Hungry Travelers - Page 7 of 80 - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

Skyr cheese launched a thousand longboats

Posted on March 4, 2023March 4, 2023 by Pat and David

On our first day in Reykjavik, we wondered if we'd stumbled into some modern version of Gulliver's Brobdingnag. Everyone was … so tall. And fit. And wearing technical gear. They looked like they were about to dash up Iceland's volcanos, dive for lobsters in its fjords, or — at the very least — set sail in a high-prowed boat to discover a new continent or pillage an old one. It was a very Viking moment. The secret behind all this outsized vigor (or so we were told) was skyr. This Nordic cousin of Greek yogurt is so well-drained and thick that it's legally classified as a cheese. What distinguishes it from various other cultured milk products is that heated skimmed milk is inoculated with traditional...Read More

Freshé gives tinned fish a bright new start

Posted on February 17, 2023February 13, 2023 by David

As diligent readers of HungryTravelers might know, I grew up on the Maine coast. But before I was old enough to crew on fishing boats, I also worked in the blueberry barrens during harvest season. We harvested low-bush blueberries (aka, ‶wild″ Maine blueberries) with multi-tined scoops that stripped the berries off the low shrubs but left the twigs and leaves behind. It was stoop work in the hot sun, as the harvest season usually stretched from mid-July to mid-August. Moreover, the fields tended to be remote. We were dropped off early in the morning and picked up late in the afternoon. That made lunch tricky. None of us had coolers, and lunch meat sandwiches that have baked for hours in the sun were less than...Read More

A whirlwind tour of great Sicilian wines

Posted on February 10, 2023February 10, 2023 by David

The continuing reorganization of Sicily's wine regions, as reflected in the map above (courtesy of De Long), has brought considerable focus to what used to be a free-for-all. More than 60 varietals grow on the island, and more than two dozen are autochthonous — varieties that either originated in Sicily or have been grown here since the Phoenicians introduced advanced viticulture 3,000 years ago. I had a chance to taste some modern twists on that grand tradition when Roberto Magnisi, production director of the Duca di Salaparuta group of wineries (duca.it/en), recently came to Boston. He brought outstanding wines from two of his company's properties for a tasting luncheon at Contessa (contessaristorante.com). His group coalesced in 2001 when the Sicilian regional government sold Duca di...Read More

Why not red chile with pancakes?

Posted on February 3, 2023January 21, 2023 by Pat

As a New Englander, I thought I knew everything that anyone would need to know about pancakes. They are pretty simple, really. Just pour on plenty of Vermont maple syrup, add a little pat of butter for good measure. And dig in. But Cafe Pascual's (121 Don Gaspar Avenue, Santa Fe, 505-983-9340, pasquals.com) in Santa Fe taught me a thing or two. For more than four decades, Cafe Pascual's has been serving three meals a day in a historic adobe building just a block off the main plaza. The colorful wall murals and old Mexican tiles make it a particularly cheery place to start the day. (Late risers can order off the breakfast menu until 3 p.m.) Like Rancho de Chimayó, it's a James Beard...Read More

Enjoying the culinary versatility of green chile

Posted on January 27, 2023May 15, 2023 by Pat

At home, we make a pretty traditional version of green chile cooked with onion, garlic, a little ground beef, and freshly crushed cumin and coriander seed. (We also add puréed tomatillos, but that's another story.) It's a staple of our diet, served over rice and topped with a bit of sour cream to soothe the heat. Or we spoon the sauce over eggs and tortillas as a verdant variation of huevos rancheros. My last visit to Santa Fe proved that green chiles are much more versatile. They can star equally in both casual and fine dining. The green chile cheeseburger, for example, has become an icon of New Mexican cuisine. The state tourism office modestly admits that it didn't invent the hamburger sandwich. (That honor...Read More

Going green (chile, that is) in northern New Mexico

Posted on January 20, 2023January 18, 2023 by Pat

Green chile is the signature flavor of New Mexico. The plant seems to thrive in the thin soils along the river and stream valleys feeding into the Rio Grande. Many cultivars are named for the towns north of Santa Fe, like Española and Chimayó. Albuquerque-based Hatch Chile Company has become synonymous with the best green chile peppers on the planet. Simply put, chile is the cornerstone of New Mexican cuisine. To get a taste of the state's traditional cooking, my friend Patti and I drove about 25 miles north to the little town of Chimayó. Situated in a valley of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the town is perhaps most famous for the Santuario de Chimayó, a Catholic chapel some believe to have healing powers....Read More

Toasting Santa Fe’s Day of the Dead

Posted on January 13, 2023January 10, 2023 by Pat

Someday I'll look back and say that I was there at the beginning. When my friend Patti and I left San Antonio, Texas, we flew to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for that city's first official Day of the Dead observances. Santa Fe's two-day gathering was more modest that San Antonio's well-established event. But what it lacked in size, it made up for in heart. We missed the Friday-night kick-off, but were on hand for the full-day of events on Saturday. Early in the day, people gathered in Santa Fe Plaza to prepare ofrendas (as the altars to deceased loved ones are called), listen to strolling mariachis, and have their faces painted as skeletons and Catrinas. As darkness fell, lights twinkled from the trees and the...Read More

Pharm Table restaurant makes healthy eating fun

Posted on January 6, 2023December 30, 2022 by Pat

Say “Texas” and most people think “beef.” So the quality of the beef that I enjoyed in San Antonio was in line with my expectations, even at the iconic fast-food joint Whataburger (see previous post). But Pharm Table restaurant (611 S Presa St., Suite 106; (210) 802-1860; pharmtable.com) was a delightful revelation. Chef Elizabeth Johnson is on a mission to surprise diners in this beef-centric state with plant-forward dishes that are delicious, satisfying, and fun to eat. That's not to say that Johnson doesn't take healthy eating seriously. Her plant-forward cuisine is informed by research from the Harvard School of Public Health, among other institutions, and by the principles of Ayurvedic eating. “I realized that it was my calling to bring vegetables and plants back...Read More

What a burger! Like the name says…

Posted on January 2, 2023December 21, 2022 by Pat

My friend Patti was incredulous when I told her that I had never eaten a Whataburger. For the uninitiated, that's the signature burger of the chain of the same name. It launched in Texas in 1950. As far as Patti is concerned, few, if any, burgers rival a Whataburger. She was born and raised in Texas, so I might have written off her enthusiasm as local pride. But we share a taste for really good hamburgers, so I was eager to give Whataburger a try when we visited San Antonio. From one burger stand in Corpus Christi, Whataburger now has outposts in 14 states, but none in New England. Transplanted Texans like Patti, who now lives in Whataburger-free Kentucky, often make the orange and white...Read More

Pearl dining stretches from south Texas to the eastern Med

Posted on December 26, 2022December 21, 2022 by Pat

I'm not about to leave New England for San Antonio, Texas. But I have to admit that the apartments springing up in the Pearl neighborhood are sure tempting. It would be a kick to be part of the revitalization and rejuvenation of the Pearl Brewing Company complex that operated here until 1999. And I'd never go hungry. There's a farmer's market every Saturday (above) and enough restaurants, cafes, and bars that I could eat somewhere different once a day for almost a month. Ladino carries the torch for Sephardic cuisine Instead, I settled for an evening of tasting at two of Pearl's newest eateries, both opened in September. My friend Patti and I were especially curious about Ladino (200 E Grayson St. #100; 210-325-6007; ladionsatx.com)....Read More