If you travel for business, or if you travel at all, often the first problem confronting you in a new place is that of how to find something decent to eat. We have all spent uncounted hours in our hometowns experimenting with restaurants, reading reviews, chatting about food, comparing grocery stores. All of that experience is torn away from you in a new place. Yet, if done right, the food can be one of the best parts of your trip–even in places which might seem like culinary wastelands (Anchorage). And I will tell you how.
First of all, you will probably want to pick up a map of the area. If you’re serious about food, you can’t afford to stay in the area in immediate sight of your hotel. Yes, you may have to do a bit of walking. Hotel maps can be useful – but ignore the restaurant ads on them. You don’t want to subsidize those places’ advertising budgets.
Instead, you’re going to Yelp. Look for the highest-rated places within a two-mile or so radius. But be careful how you interpret those results.
1) Consider the prevailing cuisine of the region. You want a dinner that will be congruent with the rest of your experience of the location. The best sushi place in Columbus, Ohio, is not likely to give you either the Columbus experience or good sushi.
2) Consider the ancillary cuisines of the region. Is there a concentration of immigrants from a particular area? Does the area have a cultural connection with another?
For instance, when you go to Alaska, you think of fish and reindeer sausage. But consider the fact that many Alaskans vacation in Hawaii. Perhaps there might be good Polynesian food. Or maybe the Russian influence has left behind restaurants as well as Orthodox churches. It’s worth doing a bit of Wikipediaing to find out your prospects.
3) Don’t bother reading bad Yelp reviews. Bad reviews are almost never about food. Bad reviews are written by people with personal grudges – they had to wait too long, pay too much, or the staff didn’t show them sufficient deference. Bad reviews can be hilarious, but they are irrelevant to your quest for good food. Especially when written by people who didn’t get in at all.
If you want deferential service, go to the most expensive place you can afford. If you want food, the service, and hence the negative reviews, are largely beside the point. Also, if a review complains about not being given enough food, remember it was, statistically speaking, most likely written by a fat person.
4) Do not be too intimidated by reviews claiming it is hard to get into a restaurant or bar. Many places are crowded in the first few weeks after opening, or if you show up, as so many Yelp reviewers seem to do, with five other people and no reservation on a Saturday night. This does not apply to you, the savvy business traveler. You are most likely alone or with only one other person, and you will prefer to dine early on weekday nights.
5) Read the good reviews. The sheer number of good reviews is irrelevant; what you’re really looking for are good reviews written by people who are interested in food. Which are not as common as you might think.
One Yelp review reads in full:
“The salmon soup was good. It was cold and refreshing.”
And this review is averaged in, along with all the others, to give a star rating.
So read the good reviews with discrimination. Does she love the place because it reminds her of the Cheesecake Factory back home? Does he give you details of the food, or details of the decor? Does he even bother to tell you what he ate, or is he focused on how often his water glass was refilled?
Once you find several good reviews by people who are like you, who will ideally give specific recommendations about what to eat and what to avoid, you’re set. If you do find a really good place, consider ordering a large dinner and eating the leftovers for lunch the next day. Otherwise, eating well during a business lunch is going to be hard, since you most likely won’t have time to research or range far afield.
If we are lucky, maybe my friend will contribute a post on how to find good food in small towns.
UPDATE:
I forgot to say that, if you are traveling with a group, avoid at all costs the restaurant your meeting planner has picked. Remember that her job is not to find great or even good food, but to find a restaurant which will be acceptable to the least common denominator, preferably within a few blocks from the hotel (because many of us are so used to driving that walking more than six blocks feels like a death march to the gulag.) Plus your meeting planner is probably a middle-aged woman with unadventurous tastes and not familiar with the area. I ignored this advice and had the only bad meal of my time in Honolulu.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
July 13, 2012
January 3, 2010
Women and cooking
I have finished a book called Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century.
Fascinating to learn that in the last years of the nineteenth century, foods were thought healthy in proportion as they were easy to digest. Vegetables and fruits were thought to be near valueless, and when vegetables were served, they were boiled into submission; the authorities recommended that cucumbers be boiled for twenty minutes, celery for half an hour, green beans for one to three hours! and beets for twelve hours. After which, vegetables were nearly always served covered in a white sauce made of flour, milk, butter, and usually no other flavorings. This is the dainty, aspirational cuisine of Edith Wharton.
The female authorities on cooking were not exactly feminist rebels--although they tried to introduce scientific and businesslike methods into the kitchen, they showed no resistance to certain common prejudices--for instance, the belief that women don't really know what it's like to be hungry--if not reminded to eat by their husbands and children, they might go for days without nourishment. Even female cooks bragged about the smallness of their appetites.
Even today, although women would seem to be associated with food, too often they have kept themselves apart from culinary hedonism. Recipes in women's magazines are described as cheap, low in calories, and most importantly, simple and easy to prepare. Most often women are given snacks rather than full meals. Men's magazines, on the other hand, offer us flavorful, spicy dishes with exotic ingredients and generous amounts of meat. Men's cocktails are made of expensive whiskey and arcane kinds of bitters. Women's 'cocktails' are pomegranate-mango juice with--if you must--a 'splash' of vodka.
And, while articles on restaurants and bars are a staple of men's magazines, there is no suggestion in women's magazines that these establishments even exist--well, except the constant warnings that a woman who drinks will probably get herself killed. How annoying.
There is also classism to laugh at; for instance, the bizarre assertion that, when people have different tastes in food, it shows that they have "not enough other interests besides that in eating and drinking". If people were enlightened and exercised enough, all personal preferences would disappear, and the Southerners, Negroes, Irish and Italians would all adopt the diet of bourgeois Bostonians.
Fascinating to learn that in the last years of the nineteenth century, foods were thought healthy in proportion as they were easy to digest. Vegetables and fruits were thought to be near valueless, and when vegetables were served, they were boiled into submission; the authorities recommended that cucumbers be boiled for twenty minutes, celery for half an hour, green beans for one to three hours! and beets for twelve hours. After which, vegetables were nearly always served covered in a white sauce made of flour, milk, butter, and usually no other flavorings. This is the dainty, aspirational cuisine of Edith Wharton.
The female authorities on cooking were not exactly feminist rebels--although they tried to introduce scientific and businesslike methods into the kitchen, they showed no resistance to certain common prejudices--for instance, the belief that women don't really know what it's like to be hungry--if not reminded to eat by their husbands and children, they might go for days without nourishment. Even female cooks bragged about the smallness of their appetites.
Even today, although women would seem to be associated with food, too often they have kept themselves apart from culinary hedonism. Recipes in women's magazines are described as cheap, low in calories, and most importantly, simple and easy to prepare. Most often women are given snacks rather than full meals. Men's magazines, on the other hand, offer us flavorful, spicy dishes with exotic ingredients and generous amounts of meat. Men's cocktails are made of expensive whiskey and arcane kinds of bitters. Women's 'cocktails' are pomegranate-mango juice with--if you must--a 'splash' of vodka.
And, while articles on restaurants and bars are a staple of men's magazines, there is no suggestion in women's magazines that these establishments even exist--well, except the constant warnings that a woman who drinks will probably get herself killed. How annoying.
There is also classism to laugh at; for instance, the bizarre assertion that, when people have different tastes in food, it shows that they have "not enough other interests besides that in eating and drinking". If people were enlightened and exercised enough, all personal preferences would disappear, and the Southerners, Negroes, Irish and Italians would all adopt the diet of bourgeois Bostonians.
September 3, 2009
Michael Pollan on food
Another article by Michael Pollan. He is a fanatic--a sympathetic one, but a fanatic. For instance, he thinks the healthcare crisis exists because people eat the wrong foods. Is that true? Personally, all the health care I’ve consumed has been either preventive care or antibiotics I took for communicable diseases (which I got because I went to institutional schools.) I, like most people, never became obese or diabetic because of my diet. Most health care costs come from basic preventive medicine or from the normal diseases of old age (including cancer, heart disease, etc.).
Also, Pollan’s description of food costs is filled with vagueries and inaccuracies.
As if our feelings were relevant!
When he directly confronts food costs, he becomes harsh and judgmental:
Note the air of condescension here; a phone is a frivolity (although when I was trying to find a job, it sure seemed like a necessity!), while paying three times the normal price for eggs, as Pollan advises, is a rational decision.
I do have a certain sympathy for those who think we should be buying better food--but why don’t they devote their energy towards making better food affordable? As long as ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ foods are harder to find, spoil faster, and cost $6 for a loaf of bread or a carton of eggs, only relatively rich people will buy them. As it is now, telling poor people to spend more money than they have to on food is worthy of Marie Antoinette.
Also, Pollan’s description of food costs is filled with vagueries and inaccuracies.
Organic food is not subsidized in any way.
However you feel about free trade with regard to your computer or your car, my guess is that, if you thought about it, you'd feel differently about your food.
As if our feelings were relevant!
When he directly confronts food costs, he becomes harsh and judgmental:
I think people just have to dig down in their pockets and spend more for food. We seem to be able to afford spending $50 to $100 a month on television and cellphones.
Note the air of condescension here; a phone is a frivolity (although when I was trying to find a job, it sure seemed like a necessity!), while paying three times the normal price for eggs, as Pollan advises, is a rational decision.
I do have a certain sympathy for those who think we should be buying better food--but why don’t they devote their energy towards making better food affordable? As long as ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ foods are harder to find, spoil faster, and cost $6 for a loaf of bread or a carton of eggs, only relatively rich people will buy them. As it is now, telling poor people to spend more money than they have to on food is worthy of Marie Antoinette.
July 11, 2009
the Cafe Aurora
Today I had an annoying experience which I will not discuss and an exciting experience which I will! I Googled coffee shops in Alexandria, and the closest one I found was called the Cafe Aurora. (Obviously, I was interested not in coffee, but in Internet.) But what Google _didn't_ tell me was that the Cafe Aurora is an Eritrean café!
Yes, this is my first contact with the noble nation of Eritrea, and it made a good impression. Free wireless, first of all. I can only hope the whole country is like that.
Secondly, I ordered the (only) dish with the Arabic name and the tea with the Arabic name. (They speak Arabic in Eritrea, in case you were wondering.) This was a gamble which turned out quite well. The 'fuul' was a dish of fava beans, crushed with olive oil, topped with feta cheese, green peppers, red onions, tomatoes and hot peppers, and served with pita bread. I always appreciate colorful food, and this was delicious too. I will definitely come back for the fuul.
The innocent-looking tea was filled with hidden danger. My first social "faux pas" in Eritrea: I was served delicious spice tea with an extra tea bag on the side, and drank it. BUT what I later found out was that what I thought was the tea was actually some sort of herbal, cardamomy flavored water base, and that the tea bag was supposed to contribute the actual tea! What a tea amateur I must have seemed. In fact, perhaps because of my cartoonishly low tolerance for caffeine, I actually preferred the non-tea.
That is all.
Update: the Cafe Aurora has two mottoes.
Cafe Aurora: We Rise With the Sun.
Makes sense.
Cafe Aurora: The Land of Common Sense.
???
Yes, this is my first contact with the noble nation of Eritrea, and it made a good impression. Free wireless, first of all. I can only hope the whole country is like that.
Secondly, I ordered the (only) dish with the Arabic name and the tea with the Arabic name. (They speak Arabic in Eritrea, in case you were wondering.) This was a gamble which turned out quite well. The 'fuul' was a dish of fava beans, crushed with olive oil, topped with feta cheese, green peppers, red onions, tomatoes and hot peppers, and served with pita bread. I always appreciate colorful food, and this was delicious too. I will definitely come back for the fuul.
The innocent-looking tea was filled with hidden danger. My first social "faux pas" in Eritrea: I was served delicious spice tea with an extra tea bag on the side, and drank it. BUT what I later found out was that what I thought was the tea was actually some sort of herbal, cardamomy flavored water base, and that the tea bag was supposed to contribute the actual tea! What a tea amateur I must have seemed. In fact, perhaps because of my cartoonishly low tolerance for caffeine, I actually preferred the non-tea.
That is all.
Update: the Cafe Aurora has two mottoes.
Cafe Aurora: We Rise With the Sun.
Makes sense.
Cafe Aurora: The Land of Common Sense.
???
June 14, 2009
Pasta with Swiss chard and cream sauce
My roommate gave me a can of cream of celery soup the other day and I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. I sat staring for a few minutes trying to figure out why anyone would put celery in soup. Then I found this recipe.
And it’s good! Even before adding the cheese & sour cream, the vegetable/cream of celery sauce was delicious!
But, like most American-style recipes, the dish needs more vegetables and more spice. I added black pepper, a little cayenne pepper, and some whole brown mustard seeds. Not too much spice, because the dish is already fairly strong-flavored.
For vegetables, I used blanced spinach and Swiss chard, sliced plum tomatoes and canned artichoke hearts. I also grated and sautéd some red cabbage, then sprinkled it on top for color as well as nutrition.
I drank a cheap rosé.
And it’s good! Even before adding the cheese & sour cream, the vegetable/cream of celery sauce was delicious!
But, like most American-style recipes, the dish needs more vegetables and more spice. I added black pepper, a little cayenne pepper, and some whole brown mustard seeds. Not too much spice, because the dish is already fairly strong-flavored.
For vegetables, I used blanced spinach and Swiss chard, sliced plum tomatoes and canned artichoke hearts. I also grated and sautéd some red cabbage, then sprinkled it on top for color as well as nutrition.
I drank a cheap rosé.
June 13, 2009
Bell peppers
As a bell pepper ripens, it turns from green to yellow, orange, or red, depending on the variety. These bright peppers are sweeter simply because they are ripe, whereas the bitter green pepper is unripe. Purple peppers, too, are harvested when immature and would turn an uncommonly dark green if allowed to ripen fully. So unless you're fond of the tannic bitterness of the common green and the purple varieties, we suggest sticking with yellow, orange, or red.
[Cook's Illustrated]
June 9, 2009
My new diet.
Breakfast:
1 egg. 1 glass wine.
Lunch:
2 eggs. 2 glasses wine.
Dinner:
1 steak. The rest of the bottle.
Seriously. I'm only doing this for a few days, in case you're worried about my getting scurvy. Although, as I recently learned, only 1/2 ounce of lemon juice a day is enough to prevent scurvy! That's right: you heard it here first: one whiskey sour a day, and you never have to eat fruit again! And it's the excuse you've been wanting to have whiskey for breakfast.
1 egg. 1 glass wine.
Lunch:
2 eggs. 2 glasses wine.
Dinner:
1 steak. The rest of the bottle.
Seriously. I'm only doing this for a few days, in case you're worried about my getting scurvy. Although, as I recently learned, only 1/2 ounce of lemon juice a day is enough to prevent scurvy! That's right: you heard it here first: one whiskey sour a day, and you never have to eat fruit again! And it's the excuse you've been wanting to have whiskey for breakfast.
May 20, 2009
Blanched spinach: a miracle food
Pretty much every time I cook, about halfway through the process it suddenly occurs to me that, hey, I could blanche some spinach and throw it in here. It works for almost any dish: omelet, casserole, soup, chili, curry, pasta, or tortilla dish. Blanching is easy and spinach is one of the most nutritious foods ever. You can reduce several handfuls of spinach:
to a tiny quantity of cooked spinach:
so that you can incorporate extra nutrients into almost any meal with very little effect on its color, texture or taste.
Also, if you fail to eat spinach fast enough and it gets crushed and starts to rot, you don't have to throw it away; just blanche it and mix it in, and it retains its palatibility.
to a tiny quantity of cooked spinach:
so that you can incorporate extra nutrients into almost any meal with very little effect on its color, texture or taste.
Also, if you fail to eat spinach fast enough and it gets crushed and starts to rot, you don't have to throw it away; just blanche it and mix it in, and it retains its palatibility.
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