South America

Travel through South America by country:

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Travel through South America by popular city:

Bogota, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro

Travel through South America by popular things to do:

Adventures in the Amazon, Falkland Islands, Iguazu Falls, Tierra del Fuego

Massive floods close Panama Canal but end of world not near

by Chris Owen on

Ship transit through the Panama Canal was suspended Wednesday as flood waters, the worst ever recorded, made transit impossible.

17 hours of prolonged heavy rain forced the closing, only the third time since the canal opened 96 years ago and the first time because of flooding. Panama’s civil protection system declared Eastern Panama on high alert and issued evacuation orders for over 1000 people in dozens of flooded neighborhoods.

Reopening on Thursday, operations are back to normal at this time and no cruise ship itineraries were affected reports CruiseCritic.com

The Canal also closed in 1989 when the United States invaded Panama to depose bad guy Manuel Noreiga. In 1915 and into 1916 landslides closed the Canal, only months after it opened.

In case you missed it in history class, the Panama Canal was built by the United States between 1904 and 1914. It serves as a link between the Atlantic and Pacific ocean and handles more than 200 million metric tons of cargo every year.

Flickr photo by galif548

Gadling’s favorite gadgets, apps, & websites for 2011

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Earlier this week we took a look at our favorite destinations, hotels, and airlines. It turns out that we’re all over the map on most of these counts, although underappreciated destinations, good service, and general efficiency tend to warm our hearts.

Nowhere perhaps is the quirkiness of the Gadling team more perceptible than it is in this final category of favorites. Without further ado, here are Gadling’s favorite gadgets, apps, and websites moving into 2011.

Blogs & sites

Annie Scott. I do love to visit Color Me Katie and see what the fabulous Ms. Sokoler is up to. I adored her trip to Japan. I recently fell in love with Will It Blend, which has to be the most brilliant social media campaign I’ve ever seen. Other than that, I’m really the kind of person who can watch Marcel the Shell with Shoes On over and over and call it “contextual research.”

Tom Johansmeyer. I resolved to explore New York more this year, forcing myself not to work as hard and enjoy my hometown a bit more. Local travel blogger Laurie DePrete has been a big help. She provides a look at speakeasies, restaurants and attractions all over the five boroughs. This is insider info at its best.

Karen Walrond. As a photographer, I’m a big fan of photoblogs. My current favourites: UK-based Brian Ferry, Modern Day Gilligan, by an American photographer based on the island of Grenada, and Netherlands-based Rachel James.

David Farley. When I was driving around Los Angeles earlier this year I found Sigalert, which shows all the up-to-the-minute traffic congestion in the greater LA area, to be incredibly helpful.

Sean McLachlan. The Whole World at Your Hands, run by a woman named Ana. A member of Postcrossing, she avidly trades postcards around the world. Her blog features some of them and talks about the places they show. She just sent me a nice card from Serbia in exchange for one I sent to her from the Scottish Highlands. Also noteworthy: TheBloggess and Tomb Wrecks.

Alex Robertson Textor. Sporcle keeps me on my toes, geographically speaking. L’Antipodeuse is good for daydreaming.

Mike Barish. Nile Guide is a good li’l startup in San Francisco with travel guides, a fun blog and tremendous amounts of local advice and tips. (Disclosure: I just started editing their East Coast US content. But even before I started with them, I liked them a lot.)

Grant Martin. I relieve pressure with FAIL Blog.

McLean Robbins. For beauty, All About the Pretty. For cooking, Smitten Kitchen and The Pioneer Woman.

Meg Nesterov. Even when I’m not in New York, I love Manhattan User’s Guide, and now there’s a travel version. Wish You Were Here has everything from quirky museums to diners to luxury retreats. Basically bookmark their every link.

Catherine Bodry. Killing Batteries.

David Downie. Michael Balter, Rolf Potts, Mort Rosenblum, and David Lebovitz.Gadgets & apps

Jeremy Kressmann. NYCWAY iPhone App is an interesting example of a city-specific app that incorporates a lot of info in one place (transit info, upcoming events, news, bathroom locations). Expect to see more of this for big tourist destinations. Good for locals and tourists alike. Instagram is a great example of how you can make your smartphone photos more social. Instead of filing your travel snaps in Flickr or on a hard drive, the app emphasizes sharing with others, creating “feeds” of popular photos and photos from those you follow.

Heather Poole. I love Twitter because I can get up to date information regarding travel, delays, breaking news, and I use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends when I’m on the road.

Meg Nesterov. Not the newest or the sexiest, but the Kindle was hands-down my best purchase before moving overseas. It’s one of the only e-readers that works abroad (with a U.S. billing address). The wireless functions in nearly every place I’ve tried it, and it’s perfect as my reliable source of English-language reading materials and travel guides.

McLean Robbins. Blackberry. While it’s not exactly revolutionary, it’s my life, quite literally. I don’t know what I’d do without it, and with the world edition I can travel just about anywhere and still be in touch.

Alex Robertson Textor. Google Maps & magazine apps (for example The Economist, recently released) on my iPad.

Annie Scott. I’m quite addicted to Words With Friends (basically Scrabble) and Diamond-Twister on my iPhone. I play them all over the world at night when jet lag prevents sleep.

Mike Barish. I’m quickly falling in love with my iPad. I don’t view it as a “game-changer” or a full-on computer replacement. But when it comes to passing the time in airports and airplanes, it’s a fantastic way to watch movies, read the newspaper and bring tons of books with you. It’s also great for quick trips where you want something larger than a phone for checking emails but don’t need your computer with you for work.

Karen Walrond. I don’t go anywhere without my iPhone, my Macbook Pro and my Nikon D300 dSLR camera. After those things, I don’t have a favourite.

David Farley. My new MacBook Air.

Grant Martin. Wool tech gear has been around for a while, but only this year in fleece form. Both Icebreaker and Ibex released wool fleeces this year, and they live up to their hefty pricetags: well-fitting, good smelling and perfect for a full range of outdoor activities.

[Image: Flickr | yoggy0]

Ask Gadling: You develop a serious illness while traveling

by Laurel Miller on

The very thought of acquiring a serious illness or injury while traveling strikes fear into the hearts of even the most stalwart adventurers. Speaking from personal experience, it’s terrifying to find yourself alone (or not) in dodgy accomodations, in a remote area of a developing country, with a raging fever and/or an uncontrollable case of the runs or other unsavory symptoms. Which isn’t to say the same ailments suffered in the comfort of a five-star hotel in Paris are a picnic, either. Any way you slice it, getting sick in a foreign country sucks.

And sometimes, despite taking precautions, you fall ill anyway, as I can attest. It can be a matter of circumstance (That water my guide “boiled” in a bamboo culm on a Thai Hilltribe trek? Yeah, I pretty much saw the resulting case of dysentery coming), or just bad luck. I’ve been on my own during most of my unfortunate on-the-road maladies. Between my experiences and those of fellow travelers, I’ve accumulated some wisdom over the years for dealing with sudden-onset illness in less-than-ideal circumstances.

For the purposes of this article, I’m not going to include injuries, pre-existing conditions, or focus on food poisoning, which was well-covered in a previous Ask Gadling post by Melanie. I also want to stress that we’re not medical professionals here at Gadling, myself included. For the technical stuff, I turned to Dr. John Szumowski, Clinical Fellow of University of Washington Medical Center’s Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

After the jump, tips on prevention, what to do when illness strikes, and how to get yourself home in the event of a full-blown medical emergency.

[Photo credit: Flickr user MoHotta18]

Before you leave home

Hit the internet
Do a bit of research on emergency medical options for a worst-case scenario. The U.S. Department of State produces a list of American doctors and hospitals in foreign countries.

If you have specific questions (about, say, where to find the best dentists in Europe), Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree travel forum can be a useful place to get ideas (please do additional research before following any advice). Take the diagnostic-related questions directed to forum members with a heaping grain of salt, and save them for your doctor.

Get vaccinated
Check the CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website to see what, if any, vaccinations you need before your trip. You can also get updates on things like outbreaks of cholera or bird flu. Be sure you allow ample time before your trip for the protective effects of vaccines to establish themselves. Dr. Szumowski also recommends the CDC’s “Survival Guide to Safe and Healthy Travel” webpage.

View more Ask Gadling: Travel Advice from an Expert or send your question to ask [at] gadling [dot] com.

Keep an immunization card on you (some countries require proof of certain vaccinations) as well as an online record, like Google Health.

All travelers should get flu and tetanus shots. If you’re a frequent world traveler, get vaccinated for hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. Depending upon where you’re traveling, you may require a Yellow Fever or Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, or malaria prophylaxis.

I used to think a rabies vaccination was overkill until I saw a fellow traveler get seriously nipped by a puppy we were playing with in a remote village near the Myanmar border. The deathly silence that followed was sufficient motivation. Adds Dr. Szumowski, “It’s still important to remember that excellent wound-care and post-bite medical evaluation are necessary, even if a person has had prior rabies pre-exposure vaccination.” The International Society of Travel Medicine has a list of global travel medicine clinics.

I also carry an EpiPen, because you never know what could trigger anaphylaxis while you’re abroad. It also bears mentioning that you can develop a life-threatening allergy to something previously benign. A chef I know went into anaphylactic shock after tasting one of his dishes containing taro root, even though he’d been cooking with it for over 20 years.

If you get sick

Stay calm, and assess your symtoms
It’s easy to get carried away and assume the worst, but odds are your sudden fever isn’t malaria.

Try to identify the source of infection or illness

Know when to seek professional medical assistance
In general, says Dr. Szumowski, some symptoms or exposures that should prompt “expeditious” medical evaluation include:

  • high fevers (over 101ºF, especially if sustained or accompanied by shaking or drenching sweats)
  • bloody diarrhea
  • inability to keep food or liquids down in situation of significant vomiting or diarrhea
  • confusion or severe headache
  • severe cough, especially if accompanied by shortness of breath
  • animal bite or other animal-related attack

Tips for self-care

Stay hydrated
If you’re vomiting or have diarrhea, stay hydrated with (purified/bottled water), and Gatorade or other electrolyte beverages. If you absolutely have to travel, take Imodium as an anti-diarrheal.

Eat bland foods
Remember the BRAT diet for gastrointestinal upset: rice, bananas, applesauce, and toast.

Control your fever
To lower a high fever, take the recommended dosages of acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil).

Wear ID
Wear a medical alert bracelet for serious conditions, allergies, etc., Write down your condition in your destination country’s language in both your phrasebook, and place a card in your passport.

Emergency Measures

Know when to self-diagnose
Sometimes, you find yourself in a position where you have no other option. That said, this is something you want to avoid for obvious reasons. Says Dr. Szumowski, “Self-diagnosis and treatment can be appropriate for less serious conditions such as traveler’s diarrhea, but it is important not to delay evaluation by a medical professional for more serious illness [see warning signs above]. If someone chooses to self-treat, it’s important to be aware of potential for counterfeit medications locally.”

What if the only available hospital/clinic/doctor’s office is seriously sketchy?
If you’re in a situation where the medical facility is primitive/lacking in sanitation, you’ve got a tough call on your hands.

I posed this question to Dr. Szumowski. He says, “It depends on the acuity and seriousness of the condition. In general, evaluation and treatment in a facility with adequately-trained staff and more comprehensive resources is preferable whenever possible–this may mean seeking evaluation in the capital, at a private hospital, or even returning home. Aside from limited diagnostics and medications, smaller/less-resourced facilities may have inadequate sanitary practices (e.g. reuse of equipment) and screening of blood products, raising the risk of contracting pathogens such as hepatitis C or HIV. Therefore, having evacuation insurance is advisable, especially for extended travels in the developing world.”

In other words, you may be shit out of luck. But this is why you’re reading this article–so you can be prepared for all kinds of situations! Read on.

OTC antibiotics
In many countries, you can buy OTC antibiotics, and indeed, this may be your only option, but heed Dr. Szumowski’s warning, above. Caveat emptor.

If you need to be evacuated, the U.S. government offers financial assistance and/or repatriation loans. The American Citizens Service and Crisis Management (ACS) is linked to U.S. embassies and consulates all over the globe. It’s a good idea to enroll in the U.S. Department of State’s “Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (formerly known as “Traveler Registration)” if you’re traveling for a long period of time, to a high-risk region, or doing any extreme adventure activities.

Travel prepared

Get antibiotic prescriptions (and carry copies with you) from your primary care doctor or internist, or visit a travel medicine clinic, and pack them in you travel first-aid kit (You don’t have one? REI has some great options). Some people also carry sterile latex gloves and hypodermic needles with them. If you’re diabetic or have another condition that requires injections, this makes sense, provided you have a note from your medical provider. For everyone else, this is a personal choice that comes down to, “How comfortable are you with the knowledge that you’re carrying drug paraphernalia?” If you backpack, travel in places with notoriously corrupt law enforcement, or countries like, say, Malaysia, you may want to hedge your bets.

Email yourself and family or a trusted friend copies of medical insurance, itinerary, and a list of medications, and doctors.

Consider traveler’s insurance.

If the worst happens

In the highly unlikely event you do come home with a mystery disease that isn’t responding to medical treatment, get to a specialist, asap. Depending upon where you’ve been, this may be an infectious disease or tropical medicine doctor, a dermatologist or rheumatologist who specializes in tropical medicine, etc.. You may need to travel–out of state–to find the right specialist. Find someone who has first-hand experience traveling/training or practicing in developing countries, and in diagnosing diseases not found in the U.S.. It may even be best to try and seek medical treatment in the country where you became ill (even if that means a return trip).

Unfortunately, I can speak with authority this subject, because I’m in my 22nd month of diagnostics following a trip to South America. If you do find yourself harboring a travel-related (or not) disease that defies diagnosis, you must be your own advocate. No one is more invested in your health than you are, and doctors are human. They may make mistakes, despite their best intentions. Seek not just a second, but a third opinion, from at least two different medical facilities.

And finally, don’t let anything in this article scare you and put you off travel. Odds are, you’ll come home with nothing more than great memories, and the eagerness to plan your next trip. I know I can’t wait.

[Photo credits: vaccination, Flickr user alvi2047; mosquito, Flickr user tonrulkens; toast, Flickr user snowriderguy; farmacia, Flickr user ibirque; drugs, Flickr user cavale]

Gadling’s favorite airlines for 2011

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Even with airlines falling over themselves in an effort to generate profits out of new fees and charges, flying retains some glamour and excitement. No? Not working for you? Well there are mileage programs to exploit and perks to chase. And even in the direst landscape for customers, there are always new routes to sample, smiling flight attendants to befriend, and reliable pilots to thank for safe landings.

Going into 2011, it appears that Virgin America is Gadling’s favorite airline. Virgin America sails above the competition with their standard of service, their appealing overall product, and their general freshness.

Other airlines we especially like or tolerate for one or another reason include easyJet, Qantas, VAustralia, Air France, Philippine Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Jet Airways, Continental, Alaska Airlines, and Porter.

We begin with the observations of Kent Wien, Gadling’s resident pilot-contributor and the motor behind two Gadling features, namely, Cockpit Chronicles and Plane Answers.

Kent Wien. Air New Zealand. I don’t know if I was more impressed with their new line of coach sleeper seats or the friendliness of their flight attendants. Either way, Air New Zealand has managed to capture much of the recent jump in tourism traffic to New Zealand by offering an innovative cabin design and enhanced service which includes an in-flight concierge for the entire airplane. They’ve changed the look and feel of their galleys by hiding them away during boarding, since the first thing passengers see when stepping on to an airplane is the in-flight kitchen. And most of these changes were accomplished even after they were named by Air Transport World as the airline of the year for 2010.

Mike Barish. I continue to love Virgin America. They’re willing to show personality. They have a sense of humor and their use of social media is phenomenal. They have really embraced customer service and care about humanizing their brand.

Annie Scott. Air France has the best coach class of any airline I’ve flown this year, but Philippine Airlines gets ten points for calling their economy class “Fiesta Class.”

McLean Robbins. Virgin America. Am I one of many?

Meg Nesterov. Turkish Airlines has become my default carrier of choice, which is fine given their excellent service. How many other airlines will let you cancel and rebook a flight last minute and only charges a small change fee? Their in-flight meals even in coach are reliably good and always free.

Melanie Nayer. Props to Cathay Pacific. Great in-flight crew, and any airline that makes me a grilled cheese sandwich in flight is tops in my book!

Alex Robertson Textor. Porter, hands down. I like the airline so much I found a way to write a piece for their in-flight magazine. I want two dozen regional Porters around the globe, each with limited route maps, quiet, fuel-efficient planes, friendly fight attendants, and a single class of service.Catherine Bodry. Alaska Air.

Grant Martin. Virgin America & VAustralia. All of that positive press is happening for a reason. These two airlines have the best service out there, and their hard products are equally gorgeous. Get to Australia next year while competition is still high and ticket prices are rock bottom.

Karen Walrond. I fly mostly on Continental because I live in its hub city and that’s where my airmiles are. Here in Houston, we’re nervous about the merger between Continental and United. We hope nothing will be ruined in the process!

David Farley. Jet Airways.

Sean McLachlan. easyJet. Everyone complains about them, myself included, but damn they’re cheap and convenient. And hey, at least they aren’t Ryanair!

Laurel Miller. Qantas for their consistently excellent service, staff, and on-time departures.

[Image: Flickr | LWY]

Where They Ate: Authors, Eaters, and Food and Travel Writers Tell Their Favorite Eating Experiences of 2010

by David Farley on

I’ve always been baffled when I hear someone say eating is overrated. After all, these types of people, the thick-necked fratboys of the food world who mindlessly consume things only to feed the pain of hunger, are completely ignoring one of their senses. For most of us, though, eating is more than just sustenance. It’s what propels us out the door and onto airplanes and down alleyways in dodgy parts of towns our parents would have warned us about. It’s what makes us risk a night of being planted on the toilet seat or blowing our paycheck for a four-star dinner at an acclaimed restaurant.

And so I decided, with the year coming to a close, to break out my rolodex and ask some great eaters one simple question: where were your best meals of the year?


After the jump, where they ate: authors, eaters, and food and travel writers tell their favorite eating experiences of 2010.

• Frank Bruni
Former New York Times restaurant critic and author of the books Ambling Into History and Born Round: A Story of Family, Food, and a Ferocious Appetite; twittilicious twitterer.

Three wildly different moments from 2010 stand out: moments of complete and utter eating bliss, when the world shrinks to the size of your table and what’s on it and how deliriously happy you are to be making your way through it and how sad you are, already, in the course of it, that it will come to an end. In chronological order:

–I remember a lunch of fried octopus fillets at Casa Aleixo, a rustic and charming restaurant in the beautiful city of Porto. The Portuguese love–and do so, so right by–octopus, and this was a treatment of it I’d never had: essentially thin octopus cutlets, if you will, prepared by these elderly, stout women in white in a nearby open kitchen of abundant Old World charm.
–I remember a special lunch that the Danish chef Rene Redzepi prepared at the downtown restaurant Momofuku Ko, and I remember in particular this one gorgeous, perfect, amazing langoustine tail served on a little boulder: a great bit of theater to accompany a few perfect bites of one of the sea’s great delicacies.
–And I remember, in a totally different vein, the pimento cheese toasts at Cookshop, one of the many comfort-food snacks on that Chelsea restaurant’s menu. There’s not enough pimento cheese in this life. Not nearly enough. A friend and I split an order of these toasts, then got another, then debated a good long while before passing on a third. I regret the decision still.

• Gary Shteyngart
Author of the novels The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Absurdistan, and, most recently, A Super Sad True Love Story; one of The New Yorker‘s 20 best fiction writers under 40; contributing editor at Travel + Leisure.

I ate the most awesome thing in Vancouver at a restaurant called Vij’s. It was called a Punjabi Heart Attack, it came on a spoon and it involved mostly ghee, the clarified butter. More than that I can’t recall.

• Susan Orlean
Staff writer at The New Yorker; author of The Orchid Thief, The Bullfighter Checks her Makeup, and My Kind of Place; queen of the twitter.

— Fresh cider donuts at a farm stand in the Hudson Valley. The donut was warm and sweet, the air was bright and cold, and I could have eaten a dozen. I don’t know how I managed to stop.
— An Ethiopian feast at Awash, on the Upper West Side. My first experience with Ethiopian food, and I loved the earthy warmth of it, and couldn’t get enough of the “injera” — the spongy, grainy Ethiopian bread.
— Eating maple-syrup snow in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec. Hot maple syrup is poured on snow (clean, one hopes) and then is quickly rolled up on a stick and, just as quickly, devoured. It’s not quite ice cream and it’s not quite candy, and it’s definitely worth standing in a winter storm to enjoy.

• Tim Cahill
Author of several books, including Lost in My Own Backyard and Hold the Enlightenment


–I was a visiting professor at San Jose State University last winter/spring semester. I drove to that job in San Jose from my home in Montana. The drive started in January, in the midst of a nasty ground blizzard with temperatures near zero. I arrived in San Jose two days later. The house I’d rented–sight unseen–had an orange tree in the backyard. We don’t see a lot of those in Montana and the first thing I did was pick one of my rented oranges. It may have been the best orange I’ve ever eaten. I think circumstances had something to do with the taste.
–Similarly, while we in Montana are blessed with rivers full of big dumb trout, seafood is not at its best here 700 miles from the nearest ocean. While in the San Jose, I ate all the fresh seafood I could. My favorite was petrale sole, which is simply not available in Montana. I sauteed it in butter and lemon or ate it lighted crusted in panko crumbs. The lemons were, of course, fresh and courtesy of neighbor with a tree in his yard.
–Back In Montana, the boys who hunt have discovered that elk shanks can be very successfully and tastily braised. We’re eating elk osso buco out here.

• Pauline Frommer

In retrospect, it was a stupid thing to do. No, actually, I knew at the time that it was a stupid thing to do. And when you drag along your 7-year-old daughter, stupid actions become grossly irresponsible.

And yet climbing Volcano Pacaya in Guatemala (which entailed trekking first up a steep dirt path for an hour and then over jagged, brutally sharp outcroppings of new rock for another hour) is something I have trouble regretting. I got to watch my little Trixie (her nickname) conquering, with single-minded determination, what was likely the greatest physical challenge she’d ever encountered. It was a really grueling hike, and yet she didn’t complain once. In fact, the 20-something backpackers who were with us couldn’t keep up with this middle-aged mom and her mountain-goat of a child. And then, when we got to the top, we made use of the long sticks we’d been carrying to roast marshmallows over the lava. It was the equivalent of a champagne toast to my first grader, and, without a doubt, my top eating experience of 2010.


That all being said, I really can’t recommend this experience to others at this time. A month after we made our trek, almost to the day, Pacaya erupted, killing at least four people, badly injuring 70 others and damaging hundreds of homes. Its apparently still quite active.
As I said at the start, taking Trixie up there wasn’t smart. But we were lucky. And we experienced an adventure together that we’ll both remember for the rest of our lives.

• Dan Saltzstein
Assistant Editor, New York Times Travel section; twitterer.

–The Glenview, Isle of Skye
In reporting a column on seafood on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, I was lucky enough to eat at some terrific places, including the much beloved Three Chimneys (it didn’t disappoint), but it was this cozy spot that really grabbed me, with a combination of stunningly fresh seafood and produce — all from on or near the island — and friendly service.
–Corson Building, Seattle
This spot has rightfully earned a following out west. I loved the simple but satisfying dishes that the kitchen puts out, and you can’t beat the surroundings: a garden (complete with chicken coop) surrounds the farmhouse-style building, all nestled in a charmingly industrial neighborhood.
–M. Wells, Long Island City, N.Y.
As a long-time Queens resident, I was thrilled when this diner-with-a-twist opened earlier this year. Doesn’t hurt that it’s a 5-10 minute trip on the 7 train from my office, too. The food–available for now only from 10am-4pm–is a combination of kicked-up diner classics (say, an egg and hash dish that features both mussels and pulled pork; it works) and even kookier stuff. I try to avoid words like “addictive” and “orgasmic” when referring to food, but the appetizer of marrow and escargot comes pretty close to filling definitions of both words.

• Jay Cheshes
Restaurant critic and travel writer.

My most memorable and certainly most surprising eating experience in 2010:
The Townhouse, in tiny Chilhowie Virginia, which serves cutting edge cuisine in the middle of nowhere (hours from the nearest major metropolis). The constantly changing menu, featuring many ingredients foraged from the woods near the restaurant, is the work of a young couple, John and Karen Shields, who decamped from Chicago (he worked for Grant Achatz at Alinea). Their new restaurant struggles but for very good reason John was chosen as one of Food & Wine‘s best new chefs last year. I wrote a piece about the place for Hemispheres.

• Mary Morris
Novelist and travel writer, author of The River Queen, and Nothing to Declare among other books; twitterer.

–The tuna festival in Zahara de las Atunes on the Atlantic Coast of Spain. We roamed from restaurant to restaurant, sampling tuna tapas and voting for our favorites. By midnight we were following an old fisherman’s wife as she danced in the streets.
–Wandering around outside the medina in Tangier, Morocco, I found a restaurant named Hamadi. I tasted their lamb tangine with prunes and their chicken couscous and thought I’d walked right back into my grandmother’s kitchen. And she was from Ukraine. But now I think I am descended from Berbers (which may in fact be true)
–And right here in Brooklyn El Jalapeno–closest thing to real Mexican I’ve had since Mexico. Tiny place, wonderful kitchen and I love the portabello fajitas. The owner dresses like a cowboy, not sure why.

• Daniel Mauer

Editor of New York magazine’s food blog, Grub Street.

The most memorable meal I had this past year was also the least expected. I was traveling down the Lewis and Clark Highway, along the river that separates Washington from Oregon, when I saw a crudely drawn sign saying “SMOKED FISH.” I forced my friend to make a U turn and we drove into what was essentially a makeshift trailer park where some fishermen were camped next to the water. One guy, a Native American of few words, emerged from his car, and after showing me his homemade wooden smoker, he sold me his last bag of smoked salmon (or at least he said it was the last bag– he clearly sensed that I was excited enough to pay heroin prices for it). It was incredible– just thinking of those chewy, briny little nuggets of fish, and the way they lingered in my mouth long after I ate them, makes me want to build a smoker in my backyard. Months later while I was driving through Nova Scotia I encountered a guy selling smoked salmon out of the trunk of his car– it still kills me that I didn’t have enough cash on me to get some smoked cod as well. The guy definitely didn’t take credit cards.

• Andrew Zimmern
Host of the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods; author of The Bizarre Truth; prolific twitterer.

–I am not often at home and when I am I try to sit on the couch or in the backyard, unmoving, immobile, stationary…but my Dad came into town and I wanted to get out and about for one night at least. He and my wife and I went to Piccolo, a restaurant I am convinced is the best new restaurant to open in the Midwest in years. The brainchild of owner/chef Doug Flicker, this small 16 seat café offers extremely food forward cookery, modern in style but firmly rooted in traditional flavors. It’s rootsy elemental cooking. Flicker cooks with wisdom, his food is off the beaten path, humble indeed, but out of this world. My favorite dish is a signature of sorts, he takes brown eggs, scrambles them delicately, turns a dollop or so out into a lowslung hammock of a bowl, pairs them with slow cooked pigs trotters that have been braised, pickled, and then pulled, the meat and gelatinous nubbins pan-crisped at the last minute before being snuggled up against the egg. Finished with truffle butter and seriously good Parmesan, this dish is a small notion of what food is like in the afterlife.
–Farther afield I spent a few weeks in Chengdu China and on a night that I shall remember forever I had a chance to dine both in the kitchen and at a table in Chef Yu Bo’s restaurant Yu’s Family Kitchen. Don’t let the name or the price point fool you, this is one of the world’s best restaurants and Yu is an insane technician with the soul of an artist. I ate roughly 40 courses, some were simply a small forkful, others a bit larger, nothing too precious or too generous. In a town where the star chefs are all seemingly trying to impress the new money (both local and from out of ton) with dishes like Kung Pao Foie Gras, Yu is championing a modern vision of traditional flavors and ingredients. From the private dining rooms to the 16 course cold vegetable tapestry laid out in geometric precision upon sitting, to the roasted duck, brined and cured like a country ham served with small steamed buns for sandwich making, to the rarest of the rare hand-collected vegetable roots that Yu’s army of foragers find for him all over the province, served in small bundles, pickled and plated so delicately that they taunted me…I nibbled, despite wanting to down the whole pile at once. Four soups alone that night boggled my mind, including what to me was easily the best chicken soup I have ever eaten and as a Jewish kid from NYC you know I am familiar with that territory. I asked Yu what his top dish is and he told me that currently it was his shrimp, twice cooked with fermented chile bean paste and fish flavor, a petite single bite serving of the Sichuanese stalwart that inspired it. Yu’s version comes in a small bowl, a single upturned shrimp, bathed in a vibrant, rusty crimson sauce. The dish typically comes spiked with fresh peas in most cases but Yu Bo freeze dries and fries his peas, creating a crackling contrast that underscores his insanely deep salty/spicy/fishy/ chile glaze. This is a restaurant worth flying to from anywhere in the world, and at roughly 50 bucks a person for over 40 courses it might be the single best fine dining value on the planet.

• Spud Hilton
Travel Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle; twitterer.


—Chops Grill on Oasis of the Seas:
On the largest passenger ship on the planet, traditionally the bastion of the banal buffet, we sat down on the first night in Chops, an alternative restaurant. Expecting passable “cuisine,” I was stunned when the former waiter and confirmed foodie next to me said, simply,”This is the best steak I’ve ever had.” I concurred and I’m pretty sure we didn’t talk again until the plates were empty.
—Bodeguita Romero, Sevilla, Spain
While wandering the back streets of Seville, looking for a barber (yes, really), we stumbled into a typical tapas bar that, based on the cool reception, was primarily a locals joint. The waiter endured our stupid questions in crappy Spanish until finally I asked: “What dish is this place known for?” He eyed me cautiously (expecting another annoying tourist who needed details in English) and rambled off something in Spanish — twice. I didn’t understand, but said, “Whatever it is, if you say I’ll like it, I’ll take it.” He immediately warmed to us, and quickly brought a plate of tender pan-seared pork with lightly fried potatoes. By far, it turned out to be the best plate during a 7-day stay in Spain. I still keep a picture of the meal on my iPhone.
—Dean’s Bar, Tangier, Morocco
The guidebook had outlined the bar’s history as a hotbed of espionage during WW II and the Cold War — supposedly, Ian Fleming learned much of what he knew of spies in the dark corners of Dean’s. When my wife, Ann, and I finally found the place, we plowed through the door – and found ourselves facing a room full of Moroccan men, most in traditional garb. I asked the bartender if Ann would be welcome, and he jumped up, shook my hand as if we were old friends and herded us to the only empty table. Within seconds, beers appeared (unsolicited but greatly appreciated) and, a few seconds later, a generous bowl of what turned out to be a freakishly delicious seafood paella. After taking a few notes and soaking up the atmosphere — I’d never heard Arabic in the dialect of Drunk before — we paid the bill for the beers (the paella was on the house) and headed toward the door. In the corner, across from the bar top, was a kitchen about size of the toilet stall, in which the cook was making more paella. I expressed my thanks by grasping at my heart, and took his picture. It’s still in my iPhone.

• Andrea Sachs
Staff writer and editor at the Washington Post Travel section.


Geka’s in Elmira, N.Y., replaces the meat with heart and soul. Once a month, the vegetarian/vegan restaurant offers free food to those in need of a hot and healthy feast. At the kitchen window, a caring arm handed out plates of homemade lasagna, vegetable curry, and salad topped with a lemony tofu dressing. As a thank you, I ordered an additional meal (rice and beans, steamed broccoli, crusty bread), happy to give back with my stomach and my wallet.

• John T. Edge
Author, food writer, and Director of Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi.

This past summer, I spent a week on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, a kind of Land of the Lost for heritage livestock, heirloom vegetables, and merroir-specific oysters and crabs. Exmore Diner, an honest to God stainless steel clunker, served my favorite meal of the trip: fried drum ribs, fried swelling toads, and fresh collards. You want to talk local foods? The Eastern Shore in general, and the Exmore Diner in particular, had all the credentials and none of the pretense.

• Katie Parla

Food and travel writer, author of the blog ParlaFood; food-crazed twitterer.

—Speckfest in Alto Adige
During a recent road trip through northern Italy, my dad and I hit the Speckfest in Santa Maddalena. This German speaking town in the foothills of the Dolomites celebrates their speck production every fall with a big party on a plain above the town. Eating mountain-air cured pork on a large lawn surrounded by grazing cattle was unforgettable.
—Osteria Francescana in Modena
Chef Massimo Bottora is perhaps Italy’s most beloved and is famous for his artful interpretations of Emilian cuisine. I visited his restaurant in Modena for the first time a couple of weeks ago and the meal was nothing short of spectacular. The 36-month aged pancetta, foie gras popsicle (foie filled with 40-year-old balsamic vinegar, then rolled in toasted hazelnuts), tortellini alla panna and lasagna were off the charts amazing. But the most inspired dish was a slick soup made from pig’s head, smoked morels stuffed with cotechino, crispy pancetta, ciccioli (compressed pork fat nuggets), fregola (a sort of grated pasta), coriander and Matera chilis. I’ve never dreamed anything like it could exist.
—Zushi Puzzle in San Francisco
In August I ate at Zushi Puzzle on the recommendation of friends who live nearby. Through some finagling, they scored me a seat at the bar, next to the sushi chef, Roger. I asked for omakase, gave Roger free reign, and he went to work preparing an epic feast that included monkfish liver, uni with organic tofu, live scallops, soy marinated grilled tuna cheeks, and dozens of pieces of sushi and sashimi made from fish sliced and filleted to order.

• Don George

Writer, Special Features Editor for Gadling, book critic for National Geographic Traveler, and editor of several anthologies including A Moveable Feast.

Here are my top three eating experiences in 2010:
–Kyoto, Japan: The amazing Misoguigawa–French cuisine prepared by France-trained Japanese chef Teruo Inoue and served Japanese kaiseki style, in a converted former geisha house on the banks of the Pontocho river in Kyoto. One of the best and most memorable dining experiences of my life.
–San Francisco: Gary Danko–my first time at this legendary place and every course was extraordinary in presentation, taste, texture – the kind of creatively conceived, masterfully modulated, savorily sensual, entirely fulfilling meal that makes you remember why eating out matters.
–Cusco, Peru: Inkaterra La Casona–I loved this gracious colonial-house-converted-into-a-hotel from the moment I saw that its doorway bore no sign; it looked like a private house and I had to knock on the door to be let into the lobby – but what really sold me on the place was the weary night when I slumped into a chair in the elegant restaurant and asked the waiter if the chef could just prepare me a really hearty Peruvian-style soup. It wasn’t on the menu, but he kindly concocted the soup of my dreams – robust, full of fresh-from-the-market vegetables – a homemade bowl of heaven, replete with warm, thick, crusty peasant bread, from a place that truly felt like my Peruvian home.

• Ayun Halliday
Author of No Touch Monkey, Dirty Sugar Cookies, and, most recently, Zinester’s Guide to New York City.

Tong Sam Gyup Goo Ee Korean Restaurant
Going here reminded me of what it’s like to be a timid first-time traveler, worried about doing something foolish, like drinking the finger bowl liquid, or that the best parts of the experience will be denied you because you don’t know how to ask for them, or that you’ll get stuck with all kinds of hidden costs. In the name of full disclosure, I should also say that my husband and I were just coming off of a ridiculous, explosive fight, spawned by his insistence on driving to Spa Castle (I always take the subway), then refusing to pull over for directions when we got lost. Embodying a tired punchline sucks but there’s comfort in knowing that anyone who’s traveled with a romantic partner should relate. Did I mention that it was his birthday? And that I’m the one with the mania for pursuing unfamiliar dishes served in out of the way locations? He would’ve been content with a nice meal in our neighborhood.

I’m still not sure he preferred grilling strips of pork belly on a convex grill set into our table over say, Steak Frites at Bar Tabac, but it was delicious, and filling. The novelty of the food and our surroundings provided ample conversational fodder to speed the recovery from the many harsh words unleashed earlier in the day. Our waitress, who spoke Spanish and Korean but very little English, snipped homemade kimchi into bite-size pieces with scissors and showed us how to cook and eat the meat. A big TV in the corner broadcast an Asian newsmagazine-type program concerning, if what I gleaned is accurate, a therapist’s attempt to teach the parents of an autistic child how to not resort to violence when everybody was approaching the ends of their tethers. I remember consuming a lot of chili-marinated bean sprouts, while various family members occupied the table across from us, doing homework and dealing with giant mounds of raw produce. (We’d arrived in that nether hour between lunch and dinner) There were only four items on the menu, not counting bibimbap which could be added to any order for $1.99. Actually, there was no menu, just a sign listing the four items. Were I to go back, and I’d like to, I would endeavor to bring another couple, preferably of jolly disposition and expansive palate. We could order BBQ pork and beef intestines in addition to the Sam Gyup Sal, and maybe even laugh about how I virtually ruined Greg’s birthday by taking him to Spa Castle.

• Jim Benning
Coeditor of World Hum; thoughtful twitterer.

Bratwurst and sauerkraut in Berlin
It wasn’t that the food itself was extraordinary–it was at an otherwise forgettable diner–but I was happy to have just arrived in Germany, and I was famished, and I’d ducked into this place from the cold. The bratwurst and sauerkraut were earthy and tart and sweet, served up from a busy kitchen, by a woman who was juggling a dozen orders from locals on lunch break. It was just an ordinary meal. And yet it warmed me up, hit the spot and reminded me in the most elemental of ways that I wasn’t in California anymore.

• Andrew McCarthy
Actor; director; travel writer; winner of the 2010 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for Travel Writer of the Year.

Earlier this year I made a batch of popcorn. It was tight and firm, lightly buttered and perfectly salted. It ruined me. I’ve made at least two dozen batches since, but none have approached the texture or flavor of that bowl. I’m afraid I’ll never pop corn again.

• Jessie Sholl


My best meal of the last year was in fact a week of feasting in Tokyo. I’d recently been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an incurable and potentially debilitating autoimmune disease; unwilling to accept my diagnosis, I tried everything to reduce the inflammation in my joints. Since fish oil is a natural anti-inflammatory and miso is nutrient-packed, in Tokyo I gorged myself on sushi and miso soup-with the occasional irresistible steaming bowl of ramen. By the end of the trip all of my joints felt better and my knuckles were visibly less swollen. I’ve continued to get better and I can’t help but credit the week of meals in Tokyo with getting my recovery started.

Read the sequel: “Where They Ate in 2010, Part II: The Ensnackening.”