Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above: Frascoli Bacaro
Let’s start with a bacaro. A bacaro is a food stop offering cicchetti with wine where it’s perfectly acceptable to stand around chatting while consuming both.
Cicchetti? Think tapas or pinxtos. A wonderful social concept, but I really prefer to consume a pleasant lunch sitting down. And the bacaros we sampled in Padua met that desire well.
Continue reading “Postcard from Padua, Italy: Pairing vini and cicchetti”
Above: Turnips with trout caviar at Armada
I know you might be thinking: “Seriously? Turnips?”
Lyon…. A culinary tradition that grew up to change the world of gastronomy…. It’s about food, lots of food, great food. Some of the greatest food on earth…. What is it exactly about this place? Over the past century, the system here, the tradition, whatever it is that took hold here, churned out a tremendous number of the world’s most important chefs…. Why Lyon? Why is this such a gastronomic capital?”
Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown: Lyon, France, April 27, 2014
I can’t answer that. For Bourdain’s explanation, you might have to watch that episode of Parts Unknown. But I can state we lingered over some excellent meals during our stay in Lyon and hope these photos help you navigate among the many choices available.
Continue reading “Postcard from Lyon, France: Fertile ground for chefs”
Above: Speciale de Claires oyster at La Boite a Sardine
A fair number of French will tell you in unguarded moments that ‘Marseille is not France,’ and what they mean by that is that it’s too Arab, too Italian, too Corsican, too mixed up with foreignness to be truly and adequately French. But, anybody who knows me knows that’s exactly the kind of mixed up gene pool I like to swim in and eat in. It is a glorious stew of a city, smelling of Middle Eastern spices, garlic, saffron and the sea.”
“Marseille is a Must-See City in France,” Anthony Bourdain, CNN, October 2, 2015
Offering up a quick alphabetical tour of restaurants we came across and enjoyed while in Marseille this past spring.
A trendy, upscale yet casual, lunch-only spot attracting neighborhood millennials to the point where reservations are recommended, Cantoche is not in a location you would simply stumble across as a tourist. But it’s definitely destination-worthy and less than a fifteen-minute walk from the Vieux Port.
Continue reading “Postcard from Marseille, France: Seafood, spices and mysterious black vanilla”
Postcards from Barton Springs 