Background and Intro As mentioned in my prior post on The Herbfarm Restaurant, I spent Memorial Day weekend 2021 in Seattle. Part of the plans was to spend a night at Willows Inn in Lummi Island, 3.5 hours north of Seattle, but those dreams got dashed when the NYT Expose was published and we opted…
Review: The Herbfarm Restaurant, Woodinville, Washington
Background Over Memorial Day Weekend 2021 I visited Seattle for the first time, as in finally stepping outside the airport. I lucked out in the 5 days that I was there, sunny clear, occasionally overcast days, contrary to the stereotype rainy and gloomy weather expected of the region. Over all, I found downtown Seattle to…
Exploring Paso Robles Wine Country and the Central Coast, California
Intro After spending a week in the Bay Area and Napa Valley in April 2021, I headed south to the Central Coast of California. I have family friends in San Luis Obispo at Pismo Beach specifically and had never been to the proper Central Coast Area, furthest south from the Bay I been is Monterrey…
Napa and Sonoma Valley Wine Tasting
I love wine. But my wine journey is a continued learning experience. I am by no means an expert nor do I claim to be one. I keep discovering new wines from all over the world and figuring out what it is that I like. I also continue to learn about the varietals, harvest and…
Review: The French Laundry, Yountville, California
Hello There! It has been a while since my last post. Have not been traveling as much though that has slowly been changing. And now I have had some extra time to catch up on a few posts I had been meaning to do. Including this one! Intro In April, I went out to the…
Review: Discovering Little St. Simons Island, Georgia, U.S.A.
6:15AM. It was pitch-black, near freezing temperature, windy and my heart was racing as I and famously not good at biking/can barely bike. Once I am away from the lighted paths of the main lodge, I turn on my headlamp and get to the bike stands only to find that none of the bikes have…
Exploring the World through Food with Gastronomic Traveler
Happy New Year to all!! Cautiously optimistic that by the end of this year things will begin to show signs of return to normalcy and we can hopefully all begin to hit the road to explore the wonders of the world again! I figured I’d start the new year with a post less about a…
Review: Jakes Hotel Treasure Beach, Jamaica
Over Thanksgiving 2020 I spent a week in Jamaica. It was a fantastic and relaxing time, wherein some impressive COVID Protocols were adhered to by the two hotels I chose to stay at. I spent 4 nights on the North Shore in Oracabessa at Goldeneye then I spent 3 nights on the South Shore in…
Review: Goldeneye Resort, Oracabessa, Jamaica
Over Thanksgiving holidays in 2020 I made the decision to fly down to Jamaica. This was after extensive research with regards to COVID, from entry requirements to what hotels were doing. I also took all necessary precautions, testing 72 hours before departure (despite the official Jamaican policy that allows for tests within 10 days, which…
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”…
Guide to Matsu Islands, Taiwan: another must
Matsu Islands 馬祖列島 On the far east coast of the Taiwan Strait, just off the coast of China’s Fuzhou city lies the Matsu Islands, and archipelago consisting of primarily 5 inhabited islands. It is part of Taiwan. While not as close to China as Kinmen, it is still very close and you can see the…
Guide to LanYu, Orchid Island, Taiwan: The most unique outer island
This post is a continued catch up post of the various trips and “re-discoveries” I had in Taiwan during my 6 months COVID hideout there. I had previously posted about Green Island. At the end of August 2020 I had a chance to venture out to the other Southeastern outer island, one of Taiwan’s most remote…
TheGastronomicTraveler 