At the end of March 2022, I decided to take advantage of shoulder season pricing and nice spring weather and headed to Athens, Greece for a weekend. It was my first time in both Athens and Greece. Athens has long been on my travel list since I was a child, largely due to a phase…
Category: food
Coffee and Adventures in Concepcion de Ataco, El Salvador with El Salvatours
Over Thanksgiving 2021, I traveled to El Salvador in Central America. El Salvador is the least visited of all the Central American countries and was the last one that I had yet to visit. It has become one of the favorites. The country has had a turbulent past to say the least. Having come out…
Review: SingleThread Farm and Restaurant, Healdsburg
In November 2021 I headed out to Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California. Not only to explore a bit of this wine country but for the main event: a dinner at Singlethread Farm – Restaurant – Inn. I honestly could not believe I managed to get a reservation, given my normally rotten luck with Tock reservation openings…
Quick Guide to Healdsburg, Sonoma County, USA + Valette Restaurant
Northern California. What a wonderful place to visit. Food, wine, outdoors, and all within fair and easy reach from San Francisco. California wine country is vast and diverse. You have the most famous one, Napa Valley, its more quaint but equally great neighbor, Sonoma, and the many other dotting the entire state like Paso Robles…
72 Hours in Dubrovnik, Croatia Game and Thrones with UNESCO Oysters and Wine
In October 2021, I ventured out to Dubrovnik, Croatia for the first time. Dubrovnik has long been on my list, especially as a Game of Thrones fan. Further Croatia was supposed to have been part of a cancelled Summer 2020 family vacation. Finally, Delta Air Lines operated a season JFK-DBV flight summer of 2021, and…
Review: Six Senses Douro Valley
Intro In September 2021, following a quick but delicious and productive 24 hours in Porto, I was off on a 2 hour train ride from Porto to Douro Valley, specifically the city of Peso de Regua, which is one of the biggest and main gateways to the valley. The 2 hour journey flies by as…
24 Hours Eating Through Porto, Portugal with Culinary Backstreets
In September 2021 I revisited Portugal, except this time I ventured to Northern Portugal to Porto and the Douro Valley. I can say that I like this part of Portugal more than Lisbon and its surrounding areas. They say Porto is the culinary capital of Portugal and I can certainly see why. It is also…
Quick Guide to Helsinki, Finland
Hello there! It has been quite a while, in fact almost a year, since I last posted. This happened for a variety of reasons, including getting quite lazy. But we are now back at it and am going to try my best to make up and post about the many trips I have taken since…
La Table d’Hôte (La Cuisine du Chateau) at Domaine de Primard Hotel, Guainville, France
In my previous post, I reviewed and introduced Domaine de Primard Hotel in Guainville, Normandy, France. I mention there that one of two highlights of my time there was the La Table d’Hote dining experience. It was so special and enjoyable I figured it could use its own post. Summary Absolutely worth doing. Definitely worth…
Podcast Recommendation: Nick Kokonas [co-founder of Alinea Group] – Know What You Are Selling
Short post here just to share an excellent podcast I listened to yesterday. While I have yet to dine at Alinea in Chicago, I have had the chance to have drinks and bites at The Aviary in NYC (featured image), and what an experience that was. There is also the episode on Netflix “Chef’s Table”…
Street Food Guide to Tainan, Taiwan 台南小吃懶人包
Tainan in Southwestern Taiwan is a historic city/county. Its where the Dutch set up their colony in Taiwan and where the Qing Dynasty established the island’s capital when they took it over from the Dutch. The city has many important historic sites from the Dutch Colonial Era, the Qing Dynasty and Japanese Colonial Era. It…
Culinary BackStreets of Taipei: Street Food Guide to Old Taipei 老台北美食懶人包
Intro Ever since moving back to Old Taipei nearly 11 years ago, I have come to rediscover it and have gained a newfound appreciation and understanding of this area of Taipei. Not only is my own history deeply rooted here, so is Taiwan’s. As I left home for college, work and my travels, every time…
TheGastronomicTraveler 