The Perfect Buckwheat Galette at Crêperie La Touline

In the morning, we climbed the steps of Mont Saint Michel. In the afternoon, we slurped oysters in Cancale. And by nighttime, we had reached Saint Malo, a paradisiacal port city alongside the English Channel in Brittany. Monumental granite walls surround the charming historical center of a city that’s not just about tourism, despite its…

New England Lobster Rolls in Bordeaux? Jean Pince.

Dinner with the girls. Exploring Bordeaux’s culinary scene. Didn’t take too much convincing me to decide on Jean Pince, a seafood restaurant specializing in the “democratization of lobster,” whose concept and star dish was inspired by none other than good old Luke’s Lobster in Boston’s Back Bay. The four French friends behind Jean Pince dug the…

Fine Swedish Cuisine at Gondolen Restaurant in Stockholm

Hovering over Slussen in central Stockholm like a gigantic construction crane is Gondolen, a walkway forged in black metal, leading to the historic Katarinahissen (Katarina Elevator). Originally built in 1881, this passenger lift once served as a shortcut to the various levels of Södermalm Island. To understand just how old it is, imagine: it originally ran on…

Meatballs and Skagen Toast at Restaurang Himlen

Planning a trip is just a tad less stressful when my uncle and aunt host. On our most recent trip to Stockholm, they literally thought of everything. Just the right amount of sightseeing, some shopping and exactly the right restaurants for experiencing what Stockholm’s food scene has been up to recently. Our trip to Rosendal’s Trädgård…

Rosendals Trädgård Cafe on Djurgården Island

Djurgården, there are few places like it. I wouldn’t mind getting lost here for hours, breathing in the remarkable freshness and quiet of the place before returning to the noisy city. One of the 24,000 scattered islands and islets making up Stockholm’s massive archipelago, the place is home to a vast array of historical buildings,…