This is the last installment in a three part series on some of my favorite food experiences in Tokyo and Kyoto Japan. If you missed it, make sure you check out part 1,  Noodles, Unagi and Tempura and Tonkatsu and part 2, Yakatori; Izakaya, Sushi, and Okonomiyaki. This post will focus on the incredible and diverse markets and food halls in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market

If people know you are interested in food and going to Tokyo, they always say “You have to go to the fish market early in the morning!” This was always part of our plan, but we were in Tokyo a mere 6 weeks after the earthquake and tsunami of march 2011, and we’d heard that the vendors, some of whom don’t like tourists in the market, had been lobbying to keep sightseers out all together. That, combined with recent changes to the …

In early September my husband and I took a quick three day trip up to San Francisco to celebrate our wedding anniversary. When discussing what we wanted to do for the big event, we decided that rather than have a party, we just wanted to go to San Francisco to eat. We took a similar trip last year and had such a good time we were really looking forward to our return. Below are some of the places we went while in San Francisco. If you want to see more of our trip in detail, please check out the San Francisco 2010 page on my travel blog.

Out The Door:
Out the Door is owned by the same people who own the Slanted Door Restaurant in the Ferry Building. There’s no big sign outside, just a small “OTD” painted on the front door. This is upscale Vietnamese street food and …

Most of the time, when I travel, “it’s all about the food” is my mantra. I’m happiest when I travel some place where not only do I enjoy eating the food but the local culture embraces and celebrates their cuisine. I believe this is why I keep returning to places in the Mediterranean and South East Asia. Sometimes though, the trip is not as much about the food as it is about the location and the other things it has to offer such as magnificent beaches or fascinating wildlife. In July we spent a week in Panama and I’d have to say it falls in the latter category.

Still, if there’s good food to be found or a market to check out, I’ll do my best find it. While we had our share of mediocre meals (my recommendation; stick with the Panamanian food instead of other “international” options), we …

I love markets. I love the beautiful array of produce, the gleaming fish, the wet floors, the smell of meat and flowers. There’s something about a local’s market which can put me in touch with a culture more than any museum, monument or religious structure.

Rome is filled with many options for buying food; large wet markets, both indoors and out, small supermarkets, and speciality food stores. There’s no shortage of beautiful vegetables and fruit, meats and cheeses and one can eat well, and cheaply, without ever setting foot in a restaurant, should you choose (though I’m not recommending you skip out on the city’s fantastic ristoranti ). Below are my favorite markets in Rome from my visits in the last two years.

1. Nuovo Mercato Trionfale (Andrea Doria Market);
Located at corner of Via Tunisi and Via Andrea Doria.
Open Monday-Saturday from 7 am-1:30 pm.

Located near the Vatican Museum (Via …

Hanoi, July 6, 2009

Hang Be Market; clockwise-crabs tied up with rope, vegetables, unrefrigerated meat, grubs (still moving).

It only took me 3 days, but I finally found the food market. After yesterday’s disappointment, I asked at the hotel’s front desk where the food market was. It’s called “Hang Be” and it’s near the top end of Hoen Kiem Lake. We walk over there from the hotel in the morning, and finally, it’s not raining! The market is at the corner of Cau Go and Hang Be streets and forms an “L” about 2 blocks long on each side. It is outside, covered with tarps and awnings. All kinds of food are sold here; meats, vegetables, seafood, flowers, cooked and prepared food. I am impressed with how clean it is. I’ve seen a lot of “wet” markets and this one is surprisingly tidy. It does not smell (which is a testament to how …

Saturday mornings there’s a decent sized Farmer’s Market in Pasadena, CA. It’s been a while since I’ve been there, but I went this past weekend. I have to say it puts my local market (which is barely one step above mini swap meet) to shame. Really, the assortment of vegetables was impressive.

I ending up buying 4 different colors of tomatoes, strawberries, pea shoots, fresh eggs, fuji apples, and baby lettuces, all local, all farm fresh. It was hard not to buy more, but I really didn’t want anything to go to waste.

I’ve been thinking about doing a post on how to make a basic vinaigrette for a while. I always make my own dressings and can’t even remember the last time I bought a bottled dressing. It’s so easy, if you’ve never done it before, you’ll be surprised.

My “house” dressing is a Pesto Vinaigrette. This is my “go-to” dressing …

This past week we visited San Francisco.
The first place we head after dropping our bags at the hotel is the weekly Saturday Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building. http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

The weather is glorious, sunny and almost hot. There are dozens of stands selling beautiful produce and all sorts of other food products. By now I’m really wishing we had a refrigerator in the room so we could buy some cheese, bread and other goodies for later.
I make note of a stand with a huge rotisserie selling whole chickens and rolled, roasted pork. Like the markets in Paris, they also sell roasted potatoes. But the thing everyone seems to be buying is a Porchetta Sandwich and the line is about 40 people long.

We wander the market for a while, checking out all the stalls and end up back at the rotisserie stand. D gets in line …