Hungry Travelers - Page 15 of 82 - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

Getting a clear-headed fresh start on another day of tastings

Posted on December 14, 2021December 6, 2021 by Pat

Even with all the temptations of great Bourbon, I managed to avoid overindulging on my tasting tour through northern Kentucky. But I still like to start the day with a brisk walk to clear my head. In Covington, there's nothing better than a jaunt over the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. Popularly called the “Blue Bridge,” it connects the city to Cincinnati on the other side of the Ohio River. The bridge is a short walk from the Hotel Covington. Like the Buffalo Trace Distillery, the bridge is one of Kentucky's National Historic Landmarks—and with good reason. When it was completed in 1867, the 1,057-foot span over the river was the longest in the world. Moreover, it's one of only two bridges by noted civil...Read More

Old Bourbons never die — they just go back on the shelf

Posted on December 11, 2021December 6, 2021 by Pat

Women, I'd been told, are the fastest growing segment of Bourbon drinkers. My friend Patti and I were doing our part for our gender as we sampled our way through northern Kentucky. But men have a special niche in the Bourbon world as collectors of rare bottles. They're often affectionately called ‶dusties″ (the bottles, not the collectors). Brad Bonds (at left above) is just such a guy. In 2020 he turned his avocation into a business by launching the Revival Vintage Bottle Shop (5 East 8th Street, 859-479-2676, revivalky.com) in Covington. ‶I think all the best stuff has already been made,″ he insisted to Patti and me when we stopped in at his storefront. Contrary to the nickname, there wasn't a speck of dust in...Read More

Newcomers enliven tradition-bound world of Bourbon

Posted on December 7, 2021December 6, 2021 by Pat

Kentucky is more than prepared to meet the growing demand for its signature spirit. According to the Kentucky Distillers' Association, production has risen 250 percent since 1999. And it hasn't yet hit a plateau. The state's legacy distillers are certainly doing their share. But as Patti and I were to discover on our tour through northern Kentucky, there's plenty of room for newcomers. NEW RIFF PICKS UP THE BEAT New Riff (859-261-7433; newriffdistilling.com), a family-owned small distillery, was established in 2014 with a plan to follow time-honored practices to maximize flavor. For example, the distillery brews by adding sour mash to the grain bill. It also eschews cold filtration to preserve volatile flavors from the yeast. The operation has two facilities in Newport, just across...Read More

Back to the roots at Buffalo Trace

Posted on December 4, 2021December 3, 2021 by Pat

My husband David and I are the authors of two books about National Historic Landmarks in New England and in Boston. It's no surprise that we've written about historic homes and grand public buildings. But we've also sung the praises of carousels, submarines, and a public beach. I'm convinced that National Historic Landmarks tell us a lot about regional identity—both what folks celebrate and what they feel defines them. That brings me to Kentucky, which counts three distilleries among its 32 National Historic Landmarks. Of the three, Buffalo Trace in Frankfort (113 Great Buffalo Trace; 800-654-8471; buffalotracedistillery.com) also claims to be the oldest continuously operating distillery in America. Daniel Swigert got things rolling when he started distilling on this site on the east bank of...Read More

Slaking my thirst for friendship in Kentucky’s Bourbon country

Posted on November 30, 2021December 3, 2021 by Pat

After months of pandemic lockdown, I really needed a drink. So I was all in when my Kentucky friend Patti asked me to join her on a road trip through the northern edge of Bourbon country. Kentuckians, I was to discover, take their Bourbon seriously. And no wonder. Barrels of aging Bourbon actually outnumber people. The Commonwealth of Kentucky has enough Bourbon to offer two shots to everyone in the United States. That's everyone of legal age, I'm sure. After decades of vodka inexplicably dominating the spirits market, Bourbon is enjoying a well-deserved revival. Just as foodies are embracing local products, drinkers are looking for unique and authentic spirits. Bourbon fits the bill. First distilled in Kentucky in the late eighteenth century, Bourbon was designated...Read More

Cooking for colder weather with America’s Test Kitchen

Posted on November 28, 2021November 27, 2021 by Pat and David

One byproduct of running a print magazine, web site, and television show is that the folks at America's Test Kitchen develop a tremendous number of recipes. One of their latest compendiums is The Complete Autumn & Winter Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen (2021, $34.99). We're happy to have it handy as the mercury plunges. We're also glad that the proprietors are not in the least chauvinistic about their name. The recipes in this volume span the globe, and many of them remind of us of meals we've eaten overseas. That might be the Greek beef stew, stifado, the intensely flavored Moroccan soup of lentils and tomatoes known as harira, or a lovely plate of porchetta made as it's done in Rome. Cooking from one of...Read More

Why we miss Paris—and what to do about it

Posted on November 21, 2021November 20, 2021 by Pat and David

Two new cookbooks from Flammarion just might be the next best thing to being in Paris. We were last there in early February 2020. We cherish those last few days in the City of Light as the waning hours of our pre-pandemic innocence. Those poor Chinese people, we thought as we watched BBC's reporting from Wuhan. Poor world, we think now. There was no way we could fill our luggage with croissants, gateaux, baguettes, éclairs, and all the other delectables of French bread and pastry making. If only. Our photos remind us how ubiquitous great breads and pastries are in Paris. Getting chilled stalking the winter streets during the end of the Paris sales? The obvious solution is to pop into a cafe for a...Read More

Sophisticated plates pair with Goslings Rum cocktails

Posted on November 18, 2021November 17, 2021 by Pat and David

Located in the tiny downtown of Milford, New Hampshire, Greenleaf (bar above) is proof positive that farm-to-table fine dining can coexist in a region where pasta and cheese-intensive Greek and Italian restaurants otherwise rule. Chef Chris Viaud grew up in nearby Londonderry, studied at Johnson and Wales, and cut his teeth as part of the crew in Boston's modern French dining room, Deuxave (deuxave.com). Drawing on a slew of excellent local producers, Viaud normally serves an inventive and artfully articulated menu based on seasonal produce, meat, and fish. But the Goslings Rum Dinner was even a step above, as three of Viaud's fellow alumni from Top Chef Season 18 joined him in crafting a menu that would also showcase the many faces of Goslings Rum....Read More

From Bermuda with love, Goslings Rum

Posted on November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 by Pat and David

‶I'm from Bermuda,″ Malcolm Gosling explained to the dinner audience at Greenleaf, a seasonally inspired farm-to-table restaurant in Milford, N.H. ‶So that explains why I'm wearing shorts in November in New Hampshire.″ The Sunday night crowd tittered. Owned by executive chef Chris Viaud, Greenleaf (54 Nashua St., Milford, N.H.; 603-213-5447; greenleafmilford.com) usually opens for dinner Wednesday through Saturday. But this Sunday night special was a reunion of Viaud and three of his former fellow Top Chef Season 18 contestants. Sponsored by Goslings Rum, the dinner benefited the food pantry and soup kitchen in nearby Nashua, N.H. Shown above holding the microphone, Viaud was joined by (from left) Jamie Tran of Black Sheep in Las Vegas, Nelson German of alaMar Kitchen & Bar in Oakland, and...Read More

Istria’s full-immersion lager beer experience

Posted on October 22, 2021October 20, 2021 by Pat and David

Halfway through Saturday afternoons when David was growing up, his classical musician father often betrayed his Appalachian country boy roots by launching into a spirited rendition of ‶Rye Whiskey.″ He was particularly fond of the verse (as sung in Louisa, Kentucky at the source of the Big Sandy river) that referenced some of the local wildlife. ‶If the river was whiskey and I was a duck,″ the tune went, ‶I'd dive to the bottom and drink myself up.″ That memory came flooding back when we booked a stay at the San Servolo Resort & Beer Spa in Buje, Croatia, just south of the Slovenian border. We went directly from the truffle fair, with a stopover in the picturesque fortified mountain village of Grožnjan, known since...Read More