Category: Food

HUNGRY FOR HOMINY AT EATON'S BEACH

8/20/2016

Holy hominy! I fell in love with the chef's signature dish.

The best part of travel?

Food certainly ranks somewhere close to the top.

My new favorite food south of the Mason-Dixon line is an old standby with fresh appeal.

You haven’t had grits until you’ve had shrimp and grits.

Think twice before you crinkle your nose and say ‘ew’ at the thought of this southern, low-country breakfast staple being anything more than tasteless hominy with more grit than dirty socks at the end of the day.

Let’s just say, chef Dave Del Rio’s signature dish knocked my socks off, eliminating any doubts I might have had regarding the savory accomplishments of this humble hominy!

LE CHOCOLAT DU BOUCHARD & A SINFULLY DELICIOUS GUILT TRIP

2/10/2016

Chiquita would have you believe their banana is quite possibly the world’s perfect food.

In some camps the health benefits of avocados put the “alligator pear” at the top of the list.

And of course, what would we do without the latest super food, king kale?
Somehow I’ve managed without.

Each 100 gram portion of this vegetable contains 200% of the RDA for Vitamin C, 300% of the RDA for Vitamin A, 1000% of the RDA for Vitamin K1, not to mention large amounts of 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein, Vitamin B6, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper and manganese.

Holy hubris! With only limited quantities of food consumption humanly possible on a daily basis, what’s a hungry, health-conscious diner to do?

SANTA FE: EACH DOORWAY HAS A STORY TO TELL

3/24/2015

We spent our first day in Santa Fe, New Mexico walking the picturesque streets of the historic district, charmed by the earthy vibe of the simple adobe dwellings, impressed by the architecture of Gothic chapels and Spanish cathedrals, excited (me more than Jimmy) by Santa Fe’s colorful collection of galleries vying for our time and money. Jimmy was excited about the food!

Each doorway had a story to tell, a past as much history as mystery, as much climate as culture, a story of isolation and adaptation, family and abiding religious faith. And while it was more than I can do justice in a single post, it was all fascinating reading, complete with colorful pictures! Here are a few highlights of Santa Fe's story.

SOME LIKE IT HOT! IN NEW MEXICO, THAT MEANS CHILE

3/18/2015

Mornings, noon, and nights are invariably chile when it comes to New Mexico, my new favorite destination as of last week.

Yes, I can be fickle when it comes to travel. I offer no excuses, but instead offer 7 Absolutely Hot Chile Facts to Savor along with your meal next time Mexican fare is on the menu.

THE ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE OFFERS FOOD FOR THOUGHT

1/26/2015

It was a thing of enormous beauty.

Wait! That’s not quite right.

It was an enormous thing of beauty, thin and crispy along the edges, moist and soft at the center. And the lingonberries were to die for.

I’m such a glutton for punishment; I mean a glutton for pancakes.

I still can’t believe I ate the whole thing!

Lynda made me do it!

That's what I used to tell my mother - "Lynda made me do it!"

FUN FOTO FRIDAY: OUTTAKES FOR THE WEEK 9/15/14

9/19/2014

One of the benefits of travel is the chance to disconnect from this crazy world; unless of course, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico was your world earlier this week. Fortunately JetBlue wasn’t the airline bringing stranded Americans home.

Home: wildfires, flooding, iPhone 6, Ray Rice, Boots on the Ground, Ebola, Home Depot debacle. My daughter suggested I stop watching the news the last time I shared my chagrin and she shared her ignorance of the world stage. I remember with fondness (now that it’s all behind me) the buffering effects of having your world defined by toddlers and tantrums, mealtimes and bedtimes, and the road rally of play dates, pre-school, shopping, and appointments. Exhaustion was always a cure for disconnecting from the world at large.

I’m mentally exhausted; ready to disconnect. With no travel scheduled for the next ten days, I'll settle for the weekend. But before I go, I intend to add some levity to this blockbuster news week. It is Friday, after all. Time for some Fun Fotos! Enjoy!

HAPPY HOUR AT RENO'S MIDTOWN RAPSCALLION

7/9/2014

I’m so glad we eat three meals a day! It’s been our saving grace for the last week, our only real excuse for a break (we did manage an afternoon or two away for sanity's sake), deep in the throes of a kitchen remodel.

Down to the bare bones before the rebuilding can begin.

No, not our kitchen; Steve’s kitchen, as in Jim’s son, in Reno, Nevada (remember, this is a travel blog). Yes, Steve’s new place is a cute little fixer upper, long on fixin’s, short on space (625 square feet, including the kitchen), as in perfect bachelor pad in Midtown Reno where things are happenin’, particularly when it comes to food (and spirits) in “The Biggest Little City in the World.”

Based on our week of dining out Reno style, I’m not sure remodeling Steve’s kitchen was such a good idea; too much good food, literally steps away from his front door, to consider dining in, especially when cooking for one.

Five of us made it for Happy Hour at Rapscallion, just blocks away (1555 S. Wells Avenue) from Steve’s new home; Jimmy and me, Steve, Steve’s sister Rachel, and her husband Brian. It didn't take long to discover why, year after year, this establishment has been voted the "best" seafood restaurant in Northern Nevada.

DINING & DANCING WITH MT. SINAI'S BEDOUIN

6/10/2014

Despite the chilly night air atop Egypt’s famed Mount Sinai, things were heating up very nicely as our Bedouin hosts worked to bridge the cultural divide between East and West. It was the perfect anecdote to a very long and arduous journey across Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula early that day.

This was the anecdote to which I was referring.

PERPETUATING URBAN MYTHS AT CHICAGO'S MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY

3/13/2014

He looked good, all things considered. I felt a momentary twinge of nostalgia.

We’d lost touch after college; separate paths, new interests, different lifestyles; marriage, kids, commitments.

I’d heard he’d nearly died back in 2012. His status as an urban legend would have simply faded away.

No way! Some might say he’s just a cream puff, but most know him to be made of much sturdier stuff. Stuff like . . .

PACZKI DAY: HOW SWEET IT IS!

3/4/2014

Jimmy and I were up and out early this morning; after all, it’s Paczki Day, Fat Tuesday for those of you not of Polish descent (Chicago is the Warsaw of the Midwest), Mardi Gras if you’re French (wee, zee French have a way with words, no?), Carnival, Carnevale or Fasnacht in other parts of the world.

Yeah, that would be today!

This traditional Christian day of deep-fried doughy indulgence kicks off 40 days of fasting beginning tomorrow, Ash Wednesday.

No way my little Polish Prince (actually, Jimmy is half Polish, half Bohemian, not to be confused with the half-Astors of last week's most popular post) could pass up this golden opportunity (as in paczki, "little packages" of exquisitely fried doughnut-sized puffs of cream-filled pastry that melt in your mouth) to revisit the days of his youth, albeit no paczek (singular for paczki) is ever quite as good as the memory of those lovingly prepared by one’s busia (BOO-sha, the Polish word for grandmother). I was off the hook and out of the kitchen minus a Polish heritage.

<<Previous