Episode 218 - World's 50 Best Bars with Mark Sansom

In this fascinating conversation with Mark Sansom, content editor of The World's 50 Best Bars and 50 Best Restaurants, some of the topics we discuss include: How Mark and his academy of experts manage to cover the entire globe in any given year, shedding a flood light not only on bars and restaurants in major markets, but also on regions that traditionally get less attention or acclaim. How The World's 50 Best differs from more traditional hospitality rating indices, like the Michelin Guide. Which bars (and bar styles) topped the list this past year, and some fun updates about their new Best Cocktail Menu award. We also talk about the difficulties posed by the current pandemic: from cocktails to-go, to the rise of food-and-cocktail pairings, to the 50 Best for Recovery recipe book, which raised over 1.3 million dollars in aid for the hospitality industry. Along the way, we cover 50 Best's new travel planning tool, called "Discovery," Mark's morning coffee ritual, the polarizing nature of sea urchin gonads, and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.