Besides getting to meet and greet all the wonderful folks who inspire my cooking and writing, when I am on book tour I also get to experience a taste of every city I visit. Here are some culinary highlights of my journey so far:
Starting out in Austin, Texas on Halloween night, it was delightful to wander around downtown checking out all the costumed revelers. I found my way to the Cantina Laredo where I celebrated my kick off with a top notch frozen margarita and a small plate of perfectly seasoned tacos carnitas served on soft corn tortillas with a generous sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro and onion. The next morning, after an early TV appearance, I stopped at a funky dive called Star Seeds for a filling breakfast of Migas, a traditional Mexican dish of eggs scrambled with corn tortillas, tomatoes and jalapenos. Not exactly a light start but I was really hungry and it totally hit the spot. As I was leaving the waiter casually mentioned “You look even prettier in person.” I am definitely going back there!
Next stop, Houston, where I hit two hot spots: at Hugos I devoured an extraordinary salad of shaved fennel, tender greens, beets and chayote with thin ribbons of citrus zest, and then Reef where I met up with some friends and shared the house specialty crab lollipops (crab legs with a plump bite of lump meat still attached at the base) and bacon-smoked tuna slices served with paper thin slices of green apple and radish.
Back up North in Boston I connected with my college housemate and her husband for a fun dinner at Sel de la Terre, where I had to be practically held back from eating the entire plate of rosemary French fries we ordered.
In Vegas, I dined al fresco with dear friends at the wonderful Beard award winning Bartolotta. Unlike most big name restaurants in Vegas, Paul Bartolotta is actually there greeting customers and making magic in the kitchen. The restaurant specializes in Mediterranean fish which they fly in daily. I had the Triglia (red mullet) which was absolutely wonderful- a tender white fillet, cooked to perfection with briney capers and olives and sweet roasted red peppers in an ideal balance.
Nocca is definitely a find in Phoenix, its unintriguing location in a little strip mall is quickly erased from my mind as I enter and the modern, warm, artisanal vibe of the place draws me right in. I am both relaxed and energized watching the chefs in the open kitchen. I started with a roasted beet salad with micro greens blue cheese pistachio and pomagrante and then had Tazmanian Sea Trout (never heard of it before-it is very much like salmon) with Brussels sprouts, polenta and leeks. A perfect- quite intriguing- fall supper.
Then off to Seattle where I lunched with the talented people from Amazon who have been so supportive of the book. They arranged for one of their favorite home-town chefs, Tom Douglas, to cook up a meal using recipes from So Easy. What an honor it was to have Tom and his dream team make my food! It was only natural for me to want to try his. The only problem was choosing between the many of his fabulous restaurants. I landed at Dahlia for its relaxing yet energetic atmosphere where I indulged in Tom’s deservedly famous Dungenous crab cake and topped it off with a piece of his triple coconut cream pie. Luckily, I shared the pie because after just a few bites I was already in heaven.
Rounding off this leg of the tour back in Flemington, NJ, I had a late night meal after my signing at a cute little BYO place in the center of town called 55 Main. I particularly enjoyed my spinach salad there which was topped with warm grilled zucchini in a parmesan dressing.
What a culinary adventure it has been so far! I look forward to more when I am back on the road in January.
