Marching Orders: Really Simple Reconnaissance

Let's say that you're planning a trip somewhere., You buy your guidebooks and read the two pages that describe the eating culture at your destination. You leaf through the restaurant recommendations. Sometimes there's a list of annual festivals, and one of them might happen at the place you are during the time you're there.

But nobody knows what's going on better than the local newspaper, and you can often subscribe to an RSS feed for the foodie news. I discovered an event in Fort Lauderdale (admittedly, the place that I actually live) by watching the feed for the Sun-Sentinel, my local paper. The event popped up in my BlackBerry when I was leaving town, but I signed up and downloaded my tickets using borrowed wi-fi in FLL airport. By the time I reached my destination, the event was sold out.

Sponsored by local downtown restaurant Himmarshee Bar & Grille and the newspaper, drinks were two-for-one and free hors d'oeuvres paraded out like we'd crashed a great wedding. Executive chef Chris Miracolo sent out Island Spiced Shrimp & Yucca Bobos (the staff kept saying "Want some more bobos?" just because it was so much fun), Wild Mushroom Risotto Cakes, Petite Lump Crab Cakes, Bloody Mary Braised Short Rib Tostadas, and Duck and Sweet Potato Empanadas.

These foods were pass-around, but somehow they managed to get a condiment or sauce on every one of them. The "bobos" (like a hush puppy, really) were served with "drunken" mango relish, the risotto cakes with cambozola fondue, the crab cakes with pickled habanera tartar and quite a kick, the tostada with lemon-scented micro salad and horseradish aioli (all that on a tortilla chip!) and the empanadas with port-apple compote. Some of these bites were presented on a fat stick. A bobo Tootsie-Roll pop. Quite the yummy interlude.

There were some door prizes, which somehow got away from us, but we met a terrific neighbor (and fellow foodie) that we hope to see again, and Sun-Sentinel writer John Tanasychuk wandered through the crowd and made us all feel like we'd met a celebrity.

So I'll be spending some time today finding the local newspapers and feeds for each of the places I'll be visiting soon.