I’ve been traveling so much, I’ve really lost the thread with New York. I mean, on Wednesday I got on an uptown train instead of a downtown train by accident. I don’t think I’ve ever made that mistake, at least not while I’ve lived here. So what better way to feel New York-y than to …
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9 Highlights of 2011
A belated wrap-up of the year. I almost didn’t post this, because everything went so well this year that it seemed too boring. Ten items seemed like a stretch–here’s the Top 9: 1. I spent five weeks in Egypt and did not get sick. Absolutely astounding. I can’t really take credit. It’s like my stomach …
Barcelona: Thanksgiving Dinner for 46
Every year since who knows when, our friend Frank Plant has hosted Franksgiving in his fantastically cool digs in Barcelona. By the time we got around to attending, it had already grown from a cozy meeting of close friends into an insane, overcrowded phenomenon, and shrunk back to a more manageable size. If you can’t …
Mexico City #3: Street Food Tour
There’s no way to say this without sounding like an ass: When I signed up for a walking tour with Eat Mexico, I thought it would be a nice way to spend the morning, but not particularly educational. I mean, geez, I know what Mexican food’s about, right? I know. I’m an ass! I already …
Survey: Where Should Roving Gastronome Go?
Big news here at RG HQ: I think I’m getting more…mature. A little wiser. At least in the field of travel. After, oh, 20 years of slogging around the world being rigorously independent, I’m finally realizing there’s tremendous value in putting yourself in the hands of experts. In the last couple of years, I’ve had …
The Food Obstructions
I’ve been talking about constraints and creativity and cooking off and on for years, especially after I came out of the theater from The Five Obstructions, leaping with glee. Now Lars von Triers’s devilish little setup has finally been applied to the Brooklyn cook-off sensibility, in an event called The Food Obstructions. I face the …
Syria–Be Careful What You Wish For
For photos and more anecdotes, see my Flickr set. My mother has this saying, “It’s hell having a good time.” Best uttered near the tail end of a party, when exhausted, or when the logistics of entertaining oneself prove very challenging. Also, to oneself when lying in bed, bloated with delicious food. I signed up …
Another from the archives
A Great Day on the Job
Huh. I wrote this in a frenzy last week, and never posted it. Sad how the glory of pit-roasting wears off after just a few days back at the city grind. But right now I’m working at the building down at the WTC site, which is so beautiful, and the people in the office are …
The Kohnstamm Affair: A Long Rant on What It’s Really Like to Be a Guidebook Author
The world of travel writing is abuzz! Seeing how six different people today have sent me the same story, I feel like I should comment. Here’s what I’m talkin’ about: Travel writer tells newspaper he plagiarized, dealt drugs I am in a rare position in that I’m one of the few people who has actually …