I feel special

Today Noma moved from the third best restaurant in the world to the best restaurant in the world, according to the San Pellegrino top 50 restaurants. For those who do not remember, my mom and I had a meal to remember there last December. Now I can say that I have eaten at the best restaurant in the world.

That's awesome.

Trashy or Classy? You Decide

I had the chance to return to Bologna during my two week travel break. The food of Bologna is absolutely delicious, it is the food capital of Italy, after all. While I gorged myself on pear and ricotta gelato, perfect thin crust pizzas, and light as air gnocchi in traditional Bolognese sauce, I found that I was most excited about returning to Bologna for one thing - Lambrusco.

Sparkling red wine. Yes, like the kind my mom drank at college parties back in the 70's. What has been considered to be a "trashy" wine by many is an important and cultural beverage to the people of the Emilia-Romagna region of the boot-shaped country. Bolognese people love it - and I have to admit-after trying it for the first time in January, so do I.

Lambrusco has a relatively low alcohol percentage, is fruity, and often has a slight kick to it, reminiscent of cinnamon. One that I had recently reminded me slightly of Big Red chewing gum. Everything that I have learned about wine this year in Europe makes me want to HATE Lambrusco. Fizzy red wine? Where's my Bordeaux or even a nice Sangiovese?

Italians are the first to admit that it is not what most people would consider to be "good wine". In January, my Bolognese guide told me that she once served Lambrusco to a bunch of French guests. BIG mistake. However, she commented that she thought it was light, refreshing, and pleasing to the palate. I cannot help but agree with her, with the added bonus that it is pleasing to the bank account. The average bottle of Lambrusco in a wine shop in Bologna costs 3-4 euros. Now that is cheap!

I suppose Lambrusco is one of those things that you take it for what it is, and not try to compare it to the wines we traditionally associate with "the reds". Lambrusco is a wine, yet it is its own entity. With that in mind, I will pour my glass with gusto, and enjoy my Lambrusco without hesitation. Bravo, Lambrusco!

even though I think Lambrusco is classy, I still don't mind serving it in a plastic cup in my hotel room!

What do you mean, I don't have to eat bangers and mash?!?

In my trip to Dublin, I was expecting Guinness, bangers and mash, Guinness, Irish lamb stew with soda bread, and you guessed it, Guinness. I had all of those things during my 5 day stay, (especially the Guinness - the storehouse museum is really worth the time and money, by the way!) but I realized that Dublin is a lot more than just traditional Irish fare. So while pubs are plentiful and a ridiculously good time, it is easy to give your taste buds a break from the hearty meat and potatoes fare to something a little more refined. You just have to be willing to pay for it.

My friends and I were lucky enough to be in Dublin during the city's "Restaurant Week", where many hot spots have a 3 course prix fix menu for 25 euro. If you are not in Dublin during this time, several restaurants offer "Early Bird" menus, where you can get great food for extremely reduced prices. You just have to eat before 7pm. For my friends and I, 25 euro was still expensive, but we found that we spent just as much in a pub paying for very expensive beers and relatively cheap pub food than spending a night out in a fancier establishment. So for a couple of nights, we went all out.

My first day I reunited with a friend from school I had not seen in almost a year. We decided to celebrate by shelling out for a prix fix meal at Balzac Restaurant on Dawson Street. We were under dressed, but the waitstaff did not seem to care. The offerings for the prix fix meal were extensive, with 5 or 6 different choices for each course. Salads with pear, radicchio, and cashel blue were probably one of the least exciting choices, but it was what I was in the mood for and the flavors of bitter, sweet, and salty, with a crunch from candied walnuts played perfectly off of each other. My entree consisted of sea bass with a surprisingly flavorful sauce of garlic and parsley (I attribute it to LOTS of butter) and a silky carrot puree fulfilled everything I wanted in a fish dish. My friend's duck leg with potato and cherry and red wine reduction was also delicious. Usually dessert is my least favorite part of the meal, but Balzac surprised us with a lemon pot-de-creme with warm from the oven madelines for blissful dipping. We spent over 3 hours at Balzac, a clearly French restaurant influenced by local Irish ingredients, and had an amazing time at this unexpected Dublin find.

It was not just the fine dining establishments that offered alternatives to Irish pub fare. Every type of food from Chinese to kabobs to a fantastic burger at Gourmet Burger Co. can be found in Dublin. My friend and I enjoyed a few generous glasses of wine (a 1/4th bottle per glass) at a highly stocked wine bar in Temple Bar called Olesya's. The staff was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, and more than willing to let you sample several wines until you find the exact vintage you are craving. Along with an artisan Irish cheese plate, it was the perfect light meal and end to the day my friend and I were looking for (until we decided to go see "The Blindside" and brought a bottle of pinot noir with us. Classy? The Irish sitting around us thought so).

My favorite spot though was this bakery and cafe called "Queen of Tarts", where homemade soups, salads, and sandwiches on homemade bread were served in generous portions and at decent prices. My ham and gruyere on a soft foccacia was chock full of cheese and extremely flavorful, and the perfectly dressed side salad balanced out the heaviness of sandwich. Of course by the name, Queen of Tarts is famous for its desserts. Massive portions of chocolate cake, beautiful tarts in every flavor imaginable, and cookies the size of bread plates coming right out of the oven made every patron's mouth water, and completely defenseless to temptation. I enjoyed an epically large piece of carrot cake, with the perfect amount of cream cheese frosting and a fantastic moist crumb. Queen of Tarts was a great way to spend our last afternoon in a rainy Dublin.

I am not saying that you should not go to the pubs in Dublin. In fact, I highly recommend it (the Literary Pub Crawl is especially fun). You meet the most friendly and fascinating people there, all of whom are ready and willing to share their life story with you - and not much is better than a great hearty dish and a large beer. However, if you are in Dublin for more than a few days, it is fun to explore what else this surprisingly foodie city has to offer. And trust me, it is quite a bit!

Burrow your nose in Borough Market

"I just hated what I was doing, but I always loved to cook, and I knew this recipe was awesome".

That was a common phrase I heard when walking around London's famous Borough Markets. Located on the Thames near London Bridge, the market has been around since the 13th century, although the establishment that it is today was founded just over a decade ago. Filled with producers and importers from all over the UK and the world, it is the largest and coolest food market I have ever been to.

What makes Borough so awesome is not just the endless stalls of baked goods, preserves, meats, wines, and dozens of international specialties, it is the people behind the product. Their passion and knowledge of great food is infectious, and the stories they have behind their personal products are so fascinating that it is easy to go home with a new friend. If nothing else - some new friends for your pantry.




Take this one guy - we'll call him "Mushroom Man" - selling his family's recipe for a Wild Mushroom pate. His sister, a former finance adviser got tired of dealing with budgets with companies, so she decided to create a budget for selling her family's favorite appetizer. That was four years ago. Now with a stall at Borough, her brother Mushroom Man enthusiastically spreads the pate on fresh bread, giving passerby's not one, but two or three generous samples. Mushroom Man avidly talked about the ingredients used, the story behind the pate, and all the different ways it could be used. The pate, a mixture of herbs, raw cheese, and of course mushrooms, could easily be stuffed inside a chicken breast, melted on top of a steak, or spread on some baguette, like it was for us. Of course I realize that the enthusiasm is all in part to get you to buy the product, but it did not feel that way. This was not the usual corny sales-man pitch, Mushroom Man let the product speak for itself. Even if you could not buy it because your luggage was already too heavy, like mine was, he still happily spread some more on a baguette, and told me to enjoy it.

I ran into many more Mushroom Mans as I wandered the stalls of Borough. Whether it was Spanish chorizo, farm-fresh goat cheese, homemade granola, or this dynamite Thai green curry fish stew, the owners shelled out samples, and if you wanted to hear it, narratives of their product. The same was true of importers, mainly wine and beer carriers from a select few countries. Their knowledge of wine regions within a certain country was unfathomable, I doubt that anyone could stump them with a question. Beer lovers could look endlessly at the shelves holding hundreds of beers I have never heard of before, but I am sure that the importer has tasted them all. By the end of the morning, I was so stuffed with new knowledge, ideas, and food - and I did not pay a single pence.


It was amazing being in a place where everyone around you cares as much about good food as I do. If I lived in London, I am sure that the vast majority of my savings would be poured into Borough Market. If you are ever in London, you should really check it out. It is such a neat spot in such a fascinating city - and of course, you get lots of free samples!