinary scene of…

How the meat-loving city of Ghent became the veggie capital of Europe

A few dozen people crowd the platter-filled tables at Komkommertijd, a vegan buffet on the outskirts of the spired, medieval city-center of Ghent, Belgium. It’s a Thursday evening but the restaurant has a Friday-night crowd, as clanking plates and a…