Author: Ms. R.

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE JUNE 22, 2024, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. On a recent backpacking trip, three damp days of nearly non-stop rain in the Hoh Rainforest of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, I watched as my fellow hikers peeled off their wet outer layers and fired up their pocket stoves. They flipped through pre-packaged dehydrated meals and passed them around like trading cards, with decadent options ranging from chicken Alfredo……

Read More

On the Las Vegas Strip, giant LED signs allow you to count Gordon Ramsey’s pores as he advertises his Hell’s Kitchen restaurant at Caesars Palace. Celebrity chef–run restaurants and chains abound along the city’s main drag, but for a culinary adventure, you’ll have to step off the Strip entirely. Las Vegas has a flourishing Chinatown, tremendous tiki bars, and beloved historical restaurants. Wondrous food and drink await the intrepid visitor willing to swap the Strip for strip malls and……

Read More

The food of a city reflects the mindset of its people. The people of Beijing value inclusivity, forthrightness, and pragmatism. They also possess a deep sense of pride in their history, which is reflected in their local cuisine. With a keen awareness of their cultural heritage, Beijingers have found innovative ways to revive and modernize age-old food practices. Cooks have turned to the past for inspiration, using traditional ingredients, cooking techniques, and even cues from the visual arts to……

Read More

Unlike its larger neighbors Peru and Argentina, whose foods are found in restaurants around the world, Chilean cuisine can be more of a mystery for the uninitiated. Traditional dishes are rarely seen abroad, and they’re often hard to find in the nation’s capital, Santiago, where chefs have historically looked to Europe for inspiration. Yet, in recent years, there’s been an increased interest in studying traditional foodways and reviving the Native cuisines of the nation’s 10 official Indigenous groups. Chefs……

Read More

Spanning almost 17,000 acres and acting as a vital nature preserve to numerous plant and animal species, the Hockomock Swamp is the largest freshwater swampland in the state, acting as a natural flood control mechanism for the region. This natural place is more than meets the eye. Legends lurk beyond the foliage and beneath the murky waters. Whispers of spirits from a distant past, monstrous beasts, and visitors from another world are among the stories that have emerged from……

Read More

Athens has been a dining destination since the 5th century B.C. More than a thousand years before Parisians coined the term “restaurant,” ancient Athenians boasted both public places to eat and a fledgling tourism industry. Archaeologists digging around in the Tholos, a rotund ruin in the heart of the Agora, have found animal bones and shattered cooking vessels—remnants of hearty meals taken by long-deceased public officials. Under Roman rule, thermopolia were casual eateries pouring wine and serving meals to……

Read More