Sam OBrien's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Bangkok, Thailand

Half-Century-Old Soup

At a Bangkok bistro, one pot of beef stew has been cooking non-stop for more than 45 years.
Antwerp, Belgium

Elfde Gebod

According to this bar, God gave an “11th commandment” to Antwerp: Thou shalt drink beer.
Baltimore, Maryland

Ministry of Brewing

An abandoned church gets a second life as a massive beer hall and event space.
Jersey City, New Jersey

White Mana Diner

This unassuming retro burger joint was billed as “diner of the future” at the 1939 World's Fair.
Prague, Czechia

St. Valentine’s Shoulder Blade

A saintly relic hidden in a Prague church basement.
Prague, Czechia

Strahov Monastery

Two stunning 17th-century libraries and a cabinet of curiosities.
Prague, Czechia

The Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague

The history of occult science is turned into a creepshow at this lurid Prague tourist attraction.
Queens, New York

Indonesian Food Bazaar at St. James Episcopal Church

Once a month, an Indonesian feast appears inside an Elmhurst church hall.
San Jose, California

Mark's Hot Dogs

For roadside fast food, pull over at the giant orange.
Queens, New York

La Esquina del Camarón Mexicano

An everyday Jackson Heights bodega conceals a Mexican seafood paradise.
Brooklyn, New York

David's Brisket House

A Jewish deli run by Yemeni Muslims in an Afro-Caribbean neighborhood is quintessential Brooklyn.
Brooklyn, New York

Gottlieb's Restaurant

One of the few Glatt kosher delis in the United States is a cornerstone of its Hasidic neighborhood.
Los Angeles, California

Kim Thai Food

Find regional specialties from the Thai-Laotian border inside in a North Hollywood swap meet's food court.
Brussels, Belgium

Musée des Arbalétriers (Museum of Crossbowmen)

This charming, hidden guild museum holds some 700 years of crossbow history.
Brussels, Belgium

Musée des Égouts Bruxelles (Brussels Sewer Museum)

Head underground and take a tour of the city's working sewer system, and see the underground river Senne, which defined Brussels for centuries before being covered in the 19th century.
Sankt Vith, Belgium

Sourdough Library

Burbling away in refrigerators are 105 sourdough starters from around the world.
Brussels, Belgium

Le Museé du Jouet (Toy Museum)

A huge old mansion full of thousands of toys, each there to be used and played with.
Brussels, Belgium

Laeken Cemetery Crypt

This recently restored crypt was once plagued by liquefying coffins and exploding caskets.
Raeren, Belgium

Museum of Carrots

This small window display is dedicated to the noble carrot.
Leuven, Belgium

'Snow Whites' of Leuven

The Belgian library displays burned books that were salvaged from the fires of both world wars.
Brussels, Belgium

Cook & Book

A wonderfully kitsch bookstore the size of a supermarket.
Heuvelland, Belgium

Potato Vending Machine

Because sometimes you need to make a batch of frites even when the stores are all closed.
Bruges, Belgium

Smedenpoort Skull

The bronzed skull of a beheaded traitor was affixed to the city gate in the 17th century.
Eupen, Belgium

Jacques Chocolate Museum

Museum covers every step of the chocolate-making process, from cultivation to the finished product.