Food Travel - - Page 29

by tvff

La Dolce Eat-a: The Best Foods in Rome

I know that we took a look at the top ten things I ate in Rome (just updated with more photos!!), but to think of Rome as the sum of its individual parts would be a mistake. There is a larger story to tell.

First off, I should admit that I’m not going to be able to do justice in this post to the experience of eating a week’s worth of meals in Rome.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not a good enough writer, though that may be true. I think it’s just that you can’t really talk about eating in Rome in a way that can even remotely replicate the experience. That said…

If you are a lover of food, you owe it to yourself to go to Rome at some point. If you fancy yourself a decent home cook, you really should go and see how you can make simple ingredients delicious.

And if you work in an Italian restaurant, you should be required to go to Rome. There really ought to be some sort of licensing process involved.

Here’s the thing, though. It wasn’t just about how good the food tasted, although that’s something we’ll cover point-by-point at a bit later. What was amazing was that there is an overwhelming and all-consuming food culture. It seeps into everything there. I was there less than one full week and it’s easily the greatest single food experience of my life.

What was so impressive? It was the little things, and it started first thing in the morning.

Infinito Sobbollire: Anticipating Rome

Ladies and gents, I’m in dire need of a vacation and, as luck would have it, that’s just what I’ll be doing at the end of this month. My last two trips to Europe, which took me to Hamburg and London, certainly left me with a few good food memories, but that’s going to pale in comparison after Mrs. TVFF and I head to Rome. She’s been there a few times (and studied for a summer during college), but it’s my first trip. We’ll be looking at tons of artwork, visiting important churches and ancient ruins and gorging ourselves on every type of food we can put our hands on.

It’s funny…I plan on walking something like ten miles a day while I’m there, yet I completely expect to gain 5+ pounds. What, exactly, am I looking forward to most? I’ve got a shortlist of dishes that have my mouth watering already.

5. Gelato – Yeah, I know you’re probably thinking that this should be a bit higher on the list. And it would be, except for the fact that (a) I’m going to be there at the end of February and it’s not exactly frozen-desert season and (b) I work about a block away from what I think is the best gelato this side of the Atlantic, so it won’t likely be the kind of revelation it typically is for Americans raised on bland ice cream. Still, eating a cup of pistachio while walking through the Campo de’ Fiori will be pretty sweet.

Check out the rest…and help me find the best spots…after the jump.

4 (8, 15, 16, 23, 42) Days Until LOST

“Maybe if you ate some comfort food you wouldn’t have to go around shooting people,” Hurley, chomping on a burger and fries, to Sayid.

in Celebs / Food Travel / TV 2 comments

by gansie

My Resolution to Start Smoking This New Year

I think the first time I had smoked fish was in sushi, not the oft walked Jewish path of lox on a bagel with cream cheese. I had plenty of exposure to smoked salmon and smoked whitefish salad, mostly at bat mitzvah luncheons and funerals. Unfortunately, my personal smoked fish craze didn’t hit until I was living in DC, and we notoriously lack Jewish delis.

However, 80 and I just celebrated friends’ wedding in southern Florida, eating and partying our way through Sunny Isles Beach, Hollywood and West Palm Beach. And wow, it was nice to be around the Jews. I never can find the pleasure of smoked whitefish in the District. There are maybe 2 New York style delis in the area, and I haven’t fell in love with either of them.

But in Florida! Florida!

After the nuptials, 80 and I visited with my grandmother. While at lunch I schmeared smoked whitefish salad on a pumpernickel bagel (80 choose wrongly and ordered the *lean* pastrami sandwich and Mommom took down matzah brei, a bagel and hash browns). Whitefish salad is less pungent than smoked salmon, it’s creamier than a tuna salad consistency, but with a saltier, less generic taste. It also doesn’t reek of mayo.

Later that day at my aunt and uncle’s golf clubhouse, the free (!) snacks offered in the bar area were smoked whitefish salad right next to boursin cheese (It was actually quite funny, they had a chef in full whites slicing the boursin on a wooden cutting board akin to prime rib), swiss cheese triangles, broccoli florets, grape tomatoes and crackers. It was a mid-winter miracle.

So apparently we’re in week four of the New Year. I had this majestic resolution—obviously food related—but I haven’t started it yet. I will start making claims now. I will hopefully cash them in before 2011.

I will smoke a white fish. Whatever a white fish is. I will then take that smoked white fish and make a salad out of it.

There.

(Photo: PS95)

in Fish / Food Travel / Holiday / Personal 14 comments

by tvff

The Best Kind of Souvenir

I’ve never been one for souvenirs. Sure, I see the appeal of being able to bring something home with you when you go on a trip. My mom, for example, collects refrigerator magnets of her travels. Mrs. TVFF has recently begun picking up Christmas tree ornaments specific to the location. I suppose I’ve always thought that a couple of photos and some good memories — particularly food memories — were more than enough for me.

Now, I’m not the most well-travelled person in the world, but thanks to vacations and business trips, I’ve been able to expand my culinary horizons with lobster in Boston, crêpes and café au lait in Quebec, Primanti Bros. sandwiches in Pittsburgh, Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza in Chicago and even smoked eel over scrambled eggs in Hamburg. But nothing beats my trip to London in 2007 and the traditional pub meal that followed me back across the Atlantic.

Truth be told, when I was anticipating the food to be had on my trip to England, two things stood out: fish & chips and fantastic Indian food. Neither disappointed, but the steak and ale pie was something else. On the first night, we got to our hotel and needed an easy dinner, so a trip to the Prince of Whales pub in Kensington resulted in a steak and Bombardier pie. I was instantly hooked by the intense beefy filling and flaky crust. After a trip to the Royal Ballet a few nights later, we dropped into another pub near Covent Garden and I was determined to have my second pie of the trip. Shortly after I finished it, I knew I’d have to try to replicate it at home…

It’s Ice Cream Season Somewhere

It’s time for a long overdue report from my trip this fall to Puerto Rico. The beaches were great, the music was captivating, people were friendly, but I’m sure you know I was mostly just there for the food.

It’s well known that these people can do amazing things with plantains, but I was more impressed and surprised by their many creative uses of corn. Nearly every crowded street corner and popular beach has a vendor selling sorullitos—tiny, tasty little fried cornmeal sticks, sometimes plain, sometimes filled with cheese, always to be dipped in that Puerto Rican delicacy Ariel mentioned yesterday: MayoKetchup. Then of course there are also the omnipresent arepas, corn cakes stuffed with meat or cheese, available both in fancy restaurants and at many street vendors for a dollar or two.

But I was most taken with what you see above: corn ice cream. Seriously! Rex Cream, a little ice cream parlor in the western town of Mayaguez, makes this crazy concoction, which is sweet, with just a little crunch of cornmeal in it, and liberally topped with cinammon.

Feed Us Back: What’s the craziest ice cream you’ve ever eaten?

in Desserts / Food Travel 5 comments

by BS

Talking With Our Mouths Full – The ES Podcast: The Man Who Eats With Wolves

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A new year and a new month means it’s time for a brand new episode of Talking With Our Mouths Full — The Endless Simmer Podcast. In episode two, we’re speaking with one of the world’s most interesting eaters. Shaun Ellis, a wolf behavior expert based in England, spent two years living with a pack of wild wolves. Shaun had tons of crazy experiences, but we were only interested in one thing — what’s it like to plop down for dinner next to a pack of hungry wolves and rip into a freshly-hunted piece of game?

Click play above to hear Shaun tell us all about eating with wolves, how the human body responds to consuming just-killed wild game, and what it’s like to have momma wolf regurgitate some yummy deer meat directly into your mouth! A little gross, sure, but Shaun gained some incredibly interesting insight into not just wolves, but human beings and our complex relationship with food.

For more info on Shaun Ellis,visit his website and pick up a copy of his book, The Man Who Lives with Wolves.

Subscribe to the ES Podcast

Talking With Our Mouths Full is produced by Adam Pogoff of Boutique Radio.

Previously on ES: Turkey Talk Podcast

in Food Travel / Red Meat 8 comments