Indulging in some armchair traveling. Today: Munich’s Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin.
The Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin had a recent feature on Vienna in which they asked their favorite Viennese where they preferred to eat their schnitzel.
The schnitzel is the kind of national dish that is found everywhere in Vienna, which is great news if you are in a  hurry, did not do any research and just want to tick the schnitzel box on your list of things to eat in Austria. However if you are even just a tiny bit of a food perfectionist, this …

A quick search on Amazon.com for “Wine Reference” returned a staggering 5,754 results.  To narrow it down, I assumed those savvy Amazon customers might know what they are talking about, so limited the results to 4+ stars (out of five).  That eliminated just over half, taking the realm of possibly useful wine reference books down to 2,418.  I guess it’s no wonder why a family member recently asked for a recommendation on a good, multi-purpose wine tome.
The following is based on my own experience with books I’ve purchased and have …

Part of the excitement of moving into a new neighborhood is the exploration phase… that time where everything is new and finding your path to comfortable living is built brick by brick (aka “bar by bar”, “restaurant by restaurant”).  During this discovery phase, we recently had dinner at Greenpoint Coffee House.  We were so thoroughly impressed, we promptly returned the following night.
Originally, I had hoped to post something about how great the Greenpoint Coffee House was… particularly the deliciously crispy friend chicken with honey dipping sauce and buttermilk biscuit.  But …

Although this is already old news by today’s standards, we were shocked to read El Bulli – arguably the world’s most famous restaurant – will be closing for 2 years.  Starting in 2012, the restaurant will be closed to the public for approximately 2 years while the menu is re-envisioned.
We tried for the last two years to get our spot in this holy grail of a restaurant, but to no avail.  Now, our wait will have to be even longer.  For any of you fortunate enough to have checked it …

Probably the most difficult of all the Belgian Abbey beer producers to spell, the monks at Westvleteren produce what many consider the finest beer in the world.  We didn’t have a car and according to the beer-phone (now a way-too-high tech for monks schedule), we had just missed our opportunity to pick up a couple cases anyway from the abbey itself.  So, after searching all over Brugges, Brussels and what seemed like every other city starting with the letter B in Belgium, we finally landed a small cache of Westvleteren …

So, we wanted to stir up a bit of controversy.  If you have to pick one city – nay – one street to spend a weekend wining and dining along, where would it be?  Asked another way, “What is the greatest food and wine street on the face of the planet?”
Without a doubt, St. John’s St./Upper St. in London, England would get my vote.  A full run down would simply be impossible, so the list below is a quick  spin through the North to South highlights along this 1.7 mile stretch …

For you not to have heard about Gary Vaynerchuk, you must’ve spent the last 4 years of your life under a rock, stranded on a deserted island, in the middle of some yet-to-be-discovered ocean in a different universe.  Or, you just don’t have internet… making reading this exceedingly difficult.
Mr. Vaynerchuk “made it” with the help of Wine Library TV, a video-blog he hosts which is aimed at bringing wine-related information to the masses in easily digestible 10 minute segments.  The appeal of an everyman wine expert talking about the beverage …

Our international review is where we share the discoveries we make when we indulge in some armchair traveling. This week, we focused on some good carte des vins in the French speaking world and added these to our list.
Lyon: L’harmonie des vins
If you happen to be in Lyon this winter, Critik-Paris recommends you stop by L’harmonie des vins, a friendly and atmospheric wine bar located in the heart of the city
The bar offers a refreshingly diverse selection with wines from a large array of French regions as well as a …

The first thing you might notice about these wines is they are adorned with gorgeous labels and come in seriously hefty bottles (try carrying a case of these a few blocks and/or up a flight of stairs and you’ll know what I mean).  Marketing achievements aside, Bodegas Alto Moncayo has also garnered quite a bit of critical acclaim for their flight of 3 different wines – Veraton, Alto Moncayo and Aquilon.  To find to out what all the fuss is about, we decided to do a non-blind taste comparison of …

There are so many great islands to visit in Scotland… from the incredibly picturesque Skye, to the wild north of Orkney, to the famous distilleries on Islay.  One island that often gets overlooked is the humble, but infinitely charming, Isle of Arran.
Located just a short ferry ride off the coast of Ardrossan in the far southwest of the country, Arran is the most easily accessible island from both Glasgow and Edinburgh.  Few people outside Scotland know how charming this island can be, but many Scots who have been there consider …