Where Foodies Love to Eat

So we’ve made it to the middle of the week; we’re in the home stretch now. I’m taking a vacation day on Friday and am really looking forward to a three-day weekend. I need it. It’s been a stressful week and I feel overextended, so I’m trying to make a concerted effort to scale things back a bit. I tend to burn the candle at both ends a lot. Not intending to, of course, life just happens that way sometimes. So that being said, I’m trying to do what I can to fix that … always a work in progress.

As promised, tonight was a clean-out-the-fridge-night. I actually cleaned it out just about a week ago, but it sure is amazing how quickly it fills back up! Maybe I cook too much?! Perish the thought!! If I don’t concentrate on using up the leftovers, by the time I get to them (or find them!), they’re no longer recognizable. So tonight was a mish-mosh of food for dinner, but at least there’s a little extra space in the fridge now. A little anyway.

In the September 2005 issue of Budget Travel (of all places). there’s a great article, “Where Foodies Love to Eat,” that you may be interested in. As they tell it, “The truth is, the folks who cook, sell and write abour four-star cuisine appreciate a good taco. Actually, they adore a good taco – or pizza, or burger, or platter of ribs … So we pestered them until they shared every last tip from their recent trips. It’s food for the soul, from people whose taste you can trust.”

They got a variety of known “foodies” to contribute to the article. Here’s some highlights:

Mario Batali says that the best tacos in the world are in San Francisco at Taqueria San Jose; the best skirt steak is at Parrillada Las Vacas Gordas in Miami Beach; the best pork bao is at Momofuku in New York City, the best cappuccino is at the Rome Airport (go figure!) at the bar on the left when you pass through customs; and in Mario’s opinion, Florence has the best tripe sandwich from a stand on the corner of Via de Macci and Borgo la Croce at the Sant’ Ambrogio Market.

Alice Waters, famed chef/owner of Chez Panisse in CA, says the Pearl Oyster Bar in New York City has “the lobster roll by which others are judged,” and Cocina Primavera at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market has the best Mexican food, serving up delicious breakfasts with handmade tortillas and tamales and salsas with the purest of ingredients. And if there’s anyone who knows about “pure ingredients,” it would certainly be Ms. Waters!

Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of the popular Zingerman’s, says the best Cuban food ever comes from Milwaukee, of all places, at Cubanitas on North Milwaukee Street. Now there’s a surprise.

Rick Bayless, chef/owner of several restaurants and a popular cookbook author (see previous posts this week), gets “all worked up” just thinking about the Oklahoma-style barbecue at Van’s Pig Stand in Shawnee, just outside of Oklahoma City.

Chris Kimball of Cook’s Illustrated loves The Creamery in northeastern Vermont, not for their food, but for their pies. As he tells it, “The food’s awful except for the pies. The woman who makes the pies still melts and renders leaf lard – the fat around the kidneys in the pig. It’s mild and makes it taste much better than a butter crust. There are maple cream and chocolate cream pies – stuff you usually don’t see anymore.”

For more recommendations, you can read the complete article here.

Until tomorrow…