Farsighted Fly Girl

Montreal is a foodie paradise. Whatever cuisine or dining experience you desire, you will find an excellent version in Montreal. The restaurant scene bubbles with cafes, chic dining spots and casual eateries on every other corner. But there are a few culinary requirements for every visitor. You must try an authentic Montreal bagel and you must sample poutine. Bagels are a very serious thing in Montreal. They were brought by Eastern European Jews in the early 20th century and they quickly grew into an essential Montreal food. Now I'm not a huge bagel fan but Montreal bagels differ from the more familiar New York bagel. Montreal bagels are smaller, sweeter and less doughy. They are cooked in a honey water solution and then baked in a wood fire oven. They are not meant to be sliced but are munched warm from the oven and dunked in flavored creme cheese if you like. There's a contentious rivalry between Fairmount and St, Viateur Bagel Shops and locals pledge their alleg...

I moseyed down to Texas to experience the Culinaria food and wine festival and all I can say is like everything else, Texans do food big. I'm not just talking about portions, I'm talking about the sheer variety of dishes and flavors offered. My first dive into San Antonio's food scene was at the Food Truck Event, which  featured 14 popular food trucks offering everything from duck confit tacos to bourbon bacon brownies. To say the least, I was intrigued. And so was everyone else. Food truck culture runs deep in San Antonio, a reported 2,000 people crammed into a parking lot to sample these street food treats. The lines were long and the people were friendly. It reminded me of a more laid back Taste of Chicago, without so much jostling. I was instantly taken by the charm and quirkiness of the trucks.  This one above, its name a clever take on satiate, was the most popular. It's hot young chef served up wagyu beef sliders and duck fat fries for 40-50...

I knew something was horribly amiss when I heard about the lines.  Lines snaking down long city blocks. In the rain, the cold, the snow. People waiting for HOURS, only to be turned away when the meager supply ran out. Chicago is a foodie town. Not in a highfalutin, Michelin star kind of way but in a it's- the -Midwest -and- we- like- to -eat, kind of way. We will jump on the latest foodie trends. We will sample newfangled ingredients and down weird beverages. But we do not do lines. All that New York, LA, velvet rope/insane waits because it's the hot spot has never worked in Chicago.  Many a New York or LA outpost has found their hipster dreams shattered in Chicago because we will shut a place down before we wait in unnecessary lines. It just insults our practical Midwestern sensibility.  So when I heard tales of crazy lines at the Doughnut Vault,   a closet-sized shop with a 1/2 in its address and a rotation of only five flavors of $3 doughnuts, I...

I love tropical fruit, the more exotic, the better.  Whenever I travel to the Caribbean, I make a point of visiting the local markets or vendors for local fruit. In St. Kitts, genips, shown above, are sold on almost every street corner of Basseterre. Genips are like lychees, you peel them and suck out the pulp, around the seed which is slimy and slightly sweet. Figs are what Kittitians call the miniature bananas pictured above. I don't like bananas but I do enjoy figs, which are sweeter and creamier than the bananas grown in the U.S. Sea grapes grow on towering trees that tend to grow near the sea. This sweet fruit is also sold by many street vendors in St. Kitts. There's nothing like nibbling on a juicy bunch, as the sun warms your shoulders. Do you have a favorite fruit that you discovered on your travels?

I am recovering from a chocolate hangover. Like a love hangover, it has no cure.  It all started when I grabbed a Groupon for  Chicago Chocolate Tours . Chicago boasts a long candy history and naturally, I'm very familiar with most of it but my husband isn't ( he just likes chocolate, not sugar in all forms). So we signed up for the Gold Coast Chocolate Tour and met are tour guide Jenny, above in the lobby of Bloomingdale's. Even though I possess a serious sweet tooth, I confess that I was not equipped to down pounds and pounds of chocolate over 21/2 hours. We started at More cupcakes, a tiny gourmet cupcake boutique aimed toward cupcake snobs, which includes me.  As you can see from the display above, the shop carries a dazzling array of flavors, including savory versions like maple bacon, goat cheese basil and blue cheese walnut praline. We sampled a tasting size of the chocolate fudge cupcake that was rich and moist. We planned to head back to stock up on red ve...

This is a new one on me. I know people love their pig. Give them bacon, pork chops, sausage and bellies but I didn't know pig feet were quite so beloved.  But I know now.  I did a piece on the wonderful Taste Harlem Food Tour for Relish Magazine and it came out last week.  I wrote the article on the details of the three-hour, high energy tour which serves up heaping doses of Harlem food and culture in the form of soul food dishes, Dominican delicacies and Senegalese samplings. In between the food, owner Jackie Orange illustrates with historical tidbits and cultural facts. Well, the story was severely edited, focusing on Jackie's favorite Harlem food fact, which happens to be Pig Foot Mary.   A legendary Harlem figure,  Pig Foot Mary's real name was Lillian Harris and she migrated from the Mississippi Delta to New York in 1901. She sold pig feet from an old baby buggy to Southern -born Harlemnites until she had acquired enough money to amass a fortune in N...

Today marks the first day for the Passports With A Purpose fundraiser. Four Seattle travel bloggers decided to rally the travel blogging community to raise money and awareness for Heifer International, which is a charity that combats hunger by teaching sustainable farming methods and donating livestock. I couldn't pass up a chance to help so thanks to a generous donation from A Taste of Harlem founder Jacqueline Orange, my raffle prize is two tickets to the Taste of Harlem Food and Cultural Tour . This three hour tour features six restaurants, tours of an art gallery, a historic bed and breakfast, shops and landmarks that reflect Harlem's storied history. I grabbed a chance to experience this whirlwind excursion last year and it opened my eyes and taste buds to parts of New York history that I never knew. Nestled in the Manhattan borough, Harlem holds some cultural tidbits that might fascinate you. The neighborhood hosts a huge Dominican population, for instance. I sampled sa...

Thanksgiving always helps me remember how fortunate I am. My life has been graced with much joy and opportunity, qualities that may be fleeting for people struggling for daily survival. Although I don't always remember to be grateful for every benefit I'm granted, this year has been a magical time of mind-blowing accomplishments and fulfilled dreams for so many. It makes me believe that despite the economy and the wars and the suffering, the world will get better. An example of this rush to kindness and hope is Passports With A Purpose . Last month, four Seattle travel bloggers decided to organize a fundraiser for Heifer International . As travel bloggers, we often witness the crushing inequities of poverty around the world. Heifer International is an inspiring charity that helps to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. The organization provides livestock and sound agricultural training in 57 countries, including the U.S. Their programs develop self-sufficiency fo...

Caribbean cuisine is one of my favorites. I love spicy flavors, exotic combinations and anything accented with tropical fruit. Most island dishes offer that and more. So I was looking forward to sampling Bajan food, to say the least. I did have a fleeting experience with the Bajan staple flying fish, years ago. My former mother-in-law, a Tobago matriarch, enthralled by the recent popularity of the fish in Tobago, insisted that I smuggle frozen flying fish in my luggage on the eight-hour flight back to Chicago. But that's another story. Barbados is called "land of the flying fish" for good reason. They are everywhere. Popping up on little pectoral fins in the harbors, decorating Bajan coins and the coat of arms, flying fish are part of Bajan life. And they are truly a part of the daily cuisine. The national dish is flying fish and cou cou, which is a cornmeal side dish called fungi on other islands and polenta in Italy. Succulent and slightly oily, flying fish was f...

Brazilian culture overflows with rich African cultural connections and in Bahia, you can taste as well as see it . I explored classic Brazilian dishes spiced with African influences in a post for Galavanting Magazine's travel blog here but I didn't explain the depth of the Nigerian influence on acaraje. Eating acaraje is practically a legal requirement when you visit Salvador. In London, you must nibble fish and chips, dripping with grease and wrapped in paper. In Jamaica, you must savor ackee and saltfish cooled with sea breezes. And in Salvador, you must buy acaraje from a Baiana de acaraje , on the cobble-stoned streets with samba rhythms blasting through the air. Acaraje is a black-eyed pea fritter fried in palm oil. Typically, it's cut in half and topped with caruru, an okra stew, vatapa a mixture blended with dried shrimp, cashews, peanuts and coconut milk and a salad made of chopped tomatoes and onions. Peppery and laden with fat, it is the quintessential Brazil...