The Rainbow Drive-In

This is a guest post from my husband, Michael, who travels the world and brings home stories of his many culinary adventures.

When traveling to even familiar places it’s nice to know a local. My friend Donn has lived in Hawaii all his life and when I asked him about the Rainbow Drive-In his face broke out in a grin as he chuckled, “It’s not very touristy.” In Honolulu with all the visitors, crowds, and overhype something like this simple drive-in has a certain appeal. Read more

Stuttgart Markthalle

This short jaunt to Germany has been so much fun, and I have to say one of the highlights was visiting the Stuttgart Markthalle, an historic market in the old part of Stuttgart. A vegetable market has been in this location since 1864, and the building was constructed between 1911 and 1914. The building was reconstructed after receiving heavy damage during World War II and the interior underwent extensive renovations after a 1993 fire. The building has been noted as a cultural monument since 1974. Read more

Restaurant: Calwer Eck, Stuttgart, Germany

Billed as the “kleinste bräuerei Stuttgarts” (the smallest brewery in Stuttgart), Calwer Eck is a brewery restaurant worth a look. In a central downtime location on the Calwer Strasse, a pedestrian street near the Stadtmitte S-Bahn stop, it’s easily accessible and close to a number of tourist attractions in the Altstadt (old part of town). When walking down the Calwer Strasse, look for this menu station and the sign above that says “Hausbrauerei,” then go up the marble stairs to the left, or you can dine outdoors in front of the entrance. The interior is warm and inviting, with walls covered in stained wood and beautiful windows overlooking the Calwer Strasse. They have large raised booths with wooden benches or tables with chairs.

The restaurant features traditional hearty Swabian favorites and they have both German and English menus available, though I had fun trying to dust off my high school German from years ago translating the menu for Michael. They serve breakfast daily lunch specials (Mittags) including drink from 11:00 am to 5 pm, dinner after 5 pm, and a Sunday all you can eat brunch from 10 am to 4 pm. The daily lunch specials are very reasonable at just €6,50 with soup and salad extra at just €1,80. Read more

Tokyo Eating by the Clock

This is a guest post from my husband, Michael, who travels the world and promised me a story about one of his many culinary experiences. Future posts will have photos from his trips.

We ventured across the world’s busiest intersection, the rush hour crowd absorbing us as if we weren’t there.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

A mustached smile gleamed back at me, “A Mongolian barbecue where we can eat and drink all we want for 4000 yen (about $28).”

I shook my head in disbelief.

My friend chuckled after reading my expression. “Oh yeah, and we’ve got to finish in ninety minutes.”

Read more

Donuts & More, Our Favorite Donut Shop

Part of our annual trek to the Adirondacks includes a pilgrimage to Donuts & More in Speculator, New York. It’s a tradition for us to have these delicious donuts at least once during the trip, but some years we indulge a few times. The shop has been there for many years and is now owned by Gwen and Mark Crary, who bought it in Fall 2007 and officially reopened in May. The previous owners, Marie and James, ran the shop for a number of years. Sadly, Marie passed away in March, but Gwen and Mark are doing a fine job keeping the tradition going.

I don’t know their secret, but this little place makes the best donuts I’ve ever tasted anywhere. They have a delicious fluffy crumb and aren’t the least bit greasy. The shop sells eight varieties; mostly cake, but they also have a few yeast donuts with cream or jelly filling. My favorite is the cinnamon and sugar cake donuts (in the photo above), though I will happily eat any of the varieties they sell! Mark arrives at 4 am to start the donuts and then continues to make them fresh throughout the morning based on demand, and it’s quite a treat to walk into the shop and see the fresh donuts lined up in the case.

The lines can be quite long in the mornings, especially on the weekends, so plan ahead and get there early. One dozen donuts costs $7.00, and they are absolutely worth it.

Details

Donuts & More

Location: Speculator, New York at the intersection of Routes 30 and 8; The Lane Emporium in the Charlie John’s Store parking lot

Open: Memorial Day to mid-October

Hours: 7 am to 12 pm, Thursday through Monday (Summer), 7 am to 12 pm, Saturday and Sunday (after Labor Day)

More information: Speculator Chamber of Commerce, Town of Lake Pleasant, Wikipedia – Speculator, NY

Central New York Regional Market, Syracuse

We made our traditional trip to the Central New York Regional Market in Syracuse on Saturday morning. It’s a large, fun market with several rows of sheds and tents, and I always depart with the wish that we had something of this scale in Northern Virginia. You can find great local organic produce, flowers, plants, fresh maple syrup, wines, honey, eggs, cheese, and butter, as well as crafts and flea market type items. The Amish community brings in lovely baked goods, which seem to go very quickly. The place gets busy early in the day, so arriving close to the 7 am opening time is a good idea.

I wandered around taking photos of some of the produce stands. The boys were very excited by all the fresh fruits and vegetables, especially when they got to help purchase the items and helped Grandma and Papa carry the bags.

I thought these donut peaches had a beautiful color and fun shape.

Corn is now in season, and we bought a bunch of ears of the popular bicolored butter & sugar variety. This is a good variety for home gardens, with just 75 days to harvest.

We’d never seen Ishtar squash before, and had to ask about it. The vendor told us it’s similar to zucchini squash, only sweeter. We’re already scouring online trying to find seeds for next year.

Carrots and beets and other root vegetables are starting to come in. I really liked the colorful varieties in this display.

The flowers were especially pretty this time.

Next Page »