We’ve all heard about the struggles of restaurants, in New York City and elsewhere, but what about the ones we know and love in our own neighborhoods? It’s a question that’s weighed on me, as the few I’ve been in touch with personally in Jackson Heights have expressed many struggles over the course of the pandemic. A lot of the businesses here in our part of Queens…
Say Mongolian food and the first thing that comes to mind is probably a modern chain restaurant. I mean, who doesn’t love a 20-foot, all-you-can-eat buffet filled with raw meat, fresh veggies, and concoct-your-own sauce? Add the excitement of a wannabe-ninja chef cooking on a 500-degree flat top grill, and you’ve got a fun and tasty dining experience. Toss in a raw egg and marvel as the chef…
In Sweden, the ability to forage for food is practically enshrined in law under allemansrätten, the Swedes’ unique right of public access. Here’s how visitors to Stockholm can experience Swedish foraging culture for themselves. Stockholm photo courtesy of Pedro Szekely/Flickr Imagine it: You’re out in the woods; it’s quiet and peaceful. Moss softens your footsteps and a quaint wicker basket hangs from your elbow. You’ve found a beautiful…
What Is Tibetan Cuisine?
All photos courtesy of Tibet Vista
Tibetan cuisine is unique due to the high altitude of the Tibetan plateau, the harsh climate, and Tibetans' traditional and religious beliefs and customs. The daily diet of the Tibetan people consists largely of meat and dairy products, high…
Regional Christmas Dishes From Across Italy
Capitone, or eel, from Lazio
From north Italy to south (more or less), our writer takes a look at those most traditional and distinctly regional of Italian dishes: the ones trotted out for Christmas.
Nothing is more Italian than its culturally significant foods. And there is…
In Photos: Saskatoon Farmers Market
All photos by Gigi Griffis
Saskatoon.
When I decided to road-trip across Canada, this small city in the prairie province of Saskatchewan was little more than a stop in between up-and-coming Winnipeg and gateway-to-the-parks Calgary. The prairies of Canada were a necessary evil, something I had to get across…
In every region of Mexico, you will find barbacoa steaming on streetside stands, taking center stage at family gatherings, and being sold by the kilo to hungry market goers. Barbacoa is Mexico’s Sunday brunch, its method is as old as time immemorial, and its recipes continue to evolve at the hands of each barbacoa master, who adds his or her special touch to one of the country’s
The Case for American Food
What is American cuisine—and is it as bad as foreign menus would have us believe?
You’re at your family BBQ for the 4th of July. What’s on the menu? Why, hot dogs and hamburgers, of course! Classic Americana summer fare, complemented perhaps by some chicken wings, mayo-based salads, and corn…
African cooking: What’s with the Maggi cubes?
Maggi stock cubes—rich with sodium, MSG, and hydrogenated fats—are ubiquitous in West African cooking. Meet the nutritious, traditional seasoning they’re replacing.
Groundnut soup, Sierra Leone
At a beautiful eco-resort on Sierra Leone’s Freetown Peninsula this spring, Scott and I were invited to tag along for the weekly run…
After just three days, dusty Dakar has drawn us in with its street-corner baguettes, mellow fishing villages, surf-friendly beaches, and mad markets. A highlight among our explorations thus far has been the fish market at Soumbedioune, a cove on which the men's brightly painted pirogues, or canoes, are pulled from the water each evening, and the day's haul of seafood put out to sale. One side of the…
