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L'Ecole No. 41 in Walla Walla, Washington

Great Grapes at their Best

Wine country is at its prettiest now, as grapes mature on the vine. (Pictured here: L'Ecole No. 41 in Walla Walla, Washington.) Plan a sipping trip to some of the nation's most friendly wine regions -- and stock your cellar while you're at it!

Where to Find Great Wine

Sweet Treats in Paris

Laduree Macaron

From macaron to marron glace, from pots and pans to foie gras, here are the shops you won't want to miss when you visit Paris.

Your Paris Gourmet Shopping List

Culinary Travel Spotlight10

Book Review: Southern Living's Off the Eaten Path

Wednesday April 27, 2011

When you look at its cover, the book seems like it should be fairly straightforward: Southern Living Off the Eaten Path: Favorite Southern Dives and 150 Recipes That Made Them Famous.

But after reading the brief introduction from Fannie Flag, and once I got a few chapters in, the questions started swirling: what exactly is this book? Should I display it on my coffee table, prop it up on my cookbook stand,  or toss it into the backseat of my car for my next southern road trip?

I've finished it now, and I still don't have the answers. For while this book, by Morgan Murphy and the editors of Southern Living magazine, is certainly fun to flip through, it's best not to try to, like, read it. The overall effect is something of a mish-mish--the term "mission creep" comes to mind.

For each southern state, you'll read a brief profile of  between two and six restaurants, complete with charming photos and a recipe or two. GPS coordinates are also provided in latitude and longitude,  an anachronism that seems less quaint than strange. (Who programs their GPS with anything but an address these days?)

Also for each state, there's a "Rubbernecker Wonder", a brief bit of non-food related state trivia, and also a suggested best drive, which confusingly doesn't always encompass the restaurant picks. Oh, and last but not least, there are diner "secrets" scattered throughout, like "cook the steak to medium rare to keep it tender and juicy" and "perfect bacon shouldn't be too floppy or too crispy".  Indeed.

Bottom line:

  • Southern food enthusiasts will want to give this at least a quick skim to see if a favorite dive made the cut.
  • Southern home cooks will find few recipes that they couldn't find elsewhere.
  • A good gift for someone with a touch of readerly A.D.D.


Details: Oxmoor House, 2011. $21.95



Are We Becoming More Generous Tippers?

Monday April 25, 2011

This just in: although the economy has been rocky, we apparently haven't been taking it out on our waiters and waitresses.

I've just updated one of the most popular resources on this site, Tipping Etiquette and Guidelines Around the World, since Zagat has just come out with a new survey of tipping habits.

When I first put the guide together a couple of years ago, Zagat's research indicated that the average tip on a restaurant tab was 18%, it went up to 19% in 2009, and now...drumroll...it's 19.2%.

Now let me administer a brief shake of salt.  This stat based on Zagat's America's Top Restaurants Survey, which, according to the book jacket, covers 1,400 top-rated restaurants in 42 major U.S. cities and regions. Since Zagat reviews are based on the reports of actual diners, it seems likely to me that a food enthusiast who takes the time to review a restaurant may also be inclined to tip a little better than the average person.  Also, tipping data is self-reported, which may or may not influence the results. (We might get a different story if we asked the servers themselves.)

So given all that, it's hard to take a movement of about one percentage point as a trend. But at least it's not a dramatic decline.

Will Travel for Booze: News Briefs

Monday April 18, 2011
  • DUKES hotel in London is scheduled to open a new champagne bar this month, but will it surpass its other boozy offerings? The bar is known for its dry martinis -- supposedly where Ian Fleming invented James Bond's preference for "shaken not stirred", and there's also a Cognac and Cigar garden...
  • The Tribeca Film Festival starts this week in New York City and Stoli is once again the official vodka. You don't need to attend the festival to order up a special Stoli cocktail at ten participating bars: Ward III, Boxers, Salon Millesime, Ulysses's, Libation, W Downtown Mulberry Project, 675 Bar, UnderBar and the historic Fraunce's Tavern, which played a role in the Revolutionary War. Imagine George Washington sipping a "Gala Temptress" martini, made with Stoli's Applik, lemon juice, simple syrup, bitters and a few mint leaves, garnished with apple slices...
  • Anvil Bar & Refuge, one of the most creative cocktail bars in Houston, Texas--and indeed, anywhere-- announces its Spring 2011 menu. Notable swillables: "The Royal Kris", made from gin, Batavia arrack, lime, passion fruit syrup, sriracha, seltzer, and "Black Betty", made with fenugreek-infused rye, Bonal, Italian bitters, and xocolatl mole bitters...
  • Cocktail trends in 2011.


The Best Foodie Travel News of the Week

Thursday April 14, 2011

A round-up of notable events, news from all over, and items various and sundry of interest to culinary travelers:

New in Farm-to-Table:

  • Outstanding in the Field narrows the distance from farm to table. From May 1st to December 4th, 90 American farms will set up a long, linen draped table and serve food produced by local farmers, artisans, chefs and winemakers. On July 20th, the stop is Vail Valley's Copper Bar Ranch, where a five course meal will be prepared in the pasture by Jeremy Kittelson of Restaurant Avondale and Armando Navarro of Larkspur.
  • Farm-to-Table cooking classes at Telluride's Hotel Madeline are being offered every Saturday starting April 23rd to May 28th, taught by new culinary director Jake Linzinmeir
  • The Fairmont Pittsburgh makes good use of the half cow the hotel's kitchen purchases each week from its local Burns Angus Farm. In addition to steaks, burgers, and beef stock, tallow is now being rendered into soap to be used as the hotel's signature gift.

Chocolate Headlines:

Event News:

  • A dream team of superstar chefs are being assembled for the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival, one of the year's most important culinary events. For the debut event on April 29th,  sponsored by automaker Lexus, Chefs Daniel Boulud, Michael Chiarello, Dean Fear­ing, Christo­pher Kos­tow, Masa­haru Mori­moto and Michael Symon. will each prepare small bites inspired by one of six tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, spicy and umami.
  • More April 2011 culinary events.



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