Warm Crap In A Bag: Does Anthony Bourdain Really Affect How People Think About Food?

by Anna Brones on

As part of CNN’s “Parts Unknown” show, Anthony Bourdain went to New Mexico to check out Santa Fe’s Five & Dime General Store, which is very well known for its Frito Pie. It didn’t end well.

Holding the bag of Frito chips covered in chili and topped with cheese, Bourdain proceeded to refer to it as “warm crap in a bag.” Granted, he was just trying to give viewers an idea of what Frito Pie feels like when you hold it, and he did say himself that the dish was “delicious.”

Bourdain has gotten a bit of flack since the episode. For one, the episode claimed that the dish was made with Hormel chili, when in fact Five & Dime makes its own. Bourdain apologized. But it raises the question: Do people care what Anthony Bourdain has to say about food?

We have a strange relationship with food, and when we see an odd food combination in the national spotlight, we’re often compelled to try it. Just look at the cronut trend.

Is it more important for Bourdain to like the dish he tries, or just to get the dish onto national television? I would wager that there are just as many people who are tempted to try different dishes simply because Bourdain has put them in the spotlight, regardless if he actually likes them or not. Certainly, he should get his facts right, but at the end of the day, isn’t all publicity good publicity?

Be honest: you want to go and try it for yourself. So book a trip to Santa Fe to eat some Frito Pie. Or just make it yourself.

And The Snobbiest City In America Is …

by Chris Owen on

According to the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, San Francisco came out on top in their list of the Snobbiest Cities In America during a recent poll. Based on the magazine’s America’s Favorite City survey, readers ranked 35 major U.S. metropolitan areas on their snobbishness. Not without positive accolades, the results also highlighted good reasons to visit each of the cities ranked.

“Any snobbiness didn’t stop San Francisco from being acknowledged for its welcoming attitude: the city also ranked first in the survey for being gay-friendly,” says Travel + Leisure in the details of San Francisco’s allure for travelers.

In second place came New York City followed by Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and tied for fifth place were Santa Fe and Seattle.Want to chime in on your personal favorite? The Travel + Leisure 2013 America’s Favorite Cities survey is underway right now.

Culinary Vacations Not ‘Cookie-Cutter’ With Destination Discoveries

by Laurel Miller on

As we’ve continued to report at Gadling, a new generation of culinary tours is on the rise. Food-loving travelers want more than generic cooking classes that teach how to make pad thai in Thailand or risotto in Tuscany. And a few companies – such as Destination Hotels & Resorts, North America’s fourth largest hotel management company – are complying by offering tours and classes that focus more on culture, locality and experiential elements.

With the launch of Destination Discoveries, hotel guests can tour the on-site apiary at Kirkland, Washington’s, The Woodmark, before taking a honey-themed cooking class with Chef Dylan Giordan. On Maui, personalized farm tours enable participants to harvest ingredients for a private class in their accommodation, as well as visit producers and sample handcrafted foods from the island.

The adventures aren’t just limited to food. There are also art, literature and active themes that reflect a sense of place; fly-fishing lessons in Lake Tahoe; nordic pursuits in Vail; art classes in Santa Fe; or a cultural and historic tour of Walden Pond via the Bedford Glen property in Boston. Here’s to more hotel groups doing away with homogenous travel.

[Photo credit: Destination Hotels & Resorts]

Hangover Cures: A Global Primer

by Laurel Miller on

New Year’s Eve is fast approaching, so what better time to provide a list of hangover cures from around the world? Our friends at Alice Marshall Public Relations in New York asked some of their clients about local versions of hair-of-the-dog. Unsurprisingly, the preferred remedies all have a distinctly regional flavor. Here’s to a headache-and-nausea-free January 1!

St. Barts
On this notorious party island, the secret is to stay awake. Pull an all-nighter, and when “the bakery” in St. Jean opens, score a croissant straight out of the oven. Devour it, cross the street and jump into the ocean.

Thailand
Although I’ve found coconut water to be the best hangover helper in existence, Thailand has a more original cure. According to the Anantara Golden Triangle resort, Black Ivory Coffee (aka elephant dung coffee, which I believe puts kopi luwak to shame) is what does the trick. Elephants feed on coffee beans, which then ferment in their gastrointestinal tract.

The beans are then plucked out by the mahouts (elephant keepers) and their wives, roasted, and sold for approximately $1,100 per kilogram. But wait, there’s more! Eight percent of all sales are donated to the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. No reason is given for why this cure supposedly helps, but I’m thinking this folklore is full of … you know.
Maldives
As if being in the glorious Maldives weren’t cure enough, Naladhu luxury resort has my kind of cure in mind (that’s me, right, killing a hangover in Mexico). They provide queasy guests with fresh coconut water from their own groves. All those electrolytes along with potassium stop hangovers in their tracks.

Cape Town
According to chef Reuben Riffel of One&Only Cape Town, a swank urban resort, you need to drink yourself better. His solution is an alcohol-free tonic consisting of one cup of chilled Rooibos tea (an indigenous plant), a half-cup ginger ale, and 1 ounce of lemongrass simple syrup. Top with soda water, and a dash of Angostura bitters.

Santa Fe
After many visits to Santa Fe, I’ll swear by the local’s cure for a long night. A green chile cheeseburger is the prescription, although I’d add that a bowl of great posole, green chile, or a breakfast burrito also work wonders.

Nantucket
Nantucket Island Resorts recommends a brisk swim in Nantucket Sound, followed by a visit to Brant Point Grill for a Lobster Bloody Mary and lobster kabobs. Now we’re talking.

Have a safe, happy, hangover-free New Year’s!

[Photo credits: elephant, Flickr user rubund; coconut, Laurel Miller]

Intrigued by Black Ivory Coffee? Watch this video!


Celebrate Georgia O’Keeffe’s 125th Birthday In Santa Fe (Tres Leches Cake Is Involved)

by Laurel Miller on


Mention Georgia O’Keeffe and cooking isn’t what comes to mind. But the iconic Southwestern artist was ahead of her time when it came to food. So says O’Keeffe’s former cook and assistant Margaret Wood, author of “A Painter’s Kitchen: Recipes from the Kitchen of Georgia O’Keeffe” (Red Crane Books), and “Remembering Miss O’Keeffe: Stories from Abiquiu” (Museum of New Mexico Press).

Wood shares anecdotes from her years with O’Keeffe, in an inspired demonstration class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. When not working with O’Keeffe in her Abiquiu garden, Wood procured eggs and meat from local farmers, and prepared simple, wholesome dishes such as leg of lamb with garlic and honey-mint sauce, or corn soup.

Santa Fe’s Inn on the Alameda is offering a special, “Happy Birthday, Georgia Experience” package, which includes a four-night stay for two, museum passes, a Georgia-focused class at the cooking school and more.

To purchase tickets for either event, click here, or call 505-983-4511.

[Photo credit: Inn on the Alameda]