Haven’t Gotten Enough Fish Eyeballs Lately? Hit the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival, March 9-11

by Willy Volk on

Held each year in Hokitika, a tiny city on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, the Hokitika Wildfoods festival is a celebration of the local bushtucker. The emphasis is on novel, tasty, healthy bush food — but the organizers clearly encourage the slightly gross, as well, considering the inclusion of huhu grubs, fish eyeballs, and “dueling possums” (pictured) on the menu.

Of course, food and drink doesn’t wash down well without entertainment, so the organizers have invited everybody from roving blacksmiths to bands. In other words, you’ll be smiling broadly while stuffing your face with Deep Fried Grasshopper, Pigs Eyes in Mac-and-Cheese, Pickled Bugs, BBQ’ed Cow Udders, and Worm Sushi. Don’t worry: if you’ve got a delicate stomach, you can always opt for the Bunny Burgers.

[Via Travel Junkie]

World’s Fattest Places/World’s Skinniest Places

by Willy Volk on

I’m 5’10”, and I weigh about 150 pounds. I am by no means fat. However, when I lived in Zambia, I was routinely called fat by my neighbors. At first, I found it insulting, but I quickly got used to it. After all, compared to them, I was fat.

According to a recent survey by the World Health Organization, 8 of the top 10 fattest countries are located in the South Pacific — ironically, right along the equator, in an area so hot, all you want to do is remove all your clothes. If you like big butts (and you can not lie), here are the Top 10 fattest countries.

  1. Nauru
  2. Micronesia
  3. Cook Islands
  4. Tonga
  5. Niue
  6. Samoa
  7. Palau
  8. Kuwait
  9. United States
  10. Kiribati

Just to balance the scales, the Top 11 LEAST obese nations are (with the skinniest at the bottom):

  1. Zambia
  2. Burundi
  3. Central African Republic
  4. Cambodia
  5. Dem. Republic of the Congo
  6. Nepal
  7. Sri Lanka
  8. Vietnam
  9. Bangladesh
  10. Ethiopia
  11. Eritrea

The full list can be found at Forbes.

[Photo: &Y]

World’s Best Hamburger in….Indonesia?

by Justin Glow on

This is a subjective question, no doubt, but where in the world can you go to find the best hamburger?

Vindex Tengker, executive chef at Jakarta Four Seasons Hotel in Indonesia, believes he has created the best of the best with what some are calling the most expensive hamburger in the world, weighing in at $110 USD. It’s made with only the finest ingredients, of course, including the notoriously-delicious, hand-massaged beef from Kobe, Japan. Add a dollop of wasabi mayonnaise and a handful of Italian portobello mushrooms, and you’ve got yourself one expensive burger. But does it taste good?

It better, because $110 is a lot of money, and unless it’s sprinkled with gold flakes and wrapped in a diamond tennis bracelet or something, I’d want my money back.

Moldova’s Wine Region

by Neil Woodburn on

Moldova is one of the only former republics of the Soviet Union I have yet to visit. Sure, it’s the poorest country in Europe and has its share of problems, but it is also home to a wonderful wine region that is virtually unknown outside the old borders of the USSR.

According to Leif Pettersen, writing for Lonely Planet, the wine is not only excellent, it is also shockingly affordable. And, like any good wine region worth its grapes, tourists can go wine tasting throughout the area.

Certainly the most famous winery is Milestii Mici. Blessed with 200 kilometers of wine cellars that hold over two million bottles, Milestii Mici is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as having the world’s largest wine collection. Wow. One can literally disappear underground and as long as he brings with him enough cheese, there really is no reason to ever surface again.

And the best news of all? Moldova has dropped its visa requirements for Americans and EU passport holders. Now one can breeze in and out without all the hassles of arranging a visa. That means there is no longer an excuse for ignoring this fine country.

The World’s First Ever Wendy’s Restaurant is Closing

by Jamie Rhein on

The original Wendy’s Restaurant at 257 E. Broad St., the first ever, is shutting its doors next Friday. Rats! This is a place I take people when they are visiting and we’re venue hopping in the downtown Columbus area. It’s sort of near the Statehouse, Columbus Museum of Art, COSI (the science museum), and the Franklin Park Conservatory, making it a great last minute stop idea. An “I’m hungry. Let’s eat” kind of place. Plus, it’s cool to say, “This was the first Wendy’s.”

Dave Thomas, Wendy’s founder opened this first one in 1969. Inside is a Wendy’s museum of sorts. Toys given in kid’s meals, the uniform made by his wife and worn by his daughter for the restaurant’s logo, an employees’ how-to manual, and loads of photographs, awards and news clippings of Wendy’s news over the years are some of the items on display as a nostalgia bonanza to fast food. Historic or not, this particular Wendy’s loses money and lots of it. The parking is lousy and there isn’t a drive through which is partly to blame. Plus, not many people live downtown so the hours are limited. City Wendy can’t keep up with suburbs Wendy.

About the neat memorabilia. All will be moved to the Wendy’s headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. Ironically, Dublin, although it has a small town center, is a suburb of sorts of Columbus. I’m going to miss this downtown marker. Seriously, there will be no where to eat on the fly in Columbus’s downtown area on the weekends after this Friday.

Here’s an article from RoadsideAmerica.com about the first Wendy’s. There are some photos as well.