The meals I remember best from travelling are not the grand ones. They are breakfasts: bread and coffee in a small place, noodles at a stall that opened early, fruit bought from a market and eaten on a bench.
Breakfast is unguard. Nobody is trying to impress you at breakfast, and the food is usually simple and honest. A good breakfast tells you how a place starts its day, which is more revealing than any dinner menu.
I keep a small list of those breakfasts in my head. It is one of my favourite lists.