Botin Restaurant in Madrid is touted as the “Oldest Restaurant in the World.” Such prestige is confirmed and awarded by the Guinness World of Record. The restaurant has been serving food since 1725! Yeah, 9 more years and the restaurant will be celebrating its existence for 300 years! Wow, right?
But, let me say this: I didn’t eat here. Not because it was expensive but I forgot my wallet at my apartment and I only had €20 with me. So, I told myself that I’d be back but I got busy with my summer course.
I totally forgot this “must thing to do in Madrid.” However, most locals I talked to won’t really recommend it because it’s “for tourist only.” That’s their way of saying, “I’ve never been there.”
By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander
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Quesadillas are normally associated with Mexico as tortillas with melted cheese. In Ecuador, quesadillas are a pentagonal shaped pastry filled with both sweet and savoury flavours, similar to Portuguese queijada, which also has a sweet/savoury crumbly cheese filling.
We learnt to make these treats during our foodie tour with Urban Adventures in Quito. They are a popular breakfast treat made fresh at the Panaderia y Pasteleria de San Juan bakery (located at N13-140 Deifilio Torres) and sold throughout the city.
Sydney’s waterfront offers beautiful scenery and a classically romantic setting to enjoy quality time with your loved one. It’s not a surprise then to find a number of romantic restaurants with good quality food on the beachside. If you are planning for a lovely date night, you should check out the below selection of Sydney’s best waterfront restaurants.
While it would surely raise eyebrows to deem dinner at Oakland’s Commis a bargain, it’s more than fair to call Chef James Shyabout’s elegant tasting menus a Michelin Stargain. Twinkling with two of the French tiremaker’s honorifics as of 2016, Oakland’s serene, cerebral seven-year-old culinary jewel box offers prix fixe adventures of eight ingenious small courses (plus a few more bonus bites sprinkled throughout the meal) for $125.
While that’s six times what you’ll spend for a satisfying steak dinner elsewhere in Oakland (more on that later), it’s a remarkable price compared to a constellation of other Michelin-winning prix fixes in the Bay Area: $398 at San Francisco’s Saison, $330 at Napa Valley’s Meadowood, $310 at the French Laundry in Yountville, and $235 at Manresa in Silicon Valley. (Prior to going out on his own, Shyabout cooked at the latter, as well as Spain’s legendary elBulli and England’s Fat Duck.)
Along with housing rates, the cost of opening and sustaining a business in the San Francisco environs have skyrocketed in recent years, to such an extent that, along with young, adventurous eaters, ambitious, eclectic chefs like Shyabout have rooted themselves in more affordable Oakland.
Looking for something special for you restaurant choice in London? Here’s a selection of our favourite restaurants:
Gaucho – Smithfield
The Gaucho chain of restaurants is a concept that I have never felt a lot of love for. Always too dark and over-priced. But it was a cold Wednesday night and (after a fairly serious work-out at the gym) I had a hankering for a decent steak, so I wandered over to the Gaucho adjacent to Smithfield Market . I ordered a 300g rib eye steak with béarnaise sauce, spinach and a glass of Malbec. All very good. They seem to have improved the lighting, the music was great and the service was professional (if a little lacking in charm). Still over-priced.
Hix Oyster & Chop House – Smithfield
It was a wintry night in Clerkenwell and I felt like some substantial food. I’d eaten at Hix in Cowcross Street only once before, soon after it had opened a few years ago. It wasn’t the most successful meal, but I was feeling generous and decided it was time to give Hix another try. I heaved past the solid door and stood expectantly by the long bar. It took a while for anyone to acknowledge me, eventually it was a fairly surly greeting. “Table for one” I said — the waiter looked at me as if I was crazy. “Pardon?” he said. “Table for one” I repeated — a bit more firmly. I was not in the mood for surly waiters. The restaurant was quiet but he waved me towards the seats at the bar which I was I was fine with. After a little while the surly waiter brought me some menus — they looked tired and tatty, the food menu was laminated. It felt cheap but the prices indicated that it wasn’t going to be. I was looking for comfort food so I ordered the fish fingers, chips and mushy peas with a glass of Bordeaux to wash it down. I asked for a glass of water — it never arrived. The restaurant did get busy — full of suits. The food was okay. Don’t think I’ll give Hix a third chance.
Since first learning about the Menil Collection 12 years ago, I’ve hungered for its “spiritual” showcase of art. No admission fee; no public tours; no descriptive plaques. Just the late Dominique and John de Menil’s gift to Houston, housed in a celebrated structure from preeminent museum architect Renzo Piano, of their supreme art collection. It was a feast beyond expectations.
Spanning time and genres, from Byzantine to Pop Art, these treasures are rotated in convention-defying juxtaposition–expressly to invite individual, personal contemplation and interpretation.
In the tranquility of Piano’s triumphant design, with tall trees and garden atriums integrated in wraparound porticos and the sun dancing through his ingenuous skylight system, I realized the intended effect that had originally inspired the young de Menils of the museum as a place to “lose your head.”
The beautiful West Sweden, with Gothenburg as its gateway, is emerging as a hotspot for all things food. It’s gaining an international culinary reputation as the foodie capital of Scandinavia because of its passionate local producers, imaginative chefs and bounty of organic, natural produce.
The west coast’s shellfish, in particular its lobster and oysters, are among the best in the world. Visitors can partake in hands-on trips to learn about the West Coast’s seafood, joining local fishermen for unforgettable catch-and-cook experiences.
Further inland, the forests also provide a variety of game. Other districts are known for producing fine cheeses. Meanwhile, the fertile agricultural land is ideal for growing fresh produce and raising animals in the best organic tradition.
Filled with diverse Andean culture, Quito has become a top travel destination. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to the Old Town and all it has to offer: Colonial plazas, museums, monasteries, convents, and churches, including the gold-covered Iglesia de la Compania and the citys largest and oldest church, Monasterio de San Francisco. The central plaza, Plaza de la Independencia, is also located here, next to the Presidential Palace.
Rich in culinary options, Quitos famous dishes include ceviche (a dish typical to coastal Latina America that is made from fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices, such as lemon or lime, and seasoned with herbs); loco de papa (a creamy potato soup); and seco de chivo (a Quito specialty of goat meat battered in beer and served with citrus sauce from a fruit called naranjilla). During a recent trip, I had the chance to dine in Old Town, La Mariscal, and outside of the city in the Cotopaxi National Park.
CAFE PLAZA GRANDE
The Hotel Plaza Grande, located in Old Town near the Plaza de la Independencia, is a five-star luxury boutique hotel in a restored 1930s Spanish-colonial mansion that is home to Cafe Plaza Grande. Enjoy your meal here among traditional colonial Ecuadorian ambiance provided by the wood-paneled space and botanical prints. If you love posting photos of your meal, they provide Wi-Fi for all your Instagram-ing needs. No outdoor seating, but through their large windows, you get a nice view of the plaza.
With a farming heritage reaching back centuries and harvest ranging from apples to zucchini, Long Island is among New York’s most fertile regions. Add its bountiful waters, world-class wines, artisan producers, specialty purveyors, and, most critically, the right talent to bring these ingredients to life, and Long Island is confidently asserting its own culinary identity. At the vanguard of this success was Guy Reuge. Following early training in his native France, the much decorated chef, enchanted by America, moved to New York City in 1973. Following a decade at hotspots including Maxwell’s Plum, La Tulipe, and Tavern on the Green, Reuge and wife Maria (editor of Gourmet) in 1975 opened their acclaimed Mirabelle restaurant in St. James on the North Fork of the island.
“We were pioneers in leaving Manhattan for Long Island,” says Reuge, likening the region to a culinary “Siberia” in 1983. “There was no decent bread, and we were the first to introduce mesclun salad to the menu.” An immediate hit, Mirabelle remained hot until 2008, when Reuge closed up to focus on his family. The break was short-lived. When venerable Long Island food-service company Lessing’s approached him about reviving the name at the landmark Three Village Inn in nearby Stony Brook, Reuge said yes.
“We opened in 2009 as a dual concept, pairing fine dining Restaurant Mirabelle (150 Main Street, Stony Brook, Tel: 631-751-0555. www.lessings.com) with the more casual bistro-style Mirabelle Tavern,” says Reuge, who also serves as corporate chef de cuisine for Lessing’s portfolio, including luxe newcomer Sandbar (55 Main Street, Tel: 631-498-6188. www.lessings.com) in Cold Spring Harbor. “I’ve seen and contributed to tremendous change,” adds Reuge. “Long Island no longer has to feel jealous of New York City at the table.”
The best part of the “eat local” trend is discovering a city with incredible regional ingredients. In Halifax, Nova Scotia, diners enjoy an embarrassment of riches, thanks to the region’s especially fertile and productive growing season, and the bold restaurateurs who take full advantage of Atlantic Canada’s best.
In this island province, seafood is of course the star attraction. It’s often so fresh that your fish, lobster, oyster, or other marine delicacy may have been pulled from the bay just hours before. Local chefs complement their prized seafood with well-suited herbs, vegetables, grains, as well as wines and craft brews unique to Nova Scotia. They also excel at making old-favorite dishes their own. Who knew there could be so many delicious versions of poutine or chowder?
Gay-friendly Halifax enthusiastically celebrates its Pride every July, but the rest of the year this midsize city is awash in its pride of food sourced from farms, fisheries, foragers, and small-batch producers. While you’re here, you’ll happily devour some of the tastiest food and creatively prepared dishes that we had the pleasure of experiencing during a recent visit.