Hungry Travelers - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

Miss Shirley’s can conquer any Baltimore appetite

Posted on June 2, 2026June 2, 2026 by Pat and David

We'd been told that Miss Shirley's Cafe (missshirleys.com) was a favorite with baseball players so we figured it would be appropriate for a hearty meal ahead of a game between the hometown Baltimore Orioles and our home town Boston Red Sox. Little did we know that most of the Red Sox team was chowing down in the same restaurant in a private dining room. But one gander at the menu told us that athletic young men with hearty appetites were a perfect target clientele for this Baltimore comfort food institution. Indeed, the Polar Bear Pancakes are named for Pete Alonso, the towering first baseman nicknamed the Polar Bear. For the record, said pancakes are a supersweet combo of pancakes with Teddy Grahams, marshmallow Fluff, sugar...Read More

Food to bring home from Sicily

Posted on April 15, 2026April 7, 2026 by Pat and David

By nature, we are hunter-gatherers. (Pat hunts. David gathers. He usually has the extra space in his luggage.) We rarely venture anywhere without returning home with some of the tastes of the trip. This series about foodstuffs to bring home is usually entitled ‶What to buy in a supermarket in ….″ But apart from the capita city of Palermo, we didn't see many supermarkets. We ended up buying foodstuffs in the public open-air markets, small delis, and in specialty shops. Shopping from individual vendors on the street turned out to be much more fun than scouring the supermarket shelves. Over the course of three weeks we ended up with quite a haul. Fitting it into our Ryan Air-friendly luggage was a challenge. One item we...Read More

Enotecas offer insights into Sicily’s wine renaissance

Posted on April 11, 2026April 6, 2026 by Pat and David

The generational turnaround in Sicily's wine culture is almost enough to give a wine lover whiplash. Long known as a region of overcropped bulk wines that were shipped north for blending, Sicily has done a 180-degree turn. It's become a region that takes pride in its indigenous grapes, a region where small, often experimental winemakers are pushing the limits with natural yeasts and extended skin contact. And while many larger operations have also embraced varietals best known in Bordeaux and the Rhône valley, the number of winemakers focusing on natural wines made from old-vine Sicilian grapes took us entirely by surprise. The rise of an aspirational wine culture has also led to a spread of enotecas, or wine bars, where curious drinkers can taste a...Read More

Ghiotta: A touch of Sicilian home cooking

Posted on April 8, 2026March 30, 2026 by Pat and David

We met Lena as we were all marveling over the Greek theater in Taormina, Sicily (parconaxostaormina.com/en). Originally built in the third century BCE, the ruins perch high above the Ionian sea. Even after the Roman renovations (they took out the orchestra to make room for gladiatorial combat) and more than a millenium of decay, the old theater has a marvelously imposing presence. After chatting about Sicily's rich history and remarkable artifacts like Roman villas and Byzantine churches, our conversation inevitably turned to food. We had been spending a lot of time in the fresh food markets, after all. Lena had been born near Trapani and emigrated from Sicily to Toronto with her family when she was seven years old. She grew up eating her mother's...Read More

Sicily rings in Easter with baked pasta

Posted on April 1, 2026April 1, 2026 by Pat and David

One of the perks of renting an apartment while traveling is that it give us an excuse to go grocery shopping. (As if you could keep us out of the markets....) A particular shape of dried pasta kept catching our eyes in the fresh markets and even in the supermarkets. Called anelletti, it's a small ring-shaped pasta. We kept looking for it on restaurant menus, but to no avail. Eventually we learned that it's mainly used in baked pastas for special events, including Easter. Of course we bought a bag to bring home, and we're glad we did. The shape is a little hard to find in the U.S., as most ring-shaped pastas for sale here are the even smaller rings called anellini, mostly used...Read More

Sausage quest elicits timeworn beauty of Palazzolo Acreide

Posted on March 27, 2026March 27, 2026 by Pat and David

Good things happen when you follow your stomach. In our reading about Sicily we came across an intriguing gastronomic nugget. The traditional sausage of the mountain town of Palazzolo Acreide was one of more than fifty specialty foods of Sicily celebrated by the Slow Food Foundation. Only a handful of butchers still made the sausage, and only a few places in the town served it on their menus. In the interest of gastronomic preservation, we decided to pay a visit and do our part in keeping the tradition alive. It was, after all, only a 45-minute drive from elegant Noto, where we were staying in a guest room in the Liberty-style Villa Nicolaci (nicolacisuites.it/en/). Moreover, we hoped against hope that the 7th century BCE sanctuary...Read More

Welcome to Sicily at Palermo’s Ballaro market

Posted on March 8, 2026March 8, 2026 by Pat and David

We started a three-week trip to Sicily with a week in the island's capital city of Palermo. We have two criteria in choosing an Airbnb: the price and proximity to the fresh food market. We're not sure which comes first. We got it right on a funky little street with a second story apartment less than a five minute walk from the market streets. Yes, streets. Ballaro sprawls for blocks and blocks -- completely unlike the covered market buildings we're used to in Spain. And despite the stenciled signs advising "tourists go home," everyone is friendly and helpful. It's possible that the greatest art of Sicily is the display of food, which is rearranged every morning. This being March, the stalls are filled with gorgeous...Read More

V-day chocolate mousse made easy

Posted on February 13, 2026April 9, 2026 by Pat and David

This post is admittedly a rerun, but this dish continues to be a favorite in our household as the final act in a Valentine Day's dinner. We simply lack the skills to reproduce our all-time favorite dessert from Fauchon, the amazing gourmet shop, tea house, and pastisserie on Place de Madeleine in Paris. That would be Mejêve cake—perfect thin layers of crisp meringue with chocolate ganache and chocolate mousse. But this dynamite, simple, foolproof version of chocolate mousse given to us by a French cook, Madame Picavet, fills in nicely. She could effortlessly serve a perfectblanquette de veau or tomatoes stuffed with homemade pâté de campagne, but she also knew a good simple dessert recipe when she saw one. Given that Monsieur Picavet was especially...Read More

Launching 2026 with tea at The Newbury

Posted on January 6, 2026January 6, 2026 by Pat and David

It's a Boston reflex to speed the day by grabbing a cup of Dunkin' to go. But sometimes it's better to engage in a ruminative pot of tea, a few scones, and successive tiers of finger sandwiches and sweet bites. Few places anywhere observe the tea ceremony with such a sense of occasion as Boston's landmark hotel, The Newbury. Served in the Street Bar facing the Public Garden, the hotel's afternoon tea demonstrates the timelessness of tradition. Originally opened in 1927 as the Ritz-Carlton, The Newbury seemed a perfect spot for us to launch the new year. Like the month of January, it captures the spirit of the Roman god Janus — looking both to the past and the future. Done right, a formal afternoon...Read More

‘Winter in Tuscany’ cooks up cozy, rustic cuisine

Posted on December 2, 2025December 2, 2025 by Pat and David

Tuscany has been so well marketed in the English-speaking world that the name immediately conjures images of rolling green hills (crumbling castle optional), vast verdant vineyards, and occasional forays into the sophisticated urban centers of Florence and Siena. To diners, Tuscany is roasted meats and bold red wines. Born in London but raised in Arniano, Italy, cook and food writer Amber Guinness knows her way around Tuscany. Last spring we wrote about her book Italian Coastal, the follow-up to A House Party in Tuscany. We think that her just-published third book, Winter in Tuscany: Cozy Recipes and the Quanto Basta Way, expresses the spirit of the region even better. The book is rooted in the quiet season when most of the tourists are gone and...Read More