I had never considered food a time machine. Yet, here I was, holding a fresh piece of focaccia, and suddenly I was transported back to a decade ago, when I first visited the positively quaint community of Camogli, a village nestled along the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea in northern Italy. As I watched the waves gently lap the pebble-laden beach in front of the promenade, I realized that this favored destination hadn’t changed one bit.

And neither has its magical bread. Located 40 minutes south of Genoa on the Golfo di Paradiso, the easy-going fishing village of Camogli is impossibly picturesque and home to the best focaccia I’ve ever had. My first taste of Liguria was in 2013, when I landed in this under-the-radar spot by word of mouth.