Category Archives: Restaurants and hotels

Hotel Rafayel: new London on the Thames

Banyan on the Thames restaurant, Hotel Rafayel, London
Banyan on the Thames restaurant, Hotel Rafayel, London

The Hotel Rafayel is part of the remarkable 21st century transformation of the Docklands, the East End and South London from post industrial wasteland into the vibrant, upscale, multi-ethnic residential and commercial city London’s east side of the Thames  has become.

Lobby of the Rafayel on the Left Bank, Falcon Wharf, London, UK
Lobby of the Rafayel on the Left Bank, Falcon Wharf, London, UK

Hotel Rafayel on the Left Bank has garnered praise for its attention to environmental details. From components for the actual building’s construction to its water catchment system, its eco-conscisousness only adds to its 21st century 5-Star charm.

The Hotel Rafayel on the Left Bank: sustainable luxury on the Thames

Banyan on the Thames restaurant, Hotel Rafayel, London, UK
Banyan on the Thames restaurant, Hotel Rafayel, London, UK

Rapid urban change has remodeled the river scape along the Thames recreating the bustle of a modern port of international commerce. Except now the product is more than likely to be transported by computer or jet than freighter.

The ArcelorMittal Orbit, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Olympic Park, London, UK (scheduled to open 04/2014 )
The ArcelorMittal Orbit, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Olympic Park, London, UK (scheduled to open 04/2014 )

With a city as cosmopolitan as London, there could only be more articles appearing shortly on Travel with Pen and Palate.

London from the observation deck of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, London, UK
London from the observation deck of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, London, UK

The Tate Modern Gallery is housed in a converted art deco power plant within walking distance along the Thames River walk  just up from the Globe Theater. The clean lines of the sprawling space gives justice to both the subjects and size of many great and imaginative works.  A voiceless short documentary from the Tate is an urban ballet.

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Boise, Idaho, Top Ten

Most state capitals were chosen for political reasons, frequently condemning them to regions of inconsequential and dubious economic value other than politics.
The candy bra at The Chocolate Bar, 805 W. Bannock, Boise, ID
The candy bra at The Chocolate Bar, 805 W. Bannock, Boise, ID
But in Boise, Idaho, an entrepreneurial spirit is resulting in unique pockets of cultural activity.

Boise, Idaho, is not your average state capital

 

Freak Alley
Freak Alley

Brewers Nuts at City Peanut Shop
Brewers Nuts at City Peanut Shop

cafes in downtown
cafes in downtown

Lava Lake Lamb
Lava Lake Lamb

Bedroom in the rooming house: Basque Cultural Center
Bedroom in the rooming house: Basque Cultural Center
Come visit my Boise top ten.

Boise, Idaho, is not your average state capital

The 25-mile Greenbelt along the Boise River in the Idaho capital is a haven for recreation, sustainable river ecology and a pollution free bike and pedestrian path connecting downtown with Boise State University as well as numerous hotels and cafes. This video highlights a spillway popular with surfers and kayakers. Video credit: Marc d’Entremont (travel with pen and palate)

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The Egyptian Theater
The Egyptian Theater

Idaho is more than the land of potatoes

Dinner at Sawtooth Winery, Nampa, ID – Zee Catering
Dinner at Sawtooth Winery, Nampa, ID – Zee Catering

The potato may still reign as Idaho’s number one production crop but in the agriculture section of the Twin Falls Sunday Times-News is a long list of local farmers selling everything from grass fed Tibetan yak to heirloom Anasazi® beans.

Idaho agriculture grows beyond the potato

Salad of baby vegetables & foraged greens – Zee Catering at Sawtooth Winery
Salad of baby vegetables & foraged greens – Zee Catering at Sawtooth Winery

Sun Valley and adjacent Ketchum are by far Idaho’s wealthiest communities, yet that does not mean the offerings at the Sun Valley Harvest Festival are esoteric. From the many exhibitors this journalist learned that quinoa is a complete protein. Salting a sauté pan before frying vegetables prevents sticking. Hemp seeds are high in fiber, low in carbs and packed with iron.

Sun Valley Harvest Festival was a cornucopia of food surprises

Kelley of Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Hearts – raw shelled hemp seeds
Kelley of Manitoba Harvest’s Hemp Hearts – raw shelled hemp seeds

Out in the cooking tents a number of chefs demonstrated a range of foods. Award winning vegetarian chefs to A-list celebrities Tal Ronnen and Scot Jones of West Hollywood’s Crossroads restaurant presented a twist on traditional caponata as an entrée served on black quinoa and toasted buckwheat.

For the complete recipe…

Chef Ronnen and Jones eggplant caponata over buckwheat and black quinoa

Chef Ronnen and Jones eggplant caponata over buckwheat and black quinoa
Chef Ronnen and Jones eggplant caponata over buckwheat and black quinoa

Even unique music was featured on the last day. Spike Coggins, primitive musician, enthralled guests with unique and original compositions accompanied by the banjo, harmonica and percussion instruments ranging from chains, spurs and metal cleated boots tapping out the rhythm on old railroad spikes.

Spike Coggins, primitive musician
Spike Coggins, primitive musician

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An Idaho harvest moon
An Idaho harvest moon

In the heart of Alexander’s empire

Founded in 315 B.C.E. by King Cassander of Macedon, he wisely named the city after his wife, Thessalonike, sister to Alexander the Great. Thessaloniki, as a major port city with nearly 2,500 years of history has been at the crossroads of empires starting with Alexander the Great, followed by Rome, Byzantium and the Ottomans.

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For a city bulging with a young educated population – 15% are university students.

Thessaloniki is always pregnant with culture

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Located at the intersection of the fabled spice route between Asia and Europe has had a profound effect on both the culture and cuisine of Thessaloniki. And its young population has made it a city of cafes.

Oval café creates friendships in Thessaloniki

Fava with squid and raisins from Thessaloniki’s Oval café
Fava with squid and raisins from Thessaloniki’s Oval café

Fava beans with squid and raisins is a favorite among Oval cafe patrons and reflects a reality that the ingredients for Greek cuisine remain easily sourced from their home provinces. Follow my step-by-step recipe with photos and recreate this delicious dish.

Fava with squid and raisins

The Oval cafe
The Oval cafe

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A 15th century Ottoman public bath house
A 15th century Ottoman public bath house

 

A 19th century princess revives Hawai’i agriculture

Not unlike the deep respect for nature ingrained in Native American cultures, Hawaiians saw themselves as simply caretakers. ‘He ali’I no ka ‘aina, he hauva wale he kanaka’ – the land is chief; the human is but a servant.

Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884) (right) & Charles Bishop (1822 - 1915) (left)
Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884) (right) & Charles Bishop (1822 – 1915) (left)

The Kamehameha Schools have committed their vast resources to maintaining this statement as a 21st century reality.

The Kamehameha Schools revive the Hawaiian ahupua’a system

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High above what passes for tourist glitz on the Kona coast of the island of Hawai’i, the town of Hohualoa sits in early 20th century calm.

Overlooking the Kona coast
Overlooking the Kona coast

Holuakoa Gardens and Café is set within lush gardens complete with a meandering koi pond, yet their story of is more than a small café morphing into a successful restaurant; it’s an integral component in the revival of the Hawaiian ahupua’a system.

Holuakoa Gardens and Café personifies Hawaiian respect for the ‘aina

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Original World Travel: A tour company that actually pays authors

Original World Insights has published another article by Marc d’Entremont

Forest Retreat Laos & author
Forest Retreat Laos & author

Thailand, Lao & Vietnam: Restaurants on a Mission in Southeast Asia.

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OWI is a publication by Original World Tours “providing discriminating travelers with “Hand Crafted Journeys to Traditional Cultures since 1997 – extraordinary journeys, news and notes of interest to serious cultural adventurers, and unique personal journals from Original World clients on the road in India, Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Europe.”

KOTO, Hanoi
KOTO, Hanoi

Restaurants can do more than just make fine food.

north Laos
north Laos

 They can help make fine lives.

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Marc d’Entremont is a contributing author for Original World Insights

Chef Mavro and the philosophy of Hawaii Regional Cuisine

“I’m not a French chef,” says Marseilles born George Mavrothalassitis, “I’m a Frenchman who’s a chef.”

Executive Chef George Mavrothalassitis
Executive Chef George Mavrothalassitis

This is not self modesty but a succinct definition of what has made his Honolulu venue, Chef Mavro, one of only two Mobil Five Diamond restaurants in the state of Hawaii.

Keahole lobster with kurobuta pork belly
Keahole lobster with kurobuta pork belly

As a founding chef of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement, it is not a stretch for chef Mavrothalassitis to create menus influenced by Hawaii’s pan Asian products and his own eclectic imagination.

Shirakabe Gura-Sho Chiku Bai sparkling sake
Shirakabe Gura-Sho Chiku Bai sparkling sake

Wine as an essential flavor experience is a hallmark of Chef Mavro. Read more about this remarkable Honolulu restaurant …..

Chef Mavro is Five Diamond Hawaii Regional Cuisine

Diamond Head, Waikiki, Hawaii
Diamond Head, Waikiki, Hawaii

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While wandering the back roads of Hawaii

Outside many small island towns, nature encroaches quickly.

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What seems at first a jumble of quirky architecture becomes a microcosm of 20th century Hawaiian social change.

Small towns off the Hawaii Belt Road rediscover their mojo

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The sacred Waipi’o Valley – boyhood home of King Kamehameha I

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Tread gently in the valley of kings, Waipi’o, Hawaii

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 Lush green grass, the deep blue of the ocean, dry rock wall fences and plump black cattle are as much a part of Hawaiian tradition as spear fishing and canoe racing.

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The legacy of Hawaiian beef at Anna Ranch and Village Burger

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Nearing the Hilo Farmers Market, the scents and sights are a kaleidoscope of sensations.  Food stalls, produce vendors, flower sellers, clothing, crafts, jewelry and a even a seamstress radiate out onto the surrounding sidewalks.

at the Hilo market

The Hilo Market is a trove of cultural curiosities

Spam Macadamia nuts

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Two January Days in the Florida Everglades

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In the 1820’s artist and naturalist John James Audubon lived for months in the Everglades, surviving mosquitoes, to paint in painstaking detail and breathtaking artistry its many bird species.

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The Everglades is a vast subtropical wetland and collection of coastal ecosystems including freshwater marshes, tropical hardwood hammocks, pine rock lands, extensive mangrove forests, saltwater marshes, and seagrass ecosystems. The abundance of wildlife, both subtropical and temperate species, is found nowhere else in the United States.

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Discover it on: A two day drive through the Florida Everglades

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“The worse my drawings were, the more beautiful did the originals appear.”                    John James Audubon

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Florida in its Quincentenary Year

Castillo de San Marcos,  1572, Spanish fortress
Castillo de San Marcos, 1572, Spanish fortress

At best, the European empires who vied for centuries over control of the Western Hemisphere considered Florida a convenient military outpost for protecting shipping lanes to and from the old world. Misquotes, yellow fever, swamps and wars are never good for real estate sales. European empires and American statehood did little for Florida’s economy. It took Henry Flagler – John D. Rockefeller’s  partner in Standard Oil – to create an American Riviera and the state’s first golden age. His entrepreneurial expertise built the Florida East Coast Railroad, a plethora of elegant hotels, the cities of Miami and Palm Beach and revived the oldest city in North America, St. Augustine. From the late 1800’s through 1929, Florida basked in both its sunlight and the glint of a golden age in tourism.

Henry Flagler's Hotel Alcazar, 1888 (now the Lightner Museum) St. Augustine, Fl
Henry Flagler’s Hotel Alcazar, 1888 (now the Lightner Museum) St. Augustine, Fl

More wars, the Great Depression and jet aircraft diverted attention and Florida’s luster suffered from the 1960’s to the end of the century. Yet the 21st century has witnessed a renaissance in interest in America’s sub-tropical real estate and it’s 20th century golden age.

 Vinoy® Renaissance Resort and Golf Club
Vinoy® Renaissance Resort and Golf Club

Florida pink is the color of St. Petersburg grand hotels

The arts are flourishing with the revival of resort destinations such as the gulf coast’s St. Petersburg. The venerable Morean Arts Center (1917) has built a new facility just to feature America’s preeminent glass artist, Dale Chihuly.

Persian Sunset Wall by Dale Chihuly, Chihuly Collection, St. Petersburg, Fl
Persian Sunset Wall by Dale Chihuly, Chihuly Collection, St. Petersburg, Fl

Chihuly illuminates the art scene in St. Petersburg, Fl 

500 years ago (1513) Don Ponce de Leon fruitlessly searched for the legendary fountain of youth and discovered Florida instead. A lot of history and visitors have followed and they all needed a bed. The building that is now St. Augustine’s renowned St. Francis Inn was built while the city was still part of the Spanish empire – 1791. Yet Joe and Margaret Finnegan have never seen Lily even though they have owned St. Augustine’s historic St. Frances Inn for nearly three decades. Of course, Lily’s not a guest…

The St. Francis Inn
The St. Francis Inn

It’s no mystery why Lily stays at the St. Francis Inn, St. Augustine, Fl

An attentive and friendly staff of 14 oversee the many details that can make a guest of the St. Francis Inn forget they’re also visiting one of America’s great historic destinations, St. Augustine, Fl.

Strawberry soup, St. Francis Inn, St. Augustine, Fl
Strawberry soup, St. Francis Inn, St. Augustine, Fl

Recipes from Florida’s oldest B & B, St. Francis Inn, St. Augustine

Bistro de Leon is a husband and wife team matched in their senses, love of food and making people comfortable.

Seafood risotto, Bistro de Leon
Seafood risotto, Bistro de Leon

Jean-Stephane is Bistro de Leon, St. Augustine, Fl, but Valerie sets the style

City walks has tours featuring St. Augustine pubs, ghosts, chocolate and mayhem that should cover anything of importance in the first 500 years.

Athena Cafe, St. Augustine, Fl
Athena Cafe, St. Augustine, Fl

St. Augustine’s Savory Faire walk table hops through history

The first thing you notice when you walk into Meehan’s Irish Pub and Seafood House are the autographed Jameson whiskey bottles that line the rafters of the bar.

Meehan's Irish Pub & Seafood House, At. Augustine, Fl
Meehan’s Irish Pub & Seafood House, At. Augustine, Fl

Meehan’s Irish Pub & Seafood House helps explain the 450 year lure of St. Augustine

Sunset & pirate ship, Clearwater, Fl
Sunset & pirate ship, Clearwater, Fl

You can read all my articles on Examiner.com at:

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International Travel Examiner

Philadelphia Fine Dining Examiner

and

 Food & Recipes Examiner