Somewhere along the lines of traveling and blogging, I realized how much I write about, talk about, and just plain eat…food.  It’s like the chicken or the egg sometimes: Do I love to travel because I love to eat yummy foods or do I eat great food because I love to travel?  Just take a look at my food category and you can see I’ve been obsessed for quite some time.

It recently occurred to me how much my love of food has grown over the last decade, from producing restaurant and food stories in Chicago at my previous job – getting to know chefs, restaurateurs, and understanding more about what we eat, to my travels all over the world trying as many savory treats that I could fit in my mouth and stomach.  I finally realized that I was more excited to check out the dining suggestions in my Lonely Planet, than the standard sightseeing stops.  I was creating a tour for myself of cafes, restaurants, and fascinating supermarkets – the real key to local culture.  I mean if food isn’t the great uniter, across all races, backgrounds, and ethnicities, than what is?

Here we have the real deal: some fabulously beautiful wheels of aging parmigiana reggiano cheese from a small family producer in the center of the Italian cheese universe.  I was fortunate enough to get a behind the scenes tour from a local producer in Parma. Too bad I couldn’t fit one of these wheels in my suitcase.

For several years I celebrated Christmas very far from home.  Sometimes I was alone and sometimes I was with wonderful new friends. From a fabulous oyster lunch in Sydney, to a gastropub dinner in London pulling ‘crackers’, to a free Natalie Cole Christmas concert in Milan, it was always different and always more than I ever expected.  It was a little strange not being home for so long, but honestly, in many ways, it was more exciting and touching not to be.

Wherever you are home or abroad, with family or new friends…have a Merry Christmas from LL World Tour.

Last week, the new gourmet Italian mega-store known as Eataly opened in Manhattan.   At nearly 45,000 square feet, the gluttonous foodie-heaven is like a Macy’s of Italian culinary goodness.

“This isn’t a giant food court,” said co-owner Mario Batali to the Wall Street Journal. “This isn’t a selection of restaurants under one roof. This is a retail store where we peddle the greatest of Italian gastronomy to people who want to eat it and know how to appreciate it. You ask any Italian and all of the smart Americans where the best meal they ever had in the last ten years was, and it was never in someone’s restaurant. It was always in the house. And with these products, and this ideology, we’re hoping that’s what we’re going to bring to New Yorkers.”

When I was in Italy last year I visited the original Eataly just outside of the city center from Torino.  This Whole Foods meets an Italian food-mecca was far more unique in Italy than it will be in the foodie-centric and upper-class hipster haven of Manhattan.  Before now, Italy didn’t have a Trader Joes or Whole Foods type market.

At Eataly, I drooled over the enormous selection of cheeses, meats, breads, pastas, fish, chocolate, and olive oils. Stark white shelves heaved with perfectly aligned jars of oily, salty anchovies, a plethora of pestos, tasty tapenades, freshly made pastas, and so much more. Luckily there are cafes sprinkled throughout the store where you can sit down and chow on some of the delights right before your eyes.  And for dessert, of course, there is a gelato stand from which part of the proceeds go to charity.

Here are some photos from my tour of Eataly in Torino. If you are in New York, head down to the Flatiron District. Or better yet, hope a flight to Milan and train in to Turin to check out the original.

For more food and travel stories, check out WanderFood Wednesday.

What did we ever do before the internet? Well, the same thing we did without VCRs (and now DVRs), mobile phones, and microwaves. We went to the library and looked things up in the encyclopedia and we watched less TV and we called people when we got home. We lived like normal and we were just fine.

And before I had this blog, I still traveled.  Up to now I have been to about 43 of the US States and about 45 countries.  I have decided to post some of these trips here so I can basically have a more complete list of my travels all in one place…and also so people can stop asking why I haven’t gone to Greece or Japan, when in fact I have, it was just B.B. (before blog).

• My First Trip Abroad

In 1996, I met my college friend Katie in Europe for my very first trip abroad.  For 3 weeks, we backpacked from Paris to Rome, Florence, Venice, and Pompeii, to Zermatt and Lucerne in  Switzerland and finished in London. It was quite a whirlwind. I was amazed, awed, scared, anxious, shocked, and simply delighted.  I remember our very first night we had already befriended another traveler (a solo girl from San Diego) and drank a bottle of wine literally on a Parisian rooftop (we climbed out our tiny hotel room window).  It was amazing and exciting and yet I remember feeling scared and homesick. What was I doing? Why was I here? It’s hard to believe now as I look back how far I have come and  all the traveling I have done since that first night when I felt so very far away.

I was definitely out of my comfort zone and not exactly sure what I was in for. But, just like now, I realized I just needed a day to acclimate and then, boom! I fell in love. The streets of Paris amazed me. The history everywhere you looked; the luscious architecture; the cafe life; the fresh breads and pastries. My first European train ride through the French countryside literally reminded me of  “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.” The animated countryside of rolling green hills dotted with stone farmhouses and cypress trees was right here before me in real life. I couldn’t get over the buildings of ancient Rome – narrow lanes of old buildings and shops, then BAM, you turn a corner and your jaw drops as the huge Pantheon reveals itself. Or you come face-to-face with the Colosseum still standing after nearly 2000 years. It is still mind-boggling to me to this day. I remember seeing Mt. Vesuvius and the ancient city of Pompeii. It was amazing and a much bigger town than I even imagined; shops, homes, and people wiped out in an instant.

Switzerland dazzled me with its perfectly quaint alpine homes decked with flower boxes bursting with hardy, chromatic petunias. I was in love with its efficiency, cleanliness, and perfection – a stark contrast to Italy’s craziness, bustle, and messy passion. I liked a little of both and figured my dream home would be somewhere near Lake Como and the alps of northern Italy, not far from the Switzerland border…the best of both worlds.

London was our final stop and, at the time, the least interesting. Perhaps it was because I was exhausted. Perhaps it was because everyone spoke English and it was like being back home. About ten years later I would be back in London for a month and would come to love it much more and get to know its great neighborhoods and fun, charming people.

After my trip, I made a new life goal – to go abroad somewhere every year during my vacation time.  And I did just that.*

*It didn’t hurt that in the ‘old days’ (read: 1998) of my job at ABC7 in Chicago, we  had this amazing deal with United Airlines for approximately 40% off international fares. Unfortunately, like all good things, it didn’t last. But it allowed me to travel abroad for cheap for the first few years at least. Yay, perks!

• 1998 – Return to Italy with Joe (Siena, Rome, Sorrento/Amalfi Coast)
• 1999 – Germany & France with Susan (Heidelberg, Rothenberg, Munich, Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Strasbourg, Paris)
• 2000 – Ireland with David & Shannon
• 2001 – Europe Trip with Mark – 3 weeks and my first time traveling alone for just half the time  (Barcelona, Nice, Cinque Terre, Lake Como, Bolzano, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Prague)
• 2002 – Canada Road Trip with Andy (Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec)
• 2003 – Greece with Andy (Athens, Santorini, Mykonos)
• 2004 – Croatia with Andy & his mom (Zagreb, Split, Brac, Dubrovnik, quick wrong turn into Bosnia)
• 2004 – Cayman Islands with Andy and ABC7 Crew
• 2004 – Mexico for work with ABC7 Crew
• 2005 – Tokyo, Japan with Mark
• 2006 – Montreal, Canada for work with ABC7 Crew
• 2006 -2010    World Tour Begins!   (((inhale)))   Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile, Buenos Aires, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Dubai, Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Amsterdam, Spain, Sweden, London, Wales, NYC, Chicago, LA, NYC, France, Italy, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Stockholm, Paris, NYC, Virginia, Colorado, New Jersey, Chicago, LA, New Jersey, Chicago. ((((exhale))))

For three nights, I stayed with animation guru and filmmaker, Francesco, and his brother in a great, old stone house on the outskirts of the beautiful and vibrant University town of Bologna.  Francesco was the perfect host. He had me at Buongiorno. Not only was he gracious, friendly, and easy going, most importantly, he cooked me some tasty meals and literally did not let me lift a finger or clear a dish. I was spoiled. This dish was simple, rustic, and just plain delicious!

Francesco’s Sicilian Pasta

• Pasta
• Sardines
• Raisins
• Onions
• Pinenuts
• Olive Oil

Sauté onions in hot olive oil to a light brown.
Then add sardines (and/or mackerel), pine nuts, raisins, salt & pepper.
You can also add a little bit of white wine and herbs.
Sauté everything for a few minutes, adding a little bit of water if the sauce gets too dry.
In the meantime, cook pasta and drain.
You can use indeed any kind of pasta, but Francesco suggests Garganelli or Tagliatelle.
Toss sauce with pasta and mangia!

I have now been to Italy four times and have been lucky to see so much. I’ve covered all the tourist stops and then some: Rome (three times), Florence (twice), Venice, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano on the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, Bolazno (near the Austrian Border), Turin, Lake Como, Verona, Parma, Bologna, Siena, Perugia, Assisi, and Spello. But never once had I ever stayed in Milano. I’d always seen it as just a junction to get through to get to the heart of Italy. I’d landed there and changed trains there, but never slept there, until now. And guess what? Milan is great. It was my last stop in Italy and it totally revived me after starting to feel a bit of travel burnout. It’s fast-paced, it’s progressive, it’s historical, it’s clean.  Its metro, tram, and buses zip around town getting your from piazza to piazza. And this time of year, the whole town was lit up like one big Christmas tree.

Every country I visit has its share of amazing local food; fantastic fromage and charcuterie in France, fresh vegetables and layered spices in Vietnam, super fresh, still nearly breathing sushi in Tokyo, overflowing plates of tasty mezze in Greece and Turkey. And then there’s the comforting food of Italy. Perhaps it’s because, as Americans, it is one of the foreign foods that we barely consider foreign. Who didn’t grow up in the United States eating pizza, lasagna, baked ziti, spaghetti Bolognese (pasta with meat sauce) or veal parmigiana?  It seems no matter what your background was, mom always made some kind of Italian meal at least once a week. And if you grew up in or near New York like me, local, first and second generation Italian pizzerias and pasta joints were more common than McDonald’s.  My spot of choice was Frank’s Pizza just a few doors down from my high school job at the local, family-owned (and second generation Italian) video rental store, Image Photo & Video. I could always pop in for lunch for a slice of yummy mushroom or prosciutto pizza. Or maybe some Eggplant parmigiana?

So, as I journeyed my way down the bountiful boot of Italy, I devoured the foods I’ve always eaten, but here with a bit more robust flavors, often times fresher ingredients, and of course, the backdrop of a centuries old piazzas (squares) all adding to the experience.

Torino (Turin)
Italy’s fourth largest city had a major facelift recently thanks to the Winter Olympic Games that were hosted here in 2006.  This capital of the Piedmont Region has had many food innovations, not to mention it’s the home of the ‘little Italian car that could’ – the Fiat (lovingly said to stand for “Fix it Again, Tony”).
Turin is the home of Lavazza Coffee and one of my favorite things on the planet – Nutella. This jar of chocolaty goodness is available at just about every supermarket around the world – and why wouldn’t it be? Who can deny the rich flavors of chocolate and hazelnuts spread on a slice of bread, cracker, or just simply licked off a finger. If you haven’t ever tried it yet then run, don’t walk, to your nearest grocer and buy several jars, because I promise, one won’t be enough.

Turin is also the home of a big culinary movement that is growing fast – Slow Food. In the US, for decades we have wanted nearly everything done fast – our commutes, our meetings, and our meals. Often times, we scarf down some kind of mystery meat on a bun at our desk at lunch…all the while keeping our eyes on the computer screen and one hand placed upon on not so hygienic mouse. Gradually, it seems we are more enjoying the art of dining out with friends and making it last. When was the last time you savored a meal – slowly masticating each tender morsel and taking the time to enjoy the flavors and think about what you are eating? Maybe that’s part of our problem we don’t even think what we shove down our gullets and five minutes later the meal is over and we go about our business.

In 1987, McDonalds began its inevitable expansion into Italy. A few Italian foodies got together to make sure this was not the end as they knew it to the fabulous Italian sit down meal. Carlo Petrinim and some of his foodie friends (neoforchettoni or ‘big forks’) wrote a manifesto which was published in the Italian foodie Culinary Magazine, Gambero Rosso.  LINK They declared that a meal should not be measured by its speed, but by its pure pleasure. From this they founded the soon-to-be world famous Slow Food organization.  Its mission was to reconnect artisanal producers with interested and consumers. And it’s working. Slow food has grown fast. Their membership is close to 100,000 in 50 countries worldwide. And their message of biodiversity, sustainability, and shared food resources is traveling around the world at lightening speed.  Just as they had hoped, the Slow Food movement is growing faster than McDonald’s expansion – at least in the Piedmont Region. There are now about 30 of Ronald’s burger joints, but at least twice as many acclaimed Slow Food restaurants plus the fabulously chic and well-stocked new slow food superstore, Eately. Catchy name, eh? I visited this Whole Foods crossed with an Italian food-lover’s paradise and drooled over the enormous selection of cheeses, meats, breads, pastas, fish, chocolate, and olive oils. Stark white shelves heave with perfectly aligned jars of oily, salty anchovies, a plethora of pestos, tasty tapenades, freshly made pastas, and so much more. But luckily there are cafes sprinkled throughout the store where you can sit down and chow on some of the delights right before your eyes.  And for dessert, of course, there is a gelato stand where part of the proceeds goes to charity.

Parma
This lovely provincial town may be one of the most expensive and richest in all of Italy. Why? Two words: prosciutto and parmigiano. High in the hills of Parma in the Emilia-Romagna Province of Italy amidst the evergreens and snowy mountaintops, live a few hundred producers of what is possibly the world’s most famous ham: prosciutto di Parma. I got a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of one of the local producers, San Nicola, one of the first in Parma to go from a small artisanal family practice to a more industrialized shop trotting out 100,000 legs of prosciutto each year. But don’t let the word “industrialized” fool you, San Nicola is still a family-owned operation employing just 13 folks.   It is among all the other hundreds of shops in the area who together ultimately produce 10 million legs of prosciutto each year – 450,000 of which are exported to the USA.  That’s a lot of ham.

What is prosciutto exactly? Isn’t it simply some cured ham? Well kind of yes…and kind of no. If you ask Luca Baratta, the Manager of Production at San Nicola, he will tell you it is much, much more than that. It is a centuries old tradition that is now regulated by the government in which nearly every aspect of this ham production is regulated and approved.  His factory for the most part feels like a library…a library of meat. Rows and rows of metal shelves with quiet hanging pink legs just waiting, relaxing, and aging in peace. It is super clean and quiet with a handful of workers only seen at the beginning of the assembly line where the fresh legs come in from the local pig farmer. Here they are checked for quality, sorted and stamped with metal seals of approval. From here they are salted, then rinsed and eventually hung to age for anywhere from 16 to 30 months.

For ham to actually be given the regal moniker of Prosciotto di parma it must follow strict guidelines established by the government in 1970 under what is called the D.O.P. – the Denominazione di Origine Protetta (or Parma Ham Consortium). In a country that takes its food very seriously, this is kind of like the food police and you don’t want to mess with them.  The guidelines pertain to many criteria including where the pig came from, how they are raised, what they eat, how they are slaughtered, and of course the actual salting and curing processes.  Every step of the way is checked, monitored, and given a stamp of approval. In fact, in today’s over-marketed world where nearly everything is “new and improved,” “genuine,” and “premium” it is nice to know that the prosciutto governing body forbids these qualifications and others like it. The only words allowed to be used are “boneless” and “sliced,” if that is in fact the case.

Some of the not-so-secret secrets of good prosciutto are the length of time it’s aged and having a thicker layer of fat encasing the meat. Some may seem this as unhealthy, but in the aging process it’s this fat that locks in the moisture and flavor making ham magic happen and ultimately creating some of the best prosciutto I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasking – tender, melt in your mouth deliciousness. Luca says through the process, this food product is actually better and healthier than when it first started.  Perhaps he’s right because it tastes like heaven.

Bologna
No my friends this is not the home of that odd and bland American invention, Baloney. Nor is it home to the U.S. version of spaghetti bolognese. But it is the home of 

alla bolognese …the real deal meat-based sauce with actually very little tomato and never served over spaghetti (a Naples invention), but with the local egg pastas tagliatelle or lasagne. The recipe, issued in 1982 by the Bolognese delegation of Accademia Italiana della Cucina, confines the ingredients to beef, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, broth, red wine, and (optionally) milk or cream.
Perugia
The original chocolate kiss, the Baci is from here. These hazelnut, chocolate morsels are made by internationally imported chocolatier – Perugina, one of the most successful confectioners in Italy. The company was introduced to the U.S.A at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, and have since become known for fine chocolate around the world.  And, of course, in this time of mergers and big business, Perugina is now a division of the Swiss Nestlé corporation.

I could go on and on about the specialties from each region: the rich more robust sauces of Calabria and Sicily, the Napolitano Pizza, the secretly sniffed-out truffles of Umbria and so on. But perhaps like me, you are now hungry…so get down to your local farmer’s market for some fresh produce, hit your local Italian market for some fresh pasta (or better yet, learn to make your own), grab some extra virgin olive oil and mangia!

Buon Natale from Italia!!

Whatever you call it: café, coffee, espresso, café latte, or just a ‘cup of joe,’ coffee has been drunk for centuries and varies depending on the species of coffee plant the bean comes from – a misnomer for seed (arabica, robusta, etc.) – and the type of roast (Italian, French, American, etc.). It was discovered originally in Ethiopia, spread through Arabia into Turkey and eventually to the thriving trade port in Venice. Today coffee drinks are big business and, for better or worse, a cup of coffee has become part of the uniform of the American worker (and an eco-disaster). Noted as one of the world’s largest, most valuable, legally traded commodities after oil, coffee has become a vital cash crop for many Third World countries. Brazil is the world leader in production of green coffee, followed by Vietnam and Colombia. Of course with all this demand comes big ecological impacts as well. A major issue concerning coffee is its use of water. According to New Scientist, it takes about 140 liters of water to grow the coffee beans needed to produce one cup of coffee and coffee is often grown in countries where there is a water shortage.

The concept of fair trade labeling, which guarantees coffee growers a negotiated pre-harvest price, began in Europe in the ’60s.  Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall below the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.

The production and consumption of “Fair Trade Coffee” has grown in recent years as some local and national coffee chains have started to offer fair trade alternatives. Starbucks, one of the largest buyers of Fair Trade Certified coffee, will double its purchases to 40 million pounds in 2009, making the company the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the world.   A number of studies have shown that fair trade coffee has a positive impact on the communities that grow it by strengthening producer organizations, improving returns to small producers, and positively affecting their quality of life. The families of fair trade producers were also more stable than those who were not involved in fair trade, and their children had better access to education.

I used to never drink the stuff; all through high school, university, and through my twenties – not a drop. After the Starbucks craze (and, in case you don’t live in the US, there are also many independent cafes and coffee bars in the US) I was sucked in just a little and would maybe treat myself to a few coffees each month. And since I wasn’t a true coffee drinker, these were, of course, the frou frou coffee ‘concoctions’ of Starbucks – like a mocha (espresso with a shot of chocolate syrup…for me minus the whipped cream). Now as I’ve traveled around the world and through Europe, my coffee and thus caffeine intake has dramatically increased – for a few reasons. First, when you are walking around towns and cities for months…you simply need something to do when you ‘take a break.’ And, of course, there are all these inviting cafes lining the streets beckoning you in with happy patrons laughing while they sip a cappuccino. So it was nice for me to join in. Plus if I sat down and ate something every time I wanted to take a break, I’d be as big as a house. Next, I did actually start to appreciate the taste and differences of coffees around the world. From the surprising, yet good, café culture in Melbourne, Australia (where I worked as a barista) and the chains of Asia to the less-than-stellar instant coffee commonly served up in Eastern Europe and the pleasing café au lait of France and rich espressos in Italy. In fact, the more coffee I drink, the less milk I add. I’ve gone from a crazy Starbucks caramel macchiato (not the real macchiato—an espresso ‘stained’ with a drop of milk) to a simple, yet robust, real Italian espresso (in 3 sips you’re done). I used to never order an espresso thinking it was too strong and dark for me, but I have to tell you, these are delicious.

The one coffee I just could not force myself to like is Turkish. For me, it’s just too strong. The grounds are left in the cup which makes for a bit of a sludgy beverage. But the after show is nice…having someone read your fortune in the bottom of your cup. Maybe mine would say, ‘you are drinking too much coffee.’ Well, probably not since the fortuneteller probably gets kick backs from the establishment.