Travel Archive

A DAY IN CALIFORNIA’S AMADOR COUNTY WINE COUNTRY – A guide to a wonderful wine and dine experience

By Larry Levine – It was one of those moments – a brief exchange with content far beyond the few words spoken. We were at Girl and the Goat in Chicago, perched on stools at the bar and chatting with the couple seated next to us. When they learned we were heading for Stratford and [...]
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A FOOD LOVERS’ JOURNEY – Eating like a local in Toronto

By Larry Levine – (The 6th and final article in a series – A Food Lovers’ Journey) It’s better than a traveler’s guide book, better than a restaurant rating books, better than one of those web sites that allow everyone and anyone to post opinions about where to eat and where not to eat. It’s [...]
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A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY / NUTTY FOOD RULES – Can’t do a rare burger, but steak tartare is fine

Larry Levine — (Number 5 in a series – A Food Lover’s Journey) Today’s topic is nutty food laws. The inspiration: two weeks in the province of Ontario Canada. It began when our friend Dan ordered a hamburger cooked to medium rare for lunch one day in a restaurant at Niagara-on-the-Lake. “It will have to be [...]
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A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY / BOB’S BIG BOY DOUBLE-DECKER HAMBURGER – We found a Southern California institution by a highway in Michigan

By Larry Levine – (Number 4 in a series of articles – A Food Lover’s Journey) It was a 1950s ritual: lines of teen agers in cars waiting to park and eat in the car hop service area of a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant. The lines were longest on Friday nights during football or basketball [...]
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CORTI BROTHERS – Grocer, wine merchant and Sacramento institution that delivers a newsletter to read and reread

By Larry Dietz - I love good writing as much as I love good food – maybe more, since good writing doesn’t have calories, prep time, or clean-up. Mixing good writing and food is truly a recipe for enjoyment, and that brings me to one of the few pieces of mail I read and reread. [...]
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RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK – Biba

By Larry Levine - As Sacramento has grown into an outstanding restaurant town, Biba has remained a mainstay, attracting a loyal local following that includes many of the state’s political and governmental leaders. Biba is one of my two favorite restaurants in California for a whole host of reasons. Each time I visit Biba – [...]
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A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY / ZINGERMAN’S DELICATESSEN, ANN ARBOR, MICHGAN – It asks the question: when is a deli a deli?

By Larry Levine - (Number 3 in a series of articles - A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY.) As a place to find excellent Jewish rye bread, Zingerman’s sets a high standard. As a place to select from an impressive assortment of cheeses and a variety of specialty hams, Zingerman’s Delicatessen is worth a visit. But is Zingerman’s a true [...]
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A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY – Neon green relish, the Girl and The Goat, and Wrigley Field hot dogs … it must be Chicago

By Larry Levine — (This is the second in a series of articles tracking a three-week summertime journey from Los Angeles California to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and back.) REPORTING FROM CHICAGO - I never really thought of Chicago in terms of food until we started to plan this current trip and friends, who either once lived [...]
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A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY — Train Travel in the USA

(This is the first in a series of articles tracking a three-week summertime journey from Los Angeles California to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and back.) By Larry Levine - Remember those old movies that glamorized train travel, where men in jackets and ties and women in cocktail dresses would appear at the dining car to be [...]
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MY MOST MEMORABLE MEAL – Is there such a thing as the Best Restaurant or the Best Meal?

By Larry Levine - The notion that something is “the best” of anything gives me pause. Of all the hundreds of pizza joints in which I’ve eaten, how can I know which was the best? Is it possible to recall the taste of every rack of ribs, or plate of foie gras, or roast quail [...]
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