TravelWorld International Magazine Jul/Aug 2014 Luxury Food & Wine

travel world

JULY/AUGUST 2014

I N T E R N AT I O N A L M A G A Z I N E

Luxury Food & Wine Chile’s Wine Country Cuisine of Abu Dhabi Savoring Tequila Croatia Game Trail Modena Balsamic

ISSUE

Spa Hopping in New Mexico

James Beard House

Special

Louisiana Section

Pages 54-73

The Magazine Written by North American Travel Journalists Association Members

Getting high means something completely different to us.

Over 16 million people have gotten naturally high soaring up the face of Mt. San Jacinto on the remarkable Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The two-and-a-half-mile journey to an altitude of 8,500 feet will take you to another world completely. With hiking trails in the summer. Family snow fun in the winter. Both casual and fine dining with spectacularly amazing views all year long. Come on up. It’s a trip all right. And it’s a natural.

VisitPalmSprings.com

Like no place else.™

travel world

JULY/AUGUST 2014

F E A T U R E S

I N T E R N AT I O N A L M A G A Z I N E

Luxury Food & Wine

ISSUE

8 Chile’s Rute del Vino (Wine Country) LAURA WATILO BLAKE

16 The Cuisine of Abu Dhabi

JULIE HATFIELD

DAVE G. HOUSER

BENNETT W. ROOT, JR.

CHARLENE PETERS

(Kravner Region)

24 Savoring Tequila (Tequila, Mexico) 34 James Beard House (Dining with a Legend) 38 Balsamic Vinegar (Modena, Italy) 43 On the Game Trail in Croatia

DARRIN DUFORD

46 Spa Hopping in New Mexico

DONNA MATONE-ADINOLFI

8

34

24

16

38

43

46

WELCOMING OUR NEW EDITOR Dennis A. Britton TravelWorld International Magazine is pleased to announce the addition of Dennis A. Britton, Pulitzer Prize winning editor, to the team! Among other credentials are his experience as editor-in-chief of the Chicago Sun-Times and aslo the Denver Post. Dennis has vast experience and fine wit and will a be great asset to our organization!

Welcome Dennis!

We are priveleged and happy to have you on board!

TravelWorld International Magazine is the only magazine that showcases the member talents of the North American Travel Journalists Association

Group Publisher: Publisher: Editor in Chief: Editor: Managing Editor: Art Direction: Web Manager: CVB Laison:

NATJA Publications Helen Hernandez Bennett W. Root, Jr. Dennis A. Britton Joy Bushmeyer Artistic Design Services Yanira Leon Dawn Vivenzio

Contributing Writers : Donna Adinolfi Laura Watilo Blake Darrin DuFord John Edwards Julie Hatfield

Dennis A. Britton Editor

Dave G. Houser Yanira Leon Charlene Peters Bennett W. Root, Jr. Dawn Vivenzio

Joy Bushmeyer Managing Editor

TRAVEL TRIVIA Quiz

Editorial /Advertising Offices: TravelWorld International Magazine 3579 E. Foothill Blvd., #744 Pasadena, CA 91107 Phone: (626) 376.9754 Fax: (626) 628-1854 www.travelworldmagazine.com

1. Where is the world’s largest vineyard located?

2. Is the agave plant in the cactus or lily family?

3. Does balsamic vinegar contain balsam?

4. What does the word “Bayou” mean?

5. What king was Louisiana named for?

4

(Answers on Pages 75)

Volume 2014.7/8 July 2014. Copyright ©2014 by NATJA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Advertising rates and information sent upon request. Acceptance of advertising in TravelWorld International Magazine in no way constitutes approval or endorsement by NATJA Publications, Inc., nor do products or services advertised. NATJA Publications and TravelWorld International Magazine reserve the right to reject any advertising. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and not necessarily those of Travel World International Magazine or NATJA Publications. TravelWorld International Magazine reserves the right to edit all contributions for clarity and length, as well as to reject any material submitted, and is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

This periodical’s name and logo along with the various titles and headings therein, are trademarks of NATJA Publications, Inc. PRODUCED IN U.S.A.

travel world JULY/AUGUST 2014

I N T E R N AT I O N A L M A G A Z I N E

54 The “Other Easy ...”

L

U

BENNETT W. ROOT, JR.

64 Houmas House Plantation & Gardens

O

Northern Louisiana Arts Community

YANIRA LEON

68 Feeling New Orleans Come Alive

DAWN VIVENZIO

72 Astro PoBoys (Restaurant List & PoBoy Recipe)

JOHN EDWARDS

I S I

54

A N A

64 72

68 RECIPE FOR “DRESSED” ASTRO POBOYS (™)

5

Lopez Island • Orcas Island • San Juan Island / Friday Harbor

InspIratIon For the senses VisitSanJuans.com

Explore Historic Friday Harbor Find Endless Adventure

Discover Nature’s Splendor

CHILE’S Ruta del Vino SPILLING THE SECRETS OF THE COLCHAGUA VALLEY

By Laura Watilo Blake

N

early ripe grapes bathe in the late-summer sun as the horsedrawn carriage in which my husband and I are riding clomps along a vine-lined dirt road, pulls through a gate and rolls to a stop in front of Viu Manent’s wine cellar, a stop on a the tour of the vineyard nestled between the Andes and the Pacific coast in Chile’s Colchagua Valley, approximately three hours south of Santiago.

“There are two things you need to know about the touristic experience in Chile,” says the tour guide as the rest of our group gathers inside, flanked by giant steel tanks filled with thousands of liters of red wine. “First, the Spanish spoken here is totally different, and second, there will probably be an earthquake.”

The fault line that runs the length of South America’s west coast makes Chile one of the most seismically active countries in the world. Chileans are accustomed to the ground shifting underneath them as hundreds of quakes register each year. Our visit happens to fall on the fourth anniversary of a destructive 8.8-magnitude earthquake — the world’s sixth most-powerful seismic event. It shook the wine region so hard it toppled some of the 15-foot-high storage tanks standing in this very room, unleashing a blood-red river that flowed through the facility and out onto the property.

9

T

he entire Chilean wine industry watched 12.5 percent of the annual production, worth around $250 million, wash away on that day in 2010. At the same time, tourism at the 30 or so wineries in the Colchagua Valley ground to a halt as repairs to infrastructure, costing at least as much, took many months to complete.

These days, Chile’s wine industry is better than ever and tourists are returning to find new-and-improved facilities in the Colchagua Valley. More than 150,000 people, mostly from the United States and Brazil, visited in 2013 — and their numbers are growing by 10 percent each year. However, Chile’s wine regions have never been as popular as California’s Sonoma or Napa valleys that receive more than 4.5 million visitors

a year. Those visitors who do come to Chile are rewarded with fewer crowds, beautiful mountain vistas in a serene pastoral setting and, of course, the taste of crisp whites and bold, award-winning reds.

The Colchagua Valley is home to roughly 30 wineries ranging from small start-ups to grand estates, some of which can be visited as part of a tour organized by the region’s wine association, Ruta del Vino, or by rental car if you prefer to go at your own pace.

“It’s so much easier to visit now,” says Antonia Eguiguren, a marketing executive for Viña Casa Silva. “The curiosity about the area has increased as the reputation of the wines has grown. People want to know where their food and drink come from. They are looking for a connection.”

F

Because of this changing terrain, the region has diverse microclimates, which are great for growing a wide variety of grapes, but mostly reds. Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Pinot Noir and Syrah all earn high marks, but the Carménère is Chile’s signature varietal.

A month later, we’re sitting on the winery’s patio enjoying the wine over lunch with a view of tidy rows of grapevines stretching over the Colchagua Valley and creeping up the surrounding hills.

Originally from Bordeaux, France, Carménère all but disappeared in its home country after a plague of sapsucking insects destroyed the vines in the late 1800s.

The variety was considered extinct until 1994, when researchers rediscovered the grape unknowingly moonlighting as Merlot in Chile. Early European settlers, who came to the region in the 19th century, had imported cuttings of the long-forgotten vinifera.

or my husband and me, that connection to the region’s wines began at our local Costco.

While planning our trip to South America, I would scan the labels in the wine section looking for the Chilean offerings. That’s how I came across Montes, one of the best-known premium brands outside of Chile. I brought home its Classic Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, which cost under $10. I’m no wine expert, but it tasted great and didn’t have an overly oaky taste.

11

O

ne of those early pioneers was Emilio Bouchon, the father of Viña Casa Silva, who planted the first grape vines in the Colchagua Valley in 1892 after he arrived from Bordeaux. After more than a century as a grape-producing family, his descendants finally started bottling wine under the Casa Silva name in 1997. Since then, it has become the most award-winning Chilean winery in the 21st century, much of it due to the extensive research it has done toward perfecting Carménère.

Casa Silva is one of the few wineries that offer lodging on its property and after a day of sampling wines throughout the valley, it’s a relaxing place for us to kick back and unwind. The boutique hotel, housed in the century-old family hacienda, has seven Provincial-style rooms that open onto a central cobblestone courtyard with a seating area.

I

’m feeling quite at home in that spot as I take my first sip of Carménère, which tastes like a cross between Merlot and Syrah with an aroma of black cherries, plums and a hint of spices. The wine is at its best with red meats or Chile’s favorite, pastel de choclo, a corn and meat pie served everywhere from roadside stands along the Pan-American Highway to the finest restaurants, including Casa Silva’s own, which is open to the public.

On the way to dinner at the restaurant located in the clubhouse adjacent to the Silva family’s polo field, all is quiet in the vineyard at dusk, except for the sharp screeching sounds of Queltejue birds alerting each other to our presence. But as darkness falls, the calls fade away and there’s only the quiet murmur of polite conversation on the covered patio. Clinking our wine glasses together, we toast to a great day, relieved there hadn’t been an earthquake, but moved by our visit nonetheless.

13

INFO TO GO: Take a tour: Setting up a tour with Ruta del Vino (rutadelvino.cl) is the easiest, hasslefree way to visit the Colchagua Valley wineries. For a fee, the organization will arrange visits and transportation, either from Santiago or the regional base of Santa Cruz.

The day trip includes roundtrip transfers, an English-speaking guide, tour and tastings at two wineries and a bottle of wine. Prices range from $132 to $189, depending on the program.

Go on your own: If you prefer a more leisurely visit to the wineries, consider renting a car and coming for a few days. Unlike driving in other South American countries, getting behind the wheel in Chile isn’t a death-defying stunt.

Once beyond the Santiago city limits, the drive along the PanAmerican Highway is stress free and even downright enjoyable. While there are some winery signs posted once you get to the area, it’s helpful to map your route in advance.

Waze, a popular navigation app for iOS-, Android- and Windowsbased smartphones, is also reliable in Chile, where it has more than a million users.

Where to have lunch: Only a few of the area wineries have a restaurant or café located on the premises, including Lapostolle, Montes, Casa Silva and Viu Manent. Advanced reservations are necessary.

Where to spend the night: The city of Santa Cruz, the region’s base for tourism in the Colchagua Valley, has plenty of lodging options, including the swanky Hotel Santa Cruz, located in a colonial building on the main plaza. Alternatively, some of the wineries offer upscale lodging options, most notably Lapostolle and Casa Silva. Lapostolle Residence (lapostolle. com) has four modern casitas with wraparound decks and almost total privacy on a promontory above the winery. Meanwhile, the Casa Silva Hotel (casasilva.cl) has seven rooms in its century-old adobe hacienda outfitted with traditional furnishings.

Best time to visit: November to April coincides with Chile’s summer and autumn seasons.

Special events that take place during this period include the Colchagua Jazz Festival (November); the Santa Cruz Arts & Crafts Market (November); and the Harvest Festival (March).

What to do: It’s all about the wine in the Colchagua Valley, but if you’re looking for something a little different, check out the Colchagua Museum (museocolchagua.cl), which has a notable collection of Chilean artifacts from pre-Columbian to the modern era. Part of the Santa Cruz museum is devoted to the 2010 mining accident that trapped 33 miners underground for 69 days. The exhibit documents the conditions of the trapped miners and the rescue effort, while showcasing the drill bits that cut through a half mile of rock to reach the miners and the Fenix rescue capsule that brought them to the surface.

Want more information?

Details about the wineries, including their hours, tour prices and an interactive map can be found at visit: COLCHAGUAVALLEY.COM

The Cuisine of Abu Dhabi

By Julie Hatfield If you’ve ever wondered what on earth the people of Abu Dhabi eat out there in the desert, you begin to get an idea even before you arrive by boarding the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates: Etihad Airways. Prepare to be blown away by the quality of the international cuisine on Etihad (eh-tee-add) as you spend the next 12 hours pampered with gourmet offerings found in the finest restaurants in the world, presented at your own Ferrari-leather massaging seat/bed.

Every class of service on this airline is superior, but their First Class (Diamond), called the World’s Best First Class among World Airline Awards in 2011 by Skytrax, is enhanced by the only “Chefs in Flight” airline in the world. The brainchild of an Etihad executive who wanted to make the flying experience more like that on a private jet, Chefs in Flight woos fine chefs from luxury restaurants onto the special kitchens of Etihad to make their magic at the stoves of the plane’s kitchen.

he chefs practice their art in the smaller confines of an airplane galley at the Etihad headquarters in Abu Dhabi before taking to the air, and their menus read like those of the restaurants they abandoned for this job, with the exception that you can order from these menus around the clock at your whim. If you wish for caviar, it is sturgeon roe. The salt with your meal comes from Murray River in Victoria, Australia and the pepper is Asta, from Tasmania, because it is the best in the world. Your olive oil comes from Monteviviano, Italy, frozen so that it hasn’t aged a minute since its pressing.

Coffee and date ice cream, jellied berries, five or six kinds of tea, and fine wines from around the world, complete the menu, but if you wish something not on the menu, these chefs are probably able to whip it up, with the mass of special ingredients they have on hand.

When we arrived in Abu Dhabi, we spent our first few days and nights at the one-year-old Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal Hotel and were welcomed upon entering the sumptuous lobby with cups of traditional Arabic cardamom flavored coffee and dates. When most of the people in Abu Dhabi were Bedouins in tents, they grew dates. While there is plenty of desert around, the city is an oasis, with 40 million date palm trees. Some of them are planted in front of the Ritz, and workers at the hotel are invited to pick dates anytime for their own consumption. Dates still figure prominently in the culture and are used in many ways in the cuisine here. In our room were tiers of caramel milk chocolates of all shapes and flavors, and later we tasted a Starbucks-inspired caramel macchiato.

The Ritz has 10 different restaurants and cafes and we tried three of them. Mijana is their contemporary Arabic spot, presenting Lebanese specialties: cold and hot mezzehs such as fatoush, an Arabic salad with lemon juice and suman and kibbeh, or minced lamb, crushed wheat, onion and pine nuts. Grilled chicken from their charcoal grill is offered, along with fresh local fish and seafood. And although most of the locals are Sunni Muslims and do not drink alcohol, the hotel has an enormous selection of fine wines and liquors for its visitors, such as Burgundy Domaine de la RomaneeConti Grand Cru, champagne Henri Abele, Brut, Reims, and plenty of creative cocktails both alcoholic and non. Mijana has both an indoor space and outdoor terrace, and eating outdoors in this delightful mid-seventy-degree evening temperature is popular with natives and tourists alike.

17

he breakfast buffet at the Ritz is enormous, and more varied than those in the U.S., offering many ethnic dishes of countries in the East as well as American staples. Their dim sum include, shaomai, sticky rice in lotus leaves, and char siu baau barbeque bun. Arabic dishes are labneh balls dipped in herbs, labneh served with olives, dried mint and drizzled with olive oil, ful medames, which is cooked and mashed fava beans served with vegetable oil and cumin; hummus, local cheeses and toasted and soft warmed pita bread triangles.

We also enjoyed – just for the novelty of eating it at breakfast time – a scoop of mango sorbet.

While that buffet is munificent, the midday Friday brunch at the Ritz is over the top bountiful, with 50 individual dishes and 40 accompaniments, not to mention an entire room filled with every kind of sweet imaginable; 55 of them actually, with 45 condiments. Friday being the Muslim holy day, comparable to Sunday in the U.S., the Ritz puts on a display of food that boggles the mind, and appetite.

From tapas to oysters, a seafood bar with buckets of shrimp and crab claws, scallops and ceviche, its own noodle chef pulling noodles from scratch, to slow-roasted whole Wagyu beef leg from Australia, pastas such as terraddito, buratina and straciatella with heirloom tomatoes, to a Mexican station, Western salads, foie gras and fresh fruits. The favorite beverage at the brunch is champagne.

19

ur final dinner at the Ritz, after a long period of being sated by that brunch buffet, took place on the beach next to the enormous swimming pool and the Arabian Sea, under a full moon. Lamb served a variety of ways was on the menu, along with grilled vegetables, a variety of salads, and the usual scrumptious desserts. After dinner, still on the beach, the waiters brought out individual hookahs and different fruit flavored shisha, which we smoked in a most relaxing postprandial atmosphere. Many Abu Dhabi women like to get together for an afternoon of convivial shisha smoking, and we were happily indulging in the local custom. It is certainly an enjoyable way of digesting another delicious meal.

Then we moved on to the Emirates Palace Hotel, a $3 billion architectural gem of marble, gold, mother of pearl and crystals, nearly a mile from end to end with 14 restaurants, a caviar and champagne bar, a lobby tearoom where your petit fours are flecked with edible gold. Guests are welcomed with a refreshing cold cassis beverage. If a breakfast buffet can possibly be any more elaborate than that of the Ritz, here it is. Every kind of bread, egg dish, meat and fruit along with coffee in many styles, is offered in a restaurant that overlooks the gardens of the palace hotel. Emirates Palace restaurants take the traditional simple

Emirati food – a mixture of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, rose water, saffron and loomy (dried lemon) – and raise them to a luxurious level of gourmet dining.

At Mezlai, the beautiful emirati-style restaurant where two live camels rest beside the outdoor tables overlooking the sea, cold appetizers include baby marrow with onion, bell pepper and tomatoes. Their potato salad is made with spring onion, tomatoes, mint leaves, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Hot appetizers include sautéed baby octopus with garlic, coriander and lemon. Crab soup using local crab is touched with garlic, saffron and cream. Grilled halowaio fish is mixed with coriander leaves, onions, garlic, lemon juice, chili paste and spicy potato. Wines from France, California, Australia and elsewhere are available along with liquors, but for the many non-alcoholic drinkers here, they always have on hand some refreshing cold sparkling drinks, many with lemon in them. If you eat out at the edge of the sea at the barbeque restaurant, where it’s dark, they bring tiny reading lights that attach

to the wine list to make it easier to read. Lamb, a very popular and plentiful and traditional meat in the UAE, is cooked numerous tasty ways, such as braised, marinated, served with tomato sauce and local spices, as kebabs as well as chops, and in the more traditional “thareed,” or stew prepared with carrots, potatoes and marrow served over pieces of very thin bread called regag. The variety in the menus here is impressive, the spices always exotic and soothing to the palate.

Desserts at Mezlai include pancakes with saffron, cinnamon and cream cheese covered in a honey-orange sauce. Dates are used once again in a pastry with saffron and cardamom dressing. A pumpkin “aseeda” boils the pumpkin in rose water, sugar, cardamom and butter. There is always date pudding and date infused ice cream.

In fact, all the chefs we met in Abu Dhabi and on Etihad Airways made wonderful use of their iconic coffee and dates by infusing both into an ice cream that was my favorite food of all. It beats a caramel macchiato by a mile.

TEQUILA Long before Spanish conquistadors marched into northwest Mexico to establish the settlement of Guadalajara in 1532, indigenous Nahuatl Indians had discovered the bacchanal benefits of fermenting the sugary juice of the sweet heart of a ripe agave cactus. That milky, pungent drink known as pulque was the forerunner of tequila.

Although I’ve traveled throughout Mexico for more than 30 years, my interest in tequila never extended beyond an occasional margarita. But it took only a sip of icy cold, crystal-clear El Tesoro de Don Felipe Silver – offered up at a party in Ajijic hosted by Bob Denton, a pioneer exporter of premium tequila – to forever transform my perception of tequila.

This was not the tequila of springbreak binges and nasty hangovers.

The handcrafted elixir touched my tongue with an exhilarating warmth and complexity that I would have expected from only the finest of French cognacs. It was at once bold and peppery, yet smooth and sublime, with a slight hint of fruitiness.

It was a simple tasting but it infused me with enthusiasm to learn more – both about the spirit and its namesake town.

Nearly 98 percent of all tequila is born in the agave (pronounced ah-GAH-vay) fields surrounding the town of Tequila, a charming community of cobbled streets and ocher-colored walls about 30 miles northwest of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco.

It’s for Savoring ...

Not Slamming!

By Dave G. Houser

Premium tequilas are made from 100 percent blue agave.

Liquor distilled from other agaves include pulque, the primitive fermentation still produced and consumed locally, and mescal, a harsh, fiery cousin of tequila distilled mostly in the state of Oaxaca and famous – or infamous, perhaps – for the worm (an agave grub) usually inserted during the bottling process.

In 1978, the Mexican government established a set of laws to govern the production of tequila, much as French wines and cognac are produced and certified under the auspices of the Appellation d’ origine ContrÔlée. Top quality tequilas must be made from agave grown in strictly defined zones, most notably Jalisco and small, designated districts within the states of Nayarit, Michoacán, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas.

TOP-END DEMAND FOSTERED NEW CATEGORY

Until early 2006, tequila was produced and sold in four categories: tequila blanco (white or “silver”), tequila joven abocado (“gold”), tequila reposado (rested or aged a minimum of two months), and tequila añejo (aged at least one year). Now there’s a fifth category, extra añejo, indicative of the international market trend toward top-end brands. This tequila must be aged at least three years.

Agave distillate is naturally clear and colorless. When aged in oak barrels, it achieves added flavor and color.

Contrary to popular opinion, however, “gold” tequila does not gain much of its color from aging in oak but rather from the addition of caramel in the production process. To retain is signature clearness, blanco or “silver” tequila undergoes aging in stainless steel for whatever period its maker determines.

25

“A premium 100 percent blue agave blanco is preferred for mixing margaritas by most sophisticated drinkers,” says Denton.

“Unadulterated by caramel coloring or flavoring, or even the complexities of oak as found in the añejos, a good blanco better complements the bittersweet orange flavor of Cointreau or triple sec and the tartness of freshly squeezed key limes,” says Denton, whose company exported El Tesoro tequila until the 2004 purchase of the brand by American distiller Jim Beam. “In my opinion, the color and flavor of caramel or oak competes with the clarity and bright taste one should look for in a classic margarita.”

SAVOR IT, DON’T SLAM IT True tequila connoisseurs pan the popular ritual of licking a pinch of salt from one’s hand, downing (or “shooting”) a caballito (pony or shot glass) of tequila – then biting on a slice of lime.

“Such a process might well ameliorate the unpleasant impact of gulping down a harsh, inferior tequila,” says Lucinda Hutson, author of Tequila: The Spirit of Mexico.

“In reality, doing shooters is just a popularization of a rowdy machismo ritual born long ago in border town bars. Good tequila is for savoring, not slamming,” says Hutson, a Texan who has lived off and on in Mexico.

“Tequila is to sophisticated Mexicans what fine wine is to the French – an integral part of a leisurely meal,” adds Hutson. “Mexicans normally imbibe tequila neat (straight up) in caballitos. Extolling its virtues as an aperitif, they sip a shot of blanco or reposado before eating, or savor one between courses. Afterwards, they often partake of a mellow añejo – as richly satisfying as a fine cognac.”

Most foreigners know about tequila, but few imagine there is an actual place by the same name. It is a town of about 30,000 nestled in a valley beneath a dormant 9,700-foot volcano. Surrounding it are thousands of carefully cultivated acres of blue agave fields blanketing the hillsides. The popularity of the drink and the history behind it has led to the town and environs being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

RED SOIL GROWS BLUE PLANTS Tequila residents, most of whom are employed in the fields or distilleries, say it is a magical place where red soil grows blue plants and where relative prosperity has always come to those willing to do the hard work required to make tequila.

The town is home to about a dozen distilleries.

Predominant among them are the two industry giants, Cuervo and Sauza, whose massive and modern operations (Cuervo still family-owned; Sauza just purchased from Beam Inc. by Suntory of Japan) work on three shifts around the clock to produce the lion’s share of nearly 175 million liters -- worth about a billion dollars -- of tequila exported annually. Production is expected to increase 20 percent within the decade owing to China’s recent lifting of import controls on blue agave tequila.

According to the best records available, Cuervo is the oldest continuously operating distillery in Tequila. In 1795, King Carlos IV of Spain issued a license to Jose Maria Guadalupe Cuervo to produce mescal. Sometime in the early 19th century, production of tequila began.

Sauza has a long history as well, founded by Don Cenobio Sauza in 1873. Both companies offer public tours with tastings for a nominal fee.

At Sauza’s facilities, a visit begins at Rancho el Indio, an 18th century Sauza family farm on the edge of town.

Visitors learn about the agricultural side of production, perhaps the most fascinating part of the tequila story.

PLANT BEARS FRUIT ONCE IN A LIFETIME The agave plant takes 8 to 12 years to mature and can achieve a height of almost 6 feet. When the plant is ripe, jimadores, or harvesters, march in platoons through the fields using a coa – a sharp, half-moon-shaped metal blade with a long wooden handle – to hack off the long, barbed spears and to sever the plant from its shallow roots.

The agave’s pineapple-shaped heart, or piña, weighs 50 to 100 pounds and will ultimately yield five to seven liters of tequila.

27

“In less than three minutes, a jimador can harvest an agave that took 10 years to mature,” says Sauza tour guide Jose Luis Rivera.

“Grapevines may take as long to produce good fruit, but they do so every year,” notes Rivera. “But agave bears its fruit only once in a lifetime.”

At Sauza’s La Preservancia Distillery in town, some 400 tons of piñas are conveyed daily into giant stainless steel autoclaves that cook the piñas under steam pressure to begin the process of converting the agave’s inherent starch into fermentable sugars.

TEQUILA MADE THE OLD WAY The modern Sauza process is dramatically different from methods used at a traditional distillery such as El Tesoro’s La Alteña facility. Set on a high plateau northeast of Guadalajara, La Alteña is one of a handful of boutique distilleries that continue to honor the old ways of making tequila.

La Alteña uses firebrick hornos, or ovens, to slow-cook the agave for 48 hours and then they let it cool for another 24 hours. It’s then placed in one of the few stone crushing pits still in regular use.

A tractor has replaced the mule originally used to pull the massive stone around the circle, crushing the agave into pulp to release the sugary juice. The extract is then ladled by hand into wooden buckets that are hoisted onto the heads of workers to be dumped into a 3,000-liter fermentation tank.

Next, a secret yeast formula is introduced to ensure the consistent flavor admired by the brand’s growing cadre of aficionados. Once fully fermented, the heady mash passes through its two-stage distillation process in vintage copper-pot stills and then is aged and bottled.

29

CUERVO’S LA ROJEÑA DISTILLERY – OLD AND ELEGANT Back in Tequila, the town boasts a pleasant plaza lined with laurel trees, an imposing colonial-era stone church, a tequila museum and Cuervo’s elegant visitor center, where guests sign up for a tour of the company’s massive La Rojeña Distillery, the country’s oldest and largest distillery.

A gallery of upscale shops features Cuervo products but also fine art and handicrafts, jewelry, pottery and even a resident Huichol artisan. The delicate and colorful beadwork from these indigenous people of west-central Mexico is much in demand.

I’d seen enough of the distillation process at Sauza, so after perusing the displays and exhibits at La Rojeña, I adjourned for a bite to eat at the stylish La Fonda

restaurant adjacent to the distillery before setting off on my return to Guadalajara. My route out of town led me past an impressive bronze monument to the hardworking jimadores and a string of rickety tourist stands selling souvenirs and cheap tequila in fake oak barrels and plastic jugs.

In the countryside -- passing endless rows of agaves -- I couldn’t help but agree with locals who consider as magical this place where red soil grows blue plants.

Dave G. Houser has traveled extensively in Mexico for more than 30 years and is co-author of the guidebook Hidden Mexico (Ulysses Press). He currently resides in St. Augustine, Florida. www.daveghouser.com

31

F

apalachIcola . allIGator poInt . carrabelle eaStpoInt . St. GeorGe ISland the north Florida coastal communities of apalachicola, alligator point, carrabelle, eastpoint and St. George Island share a coastline of more than 500 miles of salty, white sand beaches on the gulf and bay. each area features many unique historic, nature-based and maritime resources just waiting to be discovered.

St. GeorGe ISland, with its pet-friendly beaches and authentic lighthouse is the premier beach destination for those seeking a natural getaway. Accommodations range from luxurious beachfront vacation homes to hotel lodging right on the beach. The St. George Island State Park is currently ranked #3 beach in the nation. apalachIcola offers maritime history and a working waterfront plus plenty of restaurants serving fresh seafood.

Breathe the salty air of Apalachicola Bay and walk the canopy-shaded sidewalks of Apalachicola’s Historic District or tour unique museums and shop in one-of-a-kind boutiques. carrabelle is Gateway to the Gulf with its natural deep-water harbor. With access to three rivers, it is a salty attraction to sailors, kayakers and boaters of all

ages. The Carrabelle area also features a world-class golf resort and WWII museum. allIGator poInt offers an even more relaxed and lowto-no traffic approach to enjoying great beaches, fresh seafood, birding, fishing, kayaking, biking and coastal hiking.

Naturalists flock to Bald Point State Park for a glimpse at the migrating birds and butterflies that arrive annually. eaStpoInt is the heart of the county’s commercial seafood industry; watch boats unload fresh fish and oysters in an authentic working waterfront.

Theworking waterfront here, as well as in Apalachicola and Carrabelle, showcase traditions that are still all in a day’s labor for proud seafood workers.

SaltyFlorida history, seafood

and coastal charm.

saltyflorida.com/tj

866-914-2068

Float on to summer at VisitVirginiaBeach.com

New York Night Out: Dining with a Legend James Beard House Text and Photos by: Bennett W. Root, Jr.

Periodically, we make a pilgrimage to New York City. Not for work. Not even to visit friends, though often we do. But for the sheer joy of being free to explore in the Big Apple. A new neighborhood. An opening at a museum. A concert or a show.

A few days in New York without a pre-set agenda (well, usually dinner reservations) drives creative thought, builds energy, and rejuvenates the spirit. This year we chose Super Bowl weekend because while others focused on the game, we could explore the Whitney, throw snowballs in Central Park, watch dance develop at Ballet Hispanico on the upper west side, walk The High Line in Chelsea, touch the names at the World Trade Tower Memorial, and—my personal favorite—eat. Despite Super Bowl crowds, we were able to eat quite well.

But the show stopper for this trip was dinner at the James Beard House.

Reservations were made months in advance, and the anticipation was substantial. A colossus of American cuisine—figuratively and literately— Beard, regarded by many as the father of American gastronomy, transformed teaching and thinking about how food was prepared and enjoyed. fter

a

his death in 1985, no less a superstar of French cuisine than Julia Child, together with Peter Kump, made it their mission to preserve Beard’s home and legacy, creating the James Beard Foundation, mise en place, in his West Village brownstone on 12th Street, “to celebrate, nurture and preserve America’s diverse culinary heritage and future.” In addition to conferring its prestigious food and journalism awards, the Foundation hosts about 200 dinners a year featuring notable chefs from around the country and their personal cuisine. Past chefs have included Daniel Boulard, Jacques Pépin, Charlie Trotter, Nobu Matsuhisa and many, many more. The evening of our reservation, dinner was created and prepared by Dan Fox, an up-and-coming, awardwinning young chef (Heritage Tavern, Madison, Wisconsin) featuring farm to table braised pork belly and suckling pig chop entrees from his personal heritage farms. What a treat we had in store.

Dinner was at 7. We arrived early, our cabbie dropping us at the corner of a distinctly residential neighborhood, so much so that we were unsure we were in the right place until we walked inside, found our host and confirmed our location.

After stashing scarves, gloves and coats, we sat, impatiently, in a small seating area off what sounded like, and smelled like a working kitchen.

Curious and hungry, we poked our heads in and discovered busy food lines with Chef Fox and perhaps a dozen others carefully preparing hors d’oeuvres for 120 guests. Fully expecting to be shooed out, we were pleasantly surprised to be encouraged to watch an amazing dinner preparation and even to be able to chat with the staff as magical morsels appeared before our widening eyes.

Soon enough, we would join fellow quests enjoying miniature Yorkshire pudding with foie gras mousse and aronia berry jam, assorted deviled eggs in colors we’d not seen before, pâté de campagne with sea berry mustard, and roasted beets with macadamia nut butter and (!) shaved dark chocolate. What a spectacular array of tastes, textures, aromas!

35

a

s others arrived, we were ushered into a bar area for specialty cocktails--“Malort Thing” (JEPPSON’S MALÖRT, BLOOD ORANGE JUICE, BASIL, AND LEMON) and “Colibre” (HUM BOTANICAL LIQUEUR WITH CALICHE RUM, LIME, GINGER, PROSECCO, AND ROSE FLOWER WATER), wines (Sohn & Kracher Gruner Veltiner 2011 and Valdobbiadene Prosecco NV), passed hors d’oeuvres and conversation. The room buzzed as chef ’s creations rolled out. Our dinner companions included locals, foodie tourists, a couple of food writers and some friends of chef.

No surprise, the wines and cocktails both complemented the food perfectly and lubricated the evening. Indeed, this was a very special dining experience.

Upstairs in the main dining room (Beard’s former bedroom), chef rolled out four courses, including braised heritage pork belly, blackfin tuna, and seared foie gras with mango; fried Great Lakes whitefish with Sichuan peppercorn slaw; cured Spanish mackerel with braised South African boer goat mole; and suckling pig chop with truffled boudin blanc. Each course was served with complementary wine. We finished our meal with an apple galette with flaky cave-aged cheddar crust and a beautiful dessert wine (Royal Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos 2008).

Wow! Were we satiated! And very pleased.

Chef came up for a well-deserved round of applause and to answer questions about his menu design, his heritage farms and his passion for creating rich flavors and a dining experience fully in tune with the traditions of James Beard’s American food experience.

We have often enjoyed outstanding dinners in our escapes to New York—including work

by Thomas Keller, Mario Batali, Marcus Samuelsson—but I don’t know that we have had a more engaging foodie evening than our night at the James Beard House. To be in Beard’s home, to savor food and drink, to talk with chef and staff, to spend an evening with new friends eager to share the experience, all these combined to make this dinner a jewel in our trip. If you go to have dinner with the Beard legend, we hope you will enjoy as much as we did.

37

In 1598, Cesare D’Este, forced by the Emperor to abandon his beloved capital Ferrara, transferred his residence to Modena, rendering it the Este Ducal capital until 1859. In order to have a regular bureaucracy with the ability to impose taxes, the Este soon registered all the existing artisan and merchant guilds. It is the first official documentation of the Giusti family’s commercial activity, already well established in production and retail of typical Modenese products: lambrusco, “fine sausages” and above all Balsamic Vinegar, already considered the specialty of the family business.

--- www.Giusti.it/eng

The Ambiguity of

Balsamic Vinegar Largest producer in Modena shares legacy and truth behind the barrels.

By Charlene Peters

W

hile it is true Giuseppe Giusti has been paying taxes for 400 years, he isn’t claiming immortality. He’s actually the seventh-generation producer in his family’s business of the same name. Giusti lives and works in Modena, Italy, where he produces some of the world’s finest balsamic vinegars made from the region’s lambrusca and trebbiano grapes.

His life, as his ancestors, revolves around the barrel room. And when he isn’t working on his aging grapes, he’s out driving in his Alfa Romeo. But, hey, barrels are his life, and such as life, have their ups and downs.

“Sometimes the barrels fall apart,” says Giusti, “and you have to build a barrel around it so as not to disturb the product.”

In addition to the delicate process of working with no less than century-old barrels, he has to adhere to past generation standards in following his family’s precise recipe of 1605.

Giuseppe Giusti is the oldest producer of balsamic vinegar in Modena, and as Giusti shifts a tour group’s attention to the Giusti museum of memorabilia in a room outside one of the cellars, he proves this fact. It is

here where he explains balsamic vinegar’s humble beginnings, showing documentation from 150 years ago on how to produce balsamic vinegar in a method still known, utilized and widely quoted today as “The Giusti Recipe.”

“Balsamic vinegar is an old product — a typical, traditional product that is not a natural process,” he says. “It’s the result of the fruit of the root of the region, a result of the people.”

Custom dictates the process of acidification and aging of grapes down to a concentrated liquid known as saba (or “mosto”), but it’s not just about cooking the grapes down to a concentrated liquid. In all related matters, Giusti follows family tradition. He continues to set up a row of barrels each time a Giusti is born. And when that child marries, that row of barrels filled with what many refer to as “liquid gold” is presented as the dowry.

The actual barrels influence what’s inside, and Giusti explains the varying types he utilizes: “Use juniper wood or a non-smelling wood such as mulberry in the beginning, and use oak at the end.

He points to a barrel in the museum and continues: “and in the middle we use cherry, juniper or sometimes chestnut. It is important that balsamic vinegar tastes all the different woods.”

39

A walk into the barrel room welcomes you with an aroma of balsamic vinegar that permeates the air. Barrels that date back to 1700 and 1800 are organized in a grouping of 5-7 barrels that are rotated according to a traditional method.

Doilies cover the bungholes of the barrels to add air, but keep out dust and tiny flies.

When he talks of the grapes in the region, he admits that Modena’s wine made from local lambrusca grapes “are known to be not so great, and trebbiano grapes are ‘not bad’.” It would seem the first generation Giusti’s were smart in avoiding competition with its Tuscan counterpart, and inventive in introducing a new condiment to the world.

Although trebbiano grapes are white, the juice, once cooked with skins onto a 60 percent reduction (traditionally in October), the liquid becomes black. The process in making balsamic vinegar over 400 years ago came about as a result of no refrigeration. The concentrated liquid of the grapes, or the leftover mosto, oxidized in a process referred to as acidobacter, or the removal of oxygen out of the alcohol, results in a sweet/sour and syrupy balsamic

vinegar that when aged, tastes even better. Over time, the Giusti’s learned that the more balsamic vinegar aged, the more special it became.

The Legend of Balsamic Vinegar The roots of the actual term “balsamic” dates back to the 17th century. Its origin, “balsam” is defined as “good for the earth and to feel better, based on the root ‘balsam’.” According to Giusti, legend has it that the product in the barrel was sent by a duke to the pope, who preferred this gift more than a gift of 100 horses gifted to him by another duke.

In 1863, an earlier Giuseppe Giusti presented a paper during a tradeshow in Modena. He described what balsamic vinegar is and how to make it: which

A Giusti stone-to-print label made with heavy paper in 1448 for the exhibition of Paris barely revealed the name of the company. After the exhibition, the bottle’s label was updated. ‘Labels were messy, rich and opulent,’ says Giuseppe Giusti.

grapes to use, what wood to use and how long to age it. Back then, it was said barrels at least 20 years old must be used, and the minimum time needed to make the product is two years. By 1900, some producers began to add caramel color, which is burned sugar to look black. This tasted bitter, he says, and is what is used to make cheap balsamic vinegar.

Giusti frowns upon this use.

Today, balsamic vinegar is made in 60 days. Of course, the longer the product sits in the barrels, the better it ages.

“After 15 years, it begins to get good, and after 30 years much better,” explains Giusti of the 1863 instructions. “After 50 years, it deserves the balsamic name.”

As he inserts a glass siphon, or

wine cheater, into an ancient barrel, he admits that it’s impossible to determine exactly how old balsamic vinegar is today.

“Because it’s a total blend, and a variety of grapes.”

The grapes used to make Giusti balsamic vinegar are the local sangiovese, lambrusca and trebbiano, of which he says he uses the latter two.

For a bottle of good balsamic vinegar, you can expect to pay $10 and upward to $250 for a bottle of higher quality, but, much like wine, there really is no way of knowing if the price is comparable to this condiment’s taste.

Says Giusti, “It may be good, but you never know.”

41

On the Game Trail in Croatia’s Kvarner Region

By Darrin DuFord

A

fter following what seemed like only a few twists of road uphill, I traded the salty scent of sea breeze for the musky aroma of venison prosciutto.

I was at the foothills of Europe’s Dinaric Alps in northern Croatia, and I had just entered Ronjgi, a restaurant that, despite being just a few kilometers from the coast, offers nothing from the Adriatic Sea. Instead, the restaurant, in the quiet town of Viškovo, offers specialties from the forest exclusively.

While restaurants along the coast of Croatia are making a name for themselves with their abundance of fresh langoustines, branzini, and other Adriatic seafood offerings (I’d just had grilled octopus a few hours before), a whole other gastronomic realm awaits in the mountains separating two of Croatia’s most popular destinations, the Istrian peninsula and the capital city of Zagreb.

The highlands, part of the Kvarner region, feature a cuisine that reflects the bounty of game and vegetation of its rugged, limestone-studded terrain.

In addition to featuring venison prosciutto, tender with a pleasant mild scent of saddle leather, Ronjgi’s charcouterie plate also included a smoky boar sausage. deer risotto--surprisingly rich given the lean nature of deer--and a wild boar steak in blueberry sauce—a marriage of meat and fruit from the highlands—each exemplified the versatility of the chef. “It would be crazy to bring fish here,” owner Guido Muškulić told me, despite the lively fish market of the port city of Rijeka being only a fifteenminute drive down to the Sea.

43

S

itting across from me were Vedran Obućina and Aleksandar Peša, the co-founders of Taste of Adriatic, a tour company specializing in gastronomic excursions in Istria and Kvarner. “The prosciutto comes from the male deer, and the steak from the female deer,” Obućina told me, referring to how the chefs of Kvarner exploit minor differences in the leanness of venison based on the deer’s gender.

A couple days later, Vedran and Aleksandar, in their boxy, vintage 1990 Yugo (it was the same homely model exported to the States before the breakup of Yugoslavia), drove me further east into the fir-blanketed region of Kvarner known as Gorski Kotar, an area known for its hiking trails, waterfalls, and caves. But I was more interested in one of the area’s traditional proteins: frog. We arrived at Delnice, the largest town in Gorski Kotar, where I sampled frogs’ legs three ways—wrapped in bacon, smothered in a gorgonzola sauce, and deep fried — at the rustic dining room of the 90-year-old Hotel Risnjak. Due to the frogs’ amphibian lives, their taste fell somewhere between rabbit and fish, offering a counterbalance to the region’s heavier dark meats.

The Risnjak also covered the latter carnivorous territory by serving me bear sausage that delivered a spicy, black-pepper finish. I was fortunate—bear is not always available. Only limited hunting is permitted in order to strike a balance between Kvarner’s hunting traditions and preservation.

The largest surprise, however, was a bowl of soup made from porcino mushrooms that grow wild in Gorski Kotar. Families from the area pick the mushrooms and sell them to the hotel, where the fungi are transformed into an earthy soup. The porcino made another appearance, this time in an entrée: the venison steak in hunter’s sauce, where the mushrooms mingled with plums over house-made gnocchi.

The savory then gave way to sweet and I quickly learned that the Risnjak takes desserts just as seriously as entrees.

Their thin, flaky blueberry strudel, a nod to Croatia’s past as a province of AustriaHungary, took up an entire dinner plate.

G

oulash, another dish that arrived during the AustroHungarian era, is common in Croatia, even at many restaurants along the Adriatic coast. The next day, when I visited Agroturizam Manjon, a restaurant in Rukavac—just three kilometers inland from the coastal resort town of Opatija—I discovered that the chefs, who are also the owners, had replaced the beef of traditional goulash with the meat of puh, or dormouse, a pintsized edible rodent with a long culinary history.

Before you start recoiling at the thought of eating a creature from the rodent order, consider that the dormouse, a forestdwelling connoisseur of berries and nuts, is as far from the scavenging beasts gnawing on gum wrappers in New York City’s subway stations as a chicken from a vulture. The Romans had no taxonomic hang-ups and considered the dormouse a delicacy worthy of building specially-shaped vases to house and fatten them up. Today, dormice are captured in homemade traps in the forest and find their way into pots of thick, savory goulash without taking residency in a vase. “They can be really fat and adorable, but I eat them anyway,” said co-owner Angela Cvjetković as I tried my first bite of dormouse and met with its nutty, sweet flavor.

The main offerings at Agroturizam Manjon involve culinary permutations of a creature much easier to catch: the snail.

Together with her husband and her mother, Cvjetković runs a snail farm on the same property; thus, I was eating ultralocally when she proudly served me refreshing preparations of snail such as snails in puff pastry and snails wrapped in bacon. Both were remarkably tender and had the texture of a Portobello mushroom. The Cvjetković family also made sausages from a mixture of pork and snail, but based on their richness, I would have guessed that they were all pork.

Agroturizam Manjon has begun selling their snails to restaurants around the country. At the hilltop village of Trsat, overlooking Rijeka and the Kvarner Gulf, I had the fortune to encounter their mollusks again at Konoba Tarsa, where Agroturizam Manjon’s snails were served in a white wine and garlic sauce worthy of continual bread dipping.

With its coast and highlands so close together, Kvarner spoiled me with the ability to enjoy specialties from land and sea in the same day. Such a culinary coziness reflects how the geography and gastronomy of Croatia are delightfully intertwined.

About the Author Darrin DuFord’s debut book Is There a Hole in the Boat?

Tales of Travel in Panama without a Car won the silver medal in the 2007 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards.

He has contributed articles to BBC Travel, The San Francisco Chronicle, Perceptive Travel, and World Hum, among others.

Read his latest ruminations on travel and food on his blog, http://OmnivorousTraveler.wordpress.com.

45

Shortly after checking in I strolled over to my room in the Plaza Suites, a great location and close to the ancient springs. The Pueblo Suites and Cliffside Suites were nearby while the Historic Hotel Rooms and Cottages were over to the north side of the property. Since it was already midday I chose to tour the grounds next and get familiar with this 145-year-old resort, which is one of the oldest natural health resorts in the country. My plan was to spend the night and the following morning before heading over to Santa Fe, which was just under 70-miles away.

Everyday is Earth Day at Ojo Caliente

by Donna Mantone-Adinolfi

“To travel is to take a journey into yourself.”

– Danny Kaye An arduous journey beginning in the Midwest through the plains of Nebraska led me to enchanting New Mexico for my first spa stop and a long awaited respite at one of my bucket list destinations.

Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs and Resort

As I passed through the entrance gate to the parking area the scent of the earth welcomed me as I arrived, filled with anticipation at what this storied place would reveal. I was also extremely eager to ‘soak my bones’ in the hot springs.

Native American tribes from Northern New Mexico regard this area sacred and the stewards of this resort have been committed to sustaining this environmentally healthy oasis.

Andy and Jen Scott are the owners and stewards of this 1,100-acre resort. One of their eco-friendly projects in particular is the use of energy from the hot springs to heat and cool buildings thereby reducing energy consumption. Other water projects that Alex Scott initiated have kept the water (hot springs) clean without compromising the natural state of the springs.

Heating up at Ojo: Back in 1868 when Ojo first opened, it became known as a place of miracle cures because of the healing waters. My hope for this adventure was to leave feeling better than when I arrived and based on the number of people there, including many from the local area, I realized that I wasn’t alone in my quest for rejuvenation.

For thousands of years geothermal mineral waters have flowed from a volcanic aquifer with over 100,000 gallons per day making their way to the surface. Four different sulfur-free mineral waters including Lithia, Iron, Soda and Arsenic are available for soaking with temperatures ranging from 80-110 degrees. In total, there are 11 pools on property with combinations of these waters.

During my stay I soaked in all but the Lithia Spring.

With the majestic cliff as my backdrop, I soaked in the 104° Iron Spring first. I understood that Iron could be beneficial to the blood and immune system and prevent fatigue and promote a healthy skin tone and I was eager to attract all the benefits from this magical space. Hopping over to the 102° shimmering Soda Spring was next. Rock walls enclosed this spring and it was the most relaxing and appealing due to the steam coming off the water and it felt warmer than the more heated Iron Spring. The water from this spring was said to relieve symptoms of arthritis and digestive problems. This soak certainly relieved my aches and I was ready for the Arsenic Spring by this time. I had some trepidation about the 106° Arsenic water (yes, thinking about Arsenic and Old Lace), however it was believed to be beneficial for arthritis and since the long drive left me achy it was time to enjoy another soak and ironically this was the spring that I soaked in the longest. There was a sacredness about soaking in these springs and while they relaxed my body they also uplifted my spirit.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the benefits of the Lithia Spring, it is said that the waters could produce positive effects in mental balance and relieve depression. I see a return visit in my future.

47

The Spa

After my soak it was time to head over to the spa and experience the 50-minute Ancient Echoes Therapy, a fairly new service based in the Ayurvedic healing tradition. Doug was my therapist and since this service mentioned ‘de-stressing and calming the over-active mind and provides relief from aches and pains,’ I expected it to contribute to my transformation and it did. Doug, like everyone else I met up to that point, had a genuine respect and affection for this property.

After spending just a few hours at Ojo Caliente I too could feel the energy of this sacred place.

After my massage it was time for another soak, only this time it would be in one of the secluded and private outdoor pools for my reserved 50-minutes. It started to cool down by the time I arrived for my ‘natural’ experience, which created an even deeper level of relaxation.

For a future stay I would consider an evening soak under the stars.

Dining

With an almost full day behind me it was time to dine at the Artesian Restaurant & Wine Bar, located in the Historic Hotel toward the north side of the resort. Healthy spa-like dinner options were available as well as New Mexican fare. After my Artesian Salad I enjoyed the Green Chile Crusted Salmon with Poblano Chile Sauce. When in New Mexico, you go for chile – red or green. Trout, duck and vegetarian options also filled the menu.

And after a sneak peak at breakfast items I knew there would be Blue Corn & Piñon Nut Pancakes in my future.

It was somewhat crowded the night I was there, however I engaged in conversation with other patrons and the bartender. I was intrigued by the history on the walls and learned that the framed comics pages dated back to 1927 and they were found in the walls during restoration and renovation projects. Their wine menu also included selections from New Mexico wineries, including Black Mesa Winery in nearby Velarde, NM (about 40-minutes away if you want to add winery visits).

Ojo Caliente gave me more than I expected and while it was a short stay I left Ojo feeling reconnected and ready to continue my personal adventure.

A charming and relaxing resort connected to thousands of acres of national forest where you can hike the trail to the ancient Posi Pueblo site, go mountain biking or practice yoga in their Yurt with a stop at the Intention Garden before your class.

If you go: Ojo Caliente is located at 50 Los Banos Drive, Ojo Caliente, NM 87549 800-222-9162 | www.ojospa.com

49

“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.”

- Hilaire Belloc

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads.

Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”

- Rosalia de Castro

Inn at Loretto

My next stop on this New Mexico Spa Hopping Journey included the Inn at Loretto in Santa Fe, NM. One of the most stunning resorts in the heart of Santa Fe reminiscent of the famed Taos Pueblo and close to popular Canyon Road galleries and the Plaza’s galleries, shops and museums. The artistic vibe of this resort was appealing and it created an authentic-Santa Fe experience. My recently renovated room exuded a thoroughly modern look with vibrant colors – reds and blacks – and was appointed with colorful artwork and sculptures. Located at the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail and next door to the Inn is the Loretto Chapel, a historical landmark dating back to the late 1800’s and also known for its miraculous staircase.

After strolling through the property and taking in the art and relaxing atmosphere, I arrived at Luminaria for dinner. The resort states that food is an art form stimulating all of the senses and that was certainly the case at Luminaria. Their award-winning Tortilla Soup came first followed by my main course of Blackened Shetland Salmon with green onion risotto, crispy leeks and lemon beurre blanc. Impeccable service and outdoor dining while listening to the bells of Loretto Chapel made this stop a favorite on the journey.

The following morning included a much anticipated spa service and for this visit and because of being in Santa Fe, it seemed fitting to choose a service from their Intuitive Living menu so I chose to experience the Chakra Balancing service with Amelia. I’ve done chakra work before and when I reviewed the description about removing blockages to enable the body, mind and spirit to function optimally, I knew it was the best choice. The intimate spa at the Inn at Loretto offered a full menu of services in a peaceful setting, however it was just about time to leave Santa Fe and continue south.

If you go: 211 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 505-988-5531 | www.innatloretto.com

51

A

fter leaving the Inn I had one more spa stop before heading south to Truth or Consequences, the spa city. BODY of Santa Fe is a local and unique Spa and Wellness Center on the outskirts of Santa Fe and they offer a full schedule of yoga classes, as well as a boutique (sustainable and organic clothing), café and spa services. It turned out to be a great stop before getting back on the road, especially after an energizing Therapeutic Massage.

If you go: BODY of Santa Fe - 333 W Cordova Rd, Santa Fe, NM 505-986-0362 | www.bodyofsantafe.com

Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa My New Mexico journey was coming to an end as I traveled south on I-25 with the Caballo Mountains in the near distance to an unexpected stop in Truth or Consequences, a spa city, in Sierra County. Up until 1950, it was called Hot Springs, however the name was changed to Truth or Consequences (T or C) in 1950 because of a publicity idea to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the popular game show.

I didn’t anticipate having any lodging challenges for T or C, however the area became more popular over the last several years and I found myself getting the last room at the 17-room Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa. Not knowing what to expect as I drove through the relatively funky and colorful town of T or C, I arrived at Sierra

Grande and loved it. A charming lodge built on an ancient underground volcanic lake. Healing waters, with about 35-minerals, rise to 107° and provide untreated geothermal water to the private pools honoring Native American healing traditions.

With three indoor pools and one outdoor pool it was suggested to confirm a soaking time as soon as possible. A nightly stay included a 30-minute private soak and mine was set for early the next morning in the secluded whitetiled outdoor pool surrounded by Desert Willows and Mediterranean Cypress Trees. I couldn’t have anticipated a more memorable experience. If you’re not staying at the lodge, you can reserve a private bath for only $25 for the first person and then $5 for each additional. Sierra Grande also has a spa with a full menu of treatments at reasonable rates. For example, the Aromatherapy massage and wrap is $95 for a one-hour treatment.

On the same property and just beyond the lodge I came upon a high wooden gate and discovered La Casita, a cottage with a private indoor and outdoor hot spring tub.

The cottage offers a lovely option large enough for four guests and the perfect setting for a healing getaway.

Sierra County Area Attractions: Healing Waters Trail in Truth or Consequences Elephant Butte Lake State Park If you go to: 501 McAdoo Street Truth or Consequences, NM 575-894-6976 | www.sierragrandelodge.com

GREAT CITIES

THE BEST ATTRACTIONS

SAVE MONEY. SAVE TIME. Atlanta Boston Chicago Houston New York City Philadelphia San Francisco Seattle Southern California Tampa Bay Toronto

Learn more or buy at citypass.com

The “Other L O U I S I A N A

Northern Louisiana’s Arts Community Text and Photos by: Bennett W. Root, Jr.

W

e’d heard about the cultural delights of Northern Louisiana— engaging art, accessible artistic communities, great food and elemental American music--but we’d never taken time to visit. So when New Orleans’ restaurants and hotel rooms were jammed and priced beyond our means during the first few days of our scheduled vacation, we decided to fly into the Shreveport/ Bossier Airport instead, rent a car and treat ourselves to a slow and easy “discovery road trip” that would, soon enough, deliver us to NOLA. Great decision!

Over several days, lollygagging southeast towards New Orleans in a “hot” (rented) Mustang convertible, we discovered rich and nuanced communities that beautifully complemented closing our trip with a few days in one of our favorite venues: The Big Easy. Who knew how much fun we’d have and how easy and delightful the experience would be? We came to call our time in Northern Louisiana our trip to “The Other Easy.”

Shreveport is strategically nestled in the northwest corner of Louisiana on the Red River. The Red River has long been a main artery connecting the cotton fields that built wealth in northern Louisiana to the gulf ports.

r Easy…”

L O U I S I After Captain Shreve burst out the huge log jam that blocked traffic to and from Texas, Shreveport became a gateway city to a bustling frontier. Shreveport’s sister city on the north side of the Red is Bossier, an anchor on the Texas Trail that connected Atlanta to Dallas. A predecessor to the old Las Vegas “sin city,” Bossier was home of the sometimes notorious Bossier Strip that in its time provided all the necessaries to settlors and soldiers alike. But that was then, and this is now. Today, Shreveport and Bossier present a buttoned-up sparkling and renewed downtown that is home to oil and gas executives, a bit of

gaming on the river and a growing arts, a movie and foodie community, partly nourished by aggressive tax incentives and a creative diaspora that moved north in Katrina’s wake. Visitors can choose accommodations at a new Hilton by the Convention Center or a casino room at the Horseshoe or Margaritaville, depending on mood. Diners can kick back with a remoulade po-boy at Marilyn’s Place, choose an iconic creole étouffée at Herby K’s or to dine where the chefs go, Bossier’s Lucky Palace, a Chinese restaurant offering truly fine dining and boasting a world class wine cellar. Really. Who knew?!?

55

A N A

S L O U I S I A N A

hreveport’s arts community is diverse and deep. Its musical heritage recalls the harmonies of the Louisiana Hayride, the rhythms of Lead Belly’s twelve string and echoes of early Elvis, singing in Bossier’s clubs and at Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium (from which the famous line “Elvis has left the building” first emanated). Its native sons drove the evolution of Rockabilly to Rock ‘n Roll. At its Calanthean Temple, where by day well-healed African American business men provided insurance, business and banking services to the area’s large African American population, the nighttimes belonged to jazz musicians like Louie Armstrong and Cab Calloway who provided dance music to audiences both black and white long before President Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock to support the Little Rock nine. But that is another story.

Like many cities in Northern Louisiana, the Shreveport/ Bossier area knows how to party. The area draws tens of thousands of visitors to its springtime Mardi Gras parades and its fall Red River Revel Arts Festival, a two week festival (party) for artists, musicians, chefs and all those who enjoy their respective work. While our timing missed both these events, we did ferret out the Mardi Gras Museum on Texas Avenue in Bossier that allowed us an up-close-and-personal look at just how the party and the whoopee is made just before Lent each year, at least by the Gemini Krewe. Mardi Gras—Fat Tuesday, the last chance to party hardy before Lent—has occasioned public and private celebrations for centuries. The French brought the Mardi Gras tradition with them when they settled the New Orleans area in the early 1700s. But the fun was too much for one venue, even New Orleans. Consistent with “Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler” (Let the Good Times Roll…), the spirit rolled into Shreveport/Bossier (the two cities sparking the idea of Gemini) and the area’s largest “Parading Krewe” was born, drawing revelers from the tristate area, supporting the Ark-La-Tex brand of the Gemini Krewe. Bossier’s Marti Gras Museum is full of costumes, throws and other memorabilia, all of which come to life when the staff share the stories behind the parties— picking the theme, selecting the royalty, court and Krewe and finally bringing the good times to the peoples’ parade.

L O U I S I A N A

57

D L O U I S I A N A

own the road a bit, in an elegant, gentrified residential Shreveport neighborhood, is another unexpected jewel of an art experience: the R.W. Norton Art Gallery. The Norton boasts a stunning collection of Remington’s and Russell’s as well as an impressive range of other works—old masters, impressionists and contemporary artists. Throughout the gallery, paintings and visual media play off against sculpture and decorative art, sometimes playfully, such as a famous sculptural image of Marilyn Monroe from the Seven Year Itch juxtaposed against a bronze of Paul Cezanne painting, perhaps Mont Sainte Victoire. But it is the Remingtons and Russells that make the visit special. In the main galleries, the blend of paintings, watercolors and sculpture—lifelike, frozen energy— magically transport the viewer from Shreveport to the American West of 100 years ago. Cowboys, Indians, horses, buffalo—you’re there. And to punctuate the experience, if you are fortunate enough to be at the Norton in late Spring, do not miss the gardens—a riot of color and texture set in the tranquility of the Gallery’s spacious back yard.

L O U I S I A N A

59

L O U I S I A N A

I

nterstate 49 was our routing southeast towards New Orleans.

A couple hours out of Shreveport, we stopped at a visitor’s center to get suggestions for our time in Alexandria, a surprisingly vibrant mid-State community that successfully reinvented itself after the closing of England Air Force Base in the early 1990’s. Either amazing fortune was with us, or Northern Louisiana just rocks all the time. At a visitor’s center, at 10:30am on a weekday morning, the town was warming up for the Little Walter Music Festival, remembering the legendary local blues sideman and Louisiana Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer. The warmup featured live music from the tribute band with Leon Medica (Louisiana’s LeRoux).

Wailing harmonica, great lead guitar riffs and Medica’s bass. So a glorified pit stop and map check turned out to be a kickin’ jam session. That’s a quality road trip in Northern Louisiana.

L O U I S In Alexandria, we stopped first at the Alexandria Museum of Art, housed in the Rapides Bank Building, a National Register structure, just south of Spanish Bayou. AMoA’s mission here is well executed: promote visual arts in a manner that contributes to the quality of life. Selections from the Museum’s collection of regional artists, liberally supplemented by rotating exhibits, are scaled to give the viewer a vision of an artists’ body of work. This mission and its execution offer an accessible counterpoint to heaviness of better-known, encyclopedic museums.

A photographer interpreted the somewhat surreal experience of army units training for urban warfare in settings mocked up to mimic Iraq and Afghanistan. Kids interpreted their experiences of Louisiana in a juried exhibition from Louisiana schools—pretty interesting to see the world through kids’ eyes. And in the main gallery, twenty or so prints by Theo Tobiasse, a lush collection of aquatints, lithographs and carbonrundums filled with Chagall-like images depicting 20th century memories of life in Paris, including during Nazi occupation.

Catherine Pears, the Executive Director, brings a refreshing curatorial approach that indeed makes the art experience enhance the quality of life in Alexandria.

I A N A

61

R L O U I S I A N A

iver Oaks Arts Center, also in Alexandria, is a community for working artists and artisans.

Studio space is affordable, and there is room to exhibit and sell. But there is also communication among community members and that drives experimentation in new concepts. River Oaks is an incubator of artistic expression. One thinks of the interactive creative process at the Bauhaus or even Matisse and Picasso showing early work on Sunday afternoons in Gertrude Stein’s living room in pre-war Paris, driving future masterworks by their interaction. Whether River Oaks has the gravitas to pull off birthing that level of talent is beside the point; a visit, a chance to talk with the artists in residence about their process, is an extraordinary glimpse into the life cycle of the art and artist, and opens broader questions and deeper experience than might first appear when viewing the final product on a museum’s walls.

N

o road trip through Northern Louisiana would be complete without stopping in at some of the local festivals which seem to be everywhere, all the time. The problem is not finding the entertainment, but picking which ones. In the morning, we detoured to the Melrose Plantation crafts festival to see a collection of Clementine Hunter’s art depicting plantation life as this African American, self-taught folk artist remembered it. At the time she worked at Melrose, the owner had welcomed writers and artists to a makeshift arts community. Paints and brushes left behind by an “established” (now forgotten) painter became Hunter’s discovery tools.

From these discards, Hunter’s representations of life in the Cane River plantations emerged: basic, direct, evocative. And as long as we were road tripping, we took an afternoon drive to Leesville’s annual Mayfest, an annual weekend gathering of locals and visitors coming together to enjoy food, music and the arts.

We wandered through the historic district, soaking up warm sunshine, welcoming smiles and the smells and sight of local food artisans. Off the main drag, Gallery One Ellleven (no, that’s not a typo) is an arts cooperative showing off the area’s cultural resources and history—Charlie Viers weaving pine straw into colorful, swooping, lyrical shapes, a cross between basket art and a Calder mobile--as well as painters, printmakers and photographers documenting area patrimony and shaping its future artistic direction. We closed our day of festival exploration at the BookerLewis Restaurant, where one could enjoy both the art of the restored mansion and some pretty fancy cuisine featuring regional dishes with farm to table freshness.

Just another day exploring Northern Louisiana’s byways.

Our time in The Other Easy was just that—easy, fun, relaxing, informative. Fine Art, Folk Art, Organic Art: Sights, Sounds, Tastes. Northern Louisiana is beguiling in the warmth of its residents and the richness of the cultural experience. Truly a great destination to meander for a few days and where one can happily relax and Let the Good Times Roll.

*****

L O U I S I A N A

63

L O U I S I A N A

I

f respite from the good life in New Orleans is what you’re looking for, the Houmas House Plantation & Gardens is the place to go.

Located a mere 45 minutes outside of NOLA in Burnside, Houmas House is a spectacular world unto itself. Named after the Houmas Indians who originally occupied the land, the former sugar plantation has been carefully renovated and redeveloped by its current owner, Kevin Kelly.

Since gaining ownership in 2003, Kelly has worked passionately to restore the plantation’s mansion, known as “The Sugar Palace.” If getting transported through time is an experience you seek, you will most definitely find it at The Sugar Palace. Guided by docents in period costumes, take a tour of the sixteen rooms that make up the Houmas House, each uniquely decorated and occupied by a treasure trove of antiques and art. With the exception of electricity and the elevator for accessibility purposes, modernity skipped right over this grandiose property.

HOUMAS

Plantation &

Story & Photos by Yanira Leon

S HOUSE

& Gardens

L

O

utside The Sugar Palace you will find a treasure of a different kind. Trees older than 500 years continue to create the live oak alley that brings cool breezes off the Mississippi River into the house. Surrounding the house are lush gardens, whimsical fountains, and marble statues reminiscent of ancient Greece. The tranquility that envelopes you is remarkable as you stroll leisurely through the acres of gardens and ponds.

Aside from the main house, Kelly has redeveloped parts of the old plantation land to house cottages that combine luxury, antiquity, and modernity. The rich dĂŠcor of each cottage calls on times past, while the alarm clock on the bedside table doubles as a dock for an iPhone. Granted, cell signal is spotty at best, making this the perfect getaway from city life.

Should you happen upon Mr. Kelly at The Carriage House Restaurant, another marvel unto itself, then you are in for a treat. You will never meet another person nearly as excited and passionate about Houmas House as Kelly, who is not shy about all the stories he has under his belt regarding the plantation, its history, and its colorful cast of characters.

If You Go‌ Houmas House Plantation & Gardens www.houmashouse.com Phone: (225) 473-9380 Email kk@houmashouse.com for reservations

O U I S I A N A

HOUMA Plantation L O U I S I A N A

AS HOUSE & Gardens L O U I S I A N A

67

L

Feeling New Orleans Come Alive

O

By Dawn Vivenzio

U I S I A N A

As I was preparing for my trip to New Orleans I was curious. Curious about what I would find. Is it still in ruins from Hurricane Katrina? Will I be ducking from beads and raging hormones? Or perhaps I’ll encounter ghosts in a mystic city.

Entering the city I immediately made a connection. The streets were lined with aged, bowed trees that shaded weathered, brick buildings and intricately designed iron balustrades. Small shops opened to colorful art galleries and restaurants with propped doors and window shutters to allow the teasing aroma of spicy southern food to waft out.

There was a peacefulness to the city, even between the bursts of thrumming jazz music.

Everyone moved slowly about their business. In the porch shadows I could see a robust woman wearing a dark purple dress and an overwhelming number of different bracelets on both arms. She sat in a rocking chair, slowly creaking back and forth.

I wandered along the streets looking for the St. Louis-above-ground cemetery. As groups of tourists followed their guide intently learning the history, I read the dates of the tombstones. How old were these people when they died? I noticed decorative stone urns, family plots, and worn etchings that barely exist to tell the tale of their lives. I began to imagine the locals during this time with their latest fashions or tattered frocks.

When diseases were mysterious and medicine still under-developed.

L O U I S I A N A

69

L O U I S I A N A

After a leisurely tour of the cemetery, I proceeded to Jackson Square. There I found a raised park of green grass and shrubbery set in a square shape. It holds a large iron statue of Andrew Jackson on horseback standing in the center. The square is historic because slaves were often sold here during the 18th and 19th centuries. Now, along the outskirts of the park, it has clearly become a place for artists to sell their wares and tourists to have their palms or tarot cards read.

Time moves quickly when there’s so much to digest and feel. One thing was for sure, New Orleans appeared as though it had never heard of Hurricane Katrina. Any damage was a thing of the past. This vibrant city had clearly sprung back to life.

I returned to my room to refresh and dress for dinner. Through my window I saw lights strung through trees and from somewhere in the distance I could hear the twanging of Cajun music, and then a sudden burst of a foghorn.

L O

The city was captivating.

U

At last it was time for dinner. The humidity was as thick as fog, so with a quick bun and light dress I made my way to the French Quarter. I couldn’t wait to step back in time at Arnaud’s restaurant. The roads in the Quarter were narrow and most were cobblestone or had broken pavement. Gas lamps lining the streets were now lit and flickering hazy shadows against the walls. The history was palpable.

I

Inside Arnaud’s, I immediately noticed sizable lantern lights hanging from the ceiling. The dark wood suggested refinement and elegance.

As we entered the dining room I was lured by its old world grandeur.

The high society of the early 1900’s swept through the room with lush plants, beveled glass and Italian mosaic tile floors. Live jazz from the finest instruments danced around the softly lit crystal chandeliers while I enjoyed a meal above my station.

I left New Orleans with my own experience that some ad or second-hand story could never express. I came looking for a new adventure with an open mind but what I found was a connection. The food, the smells, the sounds, the cool breeze on a humid night.

This city has so much to teach me. I’m only scratching the surface of a place I thought I knew and as my connection grows, I’ll look forward to the crooks and crevices it offers to share.

If you go: New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau www.NewOrleansCVB.com Arnaud’s Restaurant www.ArnaudsRestaurant.com

71

S I A N A

ASTRO POBOYS

Let Les Bons Temps Roules in Red Hot New Orleans!

By John Edwards

L O U I S I A N A

At the legendary Napoleon House, I found myself expectantly dreaming of a dressed “Oyster Poboy,” especially since they did not even have one of them on their menu. (Hurricane Katrina had wiped out many of the oyster beds).

This historic Vieux Carré inn is “in,” decorated with hanging pots of plants weeping with wisterias and whathaveyous.

This was the site of a famous nefarious plot. Once upon a time, the “Yats” (New Orleans elite) hatched a plan in the inner courtyard sanctum to return their Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to the so-called Louisiana Purchase (brokered between the Little Corporal and Thomas Jefferson for only several mil). Even though the plan failed, this French Quarter maison was still a standout dining adventure for anyone looking for the New Orleans of the movie Cat People, if not, The Big Easy.

And so I sat munching on a muffaleta (ham, salami, provolone, and olives on a pressed roll), drinking copious cups of café au lait spiked with anisette spirits. But what I was really here for was the recently decriminalized old absinthe (a liquor made from brain-damaging “wormwood” which is lit up by fire and sweetened with sugar cubes).

Magnetic loci like the Napoleon House selling fine dining and drink are a dime a dozen here in the Crescent City, birthplace of Dixieland jazz and “A Streetcar Named Desire”; home of the Superdome (with its New Orleans Saints football team) and “Café du Monde” (with its beignets and chicory coffee).

While I was enrolled at Tulane University in The Garden District (right on the St. Charles Streetcar line and across the street from a reasonably good zoo containing a genuine white tiger), as an English and History major, one of my favorite friends was the much-older-than-me “pretend student” Bruce Chatwin, who crashed one of my graduate level Archaeological classes.

I remembered after the course became a denouement going to a Vieux Carré carnage splurge at a series of French Quarter favorites with Bruce, where he tried such original dishes as Oysters Rockefeller, Blackened Redfish, and Bananas Foster for the nth time. While I tried Turtle Gumbo, Crawfish Etouffée, and Boudin Blanc for the nth time. Alas, all on my nickel.

Now years later at the Windsor Court Hotel, filled with food nostalgia, I wrote a note to the chef suggesting a dish name for their pastry chef: “The Windsor Court Linzer Torte.”

I also revisited my favorite shop for cheap eats, “The Camellia Grill,” where Jimmy Buffet (often confused with Warren Buffett) supposedly wrote “A Cheeseburger in Paradise.” But I was there for the aptly named Cannibal Special—a cheesy omelet covered in lumpenproletariat chili con carne.

New Orleans has the largest number of bars per square mile of any place in United States. Almost everybody, except some college students cramming for final exams (these hip cats, of course, prefer poudre), can be found almost every night at places like The Boot, Tin Lizzie’s, Miss May’s, and Fat Harry’s guzzling fifty-cent highballs and one-dollar drafts, trying to pick up anything that moves in what is surely America’s largest party pileup. The only thing that beats it is Mardi Gras itself.

Now back to the unique food of New Orleans--influenced

by Creole and Cajun cooking from the colonizing Spanish “Criolles” and refugee French and Basque “Acadians” expelled from Nova Scotia, Canada--such as Crawfish Etoufé and Oysters Rockefeller. Popeyes Fried Chicken originated here, as did master chefs Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme. But still, the two most famous restaurants are still Commander’s Palace (sometimes confused with Brennan’s) and Antoine’s (often confused with Arnaud’s).

One of my personal favorites, however, was the now longgone Christians, staged like overt blasphemy in a renovated converted church, with a little spicy voodoo thrown in for good measure.

Everyone’s favorite haunt for Oyster Poboys, washed down with local draft Dixie Beer, is Casamentos on Magazine Street, near a long line of nifty antique shops. Inside, with the turn-of-the-century tiles and pressed molded tin roof, you feel that you have walked into The Kingfish private bathroom, but indecent décor aside, this is still the place to shuck oysters and let them slide down your throat—with, of course, a little hot sauce and lemon squirt to kill all the icky bacteria, if not the poisonous horseradish.

Unfortunately, I have only been back this once to my alma mater since Hurricane Katrina ruined New Orleans for everybody, but I hear it is coming back.

NOW LET LES BONS TEMPS ROULÉS!

TOP 10 DINING OUT DEMESNES IN NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans, like a set out of “Streetcar,” “Pretty Baby,” or “Cat People,” is one of the top red-hot spots for business conventions, which means all of the Big Easy’s eateries are guaranteed around-the-clock customers. But sophisticated (read: picky) business execs and surprised celebrities can use the following handy dandy list to explore the spectrum of the Crescent City’s unique contributions to world cuisine, especially during Mardi Gras and the Jazz Festival.

1. NAPOLEON HOUSE:

6. COMMANDER’S PALACE:

This is where was once hatched a nefarious plot to smuggle the exiled Napoleon into the “Louisiana Purchase” (itself negotiated between the Little Colonel and Thomas Jefferson for only several mil.) Try, a “muffalleta” sandwich (ham, salami, provolone, and olives in a pressed bun), and don’t forget the recently decriminalized “Old Absinthe” (a dangerous spirit made of wormwood).

This is perhaps New Orleans’s most famous and expensive restaurant, specializing in the popular Sunday Jazz Brunch, with the royal décor to prove it. Try, “Bananas Foster” and “Pain Perdu” (lost bread: elegant French toast) for dessert, which was supposedly invented here, and discover who the new upcoming chefs are (both master chefs Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme once worked here).

500 Chartres St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504.524.9752.

BEST: OLD ABSINTHE

2. CAMELLIA GRILL:

7. K PAUL’S:

626 S. Carrollton Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, 504.309.2679.

BEST: OMELETS

This is where Jimmy Buffet (often confused with Warren Buffet) wrote “A Cheeseburger in Paradise.” Try, an aptly named “Cannibal’s Special,” a large cheesy omelet covered in chili con carne.

3. CASAMENTOS:

4330 Magazine St., New Orleans, LA 70115, 504.895.9761.

BEST: POBOYS

This is everybody’s favorite place to go for oyster poboys and local Dixie beer, especially with its turn-of-the-last-century tiled floors and molded tin ceilings, suitable for the luxury bathroom of, say, “The Kingfish” (Huey Long). Try, their freshly shucked oysters with a squirt of lemon and Tabasco red sauce to kill all the icky bacteria.

4. CAFÉ DU MONDE:

800 Decatur St., New Orleans, LA 70116, 504.525.4544.

BEST: CAFÉ SCENE

This is perhaps the most famous café for people watching not only in the French Quarter, or “Vieux Carrée” (Old Quarter), but perhaps in the world. Try, powdered-sugary “beignets” and their signature chicory coffee

5. MR. B’S BISTRO: 201 Royal St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504.523.2078.

BEST: GUMBO

1403 Washington Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504.899.8221.

BEST: SPLURGE

This is the place to order authentic cliché dishes from the traditions of Creole (from the Spanish settlers called “Criolles”) and Cajun (from French Acadian and Basque immigrants expelled from Canada). Try, the gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish étouffe, red beans and rice, and boudin blanc.

416 Chartres St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504.596.2530.

BEST: CREOLE

This Cajun/Creole legend is one the best restaurants anywhere, featuring the unique gastronomy of chef Paul Prudhomme, who is often to be seen in situ wearing a Chef Boyardee hat. Try the “blackened redfish.” Et tu, Etouffé? No, the turtle soup!

8. ANTOINE’S:

713 St. Louis St., New Orleans, LA, 70130, 504.581.4422.

BEST: ATMOSPHERE

This N’Awlins classic restaurant, established 1840, always filled with local “Yats,” is so famous that it once was featured in a Bug’s Bunny cartoon, the one where a Francophone chef tries to turn Bugs into “hossenfeffer” å la Antoine’s. Try, the “Oysters Rockefeller,” which was supposedly invented here, as well as “Eggs Sardou.”

9. WINDSOR COURT GRILL ROOM:

300 Gravier St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504.523.6000.

BEST: HOTEL RESTAURANT

This luxurious 4-diamond restaurant is a throwback to the days of the “Sazerac Room.” Try, the dessert menu, which does not yet feature a donated idea from yours truly called “The Windsor Court Linzer Torte.” Hey, isn’t that Quentin Tarantino?

O U I S I A

10. POPEYES:

N

This fast-food chain, invented in the Big Easy, is too good to eat slowly and blows away rival KFC. Try an extra spicy “Three-Piece” with biscuit or the “Cajun Popcorn” (fried shrimp balls), washed down with a local Barq’s root beer.

A

Various Locations.

BEST: FRIED ANYTHING

RECIPE FOR “DRESSED” ASTRO POBOYS (™) 1. 5-10 freshly shucked raw oysters 2. 1 cup bread crumbs 3. 1 French-style baguette 4. ½ tablespoon of Miracle Whip® 5. ½ tablespoon of Grey Poupon mustard 6. 1 large tomato 7. 1 cup lettuce 8. 3 dashes of Tabasco® hot sauce

L

* First lightly fry a handful of freshly shucked raw oysters covered in bread crumbs, while carefully slicing a New Orleans baked baguette. Make the bread “dressed” with a light coating of Miracle Whip®, mustard, tomato, and salad, with a dash of native Tabasco.

Then carefully place the still-hot oysters in the envelope of the baguette and press down with some force majeure, and voilà! You have yourself an “Astro Poboy” (™)!

--John M. Edwards, 2014

DESTINATION INFORMATION EXPLORE BRANSON, MO

Branson, Missouri, nestled in the lakeside beauty of the Ozark Mountains, is America’s affordable, wholesome family entertainment capital that emphasizes fun, comfort and the feeling of being right at home.

Featuring an array of live theaters and attraction venues and active recreational pursuits, the community embodies essential American values such as patriotism, faith, courage and generosity of spirit in a warm inviting atmosphere that is truly genuine and heartfelt. www.explorebranson.com

UNITED STATES ALABAMA

Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau (205) 458-8000 www.birminghamal.org Hunstville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau (256) 551-2235 www.huntsville.org

ALASKA

Alyeska Resort (907) 754-2592 www.alyeskaresort.com Explore Fairbanks 907-459-3770 www.ExploreFairbanks.com

ARIZONA

Visit Phoenix (602) 452-6250 www.visitphoenix.com

ARKANSAS

Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau 501-370-3224 www.LittleRock.com

CALIFORNIA

Janis Flippen Public Relations 805-389-9495 www.JanisFlippenPR.com Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (562) 495-8345 http://www.visitlongbeach.com/ Visit Oxnard (805) 385-7545 www.visitoxnard.com

ALYESKA RESORT

DISCOVER OXNARD, CA

Alyeska Resort is Alaska’s premier year-round destination featuring the 304-room Hotel Alyeska. Located just 40 miles from Anchorage and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Alyeska Resort is the perfect base camp for visitors whether they are seeking powder-filled slopes or a mountain retreat between stops at national parks and sports-fishing lodges. The resort is within close proximity of three national parks and the Kenai Peninsula, and is home to the northernmost coastal temperate rainforest, part of the Chugach Mountain Range.

Nestled along the Pacific Coast between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, Oxnard, California offers everything you need for a great vacation. Catch a boat out of our scenic marina for a whale watching cruise or to explore the Channel Islands National Park, “America’s Galapagos.” Enjoy miles of uncrowded beaches and oceanfront bike trails. Grab a kayak, ride the ocean on a paddle board, boat, fish, and soak up Southern California’s beautiful-year-round weather. Play a few holes at our world-class golf courses and taste local wines along the Ventura County Wine Trail. Celebrate the sunset at one of our fabulous gourmet restaurants. It’s time to discover Oxnard!

Visit Palm Springs (760) 778-8415 www.visitpalmsprings.com Visit Pasadena (626) 395-0211 http://www.visitpasadena.com/ San Diego Zoo Global (619) 685-3291 http://sandiegozoo.org/ Visit West Hollywood 310-289-2525 http://www.visitwesthollywood.com

COLORADO

Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Assoc.

(970) 945-5002 http://www.glenwoodchamber.com/

DELAWARE

Kensington Tours 647-880-1581 www.kensingtontours.com

FLORIDA

Carnival Corporation Cruise Lines LDWW group 727-452-4538 www.LDWWgroup.com Franklin County Tourist Development Council (850) 653-8678 http://www.saltyflorida.com/ Greater Miami Conv. & Visitors Bureau 305-539-3000 www.MiamiandBeaches.com

GEORGIA

Alpharetta Convention & Visitors Bureau 678.297.2811 www.AwesomeAlpharetta.com

IDAHO

Visit Idaho (208) 334-2470 http://www.visitidaho.org/

ILLINOIS

KeyLime Cove Waterpark 608-206-5796 www.KeyLimeCove.com

LOUISIANA

Visit Baton Rouge (225) 382-3578 http://www.visitbatonrouge.com/ Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau (318) 429-0658 http://www.shreveport-bossier.org/ Alexandria/Pineville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (318) 442-9546 http://www.theheartoflouisiana.com/index.cfm

MASSACHUSETTS

Open the Door, Inc. 617-536-0590 http://www.openthedoor.biz/

MISSOURI

Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB (417) 243-2137 http://bransoncvb.com/ Maryland Heights Convention & Visitors Bureau (314) 548-6051 http://www.more2do.org/ The Beenders Walker Group (573) 636-8282 http://www.tbwgroup.net/

TRAVEL TRIVIA ANSWERS (quiz on page 4) 1. Monterrey County, California (San Bernabe Vineyard - 8,100 acres) 2. Lily 3. No, it comes from“ balsamico” meaning curative 4. Slow moving river (French) 5. King Louis XIV VISIT PALM SPRINGS

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, CO

Palm Springs, California is known for its storied Hollywood legacy, Native American heritage and stellar collection of mid-century modern architecture. Palm Springs is California’s ultimate desert playground. It truly is like no place else. Lounging by the pool and soaking up the sun is always a favorite pastime. If you want to explore the outdoors and enjoy the beautiful climate, there are plenty of activities. Soar to the top of Mount San Jacinto on the world famous Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, hike scenic trails and stroll through the ancient palm groves in the Indian Canyons, or take an off-road excursion of Joshua Tree National Park or the San Andreas Fault.

Take a ticket to your next Colorado Rocky Mountain adventure by exploring “America’s Most Fun Town,” Glenwood Springs, Colorado! For over a century, visitors from around the globe have added Glenwood Springs to their travel itineraries. Our destination is family friendly, affordable, and blessed with a remarkable mix of geological wonders including hot springs, vapor caves, two rivers and a canyon, surrounded by the glorious Rocky Mountains. Whether you crave hiking, biking, fishing, outdoor activities or relaxing spa time, you’ll find it all in Glenwood Springs.

www.VisitPalmSprings.com

NEW YORK

Development Counsellors International 212-725-0707 www.AboutDCI.com Dutchess County Tourism (845) 463-5446 http://dutchesstourism.com/ M Silver – A Division of Finn Partners 212-715-1600 www.FinnPartners.com Turning Stone Resort Casino 800-771-7711 www.TurningStone.com Ulster County Tourism 845-340-3568 www.UlsterTourism.info

NEVADA

City of Henderson Department of Cultural Arts and Tourism (702) 267-2171 www.cityofhenderson.com

OHIO

Lake County Visitors Bureau 440-350-3720 www.LakeVisit.com Tuscarawas County Conv. & Visitors Bureau (330) 602-2420 http://www.experiencecolumbus.com/

OREGON

City Pass (503) 292-4418 www.citypass.com/ Lincoln City Conv. & Visitor’s Bureau (541) 996-1271 www.lincolncity.org/

www.glenwoodchamber.com

PENNSYLVANIA

Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark 608.206.5796 www.CamelbackResort.com Camelback Mountain Resort 608.206.5796 www.SkiCamelback.com Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark 608.206.5796 www.Camelbeach.com

RHODE ISLAND Discover Newport (401) 845-9117 www.gonewport.com

South County Tourism Council (401) 489-4422 www.southcountyri.com

TENNESSEE

Cherohala Skyway National Scenic Byway (423) 442-9147 http://monroecounty.com/

TEXAS

Nacogdoches Convention & Visitors Bureau (888) 653-3788 http://visitnacogdoches.org/ New Braunfels Conv. & Visitors Bureau 800-572-2626 www.InNewBraunfels.com VIRGINIA Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau (VA) (757) 728-5316 http://visithampton.com/

VISIT SALTY, FLORIDA

We’re Salty! If you’re looking for the old Florida experience you’ll find it in Franklin County. Tucked along Florida’s Panhandle, the coastal communities of Alligator Point, Apalachicola, Carrabelle, Eastpoint, and St. George Island offer beaches, history, adventure and fresh Apalachicola Bay seafood served up in an authentic “salty” setting. Relax on award-winning, pet-friendly beaches, climb historic lighthouses, charter eco-tours and fishing trips or bring your own gear and enjoy camping, paddling and hiking on acres of wooded trails and miles of quiet streams. Tee up on a championship golf course, enjoy live theatre performances in an historic venue and browse local galleries, museums and shops. Fresh local seafood is served at more than 30 area restaurants and local seafood markets.

www.saltyflorida.com

Virginia Beach CVB (757) 385-6645 http://www.vbgov.com/Pages/home.aspx

WASHINGTON

San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau (360) 378-6822 http://visitsanjuans.com/

WEST VIRGINIA

Pocahontas County CVB (304) 799-4636 http://www.pocahontascountywv.com/

WISCONSIN

Savvy Owl Marketing & Public Relations 608.206.5796 www.SavvyOwlMarketing.com

INDIA KERALA The Travel Planners (905) 230-2701 Www.ttpkerala.com

MEXICO Sunset World Resorts & Vacation Experiences

52-998-287-4157

www.SunsetWorld.net

PUERTO VALLARTA Visit Puerto Vallarta (212) 633-2047 www.visitpuertovallarta.com

75