As I mentioned earlier, G and I have done a bit of traveling this spring/summer and we have eaten well. Some people travel to broaden their minds, immerse themselves in new cultures, see amazing sights, and have unique experiences. I like to do all of those things, but my travel to-do list also includes enjoying food. I think if you're going to travel the world and just eat at McDonald's or get your coffee from Starbucks you are missing out on one of the greatest joys of travel. Now, I will be the first to admit that I enjoy the novelty of going to a Starbucks in a foreign country to see what it's like. And to have a latte. But I much prefer to order a doppio at a cafe in Roma where no one speaks English. Or a Greek coffee in a hill town followed by a shot of raki. But I digress.
I thought I'd share with you some shots of food and food-related events from our recent travels. Sadly I did not take many food photos in Seattle in July, probably because it felt too much like home to photograph the food. However, if you've ever been to Harvest Vine or Anchovies and Olives or even Anthony's, you'll know I could have photographed some seriously good food. Next time, I guess. Enjoy. Is it lunch time yet?
The month of April found us in Paris with G's parents. Here's a fabulous little restaurant we ate at in the Marais:
Not a lot of English spoken at Bistrot du Dȏme Bastille, but the fish was very good and we had great service. Warning that if you ask for pomme de terre avec glace, even if you're joking, you will get exactly that: potatoes with ice cream. Good times.
For me, Paris is all about the crepes. Couldn't get enough Nutella and shredded coconut crepes. These were from a stand in the Bastille farmers market (which I highly recommend).
What I like to think of as my little Parisian secret: the garden cafe at the Rodin museum. For one Euro, you can get into the garden and enjoy the art, then slip over to the cafe and have lunch or a nice glass of wine. Or both.
May found us with our first house guests - my sister and her friend - so we packed up and headed to Bergen for the weekend. Discovered: fresh cooked crab legs on ice at the waterfront open-air seafood market. They'll crack them for you to eat right there. Two thumbs up from G.
Also a must in Norway: experiencing the Kvikk Lunsj, a Kit-Kat-like candy bar most everyone takes skiing. Or in our case, on the Sognefjord in a Nutshell tour, via hydrofoil. With kakao (hot chocolate). Breakfast of champions.
And then there's the vafler (waffles). There's no escaping Norway without one.
Norwegian Constitution Day (17th of May) found us engangsgrill-ing it up in Frognerparken. An engangsgrill is a disposable grill. They are super popular here. We have since purchased a baby Weber so I can grill with a cleaner conscience.
Early June. The beer and food festival in Oslo. I don't remember much about the food, but the beer was fun. Baby beers!
Mid June. One of my favorite food countries of all time: Greece. What's not to love? I am apologizing in advance for not taking some of these photos before starting to indulge. Simple breakfast. Greek yogurt with honey and almonds. Hmmm.
Simple (okay, huge) lunch at a small Athens taverna.
Grilled octopus. Good lord.
Gigantes and spinach pies. I could eat these. All. Day. Long.
Drying octopus. Purdy.
The perfect taverna lunch spot...
...with the most perfect Greek (horiatiki) salad. Seriously.
Early July took us to Stockholm. We went here and it was very, very good:
They had a seafood "bar" in the restaurant where you selected your cut of fish or meat from the chef.
Two days later we were back in Oslo and celebrated American Independence Day in Frognerparken with a little picnic. Apple crisp, sausages and lemonade. How very American of us.
The rest of July? Seattle. Besides some of our favorites I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we also went to Canlis. That is not just dinner. That is an experience. Something to drink with dessert? El Diablo, mixed by Mr. Canlis himself.
What would a trip to Seattle be without wine? And I mean, a lot of wine.
(Brandi and I picked up all the wine for her wedding. We made a lot of friends at Costco that day.)
Finally, Brandi's wedding. Now, some people take pictures of the wedding cake or the artfully arranged appetizers. Apparently we don't do that in our family.
Even at a wedding, sometimes a girl just wants a hot dog. Okay, so maybe this was after dinner. And cupcakes. A girl's gotta live, right?
Pardon me while I go live at the gym for the next six months. Hide the scale and break out the steamed broccoli.
