We would like to eat American food. You know, you are American, so it would be great if we could try American food with you.
- A dinner request from our Iranian CouchSurfing guests a few weeks ago in Berlin.
Dan and I looked at each other, deer in headlights. American food? What’s that? Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Humor by: Audrey Scott
56 Comments | 9 September 2011
You know it’s been a long day at the beer festival when guys in lederhosen start doing the moonwalk.
-– The essence of the moment, Saturday night at the Berlin beerfest.
More than 2,000 beers from over 300 breweries hailing from 86 countries — all spread out over two kilometers in the middle of the city. No, this is not Oktoberfest.
So many beers yet so little time. That’s the Berlin Beer Festival.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Europe, Food, Germany by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
21 Comments | 9 August 2011
Ah, Bali food. Our relationship with Balinese cuisine got off to a rocky start, but a Balinese cooking class in Ubud, night markets in Sanur and simple restaurants called warungs conspired to change our minds and inform our palates. The result: an overview of the components of Balinese cooking, common Balinese dishes and where to find them when you visit Bali.

Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Indonesia, Southeast Asia by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
37 Comments | 22 July 2011
All this talk about the rapture and the end of the world has prompted us to consider the following question: If we had only one meal remaining and we could choose absolutely anything to eat for those last few bites, what would it be? Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
13 Comments | 21 May 2011
If you emerge from a visit to Jordan and you haven’t had enough to eat, you’ve clearly done something wrong. Or in the words of an American friend of Jordanian heritage, “If you don’t leave Jordan heavier, we haven’t done our job.”
Mansaf, the Jordanian national dish.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Jordan, Middle East by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
31 Comments | 24 March 2011
So you think Indian food is just chicken tikka masala and palak paneer? Think again.
Recently, I’ve settled into a familiar morning routine: a masala dosa and sweet milk coffee in a simple canteen just down the street. Attendants make their rounds with metal pails full of sambar and colorful wet chutneys, ensuring that all customers have ample supply, more than enough to eat.

The activity, the flow, the smell and most certainly the taste all make me feel at home. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, India by: Audrey Scott
40 Comments | 25 February 2011
Oh, Thai cuisine: complexity in flavor, simplicity in process. The flavors are so vast and so varied that the thought of cooking something so rich, so in-the-mouth dazzling is daunting, to some insurmountable.
It doesn’t need to be. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Travel, Videos by: Daniel Noll
25 Comments | 3 February 2011
Istanbul is like Kreuzberg, but less Turkish.
– A Berlin cabbie puts the city’s Turkish neighborhood in perspective.
Take a walk down any street in Kreuzberg, Berlin and you’ll find scads of döner shops offering shaved, spiced meat (usually lamb) served inside rolled flatbread or in a bread pocket. At a distance, all döner shops look similar – meat sears away on a giant spindle, colorful salads await, and a few guys of Turkish origin zip around putting it all together.
Panorama: Inside Tekbir Döner, in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood
For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.
But looks can be deceiving: every döner shop – and indeed every döner – is unique. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Germany, Panorama by: Audrey Scott
15 Comments | 10 November 2010
Chancellor Angela Merkel recently declared that Germany’s experiment with multiculturalism had “utterly failed.” Perhaps, but in our recent experience in Berlin, the city’s multicultural landscape made eating there a treasure.
During our time in Berlin we lived near Kottbusser Tor in the Kreuzberg neighborhood, smack in middle of what our visiting friends deemed “little Turkey.” Food was fresh, accessible, brimming with flavor and typically served by folks who took pride in their cuisine, interest in us as human beings, and great pleasure in serving up an experience.
So here’s our top ten cheap eats in Berlin. Many Turkish, some German, one Asian. Mind you, this list reflects not only what is inexpensive, but more importantly what is high-quality.
1. Gel Gör Inegöl Köfteci
Continue Reading »
- Berlin Cheap Eats: Top 10 Under 5 Euros
- Berlin Food Rally: Beyond the Plate
- Berlin Food: Favorite Neighborhood Meals Under €10
Filed Under: Food, Germany by: Daniel Noll
38 Comments | 29 October 2010
How do you like our wild pig?
–- A cook in Tuscany’s Maremma region pauses to ask us one of life’s burning questions.
When we think of Italy, we think of vineyard orchards populated by wild boars, happy cows and people who talk with their hands and sound like they’re yelling at each other all the time even though they are really just talking about how great the tagliatelle is.
Continue Reading »
- Panorama of the Week: Pienza, Tuscany — A UNESCO Site Worth Getting Married In
- Eat Your Heart Out, Tuscany!
- Life Lessons from A Tuscan Wedding
- Panorama of the Week: The Makings of a Great Brunello di Montalcino
- From Hilltowns to Harvest: Tuscany in Autumn
- Accommodation Italy: Participating vs. Spectating
- Maremma: Hidden Tuscany (an Audio Slideshow)
Filed Under: Europe, Food, Italy by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
21 Comments | 15 October 2010