Right above Standard Baking Company , where we had the fantastic bread , lies Fore St . An unassuming front door opens out into a open, lofty, yet warm room with charming leaden windows lining the back and sides. On one side of the restaurant is an open kitchen , with seating nearby. There is also seating along the outside of the restaurant, where they sat us, thankfully, next to...
I should apologize before I begin, because what I write about Portland is no doubt going to sound like a tourist ad. After just a few days spent there, it became one of my favorite cities. It has a number of things on its side: proximity to the water; an industrial, scruffy charm; a relaxed, West Coast vibe; and above all, more than a couple world-class restaurants.
Hugo's , for example, i...
After some disappointing lobster rolls , the raw beauty of a national park was just what we needed. We drove into Acadia after dark, paid for a campsite, pitched our tent, and fell asleep immediately. The sun rose hot and early, and I woke up squinting. For a few minutes I thought we were going to start the day at 5 in the morning, but then I was able to pull the hood from the sweatshirt...
After we left Portland , we didn't have much of a plan. We knew we needed to arrive at Acadia National Park, about 150 miles away, by nightfall. On the list was, of course, lobster. We also wanted to see the famed L.L. Bean store. A friend had insisted we see a place called Popham beach, and we also wanted to visit Blue Hill, where E.B. White used to spend summers.
Armed with page after...
Elin and I decided to go to Maine because the fate of our relationship hung in the balance. She had never tasted lobster, ever , having made an admirable promise in early high school to keep it that way until she got to Maine. For her, the first experience of something is infinitely important. It should be carefully orchestrated, fully appreciated, the best it can be.
Of course, Main...
Honestly, there's a real need for these signs. When we were venturing around the mercado square in San Antonio, a land of slightly schlocky and catchpenny Mexican crafts, every third vendor warned against this practice, where gringo , giggling tourists pretended to experience Mexican culture by putting on outrageous hats and saying " Arriba, Arriba " like Speedy Gonzalez. How to a...
When I arrived into Helsinki Airport, the Finnish sun had been out for close to five hours: it was 8:02 in the morning. My bag came out of flappy rubber slats onto the belt and I sailed through customs, exiting the terminal onto a pristine pavement platform, a group of bus lanes. Everything was strangely silent. There were four other people waiting for buses, each squinting gently at the w...
Burgers and Cupcakes
458 9th Ave, at 36th st.
Distance from Shake Shack: 0.94 miles
Travel Time: 27 minutes
Burgers and Cupcakes is humorous only to New Yorkers, who can't help but smile at the gall of building a restaurant that caters solely to the big apple's idiocy to stand in line for the most obscenely simple things. I was spurred to undertake the odysse...
With Blake off for the weekend, Nick blew the whole...
With Blake off for the weekend, Nick blew the whole Paupered Chef budget on a $20 Chinatown Bus ticket to Philadelphia in search of the city's quintessential greasy delicacy...the cheesesteak. Armed with locals with serious appetites, he checked out some of their favorite institutions in search of the real thing...Wait, with cheez w...
