Typically big-box stores (a la: Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, etc.) and over-sized supermarkets have been an American import slowly spreading their bland conformity across Europe and beyond.  But this is a switch.

I first visited the mega-sized specialty market, Eataly, in Turino, Italy, in 2009.  I’d pegged it as an all-Italian ‘Whole Foods’.   My mouth watered and my eyes glazed over as I roved the many, stark-white aisles filled with sexy bottles of truffle-oil, silky gelato, and an amazing array of fresh meats, pastas, cheeses, and breads.

The Slow Food organization serves as a consultant to Eataly, and the artisinal super-store has adopted its three principles.  Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. 

• Food must taste good
• Food must be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health
• Food producers should receive fair compensation for their work

Like Santa bringing us gifts at Christmas, one red-faced, jolly Mario Batali, has now brought Eataly to all New Yorkers.   The huge store sits just across the street from the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park and is a mecca of Italian foodstuffs, various fancy bar ‘stations’ (more like mid-store restaurants), and boisterous espresso and wine bars.

Upstairs, on the roof, Birreria opened this past summer.   The huge outdoor space is more than a beer garden, as sometimes described, even though they do brew some of their own ales as their name suggests (Birreria means brewery in Italian).   For me, the food is the draw here as the menu is stuffed full with all the delightful fixin’s of an ‘Italian picnic’ – charcuterie, cheeses, mushroom dishes, and other assorted savory morsels.   It’s not cheap, but the views are pretty priceless with the Empire State building looming overheard to the north and the Flatiron building just to the west, across the street, so close, you feel you can touch it.

See photo gallery here. Roll-over & click on each for larger image slideshow.

As a follow-up to my food porn photo essay on Hong Kong, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include these scrumptious photos of the morsels we enjoyed in Shenzhen.  From a private dinner in the Futian Shangri-La’s presidential suite (wow) to a personalized multi-course meal at the Shang Garden, the food didn’t suck (see menus below). Eating like this was so decadent, but not so good for my waistline.  The only thing I would have preferred was to mix it up with the masses some more and actually eaten off the regular menu at times instead of being cordoned off and not be able to soak in some of the ‘real’ Shenzhen culture.

Dinner Presidential Suite Futian Shangri-La

Amuse Bouche
Steamed Cauliflower and Truffle Custard

Salmon Four Ways
Smoked Salmon Tartare, Quail Egg Sunny Side Up
Smoked Salmon Ravioli and Caramelized Beetroot
Sugar Cured Salmon
Smoked Salmon and Dill Mascarpone Mille Feuille

Confit Duck Leg Tortellini
Green Pea Puree, Dried Parma Ham, Thyme Jus

Refreshment
Lime and Bubbles

Roasted Angus Beef Filet
Rosemary Mash, Sauteed Mushrooms, Broad Beans,
Pan Seared Fois Gras with Red Wine Jus

Dessert
Valrhona Dark Chocolate Mousse served with Espresso Granita

Lunch Shang Garden

“Huaiyang” Appetizer Combination

Crab Thick Soup Braised with Minced Vegetables

Wok-Fried King Prawn with Mustard Sauce and Lemon Juice

Braised Boneless Beef Rib in “Yanzhou” Gravy

“Yangzhou” Shredded Dried Pressed Bean

Sauteed Pea Sprout with Pumpkin Sauce

Red Bean Paste Cake & Baked Minced Pork,

Chicken and Bamboo Shoot Puff Pastry

Seasonal Fruit & Chilled Sago Cream with Mango and Pomelo

Disclosure:  My trip to Hong Kong & Shenzhen was provided by the folks at Cathay Pacific & Shangri-La Hotels.  All views, writing, and photos are my own.

Eating and traveling. Traveling and Eating. The more I travel, the more I learn about food, the more I love to eat. I love everything about it – the background on where it came from, the smells, the preparations, and of course the flavors rolling around in my mouth.  It’s been an ongoing learning process for years now as my taste buds and waistline continue to battle it out.

When I’ve traveled on a budget I’ve had to let go of the idea of being able to try lots of ‘hip’ restaurants or pricey ‘in’ places and just enjoy cheap street food eats which, as I’ve mentioned are often even more tasty and authentic.

But this visit to Hong Kong was completely different. I was being treated to some of the best food around – even going on what was dubbed a “Culinary Journey” at the Island Shangri-La Hong Kong.  Or what I like to call the best restaurant crawl…ever.  We indulged in seven different courses at the hotel’s six different restaurants in one night – starting with flutes of Veuve Clicquot and an amuse bouche in the lobby bar and ending with dessert and live music at the Lobster Bar and Grill with amazing morsels of sushi, savory dim sum, succulent rack of lamb, and fresh seafood, in between.

Between the eating and drinking with every course, it was a decadent night to say the least. I loved every course – and by the end I was stuffed, sated, and sleepy.  I loved the fact that all I had to do is take the elevator up fifty floors or so to my plush room and climb into my thick king-sized bed and doze into a fat and happy slumber.

Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia, Hong Kong has more than 11,000 restaurants, according to the Tourism Board.  Many of these offer some of the best Cantonese and regional Chinese food in the world.  Local must-try dishes are dim sum (tasty Chinese ‘tapas’ or ‘snacks’ including dumplings served steamed in bamboo baskets) and amazingly fresh seafood.

Disclosure:  My trip to Hong Kong was provided by the folks at Cathay Pacific & Shangri-La Hotels.  All views, writing, and photos are my own.

While in quaint Villa de Leyva, I stayed at the friendly and cozy Hostel Rana.  It was opened about a year ago by Laura and Luis, a laid back and smiley British-Colombian couple.  As I told Laura, theirs was really my kind of guest house. Keep in mind, a hostal is not a hostel.   It’s just one letter, but it makes a big difference.  A hostal is a type of lodging found mostly in Spain and Latin America.  Hostales tend to be cheaper than hotels and are typically independently owned, smaller and often, friendlier places.  I’ve grown to know I do not like big, noisy, crowded hotels/hostals/hostels of any kind (well, unless someone is treating me to a night at the Peninsula, anyone?).  I find them impersonal and even though many are teeming with other travelers like packs of dogs, I find it harder to meet people.  Plus I am just not looking for a big party where I sleep…I am looking for peace and quiet and a respite from the hustle of travel.

Hostel Rana was simply a house with a few rooms to rent, a nice open-air kitchen to share, and some inviting little communal seating areas scattered around a couple of courtyards.   It was relaxed and quiet and I truly felt like a guest in someone’s home rather than a nameless person in a hotel.  I met the owners’ family from kids to parents and chatted a bit each time I saw them.

And just in time for my arrival, they were offering something new they are calling the Breakfast Club.  When they have enough interested people, they have a breakfast cooking class. And although Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald weren’t there, at less than $4 a person, I couldn’t pass it up.

I was joined by two other hostel guests, Cassie and Kevin from St. Paul, Minnesota.  Our teacher was Antonio, the owner’s father and resident chef. He donned his chef’s hat, feigned modesty, and proceeded to school us in one of the region’s most popular soups…that happens to be mostly enjoyed here for breakfast.

Plus we made Colombia’s famous concoction of hot chocolate and cheese. What? My two favorite things together? This I had to try.

Here is the rough recipe from my memory and some notes I scribbled in between chopping and chatting.  Change amounts to suit your needs and number of hungry people.

Changua (soup Boyacanse)

• 2C Water
• 2 C Milk
• Long stem of cilantro (scored)
• 4-6 cubed potatoes
• Finely diced garlic
• 4-5 Eggs
• 1 TB Butter
• Salt
• Cumin

Garnish

• Cubed Mild Cheese
• Cilantro
• Finely diced onion
• Toasted bread in which to create bread crumbs to grate on top

1. In a stockpot add the water, milk, butter, salt, potatoes, stem of cilantro, garlic.
2. Boil for 10 min or so
3. When the soup boils, crack the eggs and add them carefully without breaking the yolks.
4. Cover the pot and let boil for a few minutes until eggs are cooked.
5. Place at the bottom of each soup dish some scallions or onions, cilantro, some cubed cheese, and, from the pot, carefully place one cooked egg.
6. Then add the boiling broth.
7. Serve the soup with crusty or toasted bread that you can grate on top.

The soup was truly filling and flavorful. It was really one of the tastiest foods I had tried in Colombia, where I have to admit, I was not bowled over by what I’d been eating. To be honest, I had found a lot of the food fried and often somewhat bland with not too much flavor. The cilantro and garlic really made this dish sing, plus the special ingredient of love from Antonio made it muy bueno!

The class was fun and he really did show us some proper chopping and peeling techniques plus it was a great way to get to know some of the other guests.

In fact, right after we enjoyed our filling soup, I joined my friends for my next adventure. Stay tuned for that story!

Every town and city has its own icons – cool, kitschy status symbols that everyone knows.  I am sure if you live in Chicago you know exactly what is pictured here.   For those who don’t, this sexy couple is hanging out on the roof of Chicago’s Superdawg.  Not only is it one of the most well-known hot dog joints in Chicago, it is possibly the only retro drive-in restaurant in the world topped by two half-human weenies.

Hot Dogs on a Hot Tin Roof

Chicago, USA

Superdawg was opened in 1948 by Maurie and Flaurie Berman, on the Northwest side of Chicago, right after Maurie returned from World War II, and they still run it today.

Not only do I think it’s just cool, in random full disclosure and just an all around cool factoid: the owners’ son is my real estate attorney. As they always say at Superdawg, “Thanks for stopping!”