Posted in Castilla-La Mancha, Castillano, cat, chocolate, culture, Europe, Food Commentary, game, halal, history, Jewish, Moorish, pimenton, pork, Restaurant Review, Spain, Toledo, tourism, tradition, travel on Jul 19th, 2016
“The beauty of Jerusalem in its landscape can be compared with that of Toledo.” – Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana Perched above its bend in the Tagus, with sheer drops on three sides to eddying currents, and tightly-enclosed within its craggy walls Toledo has an impenetrable, monumental aspect. But, through the early morning rays, […]
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Posted in Autumn, beans, Castilla y Léon, Castilla-La Mancha, Castillano, castille, Chorizo, Europe, French, history, Madrid, Meat, pigs, pork, Restaurant Review, Segovia, soup, Spain, suckling pig, sweetbreads, tourism, tradition, travel, Uncategorized, unhealthy on Mar 24th, 2016
It must go down among the biggest porkies a man ever told a woman – right after Christopher Columbus telling his mother he wouldn’t be long; he and a few friends were just taking their boats out for a spin. And, never has the term “farm”* been used more euphemistically than when Felipe V of […]
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Posted in baking, British, Caribbean, Christmas, cornichons, Delia Smith, England, flour, ground meat, hearty, history, lard, London, Manchester, pastry, pie crust, pork, sage, tradition, winter on Jan 18th, 2016
In 1994, and after six playfully-humorous seasons of barbershop-based banter, fans of British-Caribbean sitcom “Desmond’s” were disappointed when the show was discontinued. This blow may have been softened when they learned that it was to be succeeded by spin-off show “Porkpie”, but, after two fairly insipid seasons, this too was consigned to the bin of […]
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Posted in Argentina, Basque, brandy, Buenos Aires, fish, France, healthy, hearty, history, Montevideo, paella, pinchos, pintxos, Potato, seafood, soup, South America, Spain, stew, tradition, travel, Tuna, Uruguay on May 2nd, 2015
When the coughing and farting of the antique truck had rumbled away, between the rustlings of birds pecking grubs among the dry plane leaves, you could just make out the pop and thwack of rubber on concrete. Ascending a double flight of unusually steep stairs, past a stained glass window featuring farming folk, the squeak […]
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Posted in breadcrumbs, Christmas, culture, Easter, history, Italian, Meat, Pasta, Pizza, sauce, Sicilian, Sicily, summer, tradition, travel, winter on May 29th, 2014
“To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to not have seen Italy at all,for Sicily is the clue to everything.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Sicily sits apart from mainland Italy, like a rock ready to receive a swift kick from the instep of the Italian boot. Indeed, many Italians would tell you […]
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Posted in British, cucumber, England, Europe, fish, German, healthy, history, holiday, holidays, Iceland, Jewish, salami, salmon, salt, smoking, tradition, vodka on Dec 24th, 2012
A typical Sunday morning (or afternoon depending on what time they crawl out of bed) for a New Yorker involves brunch. And what, perhaps, characterizes brunch in New York more than anything else is bagels, cream cheese and lox. However, few, if any, New Yorkers, I would guess, think about lox very much, probably because […]
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Posted in African, appetizer, castille, chile, Garlic, herbs, history, Meat, Mexican, Olive Oil, pepper, peppers, pimenton, pinchos, pork, racione, Spain, tapas, thyme, tradition, travel on Jun 6th, 2012
St. George, the patron saint of England, whose plucky, dragon-slaying derring-do is taken as emblematic of the English spirit, far from being a native of the British Isles, or for that matter, far from ever having come close to visiting them, was actually an adventurous squire of the modern-day country of Georgia who lived around […]
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Posted in Beach, Garlic, history, Olive Oil, olives, onions, oregano, Puerto Rican, rice, side dish, tradition, travel on May 3rd, 2012
Named for the grandson of Puerto Rico’s first governor, the southern city of Ponce is blessed with appropriately distinguished architecture. The equal of few in the Americas, it is a delightful surprise for the visitor. That conquering Americans were responsible for the preservation of the city’s historic district is equally surprising.
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Posted in America, Beach, Caribbean, cilantro, fish, fried, fritters, history, octopus, patriotism, Puerto Rican, pulpo, restaurant, Restaurant Review, South America, tourism, tradition, travel on Mar 20th, 2012
Conventional wisdom dictates that one should never eat at an empty restaurant, especially early in the week, but if there is absolutely nowhere else open and you have no choice, do yourself a favor and avoid the seafood. Happily, Vieques, a 55-square mile island off the east end of Puerto Rico, and former bombing range […]
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Posted in alcohol, alcoholic drink, almond, Garlic, history, pork, sauce, sherry, Spain, tradition, travel on Feb 25th, 2012
With wine there is probably more room for personal interpretation and opinion than in any other area of gastronomy. The sheer variety of wines available from across the globe encourages this, but the reputation of the wine connoisseur and his often ridiculous descriptions of the perfumes to be nosed out of the glass makes wine-tasting […]
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Posted in alcohol, baking, British, butter, Christmas, culture, custard, Delia Smith, dessert, easy, England, festival, festivals, fruit, history, holiday, holidays, nuts, spices, tradition, winter on Jan 2nd, 2012
Most Brits associate mincemeat with Christmas – its intoxicating mix of fruit, spices, booze, nuts and mixed peel provide Pavlovian stimuli, stirring memories of cherubic choirs a-caroling, roasted poultry, and the Queen’s speech – whereas I associate it with Easter, because it was always around then that we finally ran out of mince pies. I […]
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Posted in beans, British, cognac, easy, family, fennel, fish, France, Garlic, history, Manchester, Provencal, Provence, spicy, white fish on Dec 3rd, 2011
I’m not very old, but for much of my youth in the north west of England, it was almost impossible to find fresh foods that weren’t local. Today such a statement seems like an echo of Victorian times, but, literally, that’s how it was until a supermarket was built behind the Knutsford courthouse in the […]
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Posted in butter, cheap meal, France, French, game, Garlic, history, lemon, offal, parsley, pigs, pork, Potato, shanks, slow cooking, tourism, tradition, travel, trotter on Oct 4th, 2011
The largely unknown city of Compiegne, France, has the distinction of being the site of one of Louis XV’s most extravagant homes away from home. Under him, the Chateau de Compiegne became one of three distinctly opulent seats of government alongside Versailles and Fontainbleau. The latter French monarchs were hardly known for their desire to […]
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Posted in almond, anchovies, anise, bucatini, culture, fennel, Garlic, history, Italian, Italy, Olive Oil, Pasta, saffron, Sicilian, tradition, wine on Apr 5th, 2011
Greeks, Romans, Moors, Normans, Spaniards, Garibaldi and his thousand, and finally hordes of tourists have visited Sicily over the milennia. Some stayed for centuries, some only for generations, but even those whose sojourn was comparatively brief played a role in the island’s blending of cultures and traditions. If this human concoction can be distilled into […]
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Posted in America, Brooklyn, cafe, history, Italian, Italian-American, meatballs, octopus, offal, Park Slope, pulpo, restaurant, Restaurant Review, ricotta, tradition on Mar 18th, 2011
When you think of old-style Italian-American restaurants does red sauce spring to mind? Red check wax table cloths, family-style servings, a free salad with your entree, rotund red-faced guys with their sleeves rolled-up, going “ey!” and slapping each other on the back? Sure, it’s a cliché, but it’s also close to the truth in a […]
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Posted in America, Asturias, beans, cabrales, Chorizo, cocido, fabada, Garlic, history, Meat, morcilla, Olive Oil, paprika, pimenton, pork, saffron, tradition, travel on Mar 11th, 2011
Almost seven years ago I journeyed from Santillana del Mar to Santa Maria de Lebaña via San Vicente de la Barquera. So many saints, so much devotion, that it was little surprise to learn that beyond the monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana and through the Picos de Europe lies the hallowed ground of Covadonga. […]
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Posted in appetizer, Barcelona, fried, Garlic, ham, history, Madrid, pimenton, pinchos, pintxos, Potato, prosciutto, racione, side dish, Spain, spicy, tapas, tourism, tradition, travel on Nov 17th, 2010
Towards the end of what is, in my opinion, his finest work, Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell tells of the bitter street fighting he witnessed in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War when the delicate alliance between communist, socialist, and anarchist factions of the Republican army finally collapsed. While certainly not the bloodiest scene in […]
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Posted in African, Cuba, culture, Garlic, history, Olive Oil, plantains, pork, Puerto Rican, sauce, seafood, shrimp, Spain, tostones, tradition, travel on Jul 30th, 2010
He’s certainly not the first to make such a remark, but when in a recent episode of his PBS show Mexico: One Plate at a Time, chef Rick Bayless commented that Mexican food may be the first “fusion cuisine” in the Americas, the concept resonated with me. The collision of cultures and culinary traditions that […]
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Posted in Argentina, baking, Buenos Aires, duck, Galician, Gallego, Genoa, history, Italian, South America, Spain, travel, Uruguay on May 12th, 2010
Being the innate pessimist that I am, watching a small boat being knocked around like a dodgem car on the rollicking, blue-grey seas at the normally placid Jersey Shore this past weekend put me in mind of the Costa de Muerte, the coast of death, on Spain’s north-west coast, where Galician fisherman have taken their […]
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Posted in Burmese, chicken, chicken stock, coconut, culture, flour, Garlic, ginger, history, lemon, noodles, onions, shallots, spices, tradition on Apr 15th, 2010
There is so little information available about Burma (or Myanmar, depending on how you rock it) that after the inevitable Wikipedia entry, the CIA World Factbook is the second item that appears in Google’s search results. This anonymity is largely due to the military dictatorship that has kept the country under lock and key for […]
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Posted in Clams, culture, fish, Gallego, Garlic, healthy, history, Jose Andres, Olive Oil, parsley, Paul Bocuse, Recipe, sauce, seafood, Spain, sustainable, tapas, tradition, travel, white fish on Feb 3rd, 2010
It is no coincidence that, in the 30 years since Franco’s death, Spanish creativity in the arts, architecture, business, and gastronomy has blossomed. It is also no coincidence that it has been, predominantly, though not exclusively, Spain’s sub-national and regional groups — who were repressed most viciously by the Fascist dictator — that have led […]
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Posted in Argentina, Chorizo, culture, empanadas, history, Meat, offal, Recipe, sauce, sausage, spices, stew, travel, tripe on Nov 20th, 2009
La Cupertina, at the corner of Cabrera and Godoy Cruz in the charming Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo Viejo, is reputed to have the best traditional Tucuman empanadas in the city. And, certainly, they are rather good. So tasty, in fact, that we bought a dozen for carry-out the day we left Argentina and nursed […]
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Posted in African American, America, chicken, crispy, fried, history, oil, Recipe, Recipes, savory, sour cream, sweet, unhealthy, waffles on Oct 19th, 2009
Chicken and Waffles. Two foods that many obsess over individually but wouldn’t even think to pair together. Why, I wonder? Have you ever dipped your crunchy piece of bacon into your pancake syrup, even if it’s accidental? How about some fabulous thai sauces that have that sweet sticky flavor paired with some fried calamari? What […]
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Posted in America, Argentina, Atlantic City, beef, bread, breadcrumbs, Buenos Aires, fried, hearty, history, Italian, Italian-American, Italy, Meat, Napoli, obesity on Jul 24th, 2009
“In Argentina, a vegetarian is someone who orders a salad with their steak…” –Unknown Those with even a basic understanding of food history probably know that the hamburger as we know it today is an American adaptation of the “Hamburger-style steak” which originated in the now-German city of Hamburg, and was brought to this country […]
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Posted in alcoholic drink, Argentina, beverage, cognac, drink, egg, grapes, history, lemon, lime, South America, tart, travel on May 7th, 2009
Picture this, if you will: A warm, humid day in Argentina’s early autumn; the last rays of sun slanting sharply through the browning leaves of mature plane trees; myriad dog-walkers rustling quietly by in the litter of those already fallen. In the lee of a giant ficus planted for sidewalk shade, two travelers recline in […]
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Posted in anchovies, Argentina, Buenos Aires, chick peas, crispy, Easter, eating, Food Commentary, Genoa, Genovese, history, Italian, Italy, language, Liguria, onions, Piemonte, Pizza, restaurant, Restaurant Review, South America, tourism, tradition, travel on Apr 24th, 2009
It’s fairly safe to say that no group, with the exception of the enigmatic gaucho, played as significant a role in defining Argentine national character as the Italians. Primarily (and principally, numerically-speaking) from Liguria (particularly Genoa), Piemonte and Tuscany, but latterly also from Naples and other areas of southern Italy, these Italian immigrants, literally by […]
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Posted in alcohol, alcoholic drink, beverage, cafe, drink, Food Commentary, France, gin, history, Lillet, martini, vodka on Nov 25th, 2008
These days, it seems something is always the new something else. You know, Thursday’s the new Friday, brown’s the new black, Palin’s the new devil, Obama’s the new Messiah, etc. But to me, for example, comparing the pain and anguish at dragging myself from bed on a Friday morning after a few drinks the night before, […]
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Posted in ale, batter, beef tallow, beer, British, butter, capers, chips, crispy, easy, egg, fish, french fries, fried, history, Jewish, lard, Manchester, mushy peas, oil, olives, peas, Portuguese, Recipe, Recipes, salt, sauce, seafood, side dish, tartar, tradition, travel, vegetables, vinegar on Oct 31st, 2008
Happy Hallowe’en, WANF readers! Instead of posting shots of us dressed up in costume as the tastiest parts of a pig’s anatomy, we’re celebrating All Soul’s Day and the arrival of a much-needed weekend with a classic Friday night dish from the British Isles (where in truth, Hallowe’en has never really caught on in the […]
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Posted in America, Atlantic City, breadcrumbs, egg, escarole, Garlic, ground meat, history, Italian, Italian-American, meatballs, Naples, Olive Oil, onions, Pasta, soup, tradition, vegetables on Oct 27th, 2008
I’ve talked about my sweet ‘ole grandmom, Anna, a few times on this blog. This was a woman who waited tables at the Golden Nugget (now Bally’s Grand) casino (R.I.P.) in Atlantic City until she retired at 76. This is the same woman who would wear winter gloves in the summer because her tiny hands […]
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Posted in butter, cheese, cream, crispy, egg, gnocchi, history, Italian, Italy, parmigiano reggiano, polenta, Recipe, Roman, Rome, semolina, vegetarian on Sep 4th, 2008
As I wrote in the title of this post, the Romans do it again… and again… and again. Roman cuisine is one of our favorites and Rome is one of our favorite cities to visit and eat in. This dish, gnocchi alla romana, is a dish that reminds me how versatile, creative and (I’ve said […]
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