Tag Archives: cupcakes

When your only requirement is an internet connection

Dawn on Boca de Ciega Bay, St. Petersburg, FL
Dawn on Boca de Ciega Bay, St. Petersburg, FL

I’ve not posted on Travel with Pen and Palate since May.  After many years in Philadelphia a permanent move to a warm climate was the order from my very intelligent wife.  After all why not?

Maximo Seafood Shack, St. Petersburg, FL
Maximo Seafood Shack, St. Petersburg, FL

As a travel writer my only requirement is an internet connection. I’m not a stranger to living in a  warm climate. I spent nine years at the start of my career in Puerto Rico. I love traveling to warm climates, and on the USA mainland Florida is our tropics.

a silver afternoon on Boca de Ciega Bay
a silver afternoon on Boca de Ciega Bay

No doubt selling a house, packing up three decades of art and antiques and moving to St. Petersburg, FL, does disrupt a writing and traveling schedule. I’ve had to turn down several great press trip invitations including  El Salvador and Italy because my wife somehow thinks I should be involved in house hunting…yes, we moved without first knowing where we were going to live. Of course we had no way of knowing our house would sell in 6 days…but that’s all part of adventure.

Adventure for me as a culinary and culture travel writer is focusing on what makes a destination exciting for those who already call it home.  A tourist can always find the best beach,  the newest luxury hotel or today’s trendy restaurant by simply spending time on social media.

this cricket makes gardeners cringe in FL
this cricket makes gardeners cringe in FL

But will they discover the best cupcake? Will they think that discovery will be found in an art museum that features the glass work of Dale Chihuly? Or that an effusive city booster will be a Scot immigrant of 20 years who’s your server in a terrific cafe? I’ve discovered that and much more in my first three weeks in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Want to know about the cupcake…and Picasso’s lover…and a city that’s become a cultural mecca…with good beaches?

Please read more…

Cupcakes and fine art in St. Petersburg Florida

 

Cupcakes as edible art at the Morean Arts Center
Cupcakes as edible art at the Morean Arts Center

 

You can read all my articles and subscribe to my Examiner columns at:

Hellenic News of America

Original World Insights

Culinary Travel Examiner

 International Dining Examiner

International Travel Examiner

Philadelphia Fine Dining Examiner

Food & Recipes Examiner

Suite 101

 

Sunset over Boca de Ciega Bay, St. Petersburg, FL
Sunset over Boca de Ciega Bay, St. Petersburg, FL

This is the face of Maine

And why not.  Buzzy’s a fourth generation Maine fishermen.

Buzzy, Harbor Fish Market, Portland, Maine

Lobsters rule in Maine. Someone has to catch, and someone has to cook.

front & back of Harbor Fish Market

Buzzy can tell you anything you want to know about today’s catch – it’s that fresh at

Portland’s Harbor Fish Market and J’s Oyster.

Harbor Fish Market

Now for cooking….

Kerry Altiero is Maine’s 2012 lobster chef of the year

Chefs Melissa Bouchard, Mackenzie Arrington and Kerry Altiero

And the future’s already here…

The next generation of chefs excel at Portland’s 2012 Cutting Edge competition

Chef Michelle Ragussis w/students from Washington County Community College
Chef Michelle Ragussis w/students from Washington County Community College

But not all is fish…

Love Cupcakes has a special niche in Portland, Maine

Love Cupcakes, Portland, Maine

Portland has a long tradition of seagoing trade that brought exotic goods to New England

Garam masala is the secret at Portland, Maine’s Passage to India

lamb rezala at Passage to India
lamb rezala at Passage to India

and then there’s caviar…

Chef Timothy Labonte
Chef Timothy Labonte

Chef Timothy Labonte unleashes his talent at the Portland Harbor Hotel

Portland Harbor Hotel redefines Maine cuisine

Portland harbor, Maine

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

lobster boat in fog, Portland, Maine
lobster boat in fog, Portland, Maine