Peddling the last bit of post-exam celebration out of my system on the elliptical back in April, I decided to watch the (then)-new season of Chef’s Table Pastry on Netflix. I chose the Corrado Assenza episode, which took my soul far from the Rue Fondaudege Basic Fit to the sun-drenched city of Noto in the…
I’ve been spending some time in the Priorat as of late, drawn there by both the addictive majesty of that rocky terroir and by my impending thesis deadline. Back in March I paid a visit to my old friend and colleague at Terroir al Limit and stayed in the Cal Compte guesthouse off and on…
Sometimes all you need is a clean pool with a well-furnished deck and panoramic views of the Sicilian countryside. That’s part of what you get at Baglio Lauria, an agriturismo located in Campobello di Licata in southwestern Sicily. With all the wonderful things to see in Sicily in the North and East (Erice, the beaches…
On our first night in the Agrigento region of southwestern Sicily, the lady at our agriturismo recommended for dinner a restaurant named Il Capriccio di Mare in San Leone. We were starving, having only eaten a pane e panelle and a (delicious) arancina stuffed with ground meat and peas in the street market of Palermo…
We drove fast across the island to Syracuse, where we’d be spending the fourth and final night of our Sicilian vacation. As we approached the Eastern coast, Mt. Etna appeared to the left, its snow-capped top looming like a great cloud or a glacier floating above the towns below. The choice of which way to…
A 50-minute flight from Bordeaux to Barcelona, followed by a 1.5-hour train ride down the Costa Daurada to Reus, and I’m greeted at the train station by Alex Frisch, Resident Chef of Cal Compte guesthouse in Torroja. He’s here as every Tuesday to visit the local market, chat with the vendors and do some shopping.…
Back in October, I visited Rioja and Navarra on a 2-day INSEEC class trip to learn about Spanish wines. Our group spent the evening in the seminary of Logroño, a rather grim-looking building, which seemed particularly cold after an afternoon of tastings and warm moments with new friends. A quick pre-game with Tempranillo freshly purchased (ex-chateau)…
After some time melting my sins away in the dry sauna of our Saint Nectaire hotel, I shocked my senses awake with an ice-cold shower before suiting up in sweater, coat and Uggs and heading out again for dinner. We had made a reservation at L’Auberge de l’Âne, a charming, rustic tavern-type restaurant at an…
We rolled into Saint Nectaire at 2:00 a.m. at 40 km/h in a snow-white Fiat 500 with no chain on the tires, careful not to brake on the patchwork of slush and black ice that greeted us on the road. A surprise destination, I knew nothing about the Auvergne region (except that it was half-way between…
“Poland Springs Sparkling with Lemon. White Cheddar Cheezits. Wheat Thins (original). Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon. Brown Bread with Raspberry Jam from HiRise Bakery. And above all, triangles (by which I mean spanakopita), in large quantities, please…” That’s the answer I give when my mom asks what she should buy 2-3 days before I…
A very rainy hour-and-a-half drive up along the coast in a rented cherry-red Fiat 500 brought us to La Rochelle, the picture-perfect capital of Charente Maritime. Two solid months of non-stop rain and all of the emotional ups and downs that come with such weather had ignited our cabin fever to the point where we…
Arriving just in time for our Saturday night reservation at El Nacional, I was already quite certain I’d be in for a great piece of meat – an entraña, a vacio or costilleras imported from Argentina or Uruguay, some chimichurri tapped gently on, nothing on the side. I had heard rumors that they serve Salta-style…
