The two words just might as well be synonyms. Not only do we eat while we travel, but I travel while I eat. Food brings back memories of where I’d been, even if I’m just in my kitchen.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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…
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
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.
Through wars, hurricanes, political and economic upheaval, Seville Square and surrounding Historic Pensacola Village remain one of America’s most enduring Florida gulf shore neighborhoods.
Mari Carmen Josephs, Carmen’s Lunch Bar, Pensacola, Fl
The Pensacola Business Challenge’s mission is to grow the downtown economy one business at a time.
on Palafox Street, historic downtown Pensacola, Fl
Pensacola has a fierce independent streak that has buoyed its success for 450 years as both an important Gulf of Mexico commercial city and a tourist destination.
raw oysters plain & with crab, The Compleat Angler, Orange Beach, Al
“Is it hard work?” asked journalists on an IFWTWA media trip to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Ala. Without a pause in her stride, 85-year-old Ms. Velma Fell replied, “I love it.”
Velma Fell, 42 year employee of Bon Secour Fisheries, Bon Secour, Al
With a sly smile, chef Chris Sherrill’s response to winning Gulf Shores 5th Annual Oyster Cook-off in November was, “eat oysters, love longer.” Ten restaurants along the beautiful white sands of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach epitomize both coastal food and southern hospitality.
Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake, North Cascades National Park, in Whatcom County, WA
With rich farmlands and vineyards in the east, stunning mountain and coastal scenery in the west and some of America’s most active volcanos in between, Washington State is a magnet for travelers worldwide. Known for its apples, the state boasts some of the nations best organic produce, naturally raised meats, extraordinary seafood, world class restaurants and a growing wine industry.
Sunset on the bay, Lummi Island, WA
Pronounced “gooey duck,” it is, naturally, neither gooey nor a duck…it’s a…ah…
Purslane salad with goat cheese stuffed squash blossom fritter, Ciao Thyme, Bellingham, WA
“There was no free casual sex in Victorian society, unless married,” quipped Good Time Girl Hayley Boothe. Along withJane Burleigh, the Good Time Girls provide a unique social perspective on the boom town history of Fairhaven.
Hayley Boothe and Jane Burleigh, the Good Time Girls Walking Tours, Fairhaven, WA
Poland, crepes, or even exciting food, are not connections that normally come to mind, but Magdalena Theisen wraps a myriad of creative fillings in etherial crepes, and customers flock to her Fairhaven creperie.
Magdalena’s Creperie, Bellingham, WA (photo credit: Magdalena’s Creperie)
Following in the path of John Chapman, aka the legendary Johnny Appleseed, it’s a natural progression from acres of apple trees to distilling a clean, crisp apple based vodka.
Whether it’s learning about the migration of the Monarch butterfly, fly fishing or roasting Smacos, South Dakota and Sioux Falls insure residents and visitors that time spent will be worthwhile and make you smile.
Mc Crossan Boys Ranch rodeo fund raiser, August 2012, Sioux Falls, SD
A short distance north of Sioux Falls is Dell Rapids complete with an early 20th century Grand Opera House
backstage at Dell Rapid’s Grand opera House – part of an early 20th century poster.
Of course lush countryside abounds with green crops and a riot of Black Eyed Susan’s in late summer bloom.
Black Eyed Susan’s, Sioux Falls, SD
Small city urban meets nature and lots of outdoor cooking. Keep kids big and small engaged during picnics roasting smacos and whipping up 5-minute ice cream.
clockwise from left: Falls Park & Phillips Ave, Sioux Falls, prep for Smacos, kittens and Sanford Health hot air balloon.
and you don’t need to go to Spain to ride the bulls, Visit Sioux Falls
Bull riding at Mc Crossan Boys Ranch rodeo August 2012
In the early 1900’s, many citizens couldn’t believe the hubris in assuming a 25 year old incorporated city of less than 20,000 justified such a palace to learning. Some 100 years later it’s the jewel of Sioux Falls cultural life.
South Dakota may be the land of corn, cakes and chislic, but a menu is just as likely to include buffalo meatballs, pheasant wrapped in bacon and walleye fish cakes on a bed of micro greens.
In the land of Bruegel, chocolate and mussels, the lush green land of Flanders is punctuated by towns of extraordinary beauty. Medieval castles, Renaissance houses, canals and cafes are in view with every convoluted turn in the ancient streets. Yet in Brussels, larger than life cartoon wall art decorates, and compliments, its historic core.
wall art in Brussels depicting popular Belgian cartoon characters
In four days, VisitFlanders introduced me to three cities rich in layers of culture, four restaurants bursting with layers of flavor as well as beer and chocolate as it ought to be enjoyed. Articles, as they appear, will be added to this post, so please check back often.
Dominique Personne chocolates, Brugge, for Hertog Jan and Gruut Brown herb beer, Gent
Flanders, today, is at the vanguard of a new wave in international gastronomy that’s pairing the freshest of locally sourced ingredients with 21st century culinary techniques.
The mild climate may have favored Flanders own agricultural abundance, but access to the world through trade constantly brought new products, such as the potato and chocolate, fueling today’s Michelin starred restaurants, creating chocolate beer and celebrity chocolatiers, although Dominique Personne is considered the bad boy of Brugge – watch the You Tube video in my latest article.
Dominique Personne with chocolate gun and the Chocolate Shooter
Ghent’s de Vitrine is Kobe Desramaults little city bistro. Yet the secret these young chefs are revealing is simple, fresh regional ingredients treated with respect and given pride of place. “I think about the vegetable,” Speybreck says, “not what meat or fish it goes with. What can I do with a nice cauliflower. Each ingredient has its own place.”
Neal’s Yard, LondonOrange marmalade with gold leaf
Amidst the frenzy of summer in London, it’s comforting to know that scotch eggs and marmalade with gold leaf can still be part of your customized picnic basket from Fortnum & Mason. In three hours, Context Travel’s Janine Catalano narrates a three century evolution in British gastronomy with “a walk through central London from less than a common perspective.”
Roasted Bone Marrow with toastSt. John Bar & Restaurant, London
Chef Fergus Henderson’s 1999 book, “Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking,” caused a sensation when published. It placed Chef Henderson and St. John’s at the forefront of an omnivore movement, in direct opposition to modern meat consumption, in which the whole animal is eaten – trotters, tripe, kidneys, heart, sweetbreads …
It would be easy to walk right past The Little French Restaurant on London’s narrow Hogarth Street. The diminutive road, opposite Earls Court underground station, is lined with at least a half dozen small cafes, shops and quaint flower bedecked townhouses. Yet a passerby would be hard pressed to dine in a more charming French bistro.
Grilled goat cheese at The Little French Restaurant, London
Grilled calamari stuffed with cheese, As Greet As It Gets, London
Not only is London’s population a polyglot of the former empire, but Britons have embraced an unprecedented broadening of their culinary palate. As Greek As It Gets, a restaurant in fashionable Earls Court, says it all in words and in the authenticity of its menu offerings.
“The idea of the Laos government is to become the battery of Southeast Asia,” Robert Zoellick, World Bank president, Time, 12/09/2010
According to the teachings of the Buddha, life is comparable to a river. It moves from cause to cause, effect to effect, one point to another, one state of existence to another, giving an outward impression that it is one continuous and unified movement, where as in reality it is not. So does life. It changes continuously, becomes something or other from moment to moment. (The Buddhist Concept of Impermanence)
Is Laos in the 19th century racing towards the 21st? Not since the 1970’s has this most relaxed of southeast Asian societies faced the prospect of monumental changes globalization is bringing to this ancient land. In a series of articles for Suite101 and the Examiner, I explore these shifting forces even as I experience centuries of tradition.
Muang Ngoi on the Nam Ou, Laos
Forested mountains and ethnic villages may dominate photos of northern Laos, but it’s the region’s swift rivers an energy hungry southeast Asia covets.
In the misty mountain provincial capital of Luang Namtha in northern Laos, a mere 50 miles from the Chinese border, a traveler would not normally expect to enjoy a perfect grilled cheese sandwich, stuffed with banana, while sipping a shot of Lao Lao.
In the far north of Laos, overlooking the swift flowing Nam Oh River as it cuts a path through towering forest covered limestone mountains, the Nong Kiau Riverside Resort and Restaurant melts into the lush countryside.
An aromatic mix of onions, garlic, herbs and chili enveloping slices of fresh fish fillet may be the ingredients for Mok Pa, but the banana leaves are the secret.
Travel with Pen and Palate 
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