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 book review, British, chefs, chili, Christmas, culture, diversity, England, grilled, grilling, London, Meat, noodles, tradition, travel, Vietnam, Vietnamese on Nov 19th, 2014
If the path from high finance executive to cookbook author isn’t a well-beaten one, then the path from stock-broker to market stall-holder is even more poorly trod. But, for Oxford-educated former bankers turned Banh Mi vendors-cum-restaurateurs, Van Tran and Anh Vu, that was their peregrination. They certainly don’t say so in the book, but it’s […]
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Posted in America, Argentina, Autumn, baking, barbecue, bread, Buenos Aires, cheap meal, chick peas, chickpeas, culture, Fall, Genoa, Genovese, Italian, Italian-American, Italy, Liguria, New York City, Pizza, Provencal, Provence, rosemary, sage, South America, tradition, travel, Uruguay on Sep 17th, 2014
“There are more pizzerias in Buenos Aires than in Naples and Rome combined.” – Ernesto Sabato, Heroés y Tumbas In his book “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” travel-writer Bill Bryson, in an attempt to defeat insomnia, describes making a lonely evening among the anodyne IKEA fittings of a Stockholm hotel even more excruciating by tallying […]
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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 America, beef, Canada, culture, diversity, Europe, France, French-ness, grilled, grilling, horse, Meat, Montreal, public health, travel on Apr 28th, 2014
Last year there was unprecedented outrage when the news broke that the meatballs being sold by more than one European grocery chain were “contaminated” with horse meat. This was big news this side of the Atlantic for two main reasons: a) the horses in question are likely to have been American horses, and b) because […]
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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 adobo, alcaparrado, Argentina, avocado, beans, Brooklyn, chicharron, chicken, cilantro, crispy, culture, diversity, fried, New York City, oil, plantains, Puerto Rican, restaurant, Restaurant Review, rice, spices, tostones, unhealthy on May 25th, 2011
While Queens may have the reputation for being the most ethnically diverse area in the United States, our very own borough of Brooklyn is certainly not bereft of global flavors. From the side-by-side Mexican and Chinese neighborhoods of Sunset Park to the century-old Italian areas of Carroll Gardens and Bay Ridge, to the more recently […]
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Posted in Asian, chili, cinnamon, culture, curry, diversity, Indian, lamb, Malaysian, mutton, rice on Feb 2nd, 2011
Though a resident of Singapore, then a part of Malaysia, during the early 1950s, I doubt very much if my father ever had much of an opportunity to experience its astonishing variety of cuisines. Confined mostly to the Changi district (now better known for its international airport) and the company of other expatriate British military […]
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Posted in beef, Buenos Aires, crispy, culture, grilled, grilling, guts, indulgent meal, lemon, Montevideo, morcilla, offal, pork, sausage, South America, sweetbreads, tourism, travel, Uruguay, veal on Jun 2nd, 2009
As Odysseus was nearly drawn to his destruction on the rocks by the enchanting song of the sirens, so your hardy WANF voyagers were almost powerless to resist breaking themselves on the plentiful tables of Uruguay. However, unlike Homer’s hero, for whom women were the main weakness throughout his epic peregrinations, during our recent travels […]
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Posted in boiled, culture, Galician, Gallego, healthy, Jose Andres, Madrid, octopus, Olive Oil, paprika, pimenton, pulpo, racione, Recipe, seafood, soccer, Spain, tapas, tourism, travel on Oct 23rd, 2008
The first time I ate pulpo a la gallega was at a very disreputable-looking food stand not far from the Estadio Balaídos in Vigo, Spain, before watching a soccer match between Celta de Vigo and Racing Santander (it finished 2-2). It was served on a slightly wilted plastic plate with a toothpick that looked suspiciously […]
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Posted in alcohol, alcoholic drink, Beach, beverage, brandy, Brazil, Brazilian, cachaça, culture, drink, Food Commentary, language, lime, Portuguese, soccer, sugar on Oct 7th, 2008
When you think of Brazil what do you think of? Is it the lazy sway of coconut palms, golden beaches, beautiful, bronzed people, a back-drop of Sugar Loaf Mountain, and soundtrack of relaxing bossa nova? Is it a throbbing samba rhythm, huge, garish paper-mache heads, and crowds of people dancing at carnival? Is it the magnificent […]
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Posted in Arezzo, Blogroll, Europe, Florence, Italian, Italy, photographs, photography, tourism, tradition, travel, tuscany on Mar 5th, 2008
I’m in need of a pick-me-up. Maybe it’s the winter blues? Maybe it’s because I’ve been packing on more than my normal winter-weather pounds and I’m feeling like a cow? I could possibly need a pick-me-up because my skin hasn’t seen sun in so long it’s beginning to turn blue. I NEED SPRING TO COME […]
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I usually wouldn’t bore readers with non-food-related things on our blog, but I figured some of you may be stopping by looking for some travel-related items. So, here are some pictures we took in Madrid. You can click on each to get a bigger view. I hope you will consider a vacation to Spain soon […]
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Posted in cheap meal, Chorizo, culture, egg, Europe, Food Commentary, fried, grilled, history, leek, Madrid, meatballs, Olive Oil, paprika, Potato, Recipe, Recipes, sauce, sausage, seafood, Spain, Squid, tapas, tourism, tradition, travel, vegetarian, wine on Jan 24th, 2008
In a later post, the husband will write about all the, shall we say, interesting tapas we ate while in Madrid. When I use the word interesting, I mean that many may find some of these tapas to be gross and/or bizarre. Personally, I am always willing to try something new. Only then can I […]
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Posted in cheap meal, chicharron, culture, easy, entertainment, Garlic, juice, orange juice, Pernil, pork, Puerto Rican, Recipe, Recipes, slow cooking, spices, tradition on Jan 19th, 2008
Many, many moons ago, I published my recipe for pernil, the delicious Puerto Rican roasted pork butt/shoulder. Recently, I had a whole Saturday afternoon to try a longer and slower cooking method for my bone-in pork butt. I have to tell you, if you have the time I would advise cooking it this way as […]
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Posted in alcohol, alcoholic drink, beverage, Castillano, castille, culture, drink, entertainment, Europe, holiday, Madrid, Spain, tapas, tourism, tradition, travel, vermouth, vermut on Jan 17th, 2008
As regular readers will know, we recently visited Madrid and gorged ourselves at its myriad restaurants, tascas, bars and any other hostelry we could find. Because of this excessive consumption, we’re currently going through what can only be described as a traumatic process of catharsis, in which we’re avoiding all meat and all booze for […]
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Posted in bread, British, butter, culture, England, Food Commentary, France, French, restaurant, tradition on Dec 19th, 2007
According to an exceedingly poorly written article on MSN UK today, the UK’s favorite food (as voted by 50,000 members of the public) is, guess what? No, not bangers, not mash, not fish, chips, or mushy peas. Neither is it roast beef or Yorkshire pudding, spotted dick or trifle, nor is it, to my great […]
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Posted in beef, cheese, culture, feta, Garlic, grilled, ground meat, lamb, language, Lebanese, lemon, lower fat, Meat, parsley, pita, pork, quick meal, Recipe, Recipes, sauce, skewers, tradition, yogurt on Dec 3rd, 2007
This is one of those meals we often make in the winter when we want something tasty, filling, but not high in fat. By cooking the ‘kabobs’ on the flat griddle pan, the fat drips off into the drip pan part of the griddle leaving us with a leaner kabob. I’ve been meaning to post […]
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Posted in England, Europe, Food Commentary, indulgent meal, Manchester, Pub, restaurant, Restaurant Review, tourism, tradition, travel, unhealthy on Nov 27th, 2007
We’re back from our quick, 5-day trip to Northern England to visit Jonny’s family and I may just go to bed at 9PM like I did last night! The problem with these quick trips home (I feel like it’s kind of my home these days) is that by the time you’re over the jet lag, […]
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What is it about coffee in Europe that makes it taste so good? Why do so many people love Dunkin’ Donuts coffee when it quite obviously tastes (and looks) like gnat’s piss? And why, indeed, do people feel the need to drink a pint of coffee in one go? More to the point, how can […]
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Upon returning home from our recent wedding in Italy, our guests, like us, probably felt the bump of landing in several places – the legs and spine (from airplane travel) and the wallet (from the careless assumption that a euro is only worth a little more than a dollar). We also felt that bump in […]
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