Lao-Hmong three color dessert (kao la song / nab vam) in Fresno, California (2013) Because it’s sandwiched between San Francisco and Los Angeles, you don’t hear that much about Central California. Which is a shame, because it’s an amazing place. I’m not just talking about the coast, though areas of Big Sur are nearly identical […]

A street vendor selling koulouri bread in Athens, Greece (2012) Ten years ago when I began this journey, I had a clear purpose in mind. Instead of going to culinary school, I would travel to learn about the cuisines of the world. I started taking photos for documentation, mostly so I could reference them later. […]

A cup of Turkish coffee in Kusadasi, Turkey (2012) I drink about 10 cups a day, so needless to say I like my coffee. The thing is, I pretty much like all coffee, truck stop diner coffee, café con leche made with instant coffee, Vietnamese iced coffee, Ethiopian spiced coffee… you name it. There has […]

Swordfish and tuna at the Ortigia Market in Siracusa, Sicily (2012) Tradition is a powerful thing. It connects people over huge distances and over thousands of years. In some places, the foundation of tradition is so strong it supports bridges to the past that seem to lead all the way back to the beginning. Sicily […]

Bintje potatoes for sale in Brussels, Belgium (2011) Did fries originate in Belgium or France? That’s an argument I wouldn’t get in the middle of. While it would be difficult to avoid French while visiting Brussels (even the street names are both in Dutch and French) calling fries French would be high on a list […]

View outside the Chegworth Farm Shop in London, England (2011) Making an accurate assessment of anything is pretty difficult without a point of reference. Imagine having to find the distance between two places and not knowing where either of them are… sometimes you just have to find things first. This is especially true when it […]

Scrambled eggs, home fries and braised pork (chashu) in Culver City, California (2010) The more I learn about the cuisines of the world the more similarity I see between them. I used to think that things like Japanese cuisine and the cuisine of the American South, for instance, couldn’t be more different. It turns out […]

Kentucky Tavern Straight Bourbon Whiskey in Owensboro, Kentucky (2010) Bourbon has always been a part of my life. I grew up in Kentucky and my first sip of whiskey came from my grandfather when I was pretty young. He hasn’t been with us for a while now, but is still sorely missed. Of course that […]

Black Poplar Mushroom dim sum dumplings in Monterey Park, California (2010) It’s no secret that menu translations can often be wildly inaccurate. This could be for any number of reasons, including the fact that some words just don’t have equivalents in other languages. While traveling, I personally just translate words the best I can and hope […]

Ridged luffa, smooth luffa, opo squash and fuzzy melon in Marina, California (2010) By far the hardest thing I’ve had to do when it comes to learning about food and cooking is break myself from seeking comfort, particularly when it comes to other cultures. This means going to the market and instead of looking for […]

Bolivian empanadas (salteñas) in Washington D.C. (2009) Along with things you might expect, for me Washington D.C. will always mean things like delicious Ethiopian food in the U Street Corridor, butchers at the historic Eastern Market, vendors at the Capital City Market and the Bolivian empanadas known as salteñas. I went here with a picture […]