Category: Travel

Postcard from London, England: Creative kitchens debunk flawed stereotype

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Above: Watermelon, chickpea and feta salad at Ceru in South Kensington

There were two reasons why I waited so long to visit London. The first was that it seemed like cheating on getting a foreign experience when the natives all speak English. That excuse no longer applies, as most people we encounter while traveling in Europe speak fluent English, with an American accent due to all the Hollywood films they devour. British accents challenge my comprehension more than English spoken elsewhere.

The second bias I possessed was food. No mushy peas, please. That proves my ignorance. Today’s London offers so much more than the old standard pub grub I feared I would have to eat every single meal. Why did I ever wait so long to become enlightened?

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Postcard from San Antonio: Brothers share maximalist hospitality hints

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Above: A place setting of “Le Point de Bascule,” an installation by the de la Torre Brothers as part of their exhibition, “Upward Mobility,” at the McNay Art Museum

An appetizing invitation from the de la Torre Brothers you can’t refuse? First entering the McNay’s gallery containing their almost-all-media dinner-party installation, “Le Point de Bascule,” you feel as though the guests must have stepped away from the table for a smoke on the patio after a wildly fabulous meal. Taxidermy around the walls make it feel oddly at home in big-game-hunting Texas.

We’re repulsed by this opulence. But we’re also thinking: ‘God, I wish I’d been invited to this party.’”

Artist Einar de la Torre, interviwed by Patricia Escarcega for an article in The New York Times

Above: The dining room table in “Le Point de Bascule,” a multimedia art installation by the de la Torre Brothers

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Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Hands down, the best food we’ve found

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Above: Panelle with anchovies at Le Angeliche

(Part One can be viewed here.)

Odds are Le Angeliche is a restaurant you would never just happen upon, and, if you did perchance walk by its door, you’d still not take notice. Even trying to find it with google maps frustrated us a bit.

It’s located on a vicolo, an uninviting alleyway obscured by the crowded, sprawling El Capo Market. Produce sellers toss heaps of empty crates and boxes into the alley, and Le Angeliche’s door is just beyond that pile with hard-to-spot signage. Pass through the doors, and the hubbub of the market vanishes. The cozy bistro opens up onto a patio encased in lush greenery and a wall covered in blossoms.

This patio proved my favorite lunch spot in Palermo, as you can tell from the abundance of photos below. The menu reflects whatever’s fresh in the market, and we trusted the creative kitchen completely. Take what looks like a plain ball of rice below. The “naked rise” was studded with raw shrimp and topped with thin flakes of bottarga, a dried fish roe. Or panelle, chickpea flour fritters offered by street vendors, but thinner here and elevated by the addition of lemony anchovies.

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