Close User Name Password
Login Register
Travel alerts straight to your inbox:
 

Tag: Food Travel View All Tags

Tags: / / / / / /

Laurine Wickett Of 'Top Chef' Gives Left Coast Some Market-Fresh Options

November 5, 2009 at 3:29 PM | by Heidi Atwal | 0 Comments

This week's cheftestant profile involves travel to you, rather than a self-initiated jaunt to a cast member's restaurant. Laurine Wickett, whose tenure on Top Chef effectively ended after what is arguably the show's most difficult challenge, "Restaurant Wars," has since returned to San Francisco where she runs Left Coast Catering.

New York born, but Northern California bred—at least in the culinary sense—Laurine incorporates the Bay Area's various cultural influences into market-fresh menus for her clients. Whether left coast parents planning a Bat Mitzvah or bride-to-be hosting a dessert reception, Laurine will provide you with options galore. We perused some of her sample menus online, which reflect a flavorful Californian approach to cooking while turning to other regions of the world for inspiration. She does everything from sushi stations to steak and french fries, on the same menu if you'd like guests to have multiple options. Her ill-fated Pork Rillette (or, as Dana Cowin punishingly put it, "cat food") made no appearance on any of the menus we saw.

more ›

Tags: / / / / / /

Some News From Philly That's Not World Series-Related

November 4, 2009 at 4:29 PM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

How do you enjoy Restaurant Week menus and prices without it actually being Restaurant Week? Well, if you're in Philadelphia, all you've got to do is book your hotel stay on withlove.gophila.com, and you'll receive all the details on the hotels where you can dine on discount prix-fixe menus through December 30.

Restaurants featured run the gamut, from super swish 4-course meals at Lacroix at The Rittenhouse to fresh Italian at Positano Coast. And since we promised Restaurant Week prices, you'll be happy to hear the the 3-to-4-course meals are all either $20, $30 or $35 per person. We're guessing that Lacroix is up at the $35 end, but menu choices aren't piddly; think "prime rib, crab imperial, handmade orecchiette and olive oil-poached Scottish salmon."

more ›

Tags: / / / / / /

Neighborhoods You Need To Know And Go: Chicago's Chinatown

November 3, 2009 at 3:09 PM | by Jennifer Kester | 0 Comments

Head to the near South Side to see one of Chicago's best and most hopping ethnic neighborhoods, Chinatown. Along Cermak and Wentworth Avenues, you'll find a slew of yummy-smelling restaurants, gift shops and teahouses.

Find out what there's to see, do and—most importantly—eat, while you're exploring Chinatown after the jump.

more ›

Tags: / / / / / / /

Ash Fulk Cooks Up Friendly Swiss Fare at Trestle on Tenth, But Maybe Not For Padma

Where: 242 TENTH AVENUE [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001
October 29, 2009 at 2:24 PM | by Heidi Atwal | 0 Comments

Northern California native Ash Fulk didn't have it easy during his run on Top Chef. He didn't win one challenge on the show, and was eventually asked to pack his knives and head back to New York City, where he serves as a Sous Chef at Trestle on Tenth. The Swiss-French-American restaurant is a neighborhood-y locale open for breakfast, brunch (on weekends), lunch and dinner, making it a go-to spot for Chelsea diners looking for elevated comfort food. And schnitzel.

Trestle's menus aren't intimidating in the way that many contemporary, haute cuisine restaurants tend to be. Here you'll find familiar dishes with a Swiss-French influence that makes them just different enough to be memorable, without being too perplexing or stomach-turning. We're still wondering why fellow TC contestant Hector would dare include Tofu Ceviche on his menu. No, Trestle is where you'll find a Signature House Burger, Cobb Salad, Roasted Chicken with Seasonal Vegetables in Consommè, and Coriander Hanger Steak.

more ›

Tags: / / / / / /

Neighborhoods You Need To Know And Go: Chicago's Lincoln Square

October 29, 2009 at 12:04 PM | by Jennifer Kester | 0 Comments

When tourists come to Chicago, oftentimes they don't venture beyond downtown. Because this common, but easily remediable mistake, they miss out on of Chicago's best assets: its diverse neighborhoods. Lincoln Square is one such 'hood.

Once the city's German enclave, the North Side nabe now is known for the hip shops and cool cafes, restaurants and bars that line Lincoln Avenue. Plus, it's the best place to hear folk music in the city and belly up to the bar for a foamy brew. Be sure to let us know in the comments if you love Lincoln Square as much as us, and if you have any favorite spots we should know about. But for now, let's get to the meat of it with our top picks for what to do now in Lincoln Square:

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

Red Velvet Pancakes and More at LA's Larchmont Bungalow

Where: 107 N. Larchmont Street [map], Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90004
October 26, 2009 at 3:47 PM | by Heidi Atwal | 0 Comments

Red Velvet Pancakes at the newly opened Larchmont Bungalow.

The scene on Los Angeles' Larchmont Boulevard yesterday morning was a zoo, literally. The Annual Street Fair brought out families in droves, with a petting zoo, pony ride station, rock climbing wall, and other carnival-esque activities to regale locals and their overstimulated, hopped-up on cotton candy kids.

Larchmont is a quaint pocket of LA, "neighborhood-y" in the best possible way. This is the street where everyone really does know your name, lined with a mixture of small, independently-owned boutiques and restaurants and a few chains, too. The requisite Pinkberry and Coffee Bean are alive and kicking, rest assured. This weekend, a new restaurant called the Larchmont Bungalow joined the street's business brood, and we decided to duck past the sponge throwing station to sample their brunch menu.

more ›

Tags: / / / /

Take Some Louisiana Flavor Home From A Tabasco Sauce Factory

October 23, 2009 at 4:00 PM | by egw | 0 Comments

Become an informed consumer while still on vacation! Check out Jaunted's newest series of the best factory tours the world over.

Put some spice in your next trip by seeing the forest preserve where the multi-plumed Tabasco bird romps and plays. Okay, that's not really how Tabasco sauce is made, but if you never visit its Louisiana factory, how will you know for sure? No wonder it made Travel and Leisure's list of the coolest factory tours in the world.

more ›

Tags: / / / /

Jump (Onto A) Ship With Real-Life Top Chefs

October 22, 2009 at 4:03 PM | by Heidi Atwal | 0 Comments

Sail away with Jacques Pepin

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Top Chef restaurant profile with food news of a different sort. Today, instead of highlighting an aspiring top chef, we're calling attention to a few names who earned their stripes after years in the industry and a consistent record of putting out great food. Nothing against the current crop of Vegas hopefuls, but there is something to be said for gaining cred in the days preceding reality television.

Some of these real-life top chefs, like Nancy Oakes of San Francisco's Boulevard and Jacques Pepin, will be joining 2010's Food & Wine Trails cruise roster, allowing fans to follow them to the ends of the Earth, in a manner of speaking.

As you can guess, deck volleyball isn't a high priority on-board. Travelers are there for tastings and pairings alongside some of the country's most famous wine makers, with stops at European cities and wineries—not one of those oh-so-perky family resorts you see advertised on television.

more ›

Tags: / / / / / /

Go Balls-Out at Huntley's Turkey Testicle Festival

Where: 11721 Main St. [map], Huntley, IL, United States, 60142
October 21, 2009 at 12:12 PM | by Jennifer Kester | 0 Comments

When November comes around, people's mouths water for turkey—be it the white meat, dark meat or wings. Then there are those who salivate for turkey balls. Seriously. In Huntley, a small suburb about 45 minutes west of downtown Chicago, turkey scrota are as much a Thanksgiving tradition as stuffing at the annual Turkey Testicle Festival, which will swing into town on November 25.

What began as a local tradition has become a draw for tourists. Last year, more than 3,900 people turned out to to the Parkside Pub, the festival's home base, to munch on 1,280 pounds of turkey testes. The small bits—no offense to male turkeys—are coated in breadcrumbs and then cooked crispy in a deep fryer. They taste gamey, like chicken, or so we're told. Some douse them in ketchup or Tabasco, but most people just eat them plain. The bar usually sells out of the treats by 9:30 p.m.

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

dineLA Restaurant Week Turns Into Restaurant Month

October 19, 2009 at 2:58 PM | by Heidi Atwal | 0 Comments

Los Angeles foodies, cleanse your palates and rev up your digestive systems, because dineLA Restaurant Week is extending for yet one more week. Originally slated to run from October 4-9, it stretched through the 16th, and now through the 23rd. In that case, shouldn't it be called Restaurant Month? No matter, because the extension is to your benefit, giving local restaurant-goers the chance to sample some of the city's best eateries for a mere fraction of what it would normally cost to dine at them.

Here's how it works: Go online and take a look at the list of over 200 participating restaurants, choose where you'd like to eat, and make a reservation by calling them directly or via OpenTable. As a friendly tip, we suggest telling your maître d' and server upon arrival that you have joined them as a dineLA Week patron, for two important reasons: 1) You want to make sure that you're getting the adjusted rate, which ranges from $16-44, depending on which price tier of restaurant you choose, and whether you're eating at lunch or dinnertime, and 2) You can't just go about ordering whatever items you want. The restaurants have crafted special dineLA menus for the occasion—three courses of some of their chef's best.

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

North Carolina's Ready To Go Hog Wild For Its Barbecue Festival

October 16, 2009 at 2:23 PM | by kjb | 0 Comments

There’s loads of food festivals dedicated to different kinds of snacks, fried things, and other goodies. However, the key to finding a good festival is to seek out the festival that best represents a famous foodstuff. That’s where Lexington, North Carolina comes in with its annual Barbeque Festival. No clever name here, it just is what it is, and it celebrates one thing—delicious smoked pork.

Annual festivities have been running for over a quarter century, and every year the town’s population swells as over 100,000 visitors hit the town to check out the latest and the greatest related to all things barbeque. The town is famous for their vinegar-based sauce; so don’t come here looking for some super-sweet ribs or brisket. They might have some other cuts of meat for out of towners, but it’s primarily going to be pork shoulder that you’ll be enjoying. Just make sure you save room for some of the area's unique coleslaw. It’s like regular slaw except you replace the mayonnaise dressing with one based on the almighty power of ketchup—don’t knock it until you try it.

more ›

Tags: / / / / / / / /

Get Cozy With Top Chef's Mattin In San Francisco

Where: 701 Union Street [map], San Francisco, United States, 94133
October 15, 2009 at 5:08 PM | by Heidi Atwal | 1 Comment

As we uphold our weekly tradition of highlighting ex-cheftestants, giving due attention to the poor souls that didn't make it to the Final Three, we arrive at sprightly French chef Mattin Noblia. With a million-watt smile and red neckerchief that we hope he was wearing ironically, Noblia stole our hearts for being so disarmingly sweet...or maybe it was the accent. Either way, Padma and Co. bid Mattin au revoir after he presented a disastrous ceviche that Tom Colicchio found so offensive he actually spit it out. Tragic.

When he's not flashing his boyish grin on national television, Mattin can be found at Iluna Basque, his San Francisco restaurant. As you can guess from its name, the cuisine is inspired by the Basque region, served up on small plates that diners are encouraged to share.

more ›