Restaurants

Favorite Food Experiences in Japan Part 1; Noodles, Unagi, Tempura and Tonkatsu

September 28, 2011

The tagline for this site is “Cook. Eat. Travel. Grow.” I’ve been a little remiss in keeping up with the “Travel” part, so I thought it’s time to include some of my favorite food experiences from a trip to Japan over the next few weeks. In October I’m headed back to Rome, Naples and Paestum (the home of buffalo mozzarella!) so I’ll also be writing about all the wonderful Italian food we eat and markets we visit.
Don’t worry, there are plenty of new recipes coming as well.

In April, my husband and I spent eight days in Tokyo and Kyoto about 6 weeks after the devastating tsunami and earthquake of March 11, 2011. We had an amazing time and found the people to be so welcoming.
Oh, and the food! I was thrilled with the incredible diversity of deliciousness there. We hardly had a bad meal and ate something different and new …

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San Francisco Dining 2010

November 13, 2010

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 …

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Panama City; Restaurants and Fish Market

September 20, 2010

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 …

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Four Favorite Markets in Rome

January 27, 2010

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.

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Restaurants in Rome; La Tavernetta

December 29, 2009

The last restaurant I’d like to feature from my trip to Rome is a place called La Tavernetta. It’s on a tiny back street near the frenetic, touristy area surrounding the Pantheon. The street is not much more than an alley with almost no traffic; it’s surprisingly quiet for being so close to the center.

When we arrive at La Tavernetta (Via degli Spagnoli 48) it is full inside, but has empty tables outside. It’s chilly, and threatening to rain. But we’re hungry and the €12 lunch menu sounds good so we take our chances and sit under a large umbrella. It does indeed begin to rain while we are eating, but the umbrella keeps us dry and the food and wine warms our bellies.

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Restaurants in Rome; Cantina Cantarini and Armando al Pantheon

November 25, 2009

Cantina Cantarini

This is a place I came across randomly while doing restaurant research for Rome on Chowhound. Usually I troll their message boards but this recommendation came from an article on their site which had the tagline of “You can get a bad meal in Rome.” This however, was an example of what the writer considered an authentic, non-touristy place, so I filed it away in case we were in that neighborhood at some point. On the day we were headed to visit the Baths of Diocletian, we needed somewhere to have lunch and this little spot was only about 5 blocks away.

After a lengthy, hot bus ride across town, one where the bus veered unexpectedly off the map, we walk up to the restaurant and I am praying we will find it open. I don’t have a lot of options otherwise in this area, and it’s already getting late for lunch …

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