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By Emily, August 13, 2009 10:23 am

Brian and I spent most of our time in Philly in the Old City.  We did a ton of walking in that area alone.  However, I couldn’t quite resist making the hike to Center City to see Reading Terminal Market.  How could I forgo checking out “the best, freshest and liveliest public market since 1893″?

In short, it was everything I hoped it would be.  Tons of vendors, amazing looking fresh food, variety, ethnic cuisine.  I very nearly decided to move to Philadelphia for the market alone.  It was a good thing we didn’t have a cooler with us or a fridge in our hotel because I would’ve spent a fortune on food.  I’ll stop rambling and just get to the photos, because they express my feelings much better:

Reading Terminal Market: definitely a Philadelphia foodie must see.

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By Emily, May 27, 2009 9:30 pm

Posting’s been thin lately, but I have a good excuse (I think).  My sister and I were on vacation in Quebec City.

If you’ve never been (and we hadn’t), I highly suggest you go.  We had a wonderful time shopping, going to the Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec, walking through The National Battlefields Park, and, of course, eating.

I’m sure Quebec isn’t the end all, be all of fine cusine, but I took my mini-vacation seriously and ate whatever I wanted, not necesarily in terms of quanity-we stuck to 3 meals a day, and relatively cheap ones because we’re like that- but I ordered whatever I felt like off the menu, vegetarian or not.  We were only there for 3 days and it was vacation after all.  Everything we ate was delicious (who doesn’t love crepes?), and despite our lack of ability to speak French, the waitstaff in all the restaurants we tried were accomodating and helpful.

We finished up our wonderful trip to Canada by stopping at the Empire Grill in Skowhegan, Maine on our way home.  For those unfamiliar with the novel Empire Falls by Richard Russo, the Empire Grill is the restaurant owned by the main character.  The Empire Grill in Skowhegan was used as the site for the filming of the HBO miniseries based on the book which starred Ed Harris, Helen Hunt, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Newman, after which time the restaurant kept the Empire Grill name.  Empire Falls is one of my absolute favorite books of all time, so stopping at the Grill was a “must do”.  The restaurant far exceeded my expectations.  The portions were huge (I think they served my sister an entire fish with her fish and chips), the prices reasonable and the food delicious.  Even if you don’t care about Empire Falls (though you really, really should!), the Empire Grill is the perfect place to eat if you ever find yourself in Skowhegan.

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By Emily, February 24, 2009 9:37 pm

Imagine my delight when I got the following update on Facebook today:

“Introducing “No Reservations: Hungry For More,” the new Facebook application from Travel Channel that lets users share and rate reviews on their experiences from all over the world.

Anthony Bourdain personally selects his favorite review for the grand prize—a foodie’s dream getaway to New York City! Users with the top reviews will also get a chance to win exclusive No Reservations prize packages.

Create reviews using text, picture or video in your own individual style because it’s all about your unique point of view. For ideas on how to get started, be sure to watch Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on Mondays at 10 PM EST.

Just add the application and you’re on your way:
http://apps.facebook.com/noreservationsapp/ “

From what I’ve seen so far, the app seems pretty cool.  I’m looking forward to reading restaurant and location reviews from “real people”.  So, check it out, add your experiences, and go for the grand prize!

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By Emily, February 19, 2009 9:59 am

Disclaimer: Tea is one of my most favorite things in the world.  Even if that’s not true for you, you should still read this post.

It’s somewhat unlikely that you’d ever find yourself randomly in Millerton, NY.  However, if you ever find yourself anywhere near Millerton, NY (like, in any state between New Jersey and Maine), you must stop by Harney and Sons Fine Tea on Route 22.The store/tea tasting bar/tasting room was a wonderful experience which I’d been looking forward to since receiving Harney and Sons teas as a gift last year.

My Man, his parents and I started with a delicious lunch in the Tasting Room.  There have been moments when I’ve felt frustrated by my decision to not eat meat for lunch–the mushroom strudel with gruyere cheese I ordered was not one of them.  It was incredible.  And, of course, we drank tea, Lapsang Souchong my Man picked out, which was smoky and definitely worth trying .  But even if you for some bizarre reason weren’t going to have any tea, the food is still worth it.

After lunch we moved on to the tea tasting bar.

It’s probably a bad idea to take me to a place which provides me with the opportunity to sample any one of 200 varieties of tea, the vast majority of which I’ve never heard (or dreamed) of.  I have a hard time deciding what color socks to wear on any given day. However, the staff at the tea bar are incredibly knowledgeable (I’d just about die for their job if I had any hope of ever retaining all the information the man behind the counter did.)  Chances are while you’re there, sipping and smelling tea and trying to consider what to purchase, John Harney will wander through and say hello, because it is a family business, after all.

Harney and Sons makes excellent tea.  The Plaza Hotel thinks so (they serve H&S “Palm Court” black tea), and so does Barnes and Noble.  The experience of the tasting room and tea bar only enhance the experience (and make me want to buy more tea).  Highly recommended.

Unable to visit?  Fear not, you can order all their tea online, at http://www.harney.com.

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By Emily, January 5, 2009 10:57 pm

So, I had a brief debate with myself this evening about whether or not it was worth staying up to watch the season premiere of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations on the Travel Channel.   I made the right choice.

I began to fall in love with Anthony Bourdain over the past few weeks (apologies to my Man), as Travel Channel was showing about every episode in succession to prepare for the new season.  Well, I’m hooked.  Who can resist a show that refers to matadors as “teen idols…Zac Efron with a sword” or features oyster flavored alcohol that’s apparently “like baby food that gets you slowly drunk”?  Moreover, it was worth giving up an hour of my usual sleep schedule to watch Tony thrown onto a mat by a professional wrestler.  Even more so, this episode made me want to go to Mexico, mostly to eat.  Everything looked tasty (except maybe the oyster-y alcohol) and I’m always impressed by Bourdain’s seemingly genuine surprise at liking everything he tries.  One might think that at this point he’d realize he likes everything, but he always tries it and he’s always impressed.

Despite his frequent digs at my favorite Food Network shows and stars, I love Bourdain’s perspective and the places the show goes.  I love the people he meets, I always learn something worth knowing and now I can add Mexico to my list of places I want to visit.

Now, I just have to decide if I’m going to watch No Reservations or Chopped on Monday evenings and if I can really afford to stay awake until 11 on school nights.

Next week No Reservations goes to Venice.  How can I say no?

I really must start reading Kitchen Confidential.