travel eats
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Bombas at Cervecería Trébol in Toledo, Spain
Cervecería Trébol in Toledo, Spain, is known for its bombas: potato stuffed with beef and peppers with aioli and spicy tomato sauce. After a morning of walking the narrow alleys of Toledo, sitting on the cobblestoned street with a plate of these, some croquettes, and a BUNCH of tinto de verano was the perfect break.
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Cocido Madrileño Soup at La Cruzada in Madrid
I read that while in Madrid, you have to try the cocido Madrileño soup, and La Cruzada is known for having one of the best. It's a chickpea and meat stew that came about during the Middle Ages and is served in courses. At La Cruzada, you get a giant vat of noodle soup to start, the chickpeas and vegetables next, then all of the meats (beef knuckle, chorizo, blood sausage, chicken, ham, bacon, and bone marrow), followed by dessert and a shot of alcohol. It was a SHOCKING AMOUNT OF FOOD. And such a great experience.
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My #1 Spain Travel Tip
Here’s the most important travel tip anyone will ever give you about Spain. You heard it here first, folks. Order the tinto de verano (“red wine of summer”). Order it everywhere. Does everyone already know this? I had never heard of it before we landed in Madrid. We found that sangria wasn’t nearly as popular in Spain as we thought it would be, but EVERY restaurant can make you a tinto de verano, because it’s just red wine mixed with some sort of soda, usually a lemon-flavored one. It’s like the dive bar version of sangria, and everyone makes it a little bit differently.
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Paella at Arrocería Marina Ventura in Madrid
Our first paella in Spain! Dinner at Arrocería Marina Ventura, which was delicious as it was cute, with a live plant wall on one side and pretty white distressed wood everywhere. This was the señoret paella with shrimp, squid, mussels, pork, and chicken, croquettes, and the complimentary bread with a seafood dip I would buy by the jar.
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The Tasting Menu at Le Cinq, Four Seasons Hotel, Paris
I read aaaaall about the ten restaurants in Paris with three Michelin stars before my fiancé and I visited with the hope that one would stand out to me. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée was the most beautiful one. Astrance was the hardest to get into. Arpège was the vegetable-focused one. And then I read the review that opened the heavens and shone a light on the perfect three-star for me: Jay Rayner’s takedown of Le Cinq in The Guardian. It’s not worth your time to bother with the actual review–it reads like it’s written by someone who won’t go to a fine dining restaurant because they won’t let him…
- austria, austrian, country, great for dates, michelin-starred, restaurant reviews, tasting menu, travel eats, vegetarian-friendly, vienna, wine-paired menu
The Tasting Menu at Steirereck im Stadtpark in Vienna, Austria
Early last year, my friends and I were planning a trip to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Athens, so I pulled up the ol’ San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best list to see if that part of the world had anything to offer. Lo and behold, #15 was smack-dab in the middle of Wien (that’s Vienna in German, see; I’m getting you ready for your future trip there), a modern Austrian restaurant perched on a canal of the Danube River in the middle of a 19th-Century park. Steirereck promised the white gloves and unnecessary decorative plates stacked beneath each dish that I love but also tons of fresh local ingredients that I…
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High Tea at Kiran’s Restaurant – Houston, TX
My NYC ladyfriends and I have been really into the idea of high tea at fancy hotels lately, so when my boyfriend and I found ourselves in Houston through the weekend earlier this month, I wondered if I could find some Texas-style high tea full of brassy ladies with hair as tall as the heavens. I never expected to see Indian high tea in my search results, but Kiran’s is as beloved around there as BBQ and Mexican food. High tea is served on Saturday afternoons beginning at 2, and reservations are required for the four-course, $35 menu. For an extra $3, you can add on a glass of Champagne,…
- cheap eats, houston, jeans-appropriate, mexican, restaurant reviews, travel eats, vegetarian-friendly
Chavez Mexican Cafe – Houston, TX
I’m in Houston, Texas, with my boyfriend at the moment and am astounded by how much Mexican food these people have access to. I know we’re lucky in NYC to have a little bit of everything, but I’m suddenly feeling very deprived with only one taco joint on my block back in Brooklyn. Here, there are family-owned Mexican places next to huge Mexican chain restaurants next to slightly different versions of the huge Mexican chain restaurants. Driving across the Katy Freeway, my mouth waters right and left at all of the neon signs. So I was here for less than 24 hours when I started searching Yelp for the best…
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Nihonryori Kanda – 3 Michelin Stars in Tokyo, Japan
I visited Japan at the end of last month, and on our last night, my friends and I wanted to try a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars in Tokyo. Obviously the French restaurants like Joel Robuchon and Quintessence held particular appeal for me so I could compare them to the French-inspired restaurants I’ve been to here in NYC, but we really wanted some serious Japanese cooking. In the end, we chose Kanda in Minato, and I’ll admit that I was a little afraid of our decision. All of the reviews I read said that this was true Japanese cuisine with all of its subtleties and nuances and that American palates…
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North Restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, and One of the Best Things I’ve Ever Eaten
My boyfriend was in Providence, Rhode Island, for a couple of weeks on business, and people kept telling him how up and coming the food scene was. I was skeptical, because everyone from everywhere loves to tell me how comparable to NYC their town’s food scene is, but Jack took me up there to find out for myself. There were two restaurants everyone seemed to be talking about in Providence, and one of them was North. Honestly, despite the reviews, I was convinced I wasn’t going to like it. I wanted to fine dine, and this sounded like some hipster hole-in-the-wall with a teeny menu where nothing looked interesting and…
