Hungry Travelers - Page 35 of 82 - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

Multiculturalism jazzes up the menu on the Plateau

Posted on June 28, 2018June 30, 2018 by Pat and David

Like many Montrealers, the new gentry of the Plateau prize authenticity. How else to explain the nostalgic appeal of old-fashioned restaurants from an earlier era? Francophone points of reference like La Binerie and Jewish touchstones like Schwartz's are treasures for the whole city, but they cannot be separated from the Plateau. Here are three spots to get historic tastes of Montreal when you're visiting for the Jazz Festival. Schwartz's Smoked Meat There's nearly always a line out front of this narrow deli that has occupied the same spot on The Main (as Anglophones used to call boulevard Saint-Laurent) since 1928. But it rarely takes more than fifteen minutes before you'll be seated family style at a long table. Then things move pretty quickly. Everyone orders...Read More

Sentimental Journey: Old neighborhood tastes of Mile End

Posted on June 25, 2018June 30, 2018 by Pat and David

Sometimes we pine for the old days of Montreal tribalism. Living on Le Plateau meant you spoke French at home and ate feves au lard every Saturday night. Growing up in Mile End meant you spoke English at home (with maybe a little Yiddish) and were by birth an expert on bagels. Mind you, the two neighborhoods are so close that Montreal Tourism lumps them together. Mile End extends east from Parc Mont-Royal to boulevard Saint-Laurent, and north from boulevard Saint-Joseph to the railroad tracks. Through most of the twentieth century, it was home to aspiring immigrants, including many Central and Eastern European Jews immortalized in the novels of native son Mordecai Richler (The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz). Nowadays, it's pretty cosmopolitan, filled with good...Read More

Festivals and food make summer sizzle in Montreal

Posted on June 21, 2018June 18, 2018 by Pat and David

Montreal is one of our favorite cities around the globe. Not only is it a great place to kick back and have fun—it's a fabulous place to eat. Montrealers find reasons to party all year long, but summer is especially packed with festivals. We'll be heading up for the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (montrealjazzfest.com). The 39th annual edition takes over the central city from June 28-July 7. (The photos above—upper left of Jethro Tull, lower right of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band—are courtesy of the festival staff.) The music sometimes stretches the definition of “jazz.” But it's all amazing and a lot of it takes place in free outdoor performances. The photo at upper right is from the Montreal Cirque Festival (montrealcompletementcirque.com). It...Read More

Butter tart: the apogee of Canadian pastry

Posted on June 18, 2018June 16, 2018 by Pat and David

We're just back from a few days of boating on the Rideau Canal in Ontario aboard one of the new cruisers offered by Le Boat (www.leboat.com). Stops on the waterway are at villages where the men and women of Parks Canada operate the mostly hand-cranked 19th century locks so boats can pass. We spent a couple of days docked next to the locks at Merrickville, a town that couldn't have been cuter if Disney had invented it (and wouldn't be so historic if Disney had). Several people had told us that we really shouldn't miss the butter tarts at Nana B's (318 Main Street West, Merrickville, ON; 613-454-1380; www.nanabbakery.ca). When we walked up to the bakery from the village center on a Sunday afternoon, Nana...Read More

Getting a handle on premium Chilean wines

Posted on June 14, 2018June 7, 2018 by David

My understanding of Chilean wine has been minimal. Exposed largely to inexpensive Cabernets and Sauvignon Blanc, I've long associated Chile with good bargains. Oh, the occasional eye-opening bottle of Carignan found its way to our table—and we rejoiced when one did and marveled at both the price—roughly six times the cost of a bargain Chilean red—and the great quality even at that price. If the Wines of Chile marketing consortium has its way, we'll all be having more of those aha! moments over glasses of Chilean wine. The group just barnstormed through Boston, Chicago, and D.C. with 15 wineries in tow for trade tastings of what they call “site specific artisan wines.” More important, they brought along one of the most genial and knowledgeable interpreters...Read More

Luce wines turn toward the future

Posted on June 9, 2018June 4, 2018 by Pat and David

As one of the first super Tuscan wines, Luce was the joint vision of the Marchesi de' Frescobaldi and the late Robert Mondavi. Blending the Montalcino clone of Sangiovese with Merlot, they created a red with supple vigor and friendly tannins that was immediately met with popular and critical success. More than two decades have passed, and Luce remains a powerful alternative to the best Brunello di Montalcino. In recent years, however, the Tenuta Luce delle Vite estate has branched out with a more approachable and affordable second level wine called Lucente. They are also changing the way they age their Brunello. When Luce's technical director, Stefano Ruini, passed through Boston recently, we sat down to taste the latest releases and discuss changes at the...Read More

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