Gastrolust

With one day in Raleigh earlier this week, I had an opportunity for a couple of quick meals.

For lunch, J. Betski’s would be the perfect place for something different. The eastern European menu attracted me, particularly the pierogies, as I’ve been preparing some at home recently. Unfortunately, the liverwurst pierogies with fennel marmalade and sage [...]

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It was back to Boca Raton, Florida last week for a family visit, and the usual challenge of finding good eats. Boca’s not the best place for food (it’s Cheesecake Factory territory), and I had a variety of personal preferences to consider.
Pushing the envelope a bit, I decided that happy hour at a new place [...]

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Like many world travelers, I love to stare at maps. I’m drawn to distant areas with limited numbers of roads, and am especially intrigued by towns at the ends of such roads, picturing romance in remoteness.
Since well before I moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1999, I’ve wanted to visit Tofino on Vancouver Island. Looking [...]

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About a year ago, I reported about a culinary awakening in Victoria, Cowichan Valley, and Sooke. That was based on a summertime trip to Vancouver Island.
Planning a return to Victoria, I wondered: Would I find bliss in more wintery weather?
Snow, ice, rain, and cold weather couldn’t keep me from again enjoying my journey. With thanks [...]

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Actually, let’s first take care of the one November restaurant: Olde World Apizza in North Haven, Connecticut. It’s admittedly sad that my trip didn’t allow even a few more minutes to go a few more miles down the road to New Haven. Being so close to a pizza mecca, I had to settle for a [...]

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This was not a particularly good month of eating, mostly because I was in nowheresville most of the time. Let’s jump in, starting in Albany, where I pulled off the highway shortly after leaving the airport for dinner at Ala Shanghai in Latham. This place has a slightly more upscale feeling than most Chinese restaurants. [...]

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I’ve written up my summer travel previously, so let’s jump to August and a few restaurants I hit at the start of the new school year. My first trip is always to Tampa, but never with enough time to get anywhere interesting. This time around I simply went to Kwan Ming for this dish of [...]

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I’m in airports frequently, with O’Hare in Chicago one of my least favorites for food. So I was excited to learn that Rick Bayless opened Tortas Frontera in Terminal 1. Using locally sourced ingredients, Tortas serves a number of the namesake griddle-baked sandwiches, as well as molletes, which are the open-faced variety. Tortas is a [...]

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Just a few trips in March, starting in Pocatello, Idaho. It’s not the place you’d think of eating Indian food, but I gave it a try at Himalayan Curry & Kebob House. I had time for a quick lunch, so the buffet called to me, and let’s just say that it sufficiently filled me up [...]

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February started with a quick trip to Chicago, and by quick I mean flying from Seattle and then back home the same day. Luckily, this meant a chance for lunch in the Windy (and brutally cold) City, which turned into one of my favorite meals of the year. I pigged out at The Purple Pig. [...]

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