Pat and David, Author at Hungry Travelers

Pat and David

Tipperary’s first releases hint of great things to come

Posted on June 5, 2018June 5, 2018 by Pat and David

With clear spirits grabbing most of the attention these days, it's great to see that whiskey, too, is having its moment. Kentucky's big distilling companies are spawning specialty offspring almost daily, it seems. New Scotch whiskies are proliferating at such a rate that we wonder if the turf-cutters can keep up. And now we have an intriguing offering from an Irish boutique distillery that launched in March 2016. Tipperary Boutique Distillery (Newtownadam, Cahir, County Tipperary; tipperarydistillery.ie) is a joint project of three talents. Jennifer Nickerson, who grew up in the Scotch whisky industry, manages the company. Stuart Nickerson, a 35-year veteran of Irish and Scottish distilleries, advises on the technical issues. Liam Ahearn, Jennifer's fiance, grows the barley on his family's Ballindoney Farm outside Clonmel....Read More

Tart, picante, and salty—Tajín hits the Mexican spot

Posted on June 1, 2018June 2, 2018 by Pat and David

A bartender at the Occidental Cozumel resort in Mexico (occidentalgrandcozumel.com) introduced us to Tajín, the blend of lime, chile peppers, and sea salt that seems to be one of the country's favorite seasonings. It's produced in Zapopan from mild chiles grown in the region. The company aims for a mix with a lot of flavor and just enough heat to keep the taste buds alert. Tajín certainly did the trick rimming the glass of a cucumber habañero margarita. The manufacturer suggests sprinkling Tajín on everything from marinated beef and vegetable skewers to chicken salad sandwiches and avocado ice cream. The web site (tajin.com) offers a recipe for the popular street food esquites. The concoction of corn kernels, cheese, chiles, cotija cheese, and mayonnaise is served...Read More

‘L.A. Cookbook’ surveys top tastes of La La Land

Posted on May 29, 2018May 26, 2018 by Pat and David

Reading Alison Clare Steingold's new book, The L.A. Cookbook , makes us want to eat our way through Los Angeles. Her compilation of 100 recipes from some of the city's best restaurants, bakeries, and bars includes everything from whitefish salad to black cod in miso, from adobo chicken with mole sauce to black-eyed pea falafel tacos. Of course, you'll also find a great burger, fluffy pancakes, and a rhubarb-berry pie with a lattice crust. But the book is primarily a celebration of the international flavor of the L.A. dining scene. We don't have a California trip in the works right now, but we were happy to find new uses for a couple of culinary ingredients that we've brought home from recent travels. Earlier this year,...Read More

‘New Spanish’ gives NYC accent to Iberian food

Posted on May 26, 2018May 29, 2018 by Pat and David

Chef Jonah Miller and restaurateur Nate Adler are the combined force behind Huertas (huertasnyc.com) in New York's East Village. The restaurant skews Basque in its inspiration, but the pair's cookbook, The New Spanish, is a playful take on contemporary Spanish cooking with a pronounced NYC accent. Case in point: “Arroz al Chino” is a mashup of paella and Chinese fried rice inspired by Zhou Yulong, the Chinese restaurant in the parking garage beneath Plaza de España in Madrid. It's saffron fried rice with lots of bacon, shrimp, and pea tendrils. Covered with zigzag tracks of aioli, it's not far from the fried paella balls that many Spaniards make at home with leftovers. It's pretty clear that Miller and Adler are most at home in “Green...Read More

Cock-a-leekie soup inspires a Scottish pie

Posted on May 22, 2018May 17, 2018 by Pat and David

Our mission with HungryTravelers is to bring the taste of travel back home. That means trying the characteristic and traditional dishes of a place and trying to re-create them in our home kitchen. One of the signatures of Scottish cuisine—sometime called Scotland's national soup—is a bowl of leeks and peppery chicken stock. It's been going under the name of cock-a-leekie soup since the 18th century, though there are printed examples of the recipe from two centuries earlier. Food historians suggest that it was originally a French chicken and onion soup that made its way to Scotland through the Bourbon connections to the Scottish throne. Weather and soil being what they are in Scotland, hardy leeks soon superseded fussy-to-grow onions. The traditional version of the dish...Read More

Tea with a Scottish burr in the Balmoral’s Palm Court

Posted on May 19, 2018May 17, 2018 by Pat and David

Any visitor who relishes the Scottish baronial architectural style of Edinburgh's central core has imagined a night at The Balmoral Hotel (1 Princes Street, Edinburgh; + 44 (0)131-556-2414; roccofortehotels.com/the-balmoral-hotel). The grand railway hotel opened in 1902 to complement Waverly Station and remains the most storied hotel in the city. With rooms starting around $325 and quickly rising, its elegant comforts are out of reach for many. But the hotel offers one sweet, not quite so dear indulgence. Book afternoon tea in the Palm Court, one of the classiest, most elegant rooms in Edinburgh. You can take in the surroundings as you linger over a tiered tray of sandwiches and savories, hot scones with clotted cream and preserves, a seasonal selection of pastries, and a choice...Read More

Sweet surrender at Mrs. Mitchell’s Sweetie Shop

Posted on May 15, 2018May 7, 2018 by Pat and David

Sweet nostalgia is the stock-in-trade of Mrs. Mitchell's Sweetie Shop in Glasgow's Trongate neighborhood (117 Trongate). Out front, a giant swirled lollipop on the sidewalk lures in Glaswegians eager for a taste of their childhoods. “Everyone asks for the old-fashioned candies,” said Mercedes Thompson, niece of proprietor Beverly Mitchell. She gestured to shelves filled with jars of chocolate lime satins, barley sugar, rhubarb rock, butternuts, and rum and butter toffees. The wrapped candies are great to stuff in a pocket for a quick pick-me-up during a meeting or a ride on the subway. But some of the favorites are good for sharing. Beverly told us that MB Originals (chocolate-covered white fondant) and Chelsea Whoopers (chocolate- covered soft fudge) are among the most requested candy bars....Read More

What to buy in a Scottish grocery store

Posted on May 11, 2018May 7, 2018 by Pat and David

It's really no surprise that we bring foodstuffs home from all our travels. It's not just that we love reliving taste memories. There's a practical side to grocery shopping on the road. We live in a small space and we don't have to commit to long-term storage (or dusting) of nifty food items that we buy as souvenirs. Even the lovely city of Glasgow (above) couldn't tempt us with durable souvenirs. Consumables also make great gifts. Much as we enjoy prowling specialty food shops, even a chain supermarket can yield a shopping basket full of goodies for yourself and your friends. That's just what we did at a branch of Britain's largest retailer, Tesco, on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. Here are a few of the...Read More

Gourmet pioneer Cafe Gandolfi a Glasgow must

Posted on May 2, 2018April 30, 2018 by Pat and David

Every city's gastronomic revolution has its pioneers, and one of the most important in Glasgow is probably Cafe Gandolfi (64 Albion St., 0141-552-6813, cafegandolfi.com). When photographer Iain Mackenzie opened the restaurant in 1979 in the city's old cheese market offices, he was running against the tide. Adventurous foodies would take a taxi from Central Station, about a 10-minute walk, because the old Trongate neighborhood was so shady. Now Gandolfi is one of several good restaurants in “Merchant City,” the newish moniker for the redeveloped district. The current owner, Seumas MacInnes, came to work as a kitchen hand in 1983 and took over the reins from Mackenzie in 1995. By all accounts, it was a seamless passing of the baton between two Gaels whose families hail...Read More

Glasgow street fare: Morton’s Rolls and fried Mars Bars

Posted on April 28, 2018April 27, 2018 by Pat and David

Wherever we go, we try to stay open to serendipity. We like to think of our approach as open-minded, but it might be better described as open-mouthed. Our goal is to discover local foods, however humble. So when we spotted the Morton's stand in Glasgow, we knew we'd hit paydirt. As scripture reminds us, “man does not live by bread alone.” The folks of Morton's Rolls would agree. You really ought to split it, spread it, and put something between the halves. Founded in 1965, Morton's remains one of the two bakeries making the crispy edged, pillowy soft white bread rolls so beloved by Glasweigians (or “Weegies,” as they sometimes call themselves). Morton's even has a small fleet of self-contained stands that sell the rolls...Read More