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, […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in British, celery, cheap meal, chicken stock, curry, easy, England, Indian, lentils, lime, soup, spices, yogurt on Feb 13th, 2010
One finds mulligatawny soup on an Indian restaurant menu the same way one always finds buffalo wings or nachos on a bar menu. It just has to be there – if it wasn’t on the menu you just know there’s something wrong with the place. But how many of you have ever ordered it over […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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, […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in beef, cheap meal, culture, eating, ground meat, hearty, holiday, Italian, Italy, language, Meat, milk, Naples, Napoli, pancetta, Pasta, pork, Recipe, Recipes, sauce, Saveur, slow cooking, tomato, tourism, tradition, travel, wine on Apr 22nd, 2008
Click here for more of our photos of Bologna Warning! You are about to read a lot about a dish that many would think could be discussed in one paragraph – Bolognese Ragu. After two trips to Bologna, I really began to understand how seriously the people there take their food. Because we are always […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in alcohol, alcoholic drink, beer, beverage, culture, drink, Food Commentary, history, Korean, language, Potato, rice, tradition on Apr 2nd, 2008
To us, and we’re sure to many who enjoy eating, the pairing of a meal with a complementary beverage is a beautiful thing, but one which often seems intimidating. After all, haute cuisine restaurants can either prosper or fail on the recommendations of their sommeliers. Just imagine you ordered a $500 bottle of vintage Burgundy […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in bacon, baking, bread, Castillano, cheap meal, Chorizo, cornmeal, culture, Easter, easy, egg, Europe, flour, Food Commentary, holiday, indulgent meal, Italian, Italian-American, Italy, Lent, morcilla, Recipe, Recipes, Saveur, Spain, tradition, unhealthy on Mar 21st, 2008
It was as if it was divine intervention. We finally found morcilla (see picture of sausages below – it’s the black one) in a specialty store up the block but we weren’t prepared to make a fabada or cocido – two other Spanish dishes which call for morcilla. I picked up one of my favorite […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in baking, cheap meal, cornmeal, easy, Food Commentary, fried, fritters, healthy, important details, lemon, lower fat, parsley, Recipe, Recipes, salt, sauce, seafood, side dish, snapper, tradition, vegetables, vegetarian, whole fish on Mar 11th, 2008
Salt. Does this word get your stomach growling? Get your mouth salivating? Lips smacking? Make you want to just ‘dig in’? Probably not. But could we live without it? Most definitely not. Doing some brief research on this dietary mineral not only “schooled” me on its lengthy history, but it also made me majorly appreciate […]
Read Full Post »
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 […]
Read Full Post »
