Seattle + Vancouver: A Cook’s Tour

Last week, I tagged along on one of the Frenchman’s business trips to Seattle. He spent his days at A Large Computer Company, and I spent half my day working in the hotel room, and the other half exploring the city. The best way to explore a new city, in my opinion, is by eating your way through it, hungry caterpillar-style. Sussing out eateries, and rambling around a city on foot, is my favorite way to get to know a new place. It’s easier to familiarize culture through food and walking, more so than, say, waiting in line to see the “classic” tourist attractions.

Since I put quite a lot of effort into my researches of the places we visit, I thought the time was ripe for me to start recording my findings somewhere concrete. (Up until now, I’ve been keeping a stack of hand written notes and papers, which is just as disorganized as it sounds.) From this trip on, I plan to share with you what I find. I hope you’ll find the information useful!

There won’t be a recipe this week, but instead, plenty of information about Seattle, and a bit about Vancouver, which we visited for a day. I’ve also included an abundance of photos, for your viewing pleasure. Read more »

A Dinner Party in Buenos Aires

Because I am totally off my rocker, I decided early this week that I wouldn’t let a little thing like vacation in a foreign country bar me from the kitchen. I wouldn’t be deterred by small details; like the fact that I am currently 5,000 miles from home, or that I had hardly any cooking supplies, or that I posessed only a rudimentary idea of where to shop in Buenos Aires. No pasa nada!

The Frenchman and I are staying at a hotel, but a friend of ours recently moved to Buenos Aires for work, and so there was a kitchen available. (And by “available” what I mean is that I basically invited myself over, and then invited him to invite his coworkers over too. Charming, I know.)

And so I spent the better part of one day shopping, criss-crossing the city based on internet suggestions for where I might find a decent farmers market, or a great loaf of bread. (I found the farmers market, but alas, I have yet to try tasty bread in Buenos Aires.) Some might consider this a ridiculous way to pass a day in a foreign city, when there are art museums to be seen, and Casas Rosas to be marveled at. But food–tasting it, rooting it out, chatting with people over it–is my preferred method of tourism.

I had no menu at the start of my shopping day, but decided to let the dinner menu form itself a little bit at a time: Read more »