Globe Corner Blogs

After a Kafka-esque divorce followed by a passionate relationship gone afoul, Elizabeth Gilbert decides to dedicate a whole year to herself: exploring pleasure in Italy; discovering spirituality in an Indian ashram; and finally, balancing the two on the Indonesian island Bali. Having spent nearly her entire adult life in and out of love with boyfriends and her husband, Gilbert realizes in her early thirties, in the midst of an emotional crisis, that it is high time to delve into her own depths. Her memoir, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, chronicles her journey. Continue Reading »

Portland State University Farmer's Market--photo by Jess

Saturday being one of my two full days in Portland (read more about my whole trip here!), I woke up early, ate a quick and free breakfast at the hostel, and headed across the river. I’d heard of the famed Saturday Market (a “must-see” according to Moon Handbook Guide to Portland), and so I decided to spend the day exploring the Pearl Art District and downtown. I got off the bus at around 10:00am and started walking north for the 12 – 15 blocks it takes to reach Ankeny Plaza and the Saturday Market. As I made my way up and across 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Avenues, one thing became clear: No one was around.

The streets were empty; in both directions I saw no one save the lone fixed-gear bikers passing me by. When the MAX rail made its stop on the quaint cobblestone street, no one got off and no one got on. Ghostly. Where do Portlanders go on Saturday morning? I wonder. I found my answer, sort of, when I reached the Market. Rows and rows of merchants selling handcrafted soaps, jewelry, ceramics and more mix with a collection of food carts serving up Himalayan, Greek, New England, and Asian cuisines. Continue Reading »

Photo by Llalan

There are days when I am so hungry that nothing I have in the pantry will do. No local take-out will even satisfy me. In fact, nothing in this entire state will sate my hunger.

On this fine, sunny Saturday morning, I am starving. I do not, however, want a pastry from the 7-11 across the street. What I want right now – right now -  is fresh pineapple from Thailand. It comes in a little clear plastic bag with a wooden stick to stab each piece with, juice collecting in the bottom corners. Every triangle of fruit melts in my mouth and I eat it all, even though it gives my tongue painful little bumps. It’s worth it.

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Royal Street -photo by Meghan

On a recent trip to New Orleans for spring break, I found the city of my birth to be as interesting and unique as I had always imagined it. (I left when I was six-months-old).  Part “old-world” European, and part something all its own, traveling to New Orleans is like leaving the country without having to change currency or take your passport.  I spent the first day – inappropriately dressed for the humid spring weather in a sweatshirt and scarf – taking in the massive freighters steaming down the Mississippi and capping off the evening with some crawfish étouffée in the French Quarter: the perfect introduction to the Crescent City.

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Iceland --photo by Lisa

I am absurdly excited  about the upcoming Viking Invasion of Boston. From March 11-17,  Boston will be hosting A Taste of Iceland. This festival of Icelandic culture and entertainment is bringing Icelandic musicians, DJs, acclaimed chefs, and a film festival to various venues in and around Boston in celebration of all things Icelandic…and Icelandair’s non-stop service to Reykjavik. You can even enter a drawing to win a trip to Reykjavik! The full schedule of events can be found at the “Iceland Naturally” website.

Certain staff members of the Globe Corner have already expressed their love for all things Icelandic: from the delicious and addictive Skyr, Arnaldur Indridason’s Inspector Erlendur Series, and The Blue Lagoon (a geothermal spa) to the always interesting Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. We’re so excited about the festival that we’re taking 15% off all books about and maps of Iceland through March 17th. And as an extra bonus,  Icelandic singer Ólöf Arnalds will be dropping by the store on Saturday, March 13th at 4:30 p.m. to play a few songs for us!

For the past few weeks, whenever I told a friend that I was heading to Paris for a vacation, inevitably they would ask: “so… what are you going to eat there?” Some vegetarian friends warned with horror stories of growling stomachs, scouring the streets for someplace, anyplace, with even just a salad without a sprinkling of ham. I decided to prep as much as I could for our lacto-ovo diets by making notes of veggie-friendly restaurants on my maps of the city.

As a result, my Michelin Paris par Arrondissements atlas looked like the plan of attack of some crazed general. Scrawls of fine-point red sharpie noting cheese shops overwrote  important tourist locations like Notre-Dame. There was a sub-legend with symbols designating the 1970s sprouts-and-tempeh spots from the foodie restaurants who have a “menu au vert.”  Organic and macrobiotic joints were marked with an OM. Wine bars were heavily asterisked, the decided plan of retreat if it came to that.

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Thomas Jefferson really liked wine. While living in France, he acquired a profound knowledge about wine and amassed an impressive collection of fine wines. Apparently, he didn’t drink all of it though, because in 1985 a Chateau Lafite Bordeaux from 1787 that supposedly belonged to President Jefferson sold for $156,000 at an auction. Benjamin Wallace doesn’t lead us on a journey to exotic lands in The Billionaire’s Vinegar, but guides us through a journey filled with decadent wine tastings through the world of collecting rare wines. Whether the the wines tasted were genuine or forgeries, well,  you will have to read the book. However, if you want to find out more about Benjamin Wallace you can just continue reading.

1. Do you prefer aisle or window? (Please explain.)

Aisle. It’s bad enough to be compacted into a too-small seat in a too-small cabin, but at least in an aisle seat it’s possible to stretch out your legs, when the aisle’s clear, and easier to stand up and walk around the cabin.

2. Now for some general wine questions:

a) Red or white? Do you have a preference and why? Red *and* white (and pink, too, for that matter). It really depends on my mood, the weather, and what I’m eating.

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What follows is a list of books about cooking, eating, and drinking all around the world. Bon Appétit!

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Amarcord: Marcella Remembers
by Marcella Hazan ($16.00)
Bestselling cookbook author Marcella Hazan tells how a young girl raised in Emilia-Romagna became an icon of classic Italian cooking. Widely credited with introducing proper Italian food to the English-speaking world, Hazan, now 84, looks back on the adventures of a life lived for pleasure and a love of teaching.

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Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York
by William Grimes ($30.00)
Noted food critic Grimes explores what determined where a person would eat and how the restaurant scene mirrored the forces shaping 19th and 20th century New York.

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Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris
written by A. J. Liebling, illustrated by James Salte (14.00)
In his nostalgic review of his initiation into life’s finer pleasures, Liebling celebrates the richness and variety of French food, fondly recalling great meals and memorable wines.

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The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine
by Benjamin Wallace ($14.95)
The Billionaire’s Vinegar tells the true story of a 1787 Chateau Lafite Bordeaux – supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson – that sold for $156,000 at auction and of the eccentrics whose lives intersected with it.

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Eat Memory: Great Writers at the Table: A Collection of Essays from the New York Times
edited by Amanda Hesser ($15.95)
New York Times Magazine food editor Amanda Hesser has showcased the food-inspired recollections of some of America’s leading writers. Eat, Memory collects the twenty-six best stories and recipes to accompany them.

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Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe
by National Geographic Traveler, introduction by Keith Bellows ($40.00)
In this illustrated travel gift book, readers find a full itinerary of foods, dishes, markets, and restaurants worth traveling far and wide to savor.

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Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food
by Jennifer 8 Lee ($13.00)
Lee writes humorously about the quirky history and worldwide popularity of Chinese restaurants and how traditional Chinese cuisine has been redefined.

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Heat
by Bill Buford ($15.00)
Heat is the chronicle – sharp, funny, wonderfully exuberant – of Buford’s time spent as Mario Batali’s “slave” and of apprenticeships with culinary masters in Italy.

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The Man Who Ate the World
by Jay Rayner ($15.00)
One of the world’s preeminent restaurant critics takes on the giants of haute cuisine in this fascinating and riotous look at the business and pleasure of fine dining.

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My Life in France
by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme ($15.00)
This is a delightful memoir of Julia’s years in Paris, Marseille, and Provence. Funny, earthy, forthright – Julia is with us on every page as she relishes the French way of life that transformed her, and us.

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Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China
by Fuschia Dunlop ($16.95)
When award-winning food writer Dunlop lived in China, she vowed to eat everything she was offered, no matter how alien or bizarre. This work is a unique, evocative account of Chinese culinary culture.

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The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris
by Kathleen Flinn ($15.00)
Flinn, a 36-year-old American living and working in London, cleared out her savings and moved to Paris to pursue a dream diploma from the famed Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.

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The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – And Perplexing – City
by David Lebovitz ($24.95)
Lebovitz, a pastry chef and cookbook author, always dreamed about living in Paris. This collection of recipes and observations is a funny, offbeat, and irreverent look at the city of lights, cheese, chocolate, and other confections.

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Tenth Muse: My Life in Food
by Judith Jones ($14.95)
Living in Paris after World War II, Jones broke free of bland American food and reveled in everyday French culinary delights.

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Why Italians Love to Talk about Food
by Elena Kostiokovitch, intros by Umberto Eco & Carol Field ($35.00)
Organized according to region and colorfully designed with illustrations, maps, menus, and glossaries, this is an exceptional celebration of Italy’s culinary gifts.

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Brooklyn EIPA - photo by Llalan

New Yorkers. They love their city, they love their Yankees, and by God, they love their beer. They have German beer bars, Belgian beer bars, American craft beer bars – whatever your thirsty little heart desires.

I wanted to get in on the love fest. Realizing that drinking at all of New York’s beer halls would take weeks and be hazardous to our health, my friend and I tackled a few in Williamsburg over a weekend.

First on the official tour: Spuyten Duyvil. (Don’t ask how it’s pronounced – I forget.) The tag line to the bar’s name is “rare and obscure,” and that it is. While I sipped an Oktoberfest on cask, my friend delicately held a tiny tulip of mead. For as powerful as the honey-heavy drink was, it sure didn’t come in a manly glass. He stuck out a pinky and muscled through.

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Hazer Baba Pistachio-rich Finest Turkish Delight

My roommate recently returned from a trip to Turkey.  Among the many exotic gifts she brought home (mini-Whirling Dervish dolls, embroidered scarves, sweet apple tea), was a small, unassuming box of candy.  Standard souvenir fare for the experienced traveler.  Often picked up at airport lounges and gift shops, in a last ditch effort to cover all her obligatory souvenir bases.  This, however, was not just any candy.  If it were purchased at the last minute in the Istanbul airport, I don’t even care.  Because it was Turkish Delight.  Specifically, Hazer Baba Pistachio-rich Finest Turkish Delight.  And it was wonderful.

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