Avocado shakes in Mapusa I’m in a tiny tea-shop in Mapusa, Goa, looking for a free table for our team of five women journalists from India, who are covering a women’s football tournament. The chai shop, with its orange formica table and benches, is full of men with their afternoo … | Continue reading
“So, you want to know about corn?” Rafael Mier asks, grabbing two suitcases out of the back of a beat-up station wagon. “We are having a crisis in Mexico.” It is, as it always is, a bluebird day in Baja California, Mexico. When I heard a man was in town who was trying to save […] … | Continue reading
Cuca Preta in Luanda Ballot-stuffing is so last decade. And so uncouth. Here in Angola, we prefer our electoral fraud more refined, more sophisticated. Ballot-stuffing isn’t necessary when the incumbent’s party controls the media, the National Electoral Commission, and even the S … | Continue reading
Sign up for R&K Insider, our collection of the most compelling happenings in food, politics, and travel from across the web. Hello friends and, hopefully, whisky fans. Recently, a friend and I did a very small tour of Speyside region distilleries. We visited four, in ascending or … | Continue reading
Café Touba in Senegal “Baye Fall kheweul!” The calls soar across the sands, summoning us to breakfast. As I greet everyone gathered on the breakfast mat with “Salaam aleykum,” then ask if they slept well, my friend pours me a steaming cup of Café Touba. I bring the mug to my lips … | Continue reading
Beer in Utica, NY Despite the over-salted sauce, the chicken wings are crispy, like potato chips, and manage to hit the sweet spot of spiciness. Their partner in crime, the ice-cold beer known as Utica Club, or UC, cleanses the palate for the next round of heat. Utica, New York, … | Continue reading
Urum in Mongolia It’s my fifth morning in Mongolia, and I silently welcome a respite from meat. I’m sitting on a low stool at a table in a nomadic family’s kitchen tent in the arid Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. Yurts—or gers—dot the wide, dusty valley every kilometer or so, and hu … | Continue reading
Buranei on Burano It’s morning on Burano, and the sound of a spinning washing machine woke me. Mornings here are made for cleaning; washing clothes, sweeping the front step, mopping the floor; the sound of metal drying racks being opened in the courtyards. I stepped out of the fr … | Continue reading
Chhurpi in Nepal As you ascend the Nepali Himalayas, dense forest gives way to barren, snowy valleys. With this change of environment comes a change of livestock: buffalo are replaced with yaks. One town at the edge of buffalo country is Bhratang. In an effort to be scrupulous, w … | Continue reading
Focaccia in Monterosso The first thing on my mind as I wake up in Monterosso, the lovely seaside village in the Cinque Terre National Park, is the trek through scenic terraced vineyards and spectacular cliffs overlooking the sea that awaits me. Breakfast, usually my first thought … | Continue reading
Rüdesheimer coffee in the Rhine Valley I am at the end of my dinner at the restaurant Gasthaus Winzerkeller, in the fairytale wine village of Rüdesheim, in Germany’s Rhine Valley. I have feasted on the German version of pizza, called Flammkuchen, and fruity Reisling wine from the … | Continue reading
Pelmeni in Kyrgyzstan “So what time do you think we’ll be getting into Osh?” As soon as the words left his mouth, I knew it was the wrong question to ask. Our taxi driver eyed my boyfriend beadily in the rear-view mirror and said in a labored drawl, “There’s only one person who k … | Continue reading
Génépi in France Sure, the wine’s great, but when I’m in France, it’s all about the regional liqueur scenes. In Normandy and Brittany, it’s apple-based pommeau and Calvados. In the Gers region of the southwest, it’s floc and Armagnac, made from local vines. And a Mediterranean af … | Continue reading
Sign up for R&K Insider, our collection of the most compelling happenings in food, politics, and travel from across the web. I was in Yangon last week, my first time in Myanmar, and I’m already pining to return. (It didn’t hurt that I was staying in this surreal boat hotel, which … | Continue reading
Dim Sum in Guangzhou The problem with traveling alone in Guangzhou is that a single individual cannot possibly consume enough dim sum. A friend offered recommendations for dim sum restaurants in the city, but I was missing the most crucial ingredient: other people. Uncle Johnny t … | Continue reading
Toddy in Sri Lanka We find our toddy tavern down a dirt road in Mannar; a one-room structure with a grimy, shadowy interior and an uninspired beige exterior. The only building for miles, it blends in perfectly with its surroundings—parched paddy fields dotted with wandering cows … | Continue reading
In Lebanon, farmers who once grew marijuana and poppy are trying their hand at Syrah and Tempranillo. | Continue reading
Cheese toast on the Deccan Queen Express In 2007, I landed a job in Pune, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The city remains special to me in many ways. It was there that I got my first journalism break, made lifelong friends, and met my husband. He was a Bombay boy, an … | Continue reading
Coffee in Tokyo When I first stepped foot in Japan 20-odd years ago, I didn’t realize how my relationship with this country would be intertwined with coffee. A staunch coffee drinker from Melbourne, Australia, my days there were fueled by morning triple espressos; rich, milk-kiss … | Continue reading
Coffee in Saigon A full moon hangs low over the city as I drive across the Saigon Bridge at 4:30 a.m. on a Monday, headed to an unnamed coffee shop in Phu Nhuan District. Neon lights flicker on along the road as the buzz of motorbikes builds in the air. Saigon is waking up. I […] … | Continue reading
Kokum sherbet in Velas It was a sweltering early summer day in Velas, Maharashtra, the kind that had us guzzling water by the gallon and yet feeling unquenched. The smell of the sea near our homestay, sulfurous and mossy, hung in the humid evening air. The kind hosts of our homes … | Continue reading
I was 6,000 miles from home, in the back seat of a taxi with my Catalan wife, cutting through the misty mountains of southern Mexico, when the news hit. My brother, riding shotgun, turned around and passed back his phone. “Something’s happened in Spain.” For the past few years, L … | Continue reading
Haebangchon, SOUTH KOREA— “They’re all dead,” says Daniel Park, shrugging and taking a drink. “They’re just dead.” We’re sitting at a table in Hair of the Dog, the kind of pub that invites long philosophical talks over beer, in Seoul’s most diverse neighborhood, Haebangchon. This … | Continue reading
This week, we’re running a series on our favorite stadium eats from around the world. Empanadas in the Dominican Republic Merengue blasts from the loudspeakers dotted around the outskirts of the field while fans scream unabashedly at their favorite—and least favorite—players. Bas … | Continue reading
This week, we’re running a series on our favorite stadium eats from around the world. Pork Gyros in the Bahamas There’s a lot of running happening on this beach, but it definitely isn’t Baywatch. Hundreds are gathered on blisteringly hot metal benches to watch one of the most imp … | Continue reading
Sign up for R&K Insider, our collection of the most compelling happenings in food, politics, and travel from across the web. Hello, dear readers, and welcome to a very special Hanoi edition of the newsletter! I’ve been in Vietnam for the last few days, eating and motor-biking and … | Continue reading
This week, we’re running a series on our favorite stadium eats from around the world. Jajang in Korea Sporting matches come with a whole lot of nerves and stress. Perched at the edges of their seats, millions of viewers anxiously watch their teams vie for glory. That, on top of t … | Continue reading
Milo toast in Singapore When I was a school kid, Milo was my favorite drink. The Australian malt-and-chocolate powder mix had somehow permeated the local market at the laid-back coastal town in India in which I grew up, and it was quite the rage among my friends. But in my home, … | Continue reading
This week, we’re running a series on our favorite stadium eats from around the world. Esquites in Mexico The number one sport in Mexico is association soccer—no surprise. There’s a deep love for fútbal in Mexico. During important matches, the country grinds to a halt as people cr … | Continue reading
This week, we’re running a series on our favorite stadium eats from around the world. Udon in Japan The crack of a bat; the slurp of noodles. These are the sounds that fill baseball stadiums across Japan. Forget portable snacks; for baseball fans that flood the 12 NPB—Nippon Prof … | Continue reading
Malpuas in Pushkar It is a cold December morning when we step out of our hostel in Pushkar to grab some breakfast. The Hindu temple town three hours from Jaipur is strictly vegetarian, so eggs and sausages are off the menu. In any case, after stuffing our faces with kachoris (dee … | Continue reading
Exploring Uzbekistan’s Golden Ring of Khorezm. | Continue reading
Budweiser and tuba in Guam It takes a lot for people on Guam to get collectively riled up. After all, the chill, can’t-be-bothered islander is a stereotype with good reason. But with the repeated threat of missile strikes against my tiny, Pacific home this week, people all over G … | Continue reading
Burrito in New Mexico When your desk is often the dashboard of your truck as you head out into a 12-hour field day, you shouldn’t miss the last chance for food not procured from a gas station. As an archaeologist, I often just eat whatever goods are stashed in the bottom of my pa … | Continue reading
Porchetta in Rome It is midnight on a Saturday in Rome, and there is an air of silent devastation at our table. We have eaten a bad Chinese meal. There is prolonged bickering, erratic blaming, contemplation on the confusion that globalization brings. We wonder if our chefs were r … | Continue reading
Chiles en Nogada in Puebla It was chile en nogada season in Puebla. Everyone was talking about how many they had eaten, and where: everyone had a favorite restaurant, although the consensus was that the homemade ones are always the best. So my friends and I decided to do just tha … | Continue reading
Aguardiente in Medellín The night starts innocently enough. I’m supposed to meet a group for dinner, two nights before a good friend’s wedding in Colombia. I haven’t seen my friend Sacha, his brother Martin—who’s also a friend—or their significant others in two years. But no way … | Continue reading
Amaro del capo in Rome Tyler and I were sitting outside at Bar San Calisto one early June evening. We had grabbed a pizza for dinner and needed to sit and digest. He pulled a pouch of Pueblo tobacco out of his checked shirt and fluidly rolled a cigarette. I asked him to roll me [ … | Continue reading
Dal Puri in India The air is heavy with birdsong, and birdsong alone. I cannot hear voices, cars, people, or in fact anything that might reveal that I haven’t cut myself off completely from humanity. In truth, I’m staying in a village in the Garhwal Himalayas, in a traditional ho … | Continue reading
Drinking in Nairobi Outside temperatures in Nairobi have plummeted, but the political mercury is rising fast as Election Day approaches. Ballot papers have landed and final campaigns are underway; the country is waiting with bated breath to see which way the pendulum will fall. T … | Continue reading
Egg tarts in Hong Kong Jet lag woke me early on my first free day in Hong Kong. Unable to sleep, I turned my thoughts to breakfast. I knew exactly what I wanted—a Chinese bakery. Chinese baked goods were a rare treat for me growing up in the American Midwest. When my parents made … | Continue reading
Beer in Hanoi The driver drew the taxi to a standstill, pointing through the right-side window to say, “There it is.” I nodded. We had successfully hauled ourselves from Hanoi’s Old Quarter to Quang An Flower Market, on the edge of Hanoi’s West Lake neighborhood. The market was a … | Continue reading
Sign up for R&K Insider, our collection of the most compelling happenings in food, politics, and travel from across the web. It’s August, dear readers, when a young editor’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of getting the fuck out of town. Or at least it should; it would appear no … | Continue reading
Egg Noodles in Manila “Is this your first time?” I ask my friend as he looks blankly at the board. The menu looks as old as the Dead Sea scrolls. The food has not changed since the restaurant’s inception. The red acrylic letters on the sign are sparse and unmoving. The price slot … | Continue reading
Lager in Switzerland At the entrance to many a rooftop bar, you’re bound to come face-to-face with a huffy bouncer. But, turning the corner of a grass-lined path on Ebenalp, the northernmost summit of the Appenzeller mountains, to Berggasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli, we encounter a … | Continue reading
Egg sandwich in Morocco Most Moroccans may start their day with one (or three) glasses of atay, that uniquely Moroccan blend of green tea, fresh mint, and tons of sugar. But in my travels around the country, especially in the bigger cities of the north, I discovered that mornings … | Continue reading
Cañas in Madrid I’d been in Madrid for a week, and I hadn’t yet fallen in love. With the city, I mean. I was there with my husband—and I fell in love with him more than 10 years ago. But this city, it just didn’t want to let us in. We’d drunk plenty of cava […]The post A Tiny Bee … | Continue reading
Cheese in Northern Italy I’m not a big fan of milk. I’d rather start the day with a large cup of filter coffee or an espresso rather than a creamy cappuccino. Yet, I love cheese and other milk-like things. So, when I was invited to have breakfast at the cheese factory in Muris, a … | Continue reading