Portland’s Voodoo Doughnut is not your mom and pop establishment. Irreverent and quirky, its doughnut art embodies the “keep Portland weird” motto and the joke that Portland is stuck in the 1990s – on steroids. Yet it also delivers on freshness, creativity, and flavor just as does Portland’s food scene. You just won’t see many…
Category: USA
Beer diplomacy: A LoCo, Virginia brewery tour
Northern Virginia’s horse and hill country has joined the global craft beer craze, and local breweries are fast becoming alternatives (or threats) to wine tourism in the region. Today, peek inside Loudoun County, Virginia’s intriguing and growing craft brewing industry. Sharing a meal is a great way to share or experience one’s culture – whether…
Getting fancy in the mountains: Knife and Fork in Spruce Pine, North Carolina
I invite you to sample seasonal North Carolina meat and produce at their freshest, most respectfully prepared at Knife and Fork. Located in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains in northwestern North Carolina, Knife and Fork’s delicate dishes are a surprising find far from the typical, big city devotees of the farm to table and slow…
The General Muir: New York deli meets Atlanta’s rising food scene
Far from the Big Apple, The General Muir, one of Atlanta’s hottest restaurants, combines modern precision with the vibrant traditions of New York’s Jewish delis: matzoh, pastrami, the reuben, bagels, lox, trout, and of course, a great brisket find an unexpected home alongside an eclectic mix of food trends that include burrata, lentils, beets, hangar…
A visit to Atlanta’s Krog St. Market
Today, we explore Atlanta, Georgia’s Krog St. Market, an urban food hall and recent addition to Atlanta’s food scene. Farmer’s market it is not, but its eateries and vendors showcase local products, as well as food and craft artisans that appeal to hipsters and Buy Local fans alike. The urban food hall is not a…
The best grits you’ll ever eat – and make yourself
Often in life, the best ideas are the simplest. The best dishes are not necessarily the most complex – like molecular gastronomy, for example. Nice to look at, but really? These grits, quite the opposite, are insanely good. I promise you that you will never taste grits as good as this recipe. I also bet…
Barcelona – an upscale Spanish wine and tapas chain captures the East Coast
In the world of food writing, restaurants with multiple locations (dare I say ‘chain’?) are portrayed often as second class. Reviews or endorsements of those types of restaurants, more often than not, tend to be more along the lines of press releases and paid marketing. I absolutely believe in the power of promoting a small,…
Bourbon Brown Sugar Caramel Ice Cream
Looking to America for culinary inspiration, I bring you an ice cream to wow your friends or guests. Brown sugar, caramel, and cream accentuate the Southern charm of bourbon. Crumbled caramel-cashew cookies add buttery sweetness and crunchy texture to this grown-up dessert. I wrote my first blog post several months before the launch of The…
Nonna’s Kitchen at Alphonse: An Italian experience on Washington, DC’s U Street Corridor
When fine dining becomes a memorable and entertaining experience worth savoring and you feel that you aren’t simply a number at a table begging to be turned over to the next reservation, that’s when the bill is worth every penny. When foods you would just as soon avoid become bites you can’t get enough of,…
The Culinary Diplomat 