Tiki bars are one of those places that ebb and flow in popularity, but here in the Bay Area, there are some standards, no institutions that never go away. I for one cannot imagine not taking visitors to San Francisco to the Tonga Room where else can you enjoy a tropical rainstorm in a high…
I had to share this list of award winning cookbooks from around the world. I’d never seen such a broad collection of resources. All of them were entered into the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards this past year, and they represent their country in the “Best of the World” category. If you’ve gotten your hands on…
Just a bit of what’s going on for me. Along with my day job I added teaching a class at a local university on international business and strategy. Can I say this was one of the best choices I have ever made? I love it – the animated conversations, the head nodding when the concepts…
I recently had a revelation – We’ve been robbed! Robbed of some incredibly tasty opportunities, I know I am not alone in that for most of my life I ate one kind of dessert banana. Oh yeah, I’d sampled other bananas when I traveled, and was blown away by how sweet and tasty it was…
Nice Butcher – “Miss, what sort of chorizo do you want – Spanish, Mexican or Portuguese?” Me – to self ”Oh gosh, I have to choose? Geeze, I thought ordering the sausage would be the easy part of this dish. What are the differences? How do I find out what I need without sounding silly?…
This question has been on my mind: ”Why is the pineapple so appealing that people want to use its image all over the home?” Don’t get me wrong, I love pineapple, with a passion, but I also love bacon, and I have no desire to dress my home with porcine images. So I decided to…
When you think of curry, which country or region comes to mind? India Thailand Caribbean Japan China Britian Any of the above, and indeed many other countries would be correct, and you would still be thinking in the right direction if your mind wandered to Germany or South Africa and a host of other locations,…
As I previously mentioned, I think street or fast food can go a long way to providing a multi-sensory cultural experience that accurately captures the current culture of the country, region, or city in question. Every time I bite into a conchita pilbil taco, I am transported back to Merida, Mexico, or a gelato reminds me of my…
Spring + citrus are synonymous to me. The bright colors of the fruit coupled with the wonderful flavors and scents speak of freshness like nothing else. Living in San Francisco, I try not to take for granted my access to the amazing selection that I find in even the smallest corner store. However, having lived in…
I’ve had many encounters with rum in my day, in my mojitos, margaritas, fart tunnels (ahem, college) you name it. These beverages came in dark, light, spiced and all the colors in between, and of course tasting these rums was the libation equivalent of island hopping through the Caribbean: Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Jamaica. But it was not until…
