I love Moroccan cuisine. Pastilla, or meat pies encased in puff pastry and covered with powdered sugar and cinnamon, savory lamb tajines, and hot mint tea don’t even begin to scratch the surface of this complex culinary culture.
Zanzibar is an exotic enough destination in itself, but things just got even more interesting. Check out this restaurant on a rock in the Indian Ocean.
At Lola, Greek cuisine is reinterpreted with zesty inventiveness. Dishing up sophisticated takes on classic Mediterranean staples, dishes are prepared with fresh local produce, the cornerstone of Pacific Northwest cuisine.
Hong Kong is a foodie paradise, with about a million great dim sum places to try out. One great choice is Lei Garden, with locations throughout the island. The food was so good, I just ate, and ate, and ate all afternoon.
If you are as particular about your tea as I am, you already know that L.A. is a mecca for tea lovers. From rose petal elixirs served in tearooms on Melrose Avenue, to sleek tea-based cocktails you’ll discover out on the town, L.A. is stronghold for both unique and classic tea spots. The following are a sampling of the city’s steamiest hot spots:
I was thrilled to stumble across this tiny gem, hidden away in a quiet little plaza off Victoria Street in Santa Barbara. Just an hour drive from Los Angeles, you’ll find great Italian cuisine well worth the jaunt out of town. At Olio Pizzeria, which translates to (olive) oil pizzeria, you’ll encounter deliciously authentic thin crust pies prepared with abundant portions of olive oil and cooked in traditional wood-burning ovens just like they do back in Italy.
No trip to Iceland is complete without sampling one of Iceland’s most unusual culinary delicacies: hákarl (putrefied shark), washed down with a glass of Iceland’s signature firewater, Brennivín.
It seems everywhere you go in Spain, you’re chasing Ernest Hemingway’s shadow. Plenty of restaurants and bars, in Madrid especially, lay claim to the fact that the ever-traveling writer once ate or drank there. But Botín has written proof to back up their claims: in the last scene of Hemingway’s famous novel “The Sun Also Rises,” the main character, Jake, dines at none other than Botín.
Enjoy a gourmet feast of Beijing (Peking) Duck cooked in traditional wood burning ovens, plus more sensational culinary treats at Beijing Kitchen in Macau.