tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39979617315697633392024-03-12T19:32:24.606-04:00Foodie Two-ShoesFoodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-3695967387309028112014-06-30T15:52:00.000-04:002014-06-30T15:52:10.880-04:00Little siblingsWhen I travel, I try to have a fantastic lunch and generally try to get a low-key dinner. Not only does this often save money, but it lets you eat your biggest meal at a time of day when you're likely to burn some of it off. Furthermore, it often happens that you're sightseeing in the pricey end of town, but staying in a neighborhood or a place that's more sparsely populated with decent meals.
Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-77973321269387288902013-07-08T00:47:00.000-04:002013-07-08T00:48:35.862-04:00On recipes and receiptsAs a traveler, you're limited in what you can know about a restaurant to visit. Guidebooks tell you not to patronize places that post photos of the food (a notion I find ridiculous on a tourist trail). But it is true that you might not know enough about the language to scope out ingredients or preparation. (I had my eyes open before I tried tripe soup in Turkey, but disliked it anyway. Sorry, Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-71126313397231793462012-06-17T01:22:00.001-04:002012-06-17T02:42:23.449-04:00Could we have a word?
One of the problems you encounter with foreign menus is that the locals are on a first-name basis with dishes that you’ve never met. Or, in the south of France, they can tutoyer the meals, referring to them by the familiar tu form when you haven’t yet been introduced to them. Let’s say you’re in France, and you see some menu choices.
Well, you could get aïoli. Excellent selection, madame. It’s Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-57967719360008412012-05-11T05:08:00.000-04:002012-05-11T05:09:32.477-04:00Marching Orders: Deconstructing the menu of the day
Much more often than in the US, restaurants in Western
Europe will offer a multi-course menu that changes every day. Most places limit
this meal to weekdays, but you sometimes see one on Sunday and less often, on
Saturday. Sometimes there are two courses (a starter and a main or a main and a
dessert), and rarely, it’s all three. The menu might include some wine or a
coffee. Strangely, when wineFoodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-3663193217672464302011-09-24T08:48:00.000-04:002011-10-03T11:37:30.599-04:00A national cuisine is a quilt, not a blanketCountries don't spring up all assembled into a unified culture, and cuisines and habits vary according to ancient tribal borders. Some cuisines find their way across the nation, like hamburgers, I suppose, but others are ubiquitous in some places and endangered in others.
We found this out the hard way when we discovered the tomato-topped tostada (that I wrote about earlier) in Cartagena, Spain.Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-55560339744724595272011-08-09T03:28:00.002-04:002011-08-09T03:29:48.702-04:00Putting the Pi in paellaOne of the virtues of eating in restaurants, whether home or away, is that you can have something that you'd never make for yourself. When the local dish is complicated, or it has to be made in large quantities, or needs a pan you don't have, or it contains a lot of something that you don't normally have around the house, you should be sure to look for it when you're traveling.
In Spain, paella Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-91319305122033795942011-07-16T12:00:00.001-04:002011-07-16T12:02:25.708-04:00Marching Orders: Adjust your body clockLet's assume that you've arrived in a very new place, and there's a time change. Everyone knows that you need to adjust your sleeping habits. But it's important to reset your meal clock as well, and not just to the new time zone. You have to adjust to the rhythms of the culture. If you don't, well, you'll be swimming upstream for your entire visit.
Spain's a great example, a place where eating Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-63671309083546065322011-06-24T13:04:00.000-04:002011-06-24T13:05:10.803-04:00Crunch SenhorWell, I really couldn't find a way to translate the term croque monsieur from French to Portuguese. But I'd like to make the case that the sandwich itself, while delicious, has lost something in the translation as well.
The sandwich known in Portugal as Francesinha (or "little frenchie" or "little French girl") originated in Porto, in Portugal's north. It's said that a French/Belgian immigrant Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-61133792610984204582011-06-13T07:06:00.000-04:002011-06-13T07:12:49.722-04:00Sardines for Saint AnthonyThe Saint Anthony festival is the midsummer celebration in Portugal. Like most other midsummer celebrations (such as Midsommer in Scandinavia and St. John's Eve in Greece), midsummer happens before or on the actual arrival of summer. For some reason that eludes me, midsummer celebrations often involve jumping over a roaring bonfire.
In Portugal, and especially in the Alfama Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-57591756364456882522011-06-10T05:23:00.000-04:002011-06-10T05:24:37.419-04:00Blowing your cover with a charge in PortugalThere's an undercover cost to meals and snacks in Portugal. It's called the couvert, or "cover". This sort of thing works differently in different countries. In some places, there's a cover charge that generally just pays for table service. In those places, it's not optional. In Portugal, it is optional, but you have to pay attention.
Portuguese menus have a section called "couvert". In that Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-83173129772298892812011-06-01T02:29:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:21:04.719-04:00The cheese stands aloneGalicia comprises the northwestern corner of Spain. It's visited for its plentiful seafood and its pristine beaches. It's also the home of Santiago de Compostela, the third most important pilgrimage site in Christianity, behind Rome and Jerusalem. The Cathedral's stone carvings pay homage to many a Bible character, including one woman, most likely Queen Esther. She has a front-row spot on the Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-49837635863875359552011-05-23T09:53:00.000-04:002011-06-24T13:12:43.670-04:00The breakfast of couch potatoesIn Noia, Galicia, Spain, there's a stand that makes nothing but churros. There's always a large bowl of the most-recent batch of sizzling dough.
Churros y chocolate might actually be less healthy than a big bowl of Count Chocula. This breakfast favorite is constructed from a paste of flour and sugar that is deep-fried in oil. So far, it's just junk food, right?
Then it's served with what you'd Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-58483043045927963182011-05-20T05:38:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:10:00.582-04:00Nibbling at the Death CoastThe northwestern corner of Spain is known as the Costa de Morte, or Death Coast, in the region of Galicia. This rocky shore of the Atlantic has swallowed up many fishing vessels over the centuries. It's appropriate we do some swallowing in return.
Galicia's many treasures include octopus, which is tenderized and cooked, then seasoned with olive oil, salt and paprika. It's called pulpo a fiera, Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-24966499433447602152011-05-06T11:13:00.000-04:002011-06-01T02:41:18.260-04:00The wedding is over. Let’s eat.Our return to the UK wasn’t predicated upon the royal calendar, just on the arrival of the merry month of May. After a restless overnight flight, your body simply doesn’t know what meal makes sense. For me, that’s a great time for sausages, which work any time of day.
What struck me about this pub dish was the presentation. First, the notion of making the dish attractive – for the poster child Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-82759904418021889092010-12-24T11:17:00.001-05:002011-06-01T02:42:09.057-04:00The spice of life; hold the spiceA survey done by hotels.com revealed that U.S. travelers are not that adventurous when it comes to eating local cuisine while they're traveling.
The survey found that almost two-thirds of travelers make it a point to try the local cuisine when traveling. Only six percent surveyed said they would not stray off the beaten path, and would only eat cuisine that they were familiar with. Of those Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-78429040339044002182010-10-30T19:42:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:20:12.909-04:00A Mess 'a MezzesI had occasion to be in Lebanon about a month ago, and hoped to gorge myself on eastern Med cuisine, which is delivered in fine form in Beirut. Alas, I was sick for the entire duration of my visit, and my meals were infrequent and small.
At least, I was able to enjoy one of the best elements of Lebanese cuisine, the mezze plate. This is an assortment of small bites, and the hot version Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-33437764070317193092010-09-27T08:01:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:08:22.795-04:00Always a good time for a sconeBritain has just become the fattest country in Europe. I don't have any scientific data to support this connection, but it's an understandable consequence of the fabulous scone.
Here is the "fruit" version, meaning that there are raisins inside, as opposed to the plain version at left. The right time for a scone is apparently any time that you are not eating a meal: after breakfast or instead Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-39921066729585089772010-08-30T04:00:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:03:59.640-04:00For us or a GuinnessIt just doesn't seem right to leave Ireland without a nod to the national brew, Guinness. This ruby-colored beverage has been around since the mid-18th century, and is the best-selling alcoholic drink in Ireland, where alcoholic drinks aren't an unusual sight.
For the record, in this region, Guinness (or any beer) is always served in a glass etched with the name of the brew. This probably means Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-89086224979032689662010-08-25T05:23:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:12:08.113-04:00Thanks, ManxThe Isle of Man is a hub of kipper production, producing thousands in the village of Peel. The Manx word for the dish is skeddan jiarg, which translates to "red herring" (of course, that's irrelevant, isn't it?) Kippers are generally eaten in the morning, or at tea, though you could make a meal out of them, and I did, as shown below.
They're served with bread, and when they make up a Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-77523808721923491452010-08-12T11:05:00.003-04:002011-06-01T03:06:30.933-04:00Slow food fast in BelfastHere's a great idea for cities that want to promote their restaurants. Belfast held its second Taste and Music Fest, a smorgasbord of food and sounds. Here's how it worked. The festival went on for five days in a city park, just a large field, really, with a soundstage set up at one end and plastic tables and chairs covering the grass. Along one side were more than a dozen booths from local Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-5773671977068686132010-08-12T10:39:00.001-04:002011-06-01T03:04:46.524-04:00A bounty of wee dramsI don't drink much. Because of that, it isn't hard to get me tipsy. And I don't know all that much about booze, or wine, or beer.
But I'm sure that for many foodies, it's important to explore not only the cuisine, but the accompanying beverages that the culture has on offer. For one thing, we're sometimes on vacation when we travel, and drinking adds to the festivities. When we're traveling on Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-84643209524393314412010-08-05T03:45:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:02:05.612-04:00I didn't know squatOne of the adventures available to the self-catering traveler is to buy seafood right from the fisherman. We were in Jura, and happened upon a fishing boat as he was unloading his catch. I'd thought that he'd caught langoustines, but he told me that they were actually a crustacean called squat lobsters.
The fisherman was yanking them in half, tossing the recognizable head and claws back into Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-16825775027563397712010-08-01T13:19:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:01:55.899-04:00Rushing through a cuisine? Opt for a two-ferIt's always fun to see a regional dish interpreted by a local chef. So I enjoyed seeing "bubble and squeak" (a stew traditionally made of Sunday roast leftovers) in Shetland, made with lamb instead of beef, and fish and chips made with haggis instead of haddock.
International foods are widely interpreted into Scottish Gaelic as well. In Oban, we visited an Italian restaurant with an all-seafood Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-29025439654757028822010-06-28T04:45:00.002-04:002011-06-01T03:01:43.374-04:00Scalloped scallopsWhen you travel, you're often surprised by the look of familiar food. In western Scotland, you often find diver scallops on the menu. They're tender and sometimes surprisingly large. But the most striking attribute for me is the "wee orange bit" (as described by my server), which as near as I can tell, is the muscle that connects the animal to its shell.
At home, that muscle is a tough Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997961731569763339.post-65941531550302662462010-06-28T03:22:00.000-04:002011-06-01T03:01:33.988-04:00In defense of pub grubThe pub is to the UK what the diner is in America, a place for home-cooked food without pretension. But the UK pub scene is undergoing a bit of a transformation with the emergence of what they call "gastropubs." Now no pub appears to be so presumptuous as yet to call itself a gastropub, but we've already visited lots of places that go well beyond shepherd's pie and bangers and mash. There are Foodie Two-Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13247589160795637948noreply@blogger.com0