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gastronomasonoma · 4 months

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Yes! They Do Fly! At the best “elevation” at Cochon Tasting Bar in Sonoma, that is!

On a warm sunny day, a wine country experience awaits at the Cochon Tasting Bar in the town of Sonoma, in the Sonoma Court mini mall at the end of Vine Alley, literally only a few steps from the historic plaza.

With summer almost here, a glass of 2020 Les Bulles Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Brut is crisp and refreshing. It has a subtle fragrant aroma and when served with a special pairing, it is certainly a delight upon the taste buds.

Cochon offers an array of different food pairings that coincide with the season and the wines offered. Selecting a cheese & charcuterie board is a good choice, if you’re a cheese and cured meats fan.

The Cheese & Charcuterie board of Manchego, Laura Chenel Goat Cheese, Quince Paste, Fig Jam, Sarta Chorizo, Jamón Serrano, Olives & Marcona Almonds was scrumptious. Cochon has plenty of seating inside and out. On warm days, sitting outside is very enjoyable, especially since the entire Vine Ally-Sonoma Court complex lends itself to a European-style al fresco experience.

Located at the back edge of Vine Alley, Cochon has ample space for guests almost to itself, making it ideal for small gatherings and little parties.

An important thing to keep in mind, wine tasting and curated food pairing isn’t to be rushed. It to be savored and thoroughly enjoyed. The ambiance and staff at Cochon makes everyone feel at home, with the choicest of everything.

All the wine at Cochon is excellent as is the service. It’s exceptional!

With regards to the wine, a project called “élevé” is one example of what makes Cochon wines distinctive. Which as Cochon’s Director of Sales & Marketing, Carlo Centretto explained. “The word ‘élevé’ basically means high-elevated, some of the best varieties of wine we have are from local vineyards that are elevated above the valley floor.”

“So, take the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, for example,” he said pointing to the menu and wine list. “It’s from Crouse Vineyard, located in the Mount Veeder AVA of Napa Valley. Sourcing Cabernet Sauvignon from exposed, high elevation vineyards such as the Crouse Vineyard, gives low yields, subtle fruit character, and wines of more distinction.

Mt. Veeder is an appellation northward of downtown Napa amid the Mayacama mountain range up and off of Redwood Road.

Designed as an American Viticulture area, Mt. Veeder has been the growing spot/birth place of some of Northern California’s best wines. Many of the plateau areas that have grape vines are planted in a rich soil that contains volcanic elements.

This along with the steepness of the angles of many of the plateaus provides better water drainage and direct angled sunlight.

According to some health studies, the lower the alcohol content, the fewer the calories. Yet for Cochon it is about flavor. Also, it’s noted, regardless, of what type of wine is consumed, moderation is important. And since it takes so much time and effort to produce a quality wine, enjoying it, sipping it slow is what makes the wine country experience memorable.

Centretto and staff like, Sean Lirette and Chris Sawyer, take extra time and care to ensure that the food that is paired works well with the wine. Even something simple as the crackers is considered. “A simple cracker often is best so not to interfere with the flavor of the wine,” said Centretto. “Yet we have gluten-free varieties of crackers if it’s requested,” he said.

Anything that Centretto and staff can do to help make the experience better is what Cochon aims for. While at the moment, Cochon doesn’t serve any desserts, a delicious cup of Espresso is available.

“No syrupy or iced coffee drinks, just a traditional and authentic espresso, cappuccino or caffè latte,” said Centretto. Definitely an “elevated” experience, even for the most discerning of foodies and wine connoisseurs, Cochon Wine Tasting is open 7-days a week from 11:am to 6:00 pm. For more information call 707 934-8157. Or visit the website.

#sonoma #eggs benedict #Cochon Tasting Bar #vine alley #Elévé

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masterlocksmithla · 2 years

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Must-See Restaurants In New Orleans, LA

If you're visiting New Orleans, there's no way that you can leave without trying local cuisine. But what's the best way to get a taste of all that Creole and Cajun food? Well, we've got you covered with five must-see restaurants in New Orleans, LA:

GW Fins

GW Fins is a seafood restaurant in the French Quarter. It’s right on Bourbon Street, so it’s easy to find.

The food is great and they have some really fun appetizers at this place. The seafood is also amazing! I had the shrimp po boy sandwich and it was delicious!

This restaurant is open for dinner only so make sure you go during their hours of operation if you want to eat there for lunch or brunch!

Cochon Restaurant

Cochon is a Cajun restaurant located in the Warehouse District, which makes it an ideal spot for lunch or dinner. Since it opened in 2007, Cochon has become famous for serving up delicious southern cuisine. The atmosphere at this New Orleans hot spot is lively and fun, making it an ideal place to bring your friends or family members when they visit town.

In addition to its great food and atmosphere, Cochon has received numerous awards over the years for being one of America's best restaurants:

2013: Southern Living Best New Restaurants

2014: Wine Spectator Award of Excellence

2015 & 2016: OpenTable Diners' Choice Award

Brennan's

Brennan's has been around since the 1950s and is located in the French Quarter. The restaurant is a place to get classic Southern food and is known for their Bananas Foster, which was invented by Brennan's own Owen Edward Brennan in 1951.

Antoine's Restaurant

Established in 1840, Antoine's Restaurant is a Creole restaurant that has been serving its guests exceptional food for more than 175 years. Located in the French Quarter, this historic landmark is known for their Oysters Rockefeller and turtle soup. They were also one of the first restaurants to serve breakfast!

Trenasse

Trenasse is a great place to visit if you'd like to experience New Orleans' French Quarter. It's got a great location and offers delicious food, so it's easy to see why this restaurant is one of the most popular places in the city.

The atmosphere at Trenasse is very laid-back—you'll find plenty of local art on display, as well as live music that can be heard during their happy hour (5:30 pm - 6:30 pm). The staff are friendly and helpful, so don't hesitate to ask them any questions regarding your meal or anything else while you're there!

These restaurants have great food and have been open for a long time!

New Orleans is known for its rich history, unique architecture and of course, food! If you are looking for a restaurant with great food in New Orleans that has been open for a long time then look no further. Below we have listed some of our favorite places to eat in New Orleans:

Antoine’s Restaurant - This is one of the oldest restaurants in Louisiana and has been around since 1840! It is located right on Bourbon Street so you can enjoy some amazing dishes while enjoying the sights and sounds of New Orleans.

Arnaud's French 75 Bar - Located right on Bourbon Street as well, this bar has been open since 1918! They have an amazing drink menu filled with classics like Sazeracs (which they claim was invented at their bar) along with other drinks like Pimm’s Cups or Brandy Stizzas if cocktails aren't your thing.

Jacques-Imo's Café - This restaurant serves up Creole cuisine from Chef Isaac Toups who opened it back in 1986 when he was just 21 years old! It has since become an institution serving some delicious Creole favorites such as Shrimp & Tasso Mac & Cheese or Crawfish Étouffée over dirty rice (a staple side dish).

It’s easy to see why New Orleans cuisine is so beloved. With so many unique flavors and recipes, you’re sure to find something that suits your tastes. Whether it’s fried alligator, crawfish étouffée or shrimp & grits, there are plenty of dishes that will take your tastebuds on a journey through the city’s culture and history. The best part about celebrating Mardi Gras in NOLA? You can enjoy these mouthwatering meals before, during and after Fat Tuesday with family & friends!

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miamisecretescapes · 4 years

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Miami Secret Escapes |

8 Cruises From Miami With Luxury Dining Experiences

With tastebuds getting more refined and travelers expecting more when it comes to their dining experiences, cruise ships continue to capitalize and deliver on some of the most outstanding and innovative cuisines by bringing chef collaborations, wine tastings and culinary programs to the seas and beyond.

On Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, cruisers looking for Tuscan cuisine can pop into famed British chef Jamie Oliver’s Italian eatery. Open for lunch and dinner, guests can opt for one of the chef’s homemade pastas made fresh daily, or grilled options like lamb or pork. At 105 Central Park, it’s Royal Caribbean’s own global chefs who are front and center as they showcase the latest in contemporary seasonal cuisines. After a gourmet meal, make your way to Vintages, a wine bar aboard the Royal fleet, which features one-of-a-kind wines from top winemakers that are exclusive to Royal Caribbean. From California to South African wines, sample a tasting or a bottle of the ship’s finest vintages. On the newly refurbished Navigator of the Seas, slurp up oysters at Hooked Seafood, and if you need to catch a game and a beer, Playmaker’s Sports Bar and Arcade has you covered.

Buzz-worthy MSC Seaside, boasts acclaimed James Beard Award-winning chef Roy Yamaguchi and his restaurant, Asian Market Kitchen. Diners can choose a live-action teppanyaki grill or keep it light and fresh with sushi, sashimi and selections from the raw bar. Chef Roy’s Hawaiian/European-influenced cuisine is also reflected in dishes like lobster fried rice and a curry wine sauce rack of lamb. On the MSC Meraviglia, which is slated to hit the port of Miami very soon, cruisers will have the opportunity to dine at Michelin-starred Spanish chef Ramon Freixa’s new restaurant, Hola! Tapas. A Mediterranean style social restaurant with an emphasis on shared plates like jamón ibérico, tortilla espanola and more. Expect to see it on the majestic MSC Bellissima as well. Come hungry.

When you ‘Choose Fun’ on Carnival Cruise, you’re also choosing some fun-tactic dining options. The not-to-be-missed spots include Guy’s Pig and Anchor BBQ Smokehouse, where you can get some of that roadside BBQ action like Blue Ribbon chicken with a side of his famous mac n’ cheese available on five of the line’s ships. The most anticipated restaurant coming to a ship near you, is Emeril Lagasse first sea venture, Emeril’s Bistro 1836, on the Carnival Mardi Gras. The New Orleans cuisine restaurant, will have Creole favorites like oyster and cochon de lait po-boys, roasted duck & Andouille sausage gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp and grits and bananas foster. Carnival will also be the first cruise line to can and keg their own beer (already available on Horizon and Vista), fleetwide. Enjoy a ParchedPig West Coast IPA, an intense beer loaded with bitterness with a bright flavor profile and distinctive aroma of citrus and pine.

One of the biggest names to hit the high seas for Celebrity Cruises, is renowned French chef Daniel Boulud. Boulud will become the brand’s Global Culinary Ambassador with a slew of culinary programs sure to seduce the palette. A three-course menu developed by Boulud will be offered at all the Luminae restaurants fleetwide. Sure to be a sold out experience, the "Chef’s Table by Daniel Boulud" will allow guests to enjoy champagne and canapés on arrival, a five-course dinner with wine pairings. The dinner also comes with one of the chef's cookbooks. Training with the best just became a reality thanks to Celebrity’s Culinary Mentorship Program, where up-and-coming chefs will be hands-on in Celebrity Kitchens as well as one of Boulud’s many restaurants.

How does a butter poached Alaskan King Crab, brown butter Berkshire pork chop, and roasted crab legs sound? To a foodie, it sounds like a feast to remember, and now, thanks to Australian super chef, Curtis Stone, you can eat like a king (and queen) when you dine at the newly revamped, SHARE, aboard Princess Cruises. Chef Stone is all about creating artistic dishes in a warm, and celebratory setting, where his dishes transcend flavor and cultural influences. Now imagine doing that in six exquisite courses. He, along with his personal sommelier, hand picked all the wines. You’ll have your choice of Barolo to Piedmonte and Ribera del Duero from Spain and beyond. Let’s not forget the "Crafted by Curtis" menu selections also available in the main dining room. After a Curtis Stone meal, you’ll want to unwind with a prestigious glass of wine selected by Princess sommelier Doug Frost. Select from 142 wines to be exact.

On Azamara Cruises, you get to be a part of your own culinary journey, thanks to the Azamara Chef Experience available in Dubai. Imagine pursuing the city’s Fish Market for the fresh catch of the day, that’ll later be used for your evening dinner! Once that’s been selected, cross the street to the Fruit and Vegetable market where you can pick vegetables like zucchini, egglant, fresh strawberries and more before making your way to the Spice Souk for traditional Arabic Herbs. If you thought you were fully immersed in Dubai’s food scene, think again. Partner up with an Azamara expert for a visit to Dubai’s Camelicious Farm, home to over 4,000 milk-producing camels where you’ll become an expert on the dairy process Last on the foodie excursion, a stop at the city’s Coffee Museum where you’ll sample brews from around the world. Then it’s back on the ship to eat your finds in what is sure to be an unforgettable meal.

In what’s sure to be a grand welcome, Virgin Voyages, will be welcoming their first sea venture, The Scarlet Lady, to the port of Miami in 2020 and the dining options are already creating a buzz. With a cocktail program like no other, Razzle Dazzle (named for the camouflaging pattern painted on warships from WWI and WWII), will be the ship’s resident drag brunch, where sailors are treated to a show from the ship’s resident drag performer and friends. Expect a vibrant scene offering up vegetarian fare as well as fun cocktails and fresh juices. There’s no in between. If you’re looking for ultra-luxe dining, you’ll find it at Wake, aboard the Scarlet Lady. A mid-20th century steak and seafood haunt with chop house atmosphere but vintage feel. Expect lots and lots of champagne.

Oceania Cruises is know for ‘the finest cuisine in the world,’ so expect to dine on some of the finest food at sea. Led by esteemed chef, Jacques Pepin, Oceania cruises offers everything from a distinguished culinary center where state of the art cooking classes are held for a close knit group of 24, and guests will get to try their hand at everything from French cuisine to plant-based menus. If you’re looking for a more immersive experience, guests team up with a master chef to tour and shop the local markets in Europe and French Polynesia, and use their buys to cook up a simmering meal on board. There are some foodies who really want to rub elbows with Pepin himself, and they’ll have an opportunity to do so once a year, where they are treated to individualized menus, lectures and demos by Pepin. Mark your calendars—it’s happening aboard the Marina this September.

#Miami Secret Escapes #Cruises

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mabelleflanerie · 5 years

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A New Orleans Food Adventure

New Orleans! Where do I even start? Simply put, it is a small city but with such a unique culture, architectural style, and history. Its personality is as distinct as that of New York’s, Paris’, or even Rome’s. While NOLA attracts tourists for so many different reasons, the delicious cuisine was what I was looking most forward to and it certainly did not disappoint.

It’s been a little over a month since my trip to Louisiana and I’m currently back in Europe still thinking about the food down south. Yes! I’m in Europe, thinking about American food. Well… Cajun-Creole food. I’m even sat here writing this article with a home-made bowl of red beans and rice by my side.

Traveling with my French boyfriend, the cuisine was a perfect mix of the two of us. We were both equally satisfied yet blown away. It had the good bread, seafood, and meat that he loves while serving up lots of rice and spice to fulfill my desires as well. In every bite, one can taste the African, French, Spanish, and even hints of Asian culinary traditions. Speak of a melting pot!

Our trip to NOLA was such a culinary adventure that I tasted everything from fire-grilled oysters in a hot chili butter sauce to alligator sausage. At times scary, it was always worth it. So here is a list of my favorite eats and drinks in NOLA. It highlights everything from classy establishments to (for lack of a better word) “dingy” restaurants:

Jambalaya: The perfect hearty rice dish with flavor for days. My favorites were from Coop’s Place and Mother’s Restaurant.

Red beans and rice: another yummy rice dish that will fill you up from head to toe. Try it from Père Antoine.

Poboys: If you prefer sandwiches, go to NOLA Poboys for the most scrumptious and unique fillings.

Other places to check out:

Café du monde (for beignets) Cochon Restaurant (for the oysters) Market Café (for alligator) Deanie’s Seafood (for étouffée)

… And don’t forget to have drinks at the swanky Bar Marilou. You won’t regret it!

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CVRU8p6Ugw&feature=emb_title

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spicy-culture · 4 years

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Spice Culture: Our distinguishing strengths:

Wood-stewed distinguishing strengths have kept the restaurant at the most elevated mark of the heap in Portland, Maine, since 1996. Secretly gathered mussels, jumper scallops, turnspit-cooked chicken and pork flank, marinated holder steak, and various essentials, joined by vegetables created or rummaged from nearby estates and fields, are the staples of the sporadically changing menu here.

Front Street is about hearth, country offer, and a shortfall of trickiness. The open kitchen at point of convergence of the crowd spellbinds, its culinary specialists behind a tremendous butcher square working the Indian food order online square oven as open blasts lick the meat that turns on a rotisserie, remains flying.

James Beard Award-winning cook Lydia Shire is one of Boston, Massachusetts' mind boggling culinary specialists, and her bistro, Scampo, is a champion among other Italianish diners you'll anytime eat at. While Italian on a fundamental level, Shire isn't reluctant to merge a heated oven or Spanish Ibèrico ham in with the general mixed bag, and the menu is fun and carefree.

Great breads come in seven collections. There's a full "mozzarella bar" with five assorted infrequent new mozzarella-based dishes (essentially pick the mozzarella tasting — you understand you need to). Spaghetti comes polished off with cracklings and hot pepper and pizza is done off with white shellfish and bacon, notwithstanding different things.

Entrées consolidate block chicken with dim garlic purée and Meyer lemon risotto, cotechino wiener ravioli with truffle foam and purple kale, and braised short rib with whipped celeriac. It's one of those menus where from a genuine perspective everything looks scrumptious… anyway we'll be holding on for Friday night, when the phenomenal is cook nursing pig.

Why You Have To Choose Spice Culture?

A certified inner circle top pick since it opened in 2006, Cochon is the space of pork-loving culinary expert Donald Link, who's been assigned for a James Beard Award every year since 2015. Roused by Louisiana's Cajun and Creole culinary traditions, Link serves dishes like cooked shrimp with crowd cheeks and Louisiana cochon (sear pig) with turnips, cabbage, and cracklings, similarly as such non-porcine delights as scorched gator with chile garlic aioli and rabbit with dumplings.

Besides, we can't examine Cochon without furthermore giving a holler to Cochon Butcher, the cream meat market, sandwich shop, and wine bar discovered right close by, which lastingly makes our summary of America's Best Casual Restaurants.

B&B Hospitality's Osteria Mozza, helmed by La Brea Bakery creator Nancy Silverton, is an incredible California bistro. There's a mozzarella bar for certain dozen other options; a menu that consolidates magnificent (and occasionally exceptional) pasta — like goat cheddar ravioli with "five lilies," which implies five people from the allium family; maltagliati with sheep ragu, olives, and mint; and squid ink chitarra freddi with Dungeness crab, sea pixie, and jalapeños — and standard dishes going from grilled whole talk encased by radicchio with olio nuovo to porcini-scoured rib-eye bistecca.

#spice_culture

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romioneflufffest · 7 years

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Simple Pleasures

Author: @idearlylovealaugh

Prompt: Diagon Alley, date night

Description: Where better to celebrate a special occasion than the fanciest restaurant in town?

Rating: T

The atmosphere at Le Cochon Peint justified its reputation as the most fashionable and hard-to-come-by reservation in Diagon Alley. On a Saturday night in June almost every table was occupied by elegantly dressed witches and wizards, and a number of those heads turned as a young, attractive couple was shown to a table in nearly the exact center of the restaurant. The man, tall and strikingly ginger, pushed in the chair of his petite, bushy-haired companion in an unobtrusive display of chivalry before taking his seat amid the buzz of interested chatter from diners seated nearby.

“Quite the place,” Ron remarked, glancing around as the napkin in front of him sailed elegantly into the air, unfolded itself from it’s complicated swan design and drifted neatly onto his lap.

“It’s lovely,” Hermione agreed, smiling at him warmly. “I’m so glad we finally made it here. I’ve been hearing about it for months!”

“Seems like the right kind of place for an anniversary dinner,” he reasoned. “These posh drinks are alright, really,” he added thoughtfully, swirling around a ruby-coloured concoction he had ordered at the swanky bar in the restaurant’s lobby.

“That bartender thought you were quite alright, too, I think,” Hermione replied slyly.

“She was just being friendly,” Ron scoffed, though his ears pinked ever-so-slightly. “And she got a lot friendlier after she heard me give my name to the bloke at the front,” he added skeptically.

“The maître d’,” Hermione supplied automatically.

Ron smiled knowingly at her as he shook his head. “Right.”

“Besides, I doubt she needed to hear your name to know who you are,” she conjectured.

“The red hair I’ll grant you, but these robes are brand-new!” he joked. His eyes glowed with warmth as he watched her laugh. “Have I told you how bloody gorgeous you look tonight?”

She flushed, feeling slightly absurd to be so pleased. “Yes, but you also told me that last week after I went twelve rounds with Crookshanks and the bath, so I’m not sure I trust your judgement.”

“Hmmmm, I stand by that statement,” he mused, regarding her appraisingly.

“You’re ridiculous - I was drenched!” Hermione cried in amusement, remembering the soaked and disheveled state she had been in.

“Exactly,” he replied, mischief in his eyes. “I….”

“Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, what a delight!”

A booming voice cut him off as a florid man in ostentatious golden robes planted himself beside their table. Hermione glanced around self-consciously as he heartily shook Ron’s hand and feigned an elaborate kiss on her own. Every head in the restaurant seemed to have swiveled in their direction and was watching the scene with interest. “I have the honor to be the proprietor of Le Cochon Peint and please allow me to say that we are so, so gratified to have you dine with us this evening, and we hope that everything is to your express liking. If either of you have a particular appetite tonight, please permit me to communicate it to the chef. He will be more than happy to cater to your every whim.”

Hermione, still caught off guard, demurred. “Oh no, I’m sure the regular menu is…”

“We want to make sure we have the pleasure of your patronage again. Perhaps we could have a quick snap for our Wall of Fame?”

A slender, nimble man appeared to materialize out of thin air by his elbow and before they were fully aware of what was happening, they were enveloped in a explosive puff of purple smoke, the cameraman deftly slipping away with what was assuredly a picture of a supremely dumbstruck Ron and Hermione.

“Fantastic,” the manager beamed. “And when you return, perhaps you would be inclined to bring a friend? A very close and well-known friend?” he finished with an insinuating smile. And with one more effusive “Fantastic!” he was gone in a swirl of shimmering fabric.

Ron and Hermione could only gape at each other for a moment, before Ron set his jaw angrily.

“That was …”

“Ridiculous,” she supplied, shielding her burning face with the leather-bound menu.

“That’s not what I was going to say,” Ron grumbled under his breath, still glaring in the direction the manager had retreated.

“Good thing Harry isn’t with us, can you imagine what that man would’ve done?” she giggled.

“Yeah, probably would’ve dropped on all fours and started licking his boots,” Ron snorted.

“He was fairly horrid,” Hermione allowed, “but the food is supposed to be delicious.” She felt the heat leaving her cheeks as she put the encounter behind them. “Let’s just ignore it and enjoy ourselves. We haven’t been out in ages!”

Ron’s expression was still rather sour, but it lifted as a smart and blessedly discreet server came by to take their order. Moments later a small, round tray zoomed neatly to their table, hovering in midair as Ron took the two cocktails it was bearing and placed them on the table. They sipped their drinks as the tray soared back to the bar, banking a wide turn around a woman carrying a flaming entrée. Hermione was about to ask Ron what he thought he’d order when she noticed him looking down at something on the table with a frown on his face.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, concerned.

Ron looked up at her with wide eyes. “Switch me places,” he whispered urgently, glancing quickly over her shoulder. She turned to see what he had been looking at and he stood, pushing out his chair with a loud scrape.

She rose almost automatically, and he quickly ushered her around to the other side of the table, pushing in what was previously his chair as she sat.

“What was that about?” she asked, bemused, as he took her seat across from him.

“The bartender put her floo address on my napkin,” he muttered.

Hermione laughed. “I told you she fancied you!” she exclaimed. She leant to the side and was just able to catch a glimpse of the sleek blonde mixing drinks at the bar, ignoring Ron’s muted squawking not to look. “I’m beginning to think you have a special fondness for barkeeps,” she teased as she straightened up. “First Madame Rosmerta, and now this…”

“Very funny.” He was quiet for a moment, before looking at her intently. “Has it really been so long since I’ve taken you out?”

“ Oh Ron, I wasn’t complaining!” she reassured him. “Honestly, we’ve both been so busy.”

“Still…”

“It was really thoughtful of you to make the reservation, you know,” she put in, smiling to herself as he scoffed. He had always been so terrible at accepting compliments, a trait she found adorable and exasperating in equal measure. “And even more so because you made sure that they paid their kitchen elves fair wages.”

He snorted even as he deflected her praise. “Well, you know people still try to get out of it if they can.”

“It’s outrageous that we haven’t been able to pass that statute yet,” she frowned earnestly. “Former house elves have desirable, marketable skills, but unless we… I’m sorry,” she caught herself in exasperation. “I don’t want to talk about work all night,” she added, sliding her hand across the table toward him.

Ron grinned as he covered her small hand and with his own. “No mind. It doesn’t bother me, y’know.” He laughed as she raised a skeptical eyebrow, lacing their fingers together. “I always like it when you get all worked up.”

“Hmm, so that’s why you’re always trying to drive me mad.”

“Hermione,” he said in a deeply wounded tone. “Just trying?”

Her laughing retort was drowned out by a piercing, reedy voice accosting her from across the room.

“Ms. Granger-Weasley! Ms. Granger-Weasley! Oh, how lucky to run into you here!”

The startled look Hermione exchanged with Ron confirmed that the balding, bespectacled man bearing down on them was just as unknown to him.

“I’m sorry, Mr…. er…”

“Blunderman, Walter Blunderman,” he supplied. Hermione watched in disbelief as the man spotted a vacant chair at a neighboring table and drew it up between them. “It really is too lucky to have met you here, because I have this fantastic - well, revolutionary, really - idea, and what’s astonishing, truly astonishing, is how few people in the Ministry have been receptive to it.”

Hermione cringed internally as he continued to expound upon his pet project, completely oblivious to his audience’s mounting vexation. The man seemed capable of sustaining an astonishing flow of speech as she waited in vain for him to take a breath.

“…and with your name attached to it, it could hardly fail to succeed, wouldn’t you agree?” the man finally finished, looking between the two of them.

Sensing that Ron’s response was going to be decidedly south of proper, Hermione cut in quickly. “Mr. Blunderman, I appreciate your commitment to the concept, but my husband and I are here as private citizens and… oh look, our first course is here!” Hermione exclaimed, silently thanking the kitchen staff for their unknowingly impeccable timing. “I’m sure you’d be happy to continue this conversation on Monday during office hours, when I can give it the attention it so clearly deserves,” she added sweetly, leaving very little room for disagreement.

After a regrettable assurance to set up the first available appointment and a glance at Ron’s stony face, Mr. Blunderman beat a hasty retreat. With the table to themselves once more, Hermione exhaled.

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Why are you sorry? It’s him as should be apologizing,” Ron snorted. “Bloody nerve.” He looked down at their plates and sighed. “Bad timing, but I have to nip to the loo really quick, ok?”

“Of course!”

“You don’t have to wait for me to start,” he added as he slid out of his chair and set off for the restroom.

Despite Ron’s urging, she didn’t feel as if it’d be right to start without him, so she contented herself with studying the plates that had be set in front of them. The food was elegantly and artfully arranged (not that there was very much of it, but still). Tasteful string music played low in the background, but now that she was alone she couldn’t help hearing her and Ron’s names repeated often in the conversations floating around her. She was uncomfortably aware of eyes on her as she took a sip of her drink and then folded her hands in her lap. It didn’t seem safe to look anywhere, as every face she glanced at seemed to be looking directly at her.

She was wishing that they had been placed at a more secluded table (although she had a strong suspicion that they were intentionally not) when it occurred to her that Ron was taking much longer in the men’s room than she could ever remember. Hoping he wasn’t feeling unwell, she turned slightly to look in the direction of the restrooms and was startled to see Ron emerge from the corridor, ears blazing red and a mortified expression on his face.

“Ron, what…!”

Ron seemed to struggle for words as he retook his seat. “Three women - ambushed me outside of the men’s!” he whispered agitatedly, looking around. “They wanted my autograph, and when I told them - nicely, y’know - that I was just out for a quiet night and turned to leave, one reached around and grabbed my… my…” He widened his eyes and jerked his head toward his lap expressively.

Hermione’s burgeoning amusement was immediately supplanted by a surge of white-hot fury. “Which woman?” she hissed, looking around. “Point her out!”

“I don’t see her! And I don’t bloody want to,” he added emphatically. He raked a hand through his hair, blowing out a frustrated breath. “You know what? Let’s get out of here.”

“And go home?” she asked as she rose, somewhat crestfallen. Though the restaurant had shaped up to be a bit of a disaster - and as much as she loved spending time with Ron in their flat - she had been looking forward to their night out together and was loathe for it to end so quickly.

“No, not home,” he replied, digging into his pocket and dishing a pile of shining coins onto the crisp linen. “That should more than cover it,” he said. “C’mon.”

She took his hand, grabbing her wrap from the back of her chair before letting him lead her back through the artful lighting and tasteful music and into the warm June night. _____________________________________________

“This is amazing,” Hermione raved. “This is honestly the best chippy I’ve ever had.”

Ron hummed his agreement, grunting with pleasure as he crunched into another gorgeous piece of fried fish. He had draped his robes over the back of the bench and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt to the elbow. Hermione passed him a paper napkin and he grinned a thank-you as he took it with oil-slick fingers. She gazed out at the river as she bit into another steaming hot chip, enjoying the light breeze and twinkling lights of the city.

“How did you ever know about this place?” she asked idly.

“Your dad, actually.”

Her eyes snapped to him in surprise, but he was rooting around in the newspaper for another chip. “My dad? But I’m quite sure I’ve never been here. When did you ever come here with my father?”

Ron took his time swallowing before he replied. “Day we got married. So, three years ago exactly.”

Hermione’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding!”

“Nope,” he answered with a smack of his lips. Realizing that she wasn’t going to be satisfied without the full story, he continued. “It was sometime that morning - blokes don’t take that long to get ready, you know? So there was rather a lot of time just sitting around and thinking.” “Not always the best situation for you,” she teased affectionately.

“Alright, alright,” he laughed. “But… yeah, actually. And people were coming in and out - my brothers, and Harry and my dad, but there was one moment where they must’ve been out helping with stuff, and your dad came in. And he took one look at me and I think he could tell that I was in a rough way with nerves.”

“What?! You said you never were!”

“I said I wasn’t nervous about marrying you,” he clarified. “I knew I wanted to marry you for yonks. But I was nervous as hell about you marrying me.”

She peered up at him through narrowed eyes. “That’s very sneaky,” she commented.

“Well either way, I’m telling you now,” he replied mildly. “I was really bloody nervous about messing up the vows, or the rings… or of being a rubbishy husband generally,” he continued seriously. “You know, I always want you to have the best, and there were just a lot of ways I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to give that to you.”

“Ron…”

“Anyway, your dad saw me looking like I was about to Keep for my first Gryffindor match and he took me here. Said there was nothing to settle a bloke’s stomach like greasy fish and chips, and that this was the best place in London to do it. I reckon he was right on both counts. And we talked a bit, about life and marriage and stuff like that.”

“I can’t believe you’ve never told me!” Hermione exclaimed, shaking her head in wonder. The mental image of Ron and her father sat on this same bench, having a heartfelt conversation in their formalwear, was making her feel decidedly emotional.

“Well, it was a bit personal,” he said good-humouredly. He paused. “But it was the moment I really felt like I’d be a part of your family. I mean, your dad asked me to apparate us to London, and you know they don’t like traveling that way. It took some trust. I just felt better, after that.” He looked down at her intently. “And then when I saw you coming down the aisle, I wasn’t worried about being a good husband, because I knew I’d do anything on earth to make you happy.”

There was no way she could resist kissing him at that point, and all the fishy grease in the world wasn’t going to stop her. Her fingers twisted into the front of his button-up as she pulled him closer, savoring the warmth of his lips and the feeling of his large hand cradling the back of her head. She pressed her forehead to his for a moment as they broke apart, thanking the universe that she had this man to share her life with.

The night was warm and pleasant, but she snuggled into his side all the same.

“I think we should come here for every anniversary,” she sighed contentedly.

Ron wrapped his arm more tightly around her, resting his chin on her curls. “Well, I was going to take you to Paris next year, but if you insist…”

She laughed for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. There was no one that could make her feel as free and happy as Ron, in any situation - no matter how ridiculous. Free and happy and safe and loved. It was amazing, when she really stopped to think about it, and it deserved to be celebrated every chance they got.

“You know, it’s almost a shame that we decided not to exchange gifts,” she remarked, casually stroking her hand up and down his toned forearm.

“Why’s that?”

“Because the traditional gift for a third anniversary is leather.”

Against her will, the corners of her mouth pulled up of their own accord as she sensed his eyes boring into her. She finally gave in and looked up at him, seeing his mischievous grin mirror her own.

“I think we can work something out.”

#Romione #Ron and Hermione #Romione Fluff Fest #romioneflufffest #Fic #submission

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anneexploresla · 5 years

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Founded in 1857, @buenavistawines is the birthplace of the California wine industry. I originally dismissed the winery because it seemed hokey and touristy to me, but a local I met encouraged me to check out the historic building and taste the wine from the young "flamboyant" French owner. Sonoma local recs: Bartholomew Estate, Gundlach Bundschu, Sebastiani, Scribe Winery, Wine Alley in Downtown (Galatea Effect, Cochon Tasting Bar, Jean Edwards Cellar, Fulcrum Wines), and the Sebastopol wine region for the "hip, young, and trendy." __ #buenavistawinery #nationalregisterofhistoricplaces #wine #sonoma #sonomawine #sonomawinecountry #oenophile #winetasting #northerncalifornia #northerncaliforniaroadtrip (at Buena Vista Winery) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4kjS7-BsTNVelnskFP2_YQmtBtphwvm6Bo53g0/?igshid=ybduh23xwrq3

#buenavistawinery #nationalregisterofhistoricplaces #wine #sonoma #sonomawine #sonomawinecountry #oenophile #winetasting #northerncalifornia #northerncaliforniaroadtrip

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marymosley · 6 years

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New Orleans For Lent

Despite missing Mardi Gras and coming to New Orleans at Lent, I have had a wonderful time in the Big Easy. In the immediate aftermath of New Orleans, the trees were still full of beads and the restaurants full of open seats. Now to augment the travel blog with some hits and misses.

First, to start with the highlight of any trip to New Orleans, I spent much of a day at the World War II museum. At the risk of being repetitive, I must start by noting the simple fact that the World War II museum is now the finest military museum in the world. As a history buff, I have visited military museums in various countries. However, New Orleans has a museum that second to none and should be a source of pride for all Americans.

I started my visit by again watching the incredible film narrated by Tom Hanks. The award-winning 4-D film, Beyond All Boundaries, is in the Solomon Victory Theater and features military equipment and environmental elements bring a striking realism to the experience. It is an amazing experience as real weaponry rises from the stage and environmental changes connect you to the scenes unfolding before you. I always find the film incredibly moving. It is something that every citizen should experience.

The museum this weekend had historical buffs dressed as soldiers from the World War II. These are incredible volunteers with a wealth of knowledge about the period. It is a sad statement on our times that I do not have a picture of one volunteers who was dressed as a German soldier. He had a legitimate concern that he would be ostracized by a society that is increasingly intolerant and judgmental on such matters. Had I shown his picture, he was afraid of the backlash over wearing a German uniform. Many would simply distress the fact that he was participating in a recreative and educational exercise.

One of my favorite displays is the B-17 “My Gal Sal.” The Flying Fortress developed mechanical failure on a mission and the crew was able to put her down on an icecap in Greenland. Unfortunately, the propellers were dug into the ice and the generator operating the radio would not work without the engines. So the crew used a handsaw to cut the propellors to get them to turn. They were able to run the radio and another crew made an incredible landing in a nearby lake. After the rescue of the crew, the crashed plane was left in Greenland for decades until, thirty-one years later, the wreck aircraft was found and carefully broken down into parts on the icecap. It was then painstakingly restores and eventually added to the museum displays.

The museum is a delight because every corner seems to have an artifact and a story to tell like the helmet with a hole in it from a Corporal Kenneth Kassel. Kassel lost his helmet after landing on Omaha beach. Another soldier tossed him a helmet and said “You might need this.” Kassel was shortly thereafter hit in the head and the helmet saved his life.

There were also the fake paratroopers used in D-Day to confuse the Germans. Some were equipped with explosive mortar rounds to make the Germans believe that they were a landing force. There is an Enigma machine, one of the most classified items of World War II. The capture of the machines allow the allies to crack the German code.

Here are a few more pictures:

I also stopped by the nearby Civil War Museum (previously known as the Museum of the Confederacy). It is the oldest museum in Louisiana and, while small, contains some amazing weapons, uniforms, and tree trunks from Civil War battlefields.

Now for the food. Let’s start with the biggest disappointment. Whenever I return to New Orleans, I am eager to include a blog entry on my visit to the Napoleon’s House. I love the building and its history. For decades, I have returned to have Pimm’s cups and enjoy the atmosphere of the bar and restaurant. However, my visit this weekend was shattering. For years, locals have told me that I was ignoring the slipping standards at the bar. This weekend, I ordered a Pimm’s cup and it was perfectly undrinkable. I have enjoyed the drink for over 30 years, but it tasted like syrup on ice with no little or no alcohol. It was so dreadful that I left it on the table and asked the manager if they had changed their recipe. He insisted that they had not but this was not the drink that has brought many of us to this institution. In addition, the restaurant has lost its sense of identity. It is poorly managed and, while its food was never its selling point, there seems little attention to quality. It has become a tourist trap and it is a real shame to see its decline. I still believe it is worth visiting but Napoleon’s House seems in self-exile.

I have more luck at other restaurants. I returned to Felix’s for my favorite Charbroiled oysters and gumbo. It was fantastic.

I also visited for the first time Cochon. It is a celebrated restaurant and I had their signature oysters dish, ribs, and Cochon dishes. Frankly, I liked the ribs the most (with delicious pickled watermelon chunks on top) but everything was good. I was not overwhelmed by either the oysters or the Cochon (which was a bit dry) but they were still quite good.

My best meal this trip was at Pascal’s Manale Restaurant on Napoleon Avenue. I went there for dinner and it was exquisite from start to finish. I had the Fish Pascal, which is a drum with their signature shrimp on top. It is usually fried, but (in a rare moment of restraint) I had it broiled. It was incredible. The gumbo was also divine. This is a wonderful choice for dinner. It remains popular with locals and offers some of the best local dishes in New Orleans.

Here are a few other pictures from this wonderful city from an Irish parade to a French Quarter marching wedding to a cat grave dressed up for Marti Gras:

New Orleans For Lent published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.tumblr.com/

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tripstations · 5 years

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tripstations’s Top Global Restaurant Picks

our clothes, our money, and especially our appetites. Navigating restaurants when abroad can be an expensive thrill at best and downright cheap and frightening at worst. Followsummer was recently asked to name our top dining experiences as one of the world’s Expert Travelers. So here, in no particular order, are tripstations’s Top Best Global Restaurant picks – straight from the source.

Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud at the Four Seasons Toronto

In June of last year, Café Boulud closed its doors for a major design and menu retrofit. Reviews and the general word on the street had been positive but frankly they just did not seem to be pulling a loyal crowd. I must admit being disappointed with both of my visits to Café Boulud. The food was beautiful, the service stellar but I never felt entirely comfortable in the room. Those out of date, stark, pop art posters stealing focus from that admirable food and worthy service. The room itself did not live up to the crisp, classic, clean lines made famous by the Four Seasons brand. And the food didn’t seem that French to me either. Fancy foams and risottos? Mon Dieu! After a whirlwind seven-week, 2 million dollar renovation, Café Boulud was reborn and rejuvenated with a fresh new look and brand new and very French menu.

Edulis, Toronto, Ontario

Visited by the venerable Ruth Reichl (“So many restaurants insist that the experience is about them: their food, their ambiance, their wine. At Edulis, it’s all about you. They feed you wonderful food – but they understand that a great meal transcends what’s on the table.”), Edulis’s eclectic pairing of French and Spanish cuisines make Tobey Nemeth and Michael Caballo’s small room a delight. Difficult to get to on a cold, white February evening, but so worth the snowy effort. Go.

Llangoed Hall, Brecon Beacons, Wales

Chef Nick Brodie has built his name on a cooking career that has taken him from Hong Kong to London to Bath, ensuring that many of the ingredients in his imaginative yet sensible food come from his burgeoning kitchen garden, harvesting his foraged ingredients when they bloom and adapting his beautifully presented seasonal dishes accordingly. His pre-dinner canapés with a cocktail are amongst the most unusual and delicious tripstations has eaten. Our dinner tonight is an extended and extravagant 13-course vegetarian dégustation: a beautifully presented ribbed bowl of Torched Leek, Duck Egg Mimosa, and Jerusalem Artichoke begins our tasting and finish with Smoked Ice cream, Cocoa Nib and Caramel Sauce, all accompanied by individual wine pairings. Incredible. Many of the ingredients in his imaginative yet sensible food come from his burgeoning kitchen garden, harvesting his foraged ingredients when they bloom and adapting his beautifully presented seasonal dishes accordingly.

Saint John Ale House, Saint John, New Brunswick

We readily admit our skepticism when the Saint John Tourism Rep sent us a list of potential dining spots; frankly The Saint John Ale House did not jump out at us as a desirable Saturday-night-in-Saint John, fine ‘pub(ish)’ dining option. However, we dig in, do our research and discover the praiseworthy and progressive pub food offerings of Chef Jesse Vergen.

Vij’s, Vancouver, British Columbia

Whether for work or play, we always make the effort to wait in line (no reservations) often to be greeted by the great Vikram Vij himself (tripstations has personally been welcomed twice by Chef, not so much so of late that he has become somewhat of a national celebrity) to his family style restaurant. Chef serves simple yet outstanding sophisticated flavours and house-made spices, turning up the volume and giving us Vij’s take on classical Indian cuisine. Call ahead for take-away as well.

Les Trois Domes, Sofitel Lyon Bellecour, Lyon, France

My 50th birthday celebration included a trip to Lyon to sample and savour all things Classic Lyonnais food. Les Lyonnais take their food very seriously with delicacies like Andouillette, Tête à Veaux and Veal Foot Salad a must on their must-eat collective dining tables. Not for the faint of heart and perhaps one of the odder food experiences we’ve had in our travels. The saving grace of the trip was our dinner at Les Trois Domes: let’s just say come for the Foie Gras Tasting, stay for the Foie Gras Tasting.

Rob Gentile’s Buca

is like Italian heaven to us, a heaven where there is incredible food, wonderful wine, and superb service. Heaven was certainly on our minds last week as four friends gathered at Buca for a Thursday evening catch up dinner and to continue month-long celebrations of my husbands 60th birthday. Recently listed at number 17 on Canada’s Best 100 Restaurants, we are greeted by a handsome front of house staff: all smiling, all attractive in a heavenly Italian kind of way, who gather our last-of-winter coats and usher us through the bustling, beautiful main dining room with soaring high ceilings, past exposed raw brick, and iron beams to our waiting table, nestled and tucked into the corner beside the hustling, open kitchen.

Workshop Kitchen + Bar. Palm Springs, California

A surprising new entry into the Palm Springs dining scene, Workshop Kitchen + Bar pushes the foodie envelope with their Farm to Table approach. Owners Michael Beckman and Joseph Mourani have realized a contemporary, somewhat austere Modernist industrial design in a beautiful Colonial building which offers a compelling staging point for their ‘Americana’ style of food, offering everything from wood-fired pizza, sous-vide offerings, duck rillette, pan-roasted scallops, black truffle risotto, to Large Format Plates that are great for a ‘family service’ style evening of shared food and conversation. We left feeling well fed with plenty left on the wooden groaning board if we chose to doggy-bag it.

Spencer’s Restaurant at the Mountain. Palm Springs, California

Booking a table at such a traditional, ‘clubby’, Palm Springs restaurant is not usually our style but the name Spencer’s is synonymous with Palm Springs’ classic style and its historically significant mid-century charm offers a stylish elegance and comfortable informality that apparently was not to be missed. Located in Old Palm Springs and situated at the foot of Mt. San Jacinto, the summer air-cooled, and winter propane-heated patio is legendary with the stunning surroundings matched only by great food and unobtrusive yet attentive service. This was, perhaps our best meal in Palm Springs.

The Whole Earth. Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Just up the street from our hotel and near the very busy Night Market Street in Chiang Mai is a beautiful looking restaurant, The Whole Earth. The restaurant is situated in a traditional Lanna Thai pavilion and appears to float slightly above ground and we sit on a long open-air veranda with beautiful views of the gardens. Our meal is delicious – I have Tom Yum Soup, and the tastes of lemongrass, ginger and chili are divine on my tongue and Greg’s sweet and sour vegetables are lovely – not too sweet. We returned several times to indulge in their yummy variety of Thai, Indian and Vegetarian food, blissfully combining two cultures of traditional Thai and Ayurvedic Indian cuisines.

Fat Pasha. Toronto, Ontario.

Ahhh Fat Pasha. Difficult to secure a place at one of their communal tables but when you do…you’ll be feted with a ton of Middle-Eastern-Meets-Your-Jewish-Bubby food with a focus on the Veg side. Did I mention a ton of food? The Fat Pashas also owns Rose & Sons and Big Crow as well so if you can’t get grab a table at the popular FP, try their other eats. But try to taste the Fat P.

We breeze into DaiLo for our 6:30 reservation and are promptly seated at the choice, beautiful mother of pearl inlay table for 6, appropriate for a rendezvous dinner with good friends in from Boston. I have wanted to eat at DaiLo since it’s opening but like Bar Raval, have just not been able to get to Little Italy to sample Chef Nick Liu’s Chinese meets French ‘New Asian Cuisine’ appropriately hashtagged, #sickasianfood. Heavily influenced by Hakka Canadian parents and ancient ancestral menus, Chef Liu updates his creations with local and sustainable fare while wisely playing to our western palates.

Cochon. New Orleans, Louisiana

Dinner at Cochon in the city’s up and coming Warehouse/Arts district, is a must. The room is warm and bustling with warehouse-themed brick predominating the theme. We have an early reservation (did I mention how busy the New Orleans eating scene is?) and once seated, we immediately acknowledge some more New Orleans lagniappe: as with dinner last evening at Lüke, we find ourselves engaged in animated and unreserved conversations with our fellow diners. Typical NOLA behaviour. Delicious starters of arugula & watermelon salad and a mushroom salad with beef jerky and lemon dressing are followed with oven-roasted red fish “Fisherman Style” with pickled fennel for me, and a delicious soft-shell crab for John.

Atchafalaya. New Orleans Louisiana

A Jazzy-Honky-tonk trio welcomes our rain-soaked feet and damp spirits to a highly anticipated brunch at Atchafalaya. When seated, we indulge in their popular make it yourself Bloody Mary bar, featuring numerous types of home-pickled garnish options (including green beans, asparagus tips, peppers and cauliflower) to top off our choice of green tomato or traditional homemade tomato juices. John opts for the Oysters Rockefeller Eggs Benedict garnished with Apple Smoked Bacon and I nosh on The Boudreaux – sunny side eggs, alligator sausage, jalapeño corn bread, crystal potatoes and creole hollandaise – rainy day wonderful.

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miamisecretescapes · 4 years

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Miami Secret Escapes |

8 Cruises From Miami With Luxury Dining Experiences

#Miami Secret Escapes #Cruises

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easytravelpw-blog · 6 years

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Full text write on https://easy-travel.pw/what-i-spent-a-5-night-road-trip-to-montreal/trip-planning/

What I Spent: A 5-Night Road Trip to Montreal

01 of 07

Upfront Costs

Elspeth Velten

The upfront costs of vacations are predictable. It’s the little things—airport snacks, cocktails before dinner, tipping a tour guide—that can throw even the most well-planned vacation budget off track. In this series, we look at the spending patterns of real travelers in popular destinations, so you can estimate what you’ll actually spend.

In this installment, one couple takes a five-night road trip from New York to Montreal.

Airbnb: $424 for 3 nights

Hotel: 53,065 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points ($795.98) for 2 nights

Size of Group: 2

Continue to 2 of 7 below.

02 of 07

Friday

Elspeth Velten

11:30 a.m.: Our loaner car (a 2017 Ford Edge Sport) is being dropped off outside my Manhattan apartment, but finding a parking spot during the daily alternate side parking wars will be no small task. The driver double parks — like every other car on the street at this time — and I realize I'll need to wait around until 12:30 p.m. to snag a spot as soon as the street cleaning timeframe is over. I go grab a shrimp empanada from the corner cart to make the wait taste better. Cost: $1.50

2:55 p.m.: My husband Charlie is home from work, our bags are packed and we're ready to go. Unfortunately, so is the rest of NYC — it's the Friday before Fourth of July weekend, and the FDR is bumper-to-bumper. I take the first round of driving — Charlie's new here and only has his Learner's Permit, and we're not clear on what the rules are around him driving on NYC highways.

4:55 p.m.: We pull off the road to quickly switch seats, so I can broadcast how cool this car is over my Insta Story (literally cool — air-conditioned seats are something I can no longer live without), SYNC up my iPhone to get the tunes going, and eat leftover gummy bears I found in my bag.

5:30 p.m.: There's a store called Taste NY in the median of the Taconic State Parkway, and you can bet I'll be stopping there. We leave with a chocolate chip cookie, a cheddar and chickpea scone and one cold brew for the road. Cost: $10.65

8 p.m.: There have been some serious storms outside (torrential downpours and flash floods) and driving is treacherous. We need to eat it off. We Google the nearby options and decide on New Way Lunch of Queensbury. It's a dive-y diner, and it's perfect. We go for two hot dogs with meat sauce, onions and mustard, a fish sandwich with fries, and two birch beers. Cost: $24.00, including tip

8:30 p.m.: We gas up before getting back on the road. Cost: $20.32

9:30 p.m.: Are we in Canada yet? No. One more snack stop — Charlie gets a Twix and a water. Cost: $4.35

1 a.m. (Saturday): We made it to our Airbnb! We scored a prime parking spot on the street and had no problem getting into the apartment. Time to hit the sack.

Continue to 3 of 7 below.

03 of 07

Saturday

Patrick Donovan/Getty Images

10:30 a.m.: We're awake and ready to get going — today, much like the rest of our trip, is all about eating. First thing's first: coffee. We find an ATM and then make a bee-line for the first cafe we can find. It happens to be the hipster hot spot Hof Kelsten bakery in Mile End. We order one latte and one cortado to go. Cost: $7.00

10:50 a.m.: We walk up to St. Viateur in Mile End, one of Montreal's two most famous bagel joints. I have my heart set on a lox sandwich, but the location we just arrived at doesn't seem to have seating or a sandwich menu. We confirm that we're at the wrong location (St. Viateur's sit-down cafe is located back where we started, in Mont-Royal) and decide to fit bagels in on another morning. All the better, because we're headed to the famous Jean Talon market.

12 noon: We've made our initial lap around the market, and decide to start first at Boucherie An-Nasr, a brick-and-mortar butcher on the outskirts that's advertising merguez sandwiches. We share one merguez sandwich with tomato and harissa mayo, and one water. It's delicious. Cost: $6.33

12:18 p.m.: Next stop is the market's renowned charcuterie: Les Cochons Tout Ronds. We seek advice on what's best to try, and settle on a 100-gram mix of the spicy and regular salami, and a 100-gram slice of terrine, to go. Cost: $6.61

12:30 p.m.: What's charcuterie without cheese? We head to La Fromagerie Hamel, where we let a cheesemonger talk us into one Quebecoise and one French cheese. Cost: $10.18

12:35 p.m.: The La Boite aux Huitres oyster counter is a must in the market. We ask for 12 Canadian oysters — two each of six types from both the East and West coasts of the country. We stake out two seats at the bar while we wait for the oysters to get shucked, and then down them.

The couple next to us is waiting for a special order of “sea angel” oysters, and when they're delivered, we understand the novelty. They're huge! We ask about them and as our neighbors give us the scoop, our shucker lets us know he cracked open an extra for a different order on accident. One massive free (and somewhat terrifying) oyster, coming our way. Cha-ching. Cost: $23.17

12:57 p.m.: So far we've only split one sandwich and 12 oysters, so we definitely still have room to split a crepe. We go to battle over which type to order, but I give in to Charlie's plan: spinach, egg, ham and swiss. Savory crepes for life. Cost: $11.61

1:34 p.m.: We've finally eaten enough (I mean, not really, but OK). We pop in to Pharmaprix on the way home and leave with a razor, hair bands, water and toothpaste. Cost: $15.75

1:47 p.m.: It's raining. We jump into the metro at Beaubien towards Mont-Royal. Cost: $5.12

2:18 p.m.: We stop in the local depanneur (corner shop) to grab 10 beers and one big Evian before retreating to digest in our Airbnb. Cost: $22.21

6:45 p.m.: Our dinner reservation is at 8:30, so we leave plenty of time to hit a bar for a drink before. We head to Bily Kun, a Czech bar known for its extensive beer list and its stuffed ostrich decorations. We order two small beers by Quebec brewery Brasserie McAuslan: one with apricot and one cream ale. Of course, we can't resist a snack. With our second round, we add a “Combo Jenni” — a plate of nachos with a side of cheese sausage. Cost: $22.28

8:30 p.m.: It's our turn at Au Pied de Cochon.

In researching this trip, I, of course, set my heart on a couple of restaurants that are super difficult to book. With a little bit of help from the concierge at the Hotel Gault (a Preferred Hotels & Resorts property), where we booked a room for the last two nights of the trip, I was able to snag reservations at three of my top choices. This is one of them.

Au Pied de Cochon is known for its unapologetic Canadian menu of rich meats, poutine and maple syrup desserts. The menu has an entire foie gras section! We decide to start with the tuna tartare (how could we not, when the tuna is fresh today, straight from Nova Scotia?), and then share the stuffed pig's foot and a foie gras poutine. We glug through two glasses of orange wine, one glass of red and one bottle of sparkling water, before admitting defeat in the face of half a remaining trotter. Our waitress pours us free shots of Calvados, and takes one with us. We drag ourselves home on foot, and I vow to never eat again. Cost: $158.51

10:27 p.m.: Charlie can't end the night without sugar. He grabs an ice pop at the depanneur. Cost: $1.88

Continue to 4 of 7 below.

04 of 07

Sunday

Elspeth Velten

8:30 a.m.: I wake up, and immediately start to think about what time I should get Charlie moving so we can go get bagels and not have to wait on a long line.

8:45 a.m.: Oh wait, something suspicious is happening. Those are probably just hunger pains, right? Some fresh air on the walk to the bagel cafe will do me good, and then I'll be fine.

9 a.m.: This isn't normal.

9:30 a.m.: Oh, haha, I have actual food poisoning. “It's probably Norovirus”, I tell everyone in my phonebook. Good thing this entire trip wasn't planned around eating or anything. Cost: My dignity and lifelong desire to eat oysters ever again

12:45 p.m.: Charlie looks hungry — he can't do life alone. I try to pull it together for the sake of the team. I buy a water immediately, then make it about two blocks before retiring to a bench to hopefully not vomit in front of Canadians while Charlie goes back to Hof Kelsten for a croissant. I mean, I get it, but, kind of rude. Cost: $4.30

3:20 p.m.: Trying this whole “going outside” thing again. But not without supplies. I grab three individual packets of Advil, a water, and a soda (for Charles). Cost: $5.13

3:40 p.m.: I made it further this time — to Boulangerie Guillaume. I can do this. We settle for just one baguette and an almond croissant, and we walk over to sit in the grass at Mount Royal Park with the cheese and terrine we bought at the market yesterday. I'm suddenly feeling much better (it's relative — things won't be normal again for at least a week). It's Saturday, so the park is alive with the sounds of the Tam-Tams, a weekly drum circle that sprouts up around the George-Étienne Cartier Monument, and the crowds that the drummers attract. Cost: $6.10

7:15 p.m.: We cannot lose a night's worth of food plans. We don't have a reservation for tonight, but I planned that we'd drive to Le Coq de L'est, a hipster tandoori chicken joint way out in the 'burbs. Having a car on this trip certainly has its perks! Surely I can handle some chicken. We order a whole chicken (which comes with frites, cole slaw and house bread) and a Caesar salad. Charlie has a beer. The meal is worth the drive; this is the best Caesar salad I've ever had, and that's not the food poisoning talking! We wrap the leftovers. Cost: $55.20

Continue to 5 of 7 below.

05 of 07

Monday

Elspeth Velten

10:30 a.m.: We are awake, we are in eating condition, and we are at St. Viateur. We wait about 20 minutes for a table, and then order two traditional bagel sandwiches (that's smoked salmon with cream cheese, tomato, onions, capers and lemon) — one on sesame, one on all dressed (AKA everything) — with crab salad on the side. And two filter coffees! I'm a New Yorker, so it's important to me personally to suss out the realities of this bagel rivalry. Cost: $30.42

11:23 a.m.: The bagels are bready, and there are no free refills on the filter coffee. I'm still a devout Long Island bagel enthusiast! On our walk back, we (I) can't stifle our intrigue surrounding a mysterious bakery we walked past earlier with a long line. We find it on the way back, and while I wait in line, I determine they're famous for making French kouign amann pastries. Guess what? They're sold out for the next 40 minutes. I grab a cheese croissant and a raspberry and almond danish instead. We save them for later. (Can you tell our food collection is growing?) Cost: $4.63

12:29 a.m.: We've checked out of the Airbnb and stashed our stuff in the car. Now it's time to do some damage to that leftover stash we've been hoarding. We grab drinks at the depanneur and set our sights on the top of Mont Royal. We're rewarded after the climb with a view and a picnic. Cost: $3.32

3:23 p.m.: Before checking into the Hotel Gault, we decide to drive over to the Atwater Market, another of the city's popular food halls. We meander between the rows of outdoor plants and perfectly preened baskets of berries, and drool over the display cases of pate inside. Remembering our existing food collection, we buy only a Coke and a Pellegrino. Cost: $2.23

4:17 p.m.: We find a parking garage near the hotel. Cost: $13.29 per day for 3 days = $39.87

6:30 p.m.: This hotel is beautiful — our modern room incorporates original design elements seamlessly behind the building's 19th century facade — and we booked it on points! Dinner tonight is at 8 p.m., so we head out early for drinks. Cost: $7.82 for two unlimited evening passes on the Metro

7 p.m.: We go for beers before dinner on Rue Saint-Denis — Charlie picks L’Amere a Boire, and we take two seats at the terrace on the street. Cost: $23.51 for five beers.

8 p.m: Tonight’s the night for L’Express, one of Montreal’s most famous French brasseries. We’re seated towards the back, where tables of two are lined up with little space between, and the waiter is lagging big time. That just gives us more time to enjoy our prosecco before ordering.

Charlie chooses the celery remoulade and the hanger steak, and I go for the bone marrow and the house ravioli (they’re mushroom!). We down a bottle of Cote du Rhone, and end things with an ile flottante and a crème caramel. We laugh through the meal as nearby couples eye our food and order accordingly — we barely even remember that the service was subpar. Cost: $162.09

Continue to 6 of 7 below.

06 of 07

Tuesday

Bota Bota

10:45 a.m.: We start the day at the Titanic café, around the corner from Hotel Gault. They don’t officially serve breakfast — the only offer one type of egg sandwich and coffee. We order two sandwiches, a latte and a macchiato. The sandwiches arrive with scrambled eggs, tomato, lettuce, ham and cheese. They’re delicious, and make up for the fact that my macchiato is actually a latte. Cost: $28.35 including tip (I’m shocked! That’s what happens when you don’t order from a menu.)

11:05 a.m.: Today we’re tackling Old Montreal. We walk through Place d'Armes, and pay to enter the Notre Dame Basilica. It’s worth it to stand beneath the basilica’s colorful interior for a few minutes. Cost: $4.86 each

1:30 p.m.: We conclude our self-guided walking tour at Olive et Gourmando, where we wait for around 30 minutes before being seated inside the bakery. The restaurant is known for its homemade bread and healthy salads. We go for two sandwiches — one Cajun chicken and one Cubain — a raspberry lemonade and an elixir iced tea. This place lives up to its reputation as the best bet for lunch in Montreal’s most touristy area. Cost: $39.39 including tip

2:45 p.m.: We’ve spent the last few days running around and eating — now it’s time to relax and sweat it out. We head to Bota Bota, a 1950s ferryboat that’s been converted into a spa docked on the St. Lawrence River. The boat stares directly at the Montreal skyline, so it’s easy to cycle between the spa’s saunas, steam rooms, hot and cold pools and hammock chairs for three hours. Cost: $102.45 for the “Water Circuit” for two

5:30 p.m.: We’re walking along the river’s industrial edge, and we’re dehydrated. We grab two seltzers from a vending machine. Cost: $3.24

7:45 p.m.: It’s time to head out for our last big meal, and it’s the one I’m most excited for. We grab two evening passes and take the metro to the Little Burgundy neighborhood. Cost: $8.10

8 p.m.: We head into Burgundy Lion for our pre-dinner drink. Charlie has two beers and I nurse a vodka soda. I need to be in prime condition to make the most of dinner! (And my stomach is still a mess.) Cost: $21.87 including tip

9 p.m.: We’re finally at Liverpool House, known for being the sister restaurant of famous next-door neighbor, Joe Beef, and for recently hosting Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama for dinner. Casual. Our table isn’t ready, so we order two beers while we wait.

At a table out back on the terrace, we decide on a couple of dishes to share. We start with the homemade rabbit sausage and a dish of morel mushrooms served with garlic bread, then move on to pork ribs with clams and the restaurant’s most famous dish — a creamy and rich lobster pasta. The waitress suggests a bottle of wine to match: we agree on a 2015 bottle of Magic of Ju-Ju. We’re too full for dessert, and to ever eat again. Cost: $204.40

Continue to 7 of 7 below.

07 of 07

Wednesday

Elspeth Velten

9:30 a.m.: Just kidding! A stay at one of Montreal’s best boutique hotels would be incomplete without a big old room service breakfast. We order two orders of eggs Benedict with ham, one latte and one regular coffee. Cost: $54.27

12:10 p.m.: We’re on the road, and we need to fill up before hitting the border. Cost: $44.01

3 p.m.: I’m back in the States, and I’ve lost all desire to pretend I don’t still have food poisoning. And what’s more soothing for an upset stomach than fake food? Yep, we finish off a trip of fine-dining at McDonald's. Cost: $15.00

6 p.m.: We fill up the tank one more time before arriving back in NYC. Cost: $33.50

Totals:

Accommodation: $424.00

Food & Drink: $968.60

Transport: $159.02

Miscellaneous: $133.05

(As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with some discounted services for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, TripSavvy believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest.)

#travel #airlinetickets #airtickets #cheapairfare #planetickets #travelinsurance #travelquotes #travelblogger #traveller #travelling #travelocity #travelodge #vacation

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tebbyclinic11 · 7 years

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All Day Cafés Are Changing the Way We Eat Out | He...

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By 9:04 a.m. I’m meeting over a bowl of chili-turmeric broth with oat-milk foam (yes, that’s a thing) at De Maria in New York’s Soho. Around us there are post-yoga friend dates and laptoppers and a few more two-tops over which hover word bubbles filled with “concept” and “brand.” Pretty much everyone stops to photograph their food on the colorful tabletops before taking a bite. By 10:30 a.m., I’m taking another meeting for a project with my food consultancy, this time at the light-filled breakfast-lunch-dinner spot L’estudio. I sip a matcha latte served in a ceramic cup that was made in the studio next door and nibble on a slice of zucchini-walnut bread. (I’m describing a real morning in my life, by the way—I couldn’t make this up.) Afterward, I bike up to Noho for a one o’clock, this time at Atla, a sunny corner spot helmed by award-winning chef Daniela Soto-Innes, where the brunch menu, with its painterly chia pudding and its fermented pineapple elixir, is served until 4 p.m.

If I didn’t have so much actual work to catch up on, I could go back to any of these places after nature had flipped her dimmer switch for a glass of natural wine or a juice-y cocktail. I’d share a few plates of adventurous-hippie food, the chefs finally stretching out after a day of styling grain bowls and topping toasts. And I could have this experience not just in New York or L.A. but also in Nashville or Chicago, Austin or Sioux Falls, just, you know, drinking a turmeric tonic out of a wafer-thin tumbler and admiring succulents in their cast-concrete planters, absorbing all the new tropes under an affirmational neon sign.

Photo by Brandon Harman

The midday scene at Kismet in L.A.

For this is the all-day café, the Venn diagram of America’s current food moment, from the healthy-vibing menu to the curated decor to the need to eat while you work and meet. Part café, part restaurant, part workspace, part community center, this is the fabled “third place” between work and home that so many café owners strive to achieve. In the past, you went to diners or bars, Starbucks or coffee shops with single-origin pour-over menus. Now it’s one big happy hashtag, garnished with a watermelon radish—and it’s influencing how we eat, cook, decorate, work, and socialize.

The Food

How did we get here? Back in the aughts, being a buzzworthy restaurant meant serving decimating amounts of pork product, fried vegetables, and poutine, consumed with oceans of booze and finished with a shot of Fernet-Branca. It was an international bro-down as American chefs bowed to the likes of St. John’s nose-to-tail master Fergus Henderson and Pied de Cochon’s lethal genius Martin Picard. The most exciting things in food were sharing a plate of chorizo-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates at Avec in Chicago, and ordering poutine smothered in oxtail gravy at Animal in L.A. As a food writer, I loved the gonzo thrill of these epic food parties, with their loud music, louder chefs, and brazen screw-yous to fine dining (even though many of the chefs came from four-star kitchens). What I didn’t love was how I felt the next morning. Make that day.

Photo by Brandon Harman

Sara Kramer (left) and Sarah Hymanson of Kismet.

And then a few shifts occurred in the food world. In L.A., paparazzi snapped athleisured celeb couples sitting down to raw vegan bowls at Café Gratitude, and, well, who doesn’t want to look like that? Lalito chef Gerardo Gonzalez, who grew up in Southern California, channeled menus like Café Gratitude’s when making the kale salad and raw falafel that put El Rey on the all-day map in NYC in 2015. De Maria chef Camille Becerra has always drawn upon her early training at macrobiotic restaurants and a Zen center. In recent years, though, her homages to the Dragon Bowls that she once made at the NYC macro pioneer Angelica Kitchen have really resonated, bringing her attention first at Navy in 2014 and then at Café Henrie before she joined De Maria last year. With her neon swooshes of, say, beet-tahini dressing and jazzy add-ons like turmeric-poached eggs, her fashionable bowls have tapped a nerve in the food world.

Meanwhile, coffee bars ascended, driven in part by young Australians, who, along with flat whites, brought with them something called avocado toast. Both are an essential part of their all-day café culture, in which savory-leaning breakfast dishes are often served until late afternoon at such stylish pioneers as Bills in Sydney. That café’s influence can be seen at rising Aussie-owned chainlets like New York’s Two Hands and the always-crowded Bluestone Lane coffee shops.

Over on the business side, higher rents meant that it made sense for restaurants to be open for more than one service.

But more than anything, it’s the people running these restaurants who have made the all-day café what it is. All of the women I interviewed for this story—and women are the driving force behind this movement—could have gone the fancy-tasting-menu route when opening their own places but chose not to. Julia Jaksic, who opened the self-described “somewhat healthy” Cafe Roze in Nashville last year, staged at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, then grew to realize that the intensity of white-tablecloth restaurants wasn’t for her. A job with chef Missy Robbins was a turning point: “She was taking her inspiration from traditional Italian food,” Jaksic said. “I realized I didn’t need to be in big fancy kitchens.”

Photo by Alex Lau

Catching up at De Maria in NYC.

Which brings us to Sqirl. A former fine-dining pastry cook, Jessica Koslow opened the seminal East Hollywood daytime spot in 2012 as a pop-up with G&B Coffee to showcase her line of jams. When she first explored opening a restaurant in postcrash 2010, the economy in her Silver Lake neighborhood wouldn’t have supported a dinner-only spot. Besides, she wanted to open the place she felt was lacking in L.A.: something that combined the all-day cafés she’d experienced while living in Melbourne for a year with the “little cafés that make your neighborhood feel like a community” that she’d loved during a stint in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in 2008. In L.A., “there wasn’t any place to go to feel like you could get some work done and feel like part of a neighborhood.” And there was nowhere making the kind of food she wanted to eat, no matter what her mood.

The avocado toast that she wanted to eat was anchored by green garlic crème fraîche and electrified by pickled carrot ribbons and lacto-fermented hot sauce, a turmeric-ginger tonic at the ready. (Koslow had discovered the Ayurvedic brew, known for its anti-inflammatory properties, after hurting her ankle.) Or maybe she was in the mood for a slice of thick-cut toast with jam and ricotta—both house-made, of course. Whatever she wanted to eat was soon craved by Angelenos with a schedule flexible enough to allow for standing in line. Those Angelenos were eventually joined by food writers and chefs from around the world, and before you knew it, all anybody wanted was a Sqirl of her (or his) own.

Photo by Luis Garcia

Chicken with curried yogurt at Cafe Roze in Nashville.

The Style

The all-day café is as much an aesthetic as it is a cuisine. The first-wave iterations, which opened a few years ago now, were marked by brass accents, hot-pink neon, and welcome-to-my-house plants. In part, it’s a look that was ushered in by Amy Morris and Anna Polonsky of New York design firm the MP Shift when they slapped together Tilda All Day (now Otway) on a microbudget in 2015. The duo decorated the walls with geometric patterns inspired by painter Sol LeWitt and designed seating arrangements to accommodate meetings, friend dates, and freelancers alike. Tilda led to commissions for further cafés like De Maria and Golda.

How soon until the design vibe becomes one pink cliché? That’s a full-time challenge now that the MP Shift has been hired to design all-day spaces like Vibrant in Houston and create the branding for “L.A.–style” café Echo in Paris—the concept of an all-day café in Paris being laughable, considering that the city’s had a lockdown on them since the 1800s.

At Kismet, an L.A.–style café that former New York chefs Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson opened in Los Feliz last year, the now-familiar design elements—light wood furniture, desert greenery, cursive pink logo—have been refined. In this case, the neon sign is a subtler dusty quartz. As for the secret to designing a space that looks good at breakfast, lunch, and dinner? “Dimmers,” Morris and Polonsky say in unison.

Photo by Brandon Harman

Natural wine and local produce on the shelves at Botanica in L.A.

The Culture

If all-day cafés share menu and design philosophies that are quietly reshaping the way we eat, cook, and decorate our homes, they share mission statements, too. Behind this moment is a not-yet-cynical desire to be many things to many people, to reflect how they live, to give them a place to feel at home.

“For us, it’s about creating a community space as opposed to fulfilling some highbrow creative vision we had,” Kramer said. In this sense, the restaurants meet the demands of the new freelancer economy, in which a lot more people—like myself—have opted out of office jobs, and, therefore, offices. We need a place to eat while we meet, whether that’s at 10 a.m. or 3 p.m.

It’s not just about the atmosphere in the dining room; it’s also about what goes on in the kitchen. For Becerra, it was time to cook free of male egos. “I’d always worked in restaurants that were owned by men and had men chefs,” Becerra said. So when she was approached by the women behind De Maria to do something new, she was like, “ ‘Yeah! Sign me up!’ ”

She wanted it to be a kitchen where other female cooks could learn from her, rather than be intimidated, hazed, or harassed. “When you’re a cook, you’re working in a kitchen ten hours a day,” Becerra said. “All you want for them to have is a good place to spend 70 percent of their life!”

Photo by Alex Lau

Chef Camille Becerra in the kitchen at De Maria.

These chefs want their restaurants to be places where people can come and have whatever kind of meal they want—rather than have a chef imposing his or her amazingness upon their clientele. “A space that is open all day gives more control to the diners; they’re able to use it in a more varied way,” Hymanson said. She’d had that experience the morning we spoke, after someone ripped the bumper off her old Honda. The garage was near all-day favorite Botanica, so she went in and got a hug from the co-owners along with her coffee. “I didn’t have to be performing, which is how I think many people feel when they go into a restaurant that’s open just for dinner,” Hymanson said. “I could just go there and take care of myself.”

Just today, I understood what she meant. Exhausted by a crummy cold and hit with the realization that my son had a half day of school, we went to lunch at Nourish Kitchen + Table, Marissa Lippert’s all-day café in the West Village. Choosing from bounteous Ottolenghi-style platters, we sat down to caramelized sweet potatoes with pomegranate molasses, brown rice sautéed with ginger and coconut, and more. The service was so warm, the room so lovely, the food so…nourishing, it’s not an exaggeration to say that I left there restored.

On the way out I noticed that Nourish serves natural wine by the glass. I’ve already scheduled back-to-back meetings there next week.

For an all day café vibe, try our take on bacon and eggs:

Breakfast bowls shouldn’t take 2 hours to make; this one is ready in about 20 minutes. Add roasted sweet potato or cooked grains to make it even more hearty.

SEE RECIPE

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5startaco · 7 years

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Raging Cajun Tacos: More Than Just a New Taco Catering Fad?

The cuisine of rural Louisiana is popular everywhere. But put some of the gumbo ingredients inside a taco shell and the real magic happens.

Fusion food is really just a fancy term for combining two cooking traditions into one. It’s happened throughout history, particularly as explorers from one area discovered foods from the places they visited. Today, the fusion is between Cajun cuisine and tacos.

To be clear, it’s not hard to see how clever taco caterers have long known that the fastest way to liven up a party is to bring something new to the scene. Tacos are excellent vehicles for that: whatever can fit well between the folds of a corn or flour tortilla is hardly limited to ingredients typically found along the Tex-Mex border. Korean tacos, taco-Thai and even sausage-sauerkraut tacos have found fans in the most unlikely places. Fish taco catering, in particular, has become extremely popular.

But the flavor sensations of Cajun cuisine bring tacos to a whole new level. Consider the possibilities, mobile taco catering vendors:

Crawfish boil tacos – The basic ingredients in a crawfish boil – crawfish, potatoes, corn and onions, flavored with lemon, bay leaves, cayenne pepper and mustard seeds – make excellent taco fillings

Boucherie/boudin tacos – Pulled from the traditional family events of rural Louisiana, this type of taco incorporates any of the types of Cajun sausages, which are white (pork sausage without blood) or boudin noir, a blood sausage. Originally themed around family parties, a good taco catering company can extend the menu to the overall event décor.

Cochon de lait tacos – As the name implies, this is a pork dish. As an event in Cajun country, it involves a whole roasted pig (a suckling or an adult). Roasted pork with dirty rice, accented with pickled hot green peppers, make this a fiery, filling taco.

Alligator meat tacos – Legally sourced from alligator farms – as well as from non-commercial hunting in Louisiana, Texas and several other Southeastern U.S. states – it is low in fat and high in protein and is mildly flavored with a firm texture. Yes, some say it tastes like chicken. More typically used in a Cajun gumbo, it should be noted that many Asian cuisines consider crocodile meat and the eggs of both species to be delicacies.

Position the alligator taco station near the margarita bar and it might be the most popular place at the party.

If you are planning an event and wish to theme it around a Cajun or possibly Mardi Gras theme, these are some thought starters to discuss with your taco catering vendor.

Be sure to allow the process to be creative. The mobile cart or truck service capabilities of taco service offer many event advantages, including how they make non-traditional entertainment venues possible (i.e., no kitchen required).

#Taco Catering Mobile Margarita Bar Wedding Taco Catering Rasta Taco

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twelvebyseventyfive · 7 years

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A few days of gastronomic overload in Montréal

Deirdre Heekin pouring a magnum of Forardori the proper way

I can’t believe it took me so long to visit Montréal. Canada’s second largest city (with a population of 2 million, but double that in the metropolitan area), it’s a brilliant place to hang out for a few days. I merely scratched the surface, even though I went in hard to explore the food and drink hotspots in the city.

Straight from the airport I headed to Montreal Plaza, gate-crashing a post-tasting dinner with producers who’d taken part in Le Salon des Quilles that day. This featured some of the top names in natural wine, and I was seated next to Alice Feiring, the leading commentator on these wines. Pictured above: some of the bottles we enjoyed. Clockwise from top right, a brilliant Brasserie Dunham beer; Champ Divin Cuvée Stellaire 2106 Jura, a blend of Chardonnay and Savagnin with amazing precision; Morei Teroldego 2015 from Foradori, which was thrillingly taut and dense; Pacina La Cerretina Toscano Bianco 2015, which is an amazingly well balanced, intense skin contact white; Brand Riesling Vom Berg 2016 from the Pfalz; and the strange Collective Anonyme Wine Punx Banyuls, which is intense and powerful and a bit crazy. The food here was excellent – really creative and delicious small plates.

The open kitchen at Pied de Cochon

After this, I headed over to meet Claude Arsenault (Norman Hardie) and MC Lauriault at Au Pied de Cochon, a very highly regarded restaurant that specialises in all sorts of rich, meaty fare. They’d eaten, as had I, so we drank wine and had a classic desert – pouding chômeur.

The wine? A really focused Alsace Riesling: the Kaefferkopf Grand Cru Le Cuvée de René 2013 from Binner. And then some Calvados. Next time I definitely want to eat here, but I need to be really hungry first, I’m told.

Feeling the evening still had some energy, we trekked over to Majestique for some more wine. In the early hours, we drank a delicious Bornard Savagnin from the Jura. I didn’t take notes.

Claude and MC at Majestique

A spot of late night Bornard (Jura)

The next day, lunch at L’Express was a highlight. I was feeling a bit sluggish, but this woke me up. This Montréal institution is a classic French-style bistro, and it is effortlessly perfect, with a really good old-school feel, honest, beautifully prepared food and a cracking wine list. With the food, a Boxler Sylvaner and also a beautiful Bojo Villages from Christoph Pacalet (2016) in all its smashable goodness.

Food at L’Express

This Boxler Sylvaner was beautiful – on the list at L’Express

Then it was beer time:

Reservoir is a brewpub, and they make a range of rather delicious beers, including some quirky things in bottles. We stopped here for a while and tried a few things. This would be a great lunch spot, but we were just drinking.

On Tuesday, after the climate change conference we lunched joyously and simply at Le Petit Alep.

The tasty Syrian/Armenian fare here is well matched with a great wine list, from which we tried two Alsace whites (Alsace was fast becoming a theme of this trip) and an astonishingly good Syrah. The Kreydenweiss Andlau Riesling was a tiny bit oxidative and volatile, but still enjoyable, and the Frick Sylvaner offered a lot of stony, mineral pleasure, without too much oxidative character. The star was the Hervé Souhaut Saint Joseph Les Cessieux 2014, which was the very essence of elegant Syrah. I love unpretentious, affordable restaurants with tasty food and good wine lists. We need more of them.

David McMillan and Vanya Filipovic, Vin Papillon/Joe Beef

Then it was time to do the holy triumvirate of Joe Beef, Liverpool House and Le Vin Papillon, all on the same street and under the same ownership. This is Montreal pilgrimage territory, and it’s worth visiting the city just to hang out on this street! It was great to hang out with David McMillan and Vanya Filipovic. Vanya is the wine buyer, and also has her own import company with an epic list of producers: Les Vines Dame-Jeanne. We began at the wine bar, Le Vin Papillon, where we worked our way through a range of wines, including some really interesting Quebec wines from Pinard et Filles, and a lovely Californian Carignan from Martha Stoumann.

David explained how Quebec has one of the oldest wine cultures in North America: the port of Montreal is older than Manhattan. Samuel de Champlain, who established Quebec City in 1608 brought with him a large array of wines and spirits: his food registers include Bergerac, Jurançon, hams, white alcohols from Alsace and more.

We then headed over to Joe Beef for an incredible dinner. This included the most remarkable fish pie I’ve experienced, among other beautifully flavoured treats, and was washed down with good wine and beer, including a bottle of Selosse Initiale.

Slowed down by this onslaught of deliciousness, but not finished, we went to the third establishment, Liverpool House, where we drank a bottle of Touraine Gamay from Gregory Leclerc.

I need to get back to Montréal soon. It’s a city with European sensibilities in North America. A rare-ish thing.

from jamie goode's wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/canada/a-few-days-of-gastronomic-overload-in-montreal For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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dusudaunord · 7 years

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First Fridays: Montréal’s premier Food Truck Festival

Summer in Montréal officially starts when the food trucks start rolling out. Every First Fridays of the month, from June 2 to October 6, the biggest food truck rally in Canada takes place at Montréal’s Olympic Stadium. Starting at 4 p.m. and continuing until 11 p.m. foodies with a taste for delicious and original offerings can gather together in one spot and purchase food and alcohol from over 50 food trucks spread out on the premises of the Sun Life Financial Esplanade at Montréal’s Olympic Park. Admission to the event is free.

Sampling the best of Montréal

Known as “Les Premiers Vendredis” in French, the monthly culinary festival is the ideal way to enjoy a fun summer night out and sample some of the best dishes Montréal’s restaurant scene has to offer. Lobster rolls, gourmet burgers, pulled pork tacos, steamed buns, decadent grilled cheese sandwiches, mouth-watering traditional Quebecois fare like poutine, crepes and artisanal ice cream, and of course vegetarian and vegan dishes, salads, and so much more. With so many options available, the hardest part of your evening will be narrowing it down!

Food trucks are here to stay

Looking at the massive army of colourful food trucks lining the premises of the Olympic Park, it might be hard to believe that only a few years ago food trucks were illegal in Montréal. But all that changed five years ago and since the city joined the food truck craze it has made up for lost time. Montréal’s food trucks can be seen all around the city in various open-air venues and festivals, supplying the requisite summer flavour to the myriad of events taking place day and night in this town.

Over 50 food trucks to choose from

This year’s edition is promising to be even more amazing and varied than the summers before. On top of the usual mouth-watering offerings like Grumman ’78 (the food truck that started it all), Camion Au Pied du Cochon, Das Bacon Truck, Europea Mobile, Le Cheese Truck, Lucille’s Oyster, Landry & Filles, etc., a bunch of brand new trucks selling savoury and sweet dishes are joining the fun for the very first time. A variety of beers and wines, as well as cocktails will be available to wash it all down.

Une publication partagée par Parc olympique (@parcolympique) le 3 Juin 2016 à 13h59 PDT

Join the party

Thanks to evenko, expect to see some of Montréal’s hottest DJs and bands performing on the premises, making it indeed a party not to be missed. The outdoor venue has seating for over 2,000 people, as well as intimate bars and booths spread out around the terrace so you’re bound to find your spot. This year, the organizers at the Québec Food Truck Association have worked extra hard to add extra pizazz to the outdoor space, adding brand new décor and even an Asian theme to some of the outdoor furniture. Whether you’re planning a boisterous evening out with friends, a romantic date with that special someone, or a family-friendly activity where the kids can run around freely, First Fridays has you covered.

Une publication partagée par Parc olympique (@parcolympique) le 6 Mai 2016 à 16h42 PDT

Dates

Starting June 2, and barring any unexpected cancellations or changes, the next First Fridays for the summer are slated for July 7, August 4, September 1, and October 6. The list of food trucks on the premises is subject to change. Admission is free and the event takes place from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. No animals (with the exception of seeing eye dogs) are allowed on the premises.

Montréal’s Olympic Park is located at 4545 Pierre-de Coubertin Ave., right next to Pie-IX metro on the Green Line.

Up next:Your summer guide to Montréal’s Olympic Park

The post First Fridays: Montréal’s premier Food Truck Festival appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.

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drmavisandco · 7 years

Text

when your boss is a virgin.

— “i don’t understand why mallory won’t let me do this expedition — i’m the owner of the chronosphere, yet he doesn’t trust me with it?” mavis complained as ludwig handed him a glass of coke, the young apprentice was only twenty and while his older brother believed he deserved to get at least one pint, ludwig chose to take the initiative to making sure nothing bad happened to him.

gilbert gave out a disappointed cry as he watched ludwig hand him the coke, “c’mon, west!” he gestured towards alfred, who was happily enjoying his miller lite. “you let al drink!”

“hey, i’m over 200 years old, i deserve this.” alfred protested, taking a proud sip from his beer.

mavis shook his head, thanking ludwig for the glass of coke, “it’s fine, guys, i never really liked beer that much anyway.” that comment immediately caught gilbert’s attention. “mein gott, don’t tell me you’re a wine guy!”

“what’s wrong with being a wine guy, asshole?” romano asked, peering over antonio so he could eye gilbert.

“nothing — and i don’t understand why you’re trying to defend wine guys if you’re clearly drinking beer.” gilbert smirked as he gestured towards the glass of beer that romano already drank half of. romano’s eyes widened in aggressive realization as he glanced towards the glass, he turned back towards gilbert. “i’ll fight you.” he threatened.

gilbert laughed, “go ahead.”

everyone laughed as romano got up from his stool and charged towards gilbert, only to fall into his trap. “let me go, you bastard.” he stated, trying to pull gilbert away from him. the prussian rubbed his cheek against his, cooing, “but you’re so cute.”

“oh, let me get a piece.” francis said, noticing the two as he returned from the bathroom. almost immediately romano grabbed gilbert’s wrists and forced them away from his hips and pulled him in between him and francis. “he’s all yours.” romano said before grabbing a seat next to mavis.

“anyway, about you were saying earlier, mavis: mallory probably just want’s to protect you, you want to explore war but you’re still young and pure, como un pequeño tomate.” antonio said, puffing out his cheeks to resemble romano as a child. the italian groaned in annoyance, “i might’ve been small but i could’ve kicked your ass.” at that statement, francis spat out some beer and started laughing.

“are you serious?” romano complained, but soon enough everyone had joined in.

after a moment of calming themselves, gilbert lifted his glass in realization, almost spilling it on antonio behind him. “i know how you can get mallory to see you as a man — “

“i am a man.” mavis stated.

“hear me out — “ he eyed him, “you sure? i mean, because, you got those really long lashes and i could’ve sworn you were a lady when i first — “

mavis glared at him, “anyway, continue.”

“you’re a virgin.” gilbert announced.

“how did this conversation — “ ludwig began, but gilbert interrupted him. “that’s probably the only department in which you and me have something in common.”

“you’re just embarrassing yourself, bruder.” ludwig muttered toward the ceiling..

“just lose it and then you can go on your expedition.” gilbert said, “then you’ll be a man.”

ludwig raised an eyebrow, “that’s not how you define a man, and if it was you’d be insulting yourself.”

“you’re right, i don’t need to bang somebody to be manly, i have confidence.” he gestured towards mavis, “but mavis doesn’t have my amount of confidence, he’s not awesome.”

“wow, thanks.” mavis said, deflated.

“so what, he has to fuck a stranger?” alfred asked.

“i didn’t say i agreed to this.” mavis pointed out, but they ignored him.

“that seems pretty depressing, a one-night stand? it should be with someone he knows, someone who doesn’t mind.” romano said before taking a drink from mavis’ glass. gilbert raised an eyebrow, “what’s this? looks like romano wants to offer himself up to you, mavis!”

romano spat out his drink, (”someone’s gonna slip on that, guys, enough.” ludwig said) “th-that’s not what i was suggesting, that’s no . . . “ he glanced towards mavis who was giving a sort of look that someone would swoon over, without even realizing it, which was worse. romano chugged down his coke and excused himself, but not before stating clearly that he enjoys women. unfortunately, he said that right into a women’s ear who spun around and slapped him.

the guys laughed, letting him go. “she doesn’t have to be a stranger, all you gotta do is ask for her name and charm her up a bit.” gilbert said. mavis shook his head, “it’s not that easy, i don’t even know what i would say to a girl . .”

“oh, that’s so depressing. mon cherie,” francis said, getting up from his stool and taking romano’s seat. his hands curled around mavis’ waist as he inched closer, making the young man blush. “i’ll just tell you that . . . les cochons rendent mon coq, and i’ll do more with you.” his lips inched towards his neck, teasing him until mavis jumped down from his stool. francis caught himself with the bar and smirked as mavis spoke, “i’ll go find someone, wish me luck.”

“you’re welcome,” francis said once mavis left, raising his hands with pride. “he really needs to learn some french, though.” he sighed.

“yeah,” gilbert laughed, “that was gross!” he exclaimed, taking finishing his beer.

“wait, what’d you say?” alfred asked, confused. francis laughed and patted his shoulder.

“losing his virginity isn’t going to soften what he’ll see when he gets his way.” ludwig warned them, gilbert nodded solemnly. “well, think of it as a consolation ‘cause i don’t doubt he’ll be wishing he was fucking some girl instead of getting shot in the thigh.”

ludwig groaned, “that was an accident, i told you.”

“that doesn’t fix the fact that you shot me in the thigh.”

he couldn’t fathom how he managed to get into this situation, he had encountered a girl sitting alone in the corner: her curls and modest attire seemed to scream innocent and kind to him, so he offered to sit next to her. she was from ohio, that he could remember. but he couldn’t, for his life, remember her name. despite that, he was being led to her car out in the parking lot. her hips swayed as she walked, he gazed down at her thick thighs and imagined them choking him. he gulped, wondering where the guys were. he looked over his shoulder and almost jumped: they had found a spot by the window and were watching him. he stopped in his tracks, staring at them. “what the fuck,” he asked.

“is everything okay?” the woman asked, mavis looked back at her freckled and blue-eyed face. he melted, “yeah — “ his voice cracked, “ — yeah, uh, let’s go.” he said, taking lead. she giggled behind him and handed him the keys as they approached her Jeep.

“kind of crappy, isn’t it?” she said as he unlocked it, he opened the passenger door and climbed in as she sat on the driver’s side. it smelled like pine, he glanced up at the car freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror. “no, it’s pretty nice for someone who doesn’t have a car.” he suddenly blushed, realizing he was sounding lame. but she laughed, so kindly, “why not?”

“i . . i just get nervous on the road.” he said, scratching the back of his head, she chuckled and nodded. “i can relate, it took me a long time to finally get used to the highway.” mavis smiled, his eyes wandered over to the dashboard radio where she had lodged a few cd’s. “music?”

she blushed, “just a bit, bands that nobody really listens to.” she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. he grinned and popped one in, his eyes brightened up as soon as he heard hellogoodbye’s “would it kill you” come on. “i love this song!” he exclaimed.

“really? me too!” she laughed, he went on to talk about his favourite bands, meanwhile, the guys watched from inside the bar.

“what are they doing? how long is this gonna take?” romano groaned, watching as mavis smiled and laughed with the girl, blushing whenever she leaned in closer. “are you planning on watching?” francis asked, romano was the only one still watching from where they sat inside the booth.

“yeah, chill dude, let him take his time.” alfred said, they had ordered some food and he was elbow deep in it. romano sat down beside him and stared silently and impatiently at the table.

“are you jealous?” gilbert asked as he took a bite of a fry.

romano looked up at him, glaring. “no, i just wanna head home.” he pouted.

“we could just go home together.” antonio said, gesturing between them with his own fry.

romano didn’t say anything.

“mavis . .” the woman began, cutting mavis off as he talked about the kind of music he was into during his years of middle school. “that’s really interesting but . . you don’t have to keep talking.” she said, her smile curling into a small smirk.

“what?” he asked, his eyes widening and she leaned in close. “kiss me.” she said, so sweetly. and he did.

her lips tasted like cherry from her chap stick, and they were plump and soft, making him smile. her hand grasped his shirt as she pulled him in closer while his hands cupped her cheeks. eventually she was pressed up against the driver’s side door, her legs wrapping around his waist as he covered her. he felt her hand press atop of his head, asking him to go lower. his lips trailed towards her neck, giving her space to talk.

“i’m really glad i met you, mavis . . . you’re handsome and sweet . . “ she pulled him away for a moment, her blue eyes glowing in the dashboard light as he eyed her. “could you . . . could you maybe, love me?”

“w-what?”

“i know,” she sat up straight a bit, fixing her hair for a moment before continuing. “i left ohio . . . because my fiancee cheated on me and i guess — i guess i was hoping to find something better here in the city — “

“i’m . . . so sorry, but, how old are you?” mavis asked.

“27, why?”

“oh, that’s . . a lot, i mean, i’m 20 but 7 is a big difference for me . . i don’t know . .” he saw the way her lips twitched into a small, amused smile. “shit . . . that’s cute . . “ he mumbled, leaning in to kiss her but her hand came in between them.

“this is a one-night stand, isn’t it?” she asked, her eyes losing the spark and the adventure he liked. he stared at her, a bit surprised but sat back in his seat as she made herself comfortable. “you’re not planning on . . making this a thing.”

“my . . . friends thought that if . . . i lost my virginity, my boss would take me seriously.” he said, taking a moment to let that sink in, “yeah, that sounds dumb as fuck now that i said it out loud.”

“your friends are dumb as fuck.” she said, running her hand through her hair, “what are you gonna do now?”

he glanced at her, “ i mean, i wanted to keep going but i guess this is my queue to leave, right?” she laughed, nodding. he gave her a thin smile and began opening the door before catching a glimpse of her through the corner of his eye. “melissa.”

“what?”

“that’s your name, i . . i just remembered it.” he said, awkwardly. she stared at him before giving him a sympathetic smile. he turned back towards the door and said, “if my life wasn’t . . . as messed up as it is right now, and if i wasn’t confused all the time . . .” he got out and gazed at her from outside, “i’d take you home and bang you all night — “ he shook his head, “i’m not making it better.”

she rolled her eyes, grinning, “come’ere, hun.” she said as she leaned over passenger seat. mavis felt her soft lips against hers and felt content, he was grinning when she pulled away. “i like being a virgin.” he said.

“and i think you’re alright if you intend to keep it.” she said, “give it to someone special, promise?”

mavis beamed, “promise.”

“that took a long time, i feel like passing out.” romano said once mavis appeared at their table, “did you guys even fuck?” he asked with his head between his arms as he rested his head on the table. ludwig had taken a break, so everyone was curious to find out if he lost it. mavis shook his head and smiled, “no, all we did was talk — and kiss a bit — but that was enough for me.” ludwig and antonio gave him a proud smile as gilbert and francis shook their heads in disappointment. mavis sat down in the booth, scooting himself next to romano. the italian was hunched over the table, looking pouty. the young apprentice rested his head on his back, wrapping an arm around his body and letting his hand rest on his head. “get off.” romano mumbled.

“no~ i need you to drive me home, i’m tired.” mavis said, his voice getting muffled by the fabric of romano;s shirt. the guys talked as romano and mavis remained silent, he glanced to antonio who mouthed: ‘i’ll go home with gil, you go.’

and so he shrugged mavis off his back and told him to get up, they said goodbye and thanked the beilschimdts for the free drinks before heading out into the parking lot.

“from what i saw, she looked pretty hot.” romano said once the cool air had freshened their burning cheeks.

“she was . . and so nice too, but she caught on so . .” mavis said, smiling softly.

“would . . would you have fucked her? if you could’ve?” romano asked, hesitating for a moment. mavis stopped in his tracks, the autumn air making his breaths visible. his freckles were hardly visible in the dim parking lot lamps.

“i don’t know, i mean, she was attractive but . . . i don’t know.” he said, “she told me to save it for someone special, so i’ll just do that.”

romano nodded, looking around for his car as mavis kept walking, “this way,” he advised, letting mavis come closer towards him before wrapping an arm around his shoulders. a small smile curled on mavis’ lips.

#chapter #hetalia #drmavisandco #oc #when your boss is a virgin #41617 #long

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