Sunday Food

[lsanderson]

Beckoned by Bivalves
By FRANK BRUNI

MY usual method for harvesting oysters goes something like this: I lift my right hand. I extend it toward a neatly arranged platter on a tidily set table, taking care, at least on my better days, not to drag my sleeve through a ramekin of mignonette sauce.

I equivocate. Kumamoto or Wellfleet? Both kinds of oyster are there, both on the half shell, with lemon wedges beside them, forcing further deliberation: to squeeze or not to squeeze? Bivalves would have undone Hamlet. More

Liquid Gold in Morocco
By AMY LAROCCA

The road from Marrakesh to Essaouira is craggy and bleak, an arid moonscape dotted only by a few roadside towns and the occasional Berber village. In the ’60s and ’70s, Essaouira was a stop on the hash-filled hippie trek — land in Marrakesh, load up your magic bus and head west for the windswept beaches and clear blue waters of this former Portuguese fishing village. Back then, Jimi Hendrix made the pilgrimage, as did Bob Marley and Cat Stevens. Essaouira still has remnants of its boho past: crocheted Rasta beanies are sold alongside fezzes in the souk; surfers come to lap up the waves in what is now one of the world’s top windsurfing and kiteboarding spots; and a dilapidated fort, which legend has it was the inspiration for Hendrix’s “Castles Made of Sand” (he actually recorded the song nearly two years before touching down here), is just south of town. More

36 Hours in San Sebastián
By DENNY LEE

WHAT is it about San Sebastián that has foodies reaching for superlatives (“culinary capital of Europe”; “best place to eat in the world”)? Maybe it was the French aristocracy, who imported their haughty chefs in the 19th century, turning this belle époque town on the Basque coast of northern Spain into an epicurean resort. Or maybe it's the food-rich geography, a scallop-shaped coastline sandwiched between the fertile sea and mountainous farmlands. And then there are the Basques themselves, who approach eating with the same fervor as they do soccer. Whatever the case, this laid-back surfing resort is not for weak-willed dieters. There are sweet-smelling cafes and mouth-watering bites to tempt you at every turn — not to mention having one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars in the world. More

Paris: Goumanyat & Son Royaume
By ELAINE SCIOLINO

Situated in an obscure patch of Paris between the Marais and the less chic Place de la République, Goumanyat & Son Royaume is not an ordinary spice emporium. Set in what was once an apothecary shop, it is open only four afternoons a week and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. Pierre Gagnaire and Alain Ducasse are among the star chefs who buy spices there. You have to ring to be let in. You are greeted by the tinkle of a wind chime and the expertise of the owner, Jean Thiercelin. More

On the Tequila Trail in the Place Where It’s Made
By HILARY HOWARD

It can make you crazy. It can calm you down. It can make you hallucinate or just have a really colorful night on the town. It’s tequila, the spirited spirit from Mexico with a history that can be traced to the Aztecs. Starting Dec. 20, aficionados of the blue agave concoction can take advantage of the tequila package offered by the Presidente InterContinental Hotel Guadalajara (www.intercontinental.com). The package includes a tour of the town of Tequila and visits to an agave plantation and Mundo Cuervo, the oldest distillery in the Western Hemisphere. Through March 1, the package starts at $364 a couple and includes lodging, breakfast and tequila cocktails upon arrival. Guests who aren’t satisfied after one round can visit the hotel’s new tequila lounge, where 100 tequilas are available. Link

Markets as Both Feast and Spectacle
By MIMI SHERATON

IT is a given that no serious traveler would forgo visits to museums, cathedrals, castles, monuments and legendary streets. Yet food markets deserve equally high billing on a must-see list. For as inspiring as the more standard sights can be, they do not rival the ebullience of modern-day markets and their colorful links to the economy, customs and even dialects of a city.

In a world ever more homogenized, food markets afford visitors one of the few opportunities to glimpse locals going about one of their essential daily chores. More

An Exotic Oasis in Brooklyn
By SETH KUGEL

If your knowledge of Middle Eastern food starts with falafel and ends with hummus, a few hours on Atlantic Avenue should set you straight.

“Atlantic Avenue Offers Variety of Exotic Food,” reads a New York Times article on display in Sahadi's, the best-known store on the block. The date: Jan. 7, 1960. The accuracy half a century later: pretty good. More

Grazing from Delhi to London
By JENNIFER CONLIN

THINK of Brick Lane, and images of London's most famous immigrant street, depicted in Monica Ali's novel (and soon-to-be film) of the same name, come to mind, as do the spicy smells of cumin, cardamom and turmeric emanating from the more than 50 Bangladeshi restaurants that line the historic thoroughfare.

But a new culinary movement is taking place on Brick Lane, a street crowded with visitors on weekend mornings and afternoons (particularly on Sunday, when the hugely popular flea market is open) — one that has less to do with Indian food and more to do with satisfying the tastes of the trendy crowd living in the East End of London. (To get to Brick Lane, take the London Underground to the Aldgate East station; the street is about a five-minute walk away.) More

Advice to the Hungry: Bring It Yourself
By MICHELLE HIGGINS

AIRLINE food has gotten so bad that Padma Lakshmi, cookbook author and host of “Top Chef” on Bravo, often heads to the airport with a container full of spinach leaves and leftovers like grilled chicken, along with a separate container of dressing. Once on the plane, “I put it together and shake it up,” she said.

And Nina Zagat, co-founder of the Zagat restaurant survey, travels with her own pepper mill and the fixings for an elegant sandwich. “I usually bring the best smoked salmon I can find and very thinly sliced whole-grain bread, and I put that together on the flight,” she said. More

Comments

[ann-totusek.livejournal.com]

I feel so inadequate....my usual seafood harvest usually involves the drive-thorugh at Long John Silver's....