Eve and I had to leave Peru to reset our Visa's, because we were there for too damn long. To extend our stay in Peru, we decided to fly over to Mexico for a few weeks. First stop was Mexico city, where we found hip little areas saturated in delicious street foods. From there, to Tulum, where we swam with turtles, and in Cenotes, underground caves filled with water. Tulum is a food hotspot in Mexico despite it also being a touristy getaway. We found that it had something for everyone, with lush hotels and top dining locations to badass tortilla stands and fresh coconuts on the corner. The beaches were gorgeous. Speaking of top dining, we were thrilled to experience "Hartwood", a restaurant on the ocean which uses local ingredients, cooks everything with fire, and is almost off the grid in sustainability. We had one of the best meals of our lives here. Slow cooked pork.. check them out here. Funny story, we were so into our meal that we did not even realize we had parked in a bad spot,...
I arrived in Santiago, where I met some interesting college kids and went out for some drinks. After being here for a few days I went north to the mountain town of Los Andes, where I stayed with a beautiful family. They spoke mostly Spanish so it was great for me to practice mine. Here I climbed the surrounding mountains daily a and got fresh eggs and cow's milk from a high altitude farm. After a few weeks here, I departed and went back to Santiago, then a quick flight to the north took me to Caldera, Playa la virgen, a beautiful turquoise beach on the side of a desert. After having amazing ceviche and doing cultural food exchange with a few new friends I went a week later back to Santiago, and then finally to the west coast, Valparaiso. Here, in Valparaiso, I experienced a city reminiscent of San Fransisco. Steep cable cars pull you up the hills, and rainbow colored houses on stilts cling to the mountain cliffs. The buildings are all covered in beautiful legal graffiti and murals. I...
Everyone told me Sicily would have the best food in Italy. So far I have to agree. I must go back and travel there more to be sure. I flew here for two weeks, landing in Palermo where I found the best pizza by the slice I have ever had, risen with yeast from the air for three days. I basically got on a bus, and after much confusion and frustration with the Sicilian bus system, I ended up going west to Catania. I had no intention of going here, as I was expected by a lovely couch surfing host near Modica in the south, but I decided to at least get half way there. It was a great mistake as I ended up wandering into an amazing taverna on the way to my hotel. There was a miscommunication with the wine, and shortly after I was tied in to drinking a whole pitcher, for less price then a glass in NY. It was dark red, almost purple, and delicious. Then after a dizzying display of tasty little appetizers on a plate I was shocked with some of the best pasta I have ever eaten. Fresh large macaroni...
We flew to Belfast from Scotland, and stayed there for a few days. We walked around the city, went to the christmas fest, and ate some good pub food and guiness. We even found this awesome cafe that is full of local art, mismatched couches, and you pay what you want to! The menu consists of tasty soups, pastries, and really good coffee and tea. We then left the city and headed west to a small town in Northern Ireland for over a week and stayed with the family of chef Brenda, a good friend of mine. Her mom, three brothers and extended family made sure we tasted home cooked Irish food, saw some beautiful countryside, and drank some good beer. After relaxing there we drove west to the coast and stayed in a lovely little town called Galway. It was a coastal city with great seafood, and part of the city was fairly ancient. It had lots of cobblestones and old stone houses with thatched roofs. We came to this village for one purpose: To visit the nearby cliffs of Moher. And we did, they were...
I arrived in Edinburough after flying from Liverpool, and was immediately struck by the visual display of gothic architecture. There is a valley that runs through the city with large bridges connecting the old city to the new. Hills upon hills of ancient four story brownstones mixed with young college students, sharp black churches piercing the sky, and amazing food. When I think of Scottish cuisine one flavor reigns supreme – smoke. Smokey whiskey, soup, meat, cheese, beer, you name it, its smoked. My favorite dish was Cullen Skink, a creamy potato and smoked haddock soup with fresh herbs and crusty bread. Of course the country is well known for its whiskey, amazing beers, and distillations, but lets address the elephant in the room – Haggis. My first introduction to this strangely legendary dish was in a bar called “the end of the world tavern.” I ordered the haggis which was served with mashed potatoes, turnips, and whiskey gravy. It was so good! It tasted like bone marrow, or any s...
Fish and chips. Bangers and mash. Crumpets. This is what people usually expect when they hear of eating in England, and to be honest for the most part they are right. But it can be good… so good.. and there is so much more. For example lets take the beer for example, every place you go to in England has local microbreweries that make amazing brews. Also it is an island so if you look hard enough, fresh seafood is not far away. We started by spending the first night in London at one of my client’s house from Tribeca in NY. She is lovely and was happy to put us up for the night before we pushed on to Birmingham the next day. London is pretty, like NY but no high rises, and lots of beautiful brown stones. There is good food here from all over the world. When we arrived in Birmingham we were there for Eve’s school (which is why we were in Rome) and so I left her there to study and pressed on to Wales! I stayed in Aberystwyth for about a week with an awesome couchsurfer and met some amazing...
A less known about culinary powerhouse, Croatia boasts some of the best seafood and most expensive truffles in the world. We decided to come here after our stay in Rome because we were running out of our three month visa in the E.U. and Croatia is one of the most awesome close by places we could fly to. We had three weeks to be in the country before venturing north to the U.K. so we kept it simple and went to two locations: Split and Istria. In the city Split we found the most amazing seafood and ancient coastal castles. In Istria country we stayed at an amazing air BnB, “the spaceship”. This lovely family dubbed their out of the way cliffside home this name due to it being on the top of a small mountain, and the artistic, silly, loving nature of the three little boys, the master baker mom, and the master chef and artist dad. They grew their own veggies, olives, goat milk, eggs, baked bread, and their friends made the most delicious red wine of the deepest color purple. We ate together...
After about two months of traveling through the sacred valley of Peru, and up to the northern beaches, I have a story to tell. We flew into Lima, and after sampling some Civiche there for a few days travelled to the sacred valley through Piura airport. At a very high altitude, this airport and the surrounding mountains required some coca tea (which helps with altitude sickness.) We met and stayed with some amazing couchsurfing hosts while hopping in cheap breezy busses that brought us from one farm-encapsulated town to another. We did all this traveling mostly through the never-ending green fuzzy snake of the sacred valley. Huge mountains all around, colorful people, and simple hearty food. Lots of chicken stews and rice, civiche of tuna with lime, and fresh coconuts. I also love the sauces that are made from cheese and potato, or peanut and hot peppers. I learned a few local specialities from my hosts and a couple restaurants, but mainly as always from eating. Highlights of the trip i...
My hometown. I am a rare breed, a born and raised New Yorker from lower Manhattan. As much as I like to travel around the world, it was here where I first started becoming fascinated by food, and the global variety of it. Here in NYC, you can find traditional food from around the world, surrounded by people of that culture, in their neighborhood. It is from being exposed to so many types of cuisine that I developed the understanding that there is a lot of good food in the world! Chinese, Indian, Russian, Italian, French, Modern American, and Spanish are just some of the cuisines that are represented accurately and with integrity here in NYC. Besides traditional cultures, there are food countercultures like the underground restaurant scene in Brooklyn, Food Truck parking lots, immense farmers markets, modern American fusion cuisines, and of course the locals who remember those crappy and amazing hole in the wall bagel joints. Come here to find funky coffee shops, three star restaurants,...
On a whim, I decided to fly down south for the winter, literally. Here in Asheville my cousins and friends brought me to one restaurant after another. This is totally a foodie town. Nestled in a fertile valley surrounded by green mountains, this city has become a hot spot for green restaurants. One of the great things about green restaurants is that they usually use local ingredients. Because of the fresh produce and animal products, this town can whip up some amazing southern cuisine. Besides grits n gravy, the American need for novelty has attracted many amazing chefs from around the world, to bring this town a little of everything. One rainy day last week I decided to go with my friend down to South Carolina for some Crabbing, Shrimping, and Oyster hunting! Before you get too excited, we did not catch any crabs or shrimp, but I did manage to harvest a ton of amazing oysters in a kayak at low tide, check it out from start to finish below!
Without a plan, we decided to move to Maui. We ended up staying for four and a half months! What a paradise. There are abundant amounts of tropical fruit falling around your feet as you walk. Bananas, guava, avocado, starfruit, passion fruit, and bread fruit just to name a few. In our little town of Hana, there were a few wonderful restaurants to choose from. My favorite foods from the traditional Hawaiian culture were Poke (marinated cubes of raw fish with veggies) and Lao Lao (meat steamed in banana leaf). We caught fresh fish on the beach and cooked them over an open campfire…and I learned about how good simple seafood can be. There is honestly not much more that can be expressed in words, life was simple, there were good friends, and good food. Notable experiences include: Going underwater volcanic bubble cave diving, swiming on a black massage stone pebble beach, a red sand beach, and the world famous Hamoa beach. There was an amazing truck turned restaurant on the side of the roa...
Truly a magical place. Of all the places I visited in Greece, the island of Crete was my favorite. There is so much good food being grown on this island, to the point where they don’t even know what organic means because its just the way they have always done things. The markets are fantastic, I still clearly remember walking through the densely packed rows of vendors all selling locally grown produce like homemade yogurt, raw cheeses, veggies, and of course the best olive oil. The oil is so good in fact that you can drink a half a cup of it without your thought burning. We worked as head chefs and restaurant consultants for a really cool restaurant called “Soul Kitchen” making Greek vegetarian, raw, and vegan food. There we were blessed to learn hands on some great local dishes, as well as learning though eating around town. If you are here, go to Stella’s Kitchen! Best food I had in Greece, and such a wonderful person, I learned so much from her little restaurant.
Of all the stories you hear about Italy, the food, the people, and how generally amazing the food is, its all true. With open arms families will invite you in and take care of you. We first flew into Rome and stayed for a week, where we over indulged ourselves in fresh pasta, pizza, ice cream, seasonally fresh vegetables, all prepared simply with integrity. Sure, not everywhere you go in Italy will you find sad violin players, enthusiastic waiters pouring wine, and warm atmosphere, it has its share of general Tso’s and the like. That being said, there is a special energy in Rome, it is very sexy and mischievous. The architecture here is beautiful.
After searching the city for the best local joints we discovered one that is still to this day one of my most amazing food memories. Because Eve did not feel like eating meat that night she told the owner (who was also the server) Dino (and co-owner Toni) that she would prefer a vegetarian option. They promptly brought her something magical...
It is always a pleasure to visit the hometown of my father, and my grandmother. Here, stooped upon a steep hill along the rim of the outer districts that look down on the city, my grandmother is cooking. I was always impressed by her food, simple yet absolutely perfect. Wienershnitzel, potatoes with butter and parsley, and Sachertorte cake are some of the traditional gems of Austria. Here you may also find plentiful amounts of sour kraut, sausage, beer, and of course singing.We visited my grandma, ate some pastries that are better then from Paris, and of course some amazing food. No complaints.
The second time I came here was in 2015, and Eve and I had an amazing time. We went to the Opera, ate lots of traditional Viennese foods, and stayed with a good friend of my dad’s, Rieni. He owns a few eastern furniture stores in Vienna, and we stayed up on the hills surrounding the city. It was beautiful to be in the countryside but still go into the city, I recommend that for anyone thinking of...
We arrived in Bangkok and stayed there for four days, sampling the local cuisine, before we headed north to Chaing Mai. For a week, we explored the area on our mopeds seeking out authentic Thai food, and riding elephants. From there we flied to the island of Koh Phagnan, and after visiting its neighboring islands of Koh Tao and Koh Samui, we settled in Koh Phagnan for the next three weeks.
Where we settled was at a wonderful retreat center called The sanctuary, which was a health and detox restaurant, hotel, and oasis on the south side of the island, only accessible by boat. I ended up working as a restaurant consultant for this place, shaping up the kitchen, service, and food for the coming busy season. Overall, our experience in Thailand was amazing. The food is incredible and like no other in the world. The flavors are bold and competing, sour and spicy, with lots of fresh herbs and veggies.