Register

What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

For all refugees from the old Beeb Food Boards :-)
Chill out and chat with the foodie community or swap top tips.
NOTE: CHATTERBOX IS IN THIS FORUM

Moderators: karadekoolaid, THE MOD TEAM, Stokey Sue, Gillthepainter

Posts: 2416
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2017 6:19 pm
Location: Barcelona

What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Alexandria » Sun Mar 31, 2019 12:02 am

What was or has been your most rewarding gastronomic trip you had taken and why ?

There are uncountable gastronomic related trips we have taken over the years, however, here are a couple
of the most recent (this year 2019 ) ..

We recently discovered the area surrounding Cuneo, Piedmont, and we were so pleasantly
pleased to see so much beauty and the food culture is absolutely astonishing.

We loved Café Arione, where Ernest Hemmingway used to stop to buy chocolates
for his spouse.

The delighting hazelnut meringues with whipped cream ! I never liked meringues however,
these were dazzling dynamic.

Parma ..

The city of food by Unesco´s standards where a gastronomy tour is a must.

Silvano Romani´s deli is famous for its charcuterie and Culatello, Salame and its anolini pasta.
The Rural Market, is a market workshop where one can find genuine fare from the farmers in the Tosco
Emiliano Appenines.

The Pasicceria Torino in via Garibaldi is where one shall find a sweet tortello filled with brusca jam named
after the Dutchess of Parma.

http://www.parmacityofgastronomy.it

Bologna ..

Mercato delle Erbe in via Ugo Bassi is quite amazing.
There is a fishmonger with a kitchen at Banco 32.
Quite fascinating ..

Tamburini in via Caprarie, has been selling tortellini, filled pastas,
and rare local specialties for 130 years. The breads are to die and go to
heaven for !

That is it for the moment.

Have a lovely weekend. :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

User avatar
Posts: 2632
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: Clayton-le-Woods

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Renee » Sun Mar 31, 2019 10:42 am

You must have the most wonderful memories Member 461!

My best memory was when I was taken to a Japanese restaurant in Vancouver when I stayed with family over there. We sat at a bar and watched all the fish being prepared at lightning speed. It was such an amazing experience and to enjoy some of them afterwards.

Posts: 2416
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2017 6:19 pm
Location: Barcelona

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Alexandria » Sun Mar 31, 2019 3:17 pm

Renée,

Yes, I too, have sat at "sushi bars" & just watching the artisanal manner in which the fish is sliced or carved, is an amazing experience.

Tokyo is an extraordinary gastronomic paradise.

We spent some time in Canada approximately a decade ago and it is a vast country ! 8, 500 Km. from the East coast to the West coast.

Have a lovely day Dear. :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

User avatar
Posts: 1879
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:30 pm
Location: Provence

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Joanbunting » Sun Mar 31, 2019 3:43 pm

So many Member 461 but I too loved Bologna and Parma, the Mantua on GFW trip which was fabulous.

We were in Washington DC 7 years ago now and ate wonderfully well everything from Wolfgang Pucks place to Hanks Oyster Bar.

Can't say I am at all enthusiastic about sushi, though a friend did take us to a restaurant in DC where we watched them being made but one was quite enough for me - raw fish and cold rice don't float my boat at all.

We once travelled across Mexico and the food was truly fascinating. From the Pacific to the Yucatan penninsula via Mexico City and the mountains. Such a vibrant place in those days what a shame it is not like than anymore. I am glad and grateful to have seen it in the good times.
Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

Posts: 2416
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2017 6:19 pm
Location: Barcelona

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Alexandria » Sun Mar 31, 2019 10:17 pm

Joan,

We travelled to Mexico two decades ago, and the region we enjoyed the most was the east coast, Cancun, Cozumel, Rivera de Maya and most of all Tulum,
which had the most impeccably lovely White sands.

I have only been to Wash. D.C., Manhattan and Boston for travel - tourism conventions and once a travel tourism convention in Orlando, Florida and one in Chicago.

For a few extra days, after the tourism convention, we flew over to San Francisco, California and Manhattan which were much more enjoyable, two or three years ago.

Have a lovely evening.
Last edited by Alexandria on Sun Mar 31, 2019 10:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

User avatar
Posts: 8629
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Stokey Sue » Sun Mar 31, 2019 10:18 pm

Nearly every trip has it’s gastronomic moments, though I don’t generally plan trips around the restaurants and food I expect to find it when I am there

Sometimes the food memory is something small but memorable such as a street food snack, sometimes it’s a great restaurant.

Though I am getting a little weary of travellers and tv presenters who rave about some small local speciality, which is essentially a small lump of stodge; Rick Stein is guilty of this, he keeps on about how simple and amazing something is, and I think “hmm, I’ve eaten that, and in fact I’ve eaten it there, not so much simple as quite plain and slightly dull”. Occasionally of course plain and simple is wonderful - grilled octopus in Mykonos for example, a steak frites on the Champs Elysėes, but I’m beginning not to believe him and the others who protest too much.

User avatar
Posts: 1205
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:19 pm
Location: Essex

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Binky » Mon Apr 01, 2019 4:31 pm

My most memorable meal was at a ryokan (country inn) in Japan. We stayed overnight and were given kimono-style robes to wear, then came for dinner where you knelt at the tiny table. Japanese music was playing gently, and beautiful lacquer dishes were used. Lots of wonderful Japanese foods were served, and no sushi in sight. It was 'food theatre' at its best.

The next place would be Baja Mexico, where we overdosed on guacamole, quesadillas, tortillas and beer at every opportunity. The venues, overlooking the sea, also helped.

The only other place I have a clear and lasting memory of is a remote restaurant in Moorea (Tahiti) which was French speaking. We were the only English people to have ever visited, so got free drinks. I can't recall the food - sorry!

Posts: 2416
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2017 6:19 pm
Location: Barcelona

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Alexandria » Mon Apr 01, 2019 10:43 pm

Binky,

Gastronomy, or food today is quite individual.

It is about originality, creating unique experiences and something unexpected.

We truly loved travelling through Japan. The focus on the guest, the service,
the atmosphere and the art .. and the art of the fish and shellfish .. and the Wide Variety of
Sake !!

We have Spanish friends who live in Cabo de San Luca, Mexico and years ago, it was
quite different. Now it is a haven for North American Expats and affulent Mexicans.

It was very comfortable and relaxing years ago ..

Have a lovely evening.
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

User avatar
Posts: 8629
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Apr 01, 2019 11:40 pm

Been trying to think of some highlights. I’ve told some of these before

Two excellent formal lunches in Beijing, one in a hotel; one more surprisingly in the medical school canteen

First taste of langoustines with fresh mayonnaise in Brittany aged 8

First taste of Parma ham in Como aged 10

First churros in Laredo, Spain aged 15

All the food on a converted rice barge in Kerala, cooked on board and served like a dinner party

Spice Market restaurant at the Four Seasons in Bangkok

Welsh cakes cooked to order in Swansea market

Lobster on the quayside in Fiskardo Cephalonia

Homemade fruit pies in a tiny diner in California in 1981. Think Twin Peaks, they had about a dozen, there was a vote to find which 2 we should order to share then the sheriff (yes, really) gave me the tip off his pie wedge too.

And of course wonderful meals in France over the last 50 years +

I could go on

User avatar
Posts: 1489
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:07 pm

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Badger's Mate » Tue Apr 02, 2019 1:40 pm

I suppose India was an eye-opener, largely because the food we had was familiar to anyone with a lifetime's experience of eating in British curry houses. I wasn't expecting that, assuming our restaurants to be inauthentic. Less so than I imagined, as it turned out.

We've had wonderful lamb and smoked salmon in Iceland, great seafood in Patagonia. My first experience of oysters from Chesapeake bay. Octopus in Santa Luzia on the Algarve. Jamón ibérico de bellota in Extremadura

You don't have to go anywhere exotic of course. Trips to North Norfolk have yielded Cley kippers, Brancaster mussels and Stiffkey blue cockles, all a revelation. Some years ago we went to the Isle of Mull. The ferry goes from Oban. I bought some scallops from a kiosk on the harbourside. They were delicious, the first time Mrs B had ever eaten them. Ironically, as she had previously lived in Oban (it was (is?) the main scallop fishing port in the UK) several years previously. We went back last year, the harbourside had been done up and there were several seafood restaurants established there now.
Oh, and Gigha smoked halibut. Musn't forget that.
Last edited by Badger's Mate on Tue Apr 02, 2019 2:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Posts: 1879
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:30 pm
Location: Provence

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Apr 02, 2019 1:57 pm

Oh those Chesapeake oysters. :yum ! Having said that the lobsters and soft shelled crabs were pretyy darned good too. DD lived there for over 2 years. I was the only family member who actually like oysters.
Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

User avatar
Posts: 1489
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:07 pm

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Badger's Mate » Tue Apr 02, 2019 2:12 pm

I was in my mid twenties and had resisted trying oysters because Dad had acquired an allergy or intolerance. They put him in bed for a day or two. This happened maybe thrice after he'd eaten them different ways, initially he didn't twig. Once he realised the cause he gave them up of course, although he loved them dearly. However, I was sat in a bar at the harbourside in Baltimore, curiosity got the better of me and I had three oysters and three clams on the half shell. I haven't looked back since and (touching wood, crossing fingers) several decades later, still haven't come a cropper.

Of course you are also right about the soft-shell crabs and the lobsters. Mind you we get pretty good crustaceans over here too.

Posts: 2416
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2017 6:19 pm
Location: Barcelona

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Alexandria » Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:54 pm

Badger Mate, Joan & Sue,

Have a lovely evening and week ahead. :wave

I have enjoyed reading about all the interesting gastro pleasures ..

Yes, of course, we probably could all author our own books on topic !
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

User avatar
Posts: 6058
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:19 am
Location: East Anglia

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Suffs » Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:24 am

A huge heap of grilled freshwater crayfish from a local reservoir, served with crusty homemade bread and a lightly dressed salad of wild herbs gathered from around the lake .., and followed by basket of bramble branches heavy with large and luscious blackberries ... eaten in a little family-run restaurant in the hills above Florence :yum

User avatar
Posts: 1879
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:30 pm
Location: Provence

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Joanbunting » Wed Apr 03, 2019 10:08 am

Badger's Mate wrote:wood, crossing fingers)

Of course you are also right about the soft-shell crabs and the lobsters. Mind you we get pretty good crustaceans over here too.


Of course you do. I used to live in the NE and the seafood was heavenly. I worked not far from the Fish Quay in North Shields and, as a child, holidayed on the Northumberland coast. I was even taken out on a local fishing boat when they hauled the pots. The first time we were given a live lobster neither my mother or aunt knew what to do with it - they were terrified! So I asked the fisherman's wife and she showed me. I was 10. She also taught me how to cook and dress a crab.

Oysters were not "done" in the NE the first time I tasted them was when I was at college in London. Love at frist taste. I've still never persuaded M to try one.
Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

User avatar
Posts: 1489
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:07 pm

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Badger's Mate » Wed Apr 03, 2019 10:52 am

Oysters were a bit controversial in our part of North London when I were a lad, they probably still are. Dad must have tried them at the seaside or maybe when he was in the Navy at the end of the war. So they were a mystical rare treat when away from home. He was unwell after eating some tinned smoked oysters, but didn't react to some he had cooked in a Chinese restaurant. Subsequent upsets confirmed his fears and he stopped. So they had a layer of edginess in our family in addition to all the socioeconomic and cultural objections in the society in which I grew up. Luckily I took no notice of that nonsense. :D

User avatar
Posts: 6058
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:19 am
Location: East Anglia

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Suffs » Wed Apr 03, 2019 1:03 pm

Stoppit you two :roll: .... I adore oysters and ate them for many years ... but the last three times I’ve eaten them I’ve been very ill indeed :vomit

I darent eat them any more ... that makes me very sad indeed :cry:

User avatar
Posts: 8629
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed Apr 03, 2019 1:32 pm

I’ve had a couple of bad reactions to live oysters but I tried some oysters Rockefeller and they were fine, so I don’t think it’s an allergy, one day I’ll get just two very fresh oysters and try them discretely at home

Unfortunately the oyster knife is mia

User avatar
Posts: 1879
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:30 pm
Location: Provence

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Joanbunting » Wed Apr 03, 2019 1:48 pm

The only time I was very ill after an oyster it was from a very dodgy batch which made all of us who ate them sick. The person who sold them was investigated by the public health people and stopped trading. The other 3 people involved have not eaten oysters since but _ think that is just silly. I had more just a few weeks after the unfortunate incident and lots since then with no ill effects at all.

My father wouldn't eat shellfish ever again after a dodgy experience with a prawn cocktail. Genuine allergies are quite different and very unfortunate, especially if you really love the culprit.
Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

User avatar
Posts: 1489
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:07 pm

Re: What has been your most rewarding gastronomic trips ?

Postby Badger's Mate » Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:50 pm

Sorry Suffs

Mrs B isn't allowed to eat oysters raw of course. She's not a great fan of them cooked, preferring scallops. The sight of my attempts at opening half a dozen with a kitchen knife led to me being bought my first oyster knife about 20 years ago :shock:

Makes a big difference to our usage of sticking plasters :D

Next

Return to Food Chat & Chatterbox

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests