The only issue with having such an American-dominated tourist destination (besides the MTV “Spring Break” deejay marathon on the main beach) is that prices rise accordingly—airfare and hotel prices pack a punch, and even a typical meal at a locally-owned eatery was more expensive than in San Diego. For the same cost of doing business, it had me yearning for the quieter Mexican coastline of Tulum.

On the bright side, the beaches were beautiful, the people were friendly, and the food was excellent (tip: TripAdvisor is the best resource for restaurant reviews, though luckily we had many friends who pointed us in the right direction). And yes, I’m still dreaming about the cochinita pibil at Los Tres Gallos and the perfect margarita at Hacienda Cocina y Cantina.

Beachfront at Casa Dorada Resort & Spa: excellent location, gigantic rooms with kitchens, nice bathrooms, helpful staff, but watch out for the time share saleswomen posing as “activity directors.”

We had a great time at Edith’s open-air restaurant, just around the corner from our hotel and a definite local hot spot. It was an unusually blustery day in Cabo when we arrived, so we wrapped ourselves in the blankets draped on the back of our chairs (as did just about everyone else). Service was a well-oiled machine, with several people taking care of us at once, and we thoroughly enjoyed burning our faces off with the habanero salsa in the foreground.

My Pilates teacher, Liv, had recommended Edith’s and, in particular, the Caesar salad, which I’m surprised to say was even better than the original invention I had at Caesar’s in Tijuana a couple weeks back. Edith’s is also known for its grilled meats and fish, and the small tenderloin wrapped in bacon was so good we ordered seconds.

We wanted to try a locally owned restaurant on the side streets of Cabo, and Los Tres Gallos was recommended by my old Travel + Leisure buddy, Hannah. The cochinita pibil is the dish to order here: pork, citrus, and achiote are wrapped in a banana leaf and simmered overnight. Good god, I could eat this every day for the next week.

We also ordered the highly recommended chile relleno (fried poblano stuffed with cheese and smothered in tomato sauce), though it paled in comparison to the pork. Always the salsa devourers, we enjoyed their salsa borracha, or drunk salsa (foreground), made with—depending on who you ask—pulque (fermented plant sap), beer, or tequila. Right: cochinita pibil taco.

Don’t miss Hacienda Cocina y Cantina, both for its view (photo at top of page) and the best margarita we had (though every margarita we tried in Cabo was freshly made with lime and agave—no mix here—and delicious). Top left: an absolutely stunning tuna ceviche. Ceviche is a popular item in Cabo, and unlike the typically chopped-up version, this was sliced like delicate sashimi with julienned jicama and cucumber, and a light cream vinaigrette with basil and parsley. Bottom right: arrachera, or marinated flank steak.

In Cabo to celebrate Andrew’s birthday, I stumbled upon El Farallon as one of the most booked restaurants on Open Table. No mystery why: the setting is breathtaking. The restaurant—part of the glitzy Capella hotel group with properties all over the world—is built into a cliff on the Pacific side of Cabo (you reach the hotel by driving through a man-made tunnel punched into the mountain). Thirty-foot waves were crashing against the rocks as they led us to our table, where they explained we would be served a prix fixe soup and appetizers, and then we choose our seafood entrées from their daily selection, sourced from Baja and the Sea of Cortez. Appetizers (bottom) were an excellent sea bass ceviche with corn and tomato, tempura-fried calamari in a light mayonnaise, and a rather ho-hum pasta with cooked spinach and black sesame seeds. The guava margarita Andrew ordered to start was divine (second from top), and we enjoyed a fantastic white wine from the Valle de Guadalupe yet again.

Shrimp bisque to start; our order of spiny local lobster, amberjack, parrotfish (very nice taste!), grilled mushrooms, polenta, roasted tomato, and cilantro rice. Tip: order light. We were quite full by this point and had to struggle to finish. But “being sickeningly full” is Rule One of being on vacation, right?

Of course, there was a nice sunset and a 1942 Don Julio tequila to end the evening. Another wonderful time in Mexico!

Other restaurants recommended by friends and locals: Mariscos Las Tres Islas, Mariscos Mazatlan, Tacos Gardenias, Bar Esquina, El Corazón de Alcachofa

Other “Weekend” posts:
Day trip: Tijuana
Portland, Oregon
San Diego
Los Angeles
Palm Springs and Joshua Tree
Milwaukee (Yes, Milwaukee!)
Madison, Wisconsin

In March, Plascencia served a 5-course meal as guest chef north of the border at
El Take It Easy. It blew me away; easily one of the best meals I’ve had in San Diego. And it was only $40. So, yah, I was in.

But now, logistics. Like it or not, Tijuana still has a foreboding reputation. When I told people I was going, they didn’t lick their lips; they sucked their teeth. “Are you sure it’s safe?” Despite its relative isolation from the rest of Mexico, Tijuana has not escaped the drug cartel violence and kidnappings that plague the rest of the country, and, before that, it was known as an over-the-border escape for underage drinking, gambling, and prostitution.

City officials noticed when not only the tourists disappeared, but affluent Tijuanans like Plascencia relocated across the border to secure their safety (kidnappers have targeted his family in the past). Today, there are fewer homicides per capita than in St. Louis. Entrepreneurs are returning to the city, many working to turn Tijuana into a gastronomic and cultural destination in its own right.

Dana Goodyear in her New Yorker article: “Without a tourist industry to pander to, an unself-conscious, sophisticated local culture has emerged in Tijuana—mescal bars, elegant cafés, experimental taco stands with twenty-five salsas—that is now being discovered by the food-adventurous.”

Yup, I was definitely still in. One reason not to worry: we were starting out at 9am on a Saturday. Second reason: we had top-notch guides in husband-and-wife bloggers Kristin and Antonio Díaz de Sandi (Antonio is Tijuana-raised) and Turista Libre’s Derrik Chinn (an Ohio transplant who fell in love with Tijuana and now runs tours).

We dropped our cars at a lot just steps from the border ($10 for the day) and walked into Tijuana like entering an amusement park through a turnstile. Taxi drivers stood at the exit offering their services, but, just past them, Antonio and Derrik were waiting with their cars.

First stop: Tortas Wash Mobile for a carne asada sandwich, or torta. Starting in 1964, the tortas were served at a local car wash (hence the name), but the business has since moved on with its own storefront and food truck. Diced steak, tomatoes, pickled onions, guacamole, and mayonnaise mash delightfully between lightly toasted ciabatta-like bread. Need a fix stateside? Tortas Wash Mobile is happy to cater your next party!

We grab a coffee at Das Cortez to fortify us for the next stop at the city’s principal food market.

They’ve got you covered on all varieties of beans and chiles. Bottom right: forget the coffee, this spicy dried mango woke us right up.

Piñata stampede

I couldn’t resist a shot of the chicharrones (pork rinds) cart outside the carnicería (butcher shop); mascot included.

We had planned to walk from the market to Tacos El Franc, but it was inexplicably closed. Though I’m kind of glad it was, or I would have missed one of the best tacos I’ve ever had, taco de adobada (center). The spice-tinged marinated pork at Tacos El Güero is thinly sliced off a rotating spit and dressed with guacamole, cilantro, and a zippy onion sauce. Salsas of varying intensity, jalapeños, carrots, limes, and cucumbers are available as garnishes (I was tempted to use them all). At bottom: Marie of Meandering Eats, who did a great job organizing the trip for our group of San Diego food bloggers, dug into tripe and tongue tacos.

Onto dessert at Tepoznieves. There were so many flavors in this whimsically decorated ice cream shop that it took us a while to decide. I sampled fig and mezcal, but in the end went with blackberry and coconut with gin. At right: one of the many bright accents on the walls.

With some time to burn and a thirst to quench, we sampled the goods at Cerveza Tijuana, which has a brewery on-site. Our trusty guides from left: Derrik, Kristin, and Antonio.

Our final stop: Caesar’s on the infamous Avenida Revolución. Established in 1927, with its walls covered in black-and-white photographs of patrons from a bygone era (many of them famous and wealthy, fleeing Prohibition in the U.S.), the landmark was forced to shut its doors a few years ago due to the economic crisis. It was quickly snapped up by Juan José Plascencia, Javier’s father, who owns 10 eateries in the region. Caesar’s had suffered from bad management shortly before closing (Kraft Parmesan powder on its famous Caesar, gasp!) and Grupo Plascencia has since restored it to its former glory.

Food bloggers doing what they do: shooting the preparation of the original Caesar salad.

Nearly full from a day of indulging, we nibbled from the tapas menu. Top: bone marrow; left: tortilla española and fried calamari; right: shrimp in garlic sauce and fried potatoes.

We would be remiss to not enjoy some Baja wines, which are getting increasingly rave reviews. (Stay tuned for a Valle de Guadalupe wine tour from Turista Libre this summer.)

I knew we had a re-entry line to endure at customs (about 45 minutes by foot on a Saturday evening—don’t forget your passport!), so I thought a little Don Julio reposado was in order.

Final verdict? We felt exceedingly safe, the food was as good as you’ve heard, and I’m officially still in, Tijuana.

Nos vemos otra vez.

(In particular, we’ll see each other again for more street tacos and a meal at Plascencia’s flagship, Misión 19. Check out these recent photos from A Life Worth Eating.)

Great thanks to Derrik, Kristin, and Antonio, who basically didn’t make a cent off this tour and simply wanted to spread the Tijuana fever!

Wasting Our Food

“Every day we waste 1/4 to 1/2 of our food, enough to fill the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.” — Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland

If we have enough wasted food to fill the Rose Bowl every day, then we shouldn’t have a country in food crisis. Yes, we need better distribution methods, but food is also priced so cheaply that it’s easily rationalized as expendable. If it’s made in more responsible ways that truly reflects its value—yes, with a higher cost (i.e. not made in a lab or genetically modified to create cheap synthetic food)—people wouldn’t be so quick to waste it.

To those resistant to higher-priced food, consider this: the true cost of food is not the price at the grocery store, but what your health insurance cost will be in the long run. Drinking soda and eating potato chips every day? Don’t think it won’t take its toll. The data is everywhere.

Take a look at what you throw out every day. Could you do better? What about the packaging your food comes in? Could you find ways to use less plastic? Do you buy in bulk? Could you share food with others instead of throwing it out?

One thing I do to avoid wasting food is I base my idea for dinner around what I have in my refrigerator. If an item is nearing expiration, I search for recipes that use it as an ingredient, even something as simple as green onion. Use up what you have before buying more.

Some good news: Food often goes to waste when grocery stores reject deliveries of produce for aesthetic reasons (we like pretty food). A new app is being developed that allows truckers with rejected food to donate it to a nearby food pantry. What change can you inspire in your community?

The Art of Eating In

Based in Brooklyn, Cathy Erway encourages people to cook more often. When I lived in Manhattan, I had friends who never cooked a meal at home and used their ovens as storage. I wouldn’t be surprised if take-out were the city’s third biggest cash cow after Wall Street and fashion. The rest of the country is no better: 40 percent of our diet is made up of food prepared outside the home.

What’s stopping you from cooking? Lack of time? I know people are insanely busy, but I also know you can make the time if you want. If you simply can’t cook on a weeknight, make a few dishes on Sunday and portion it out for the rest of the week. I don’t cook every day – I’d go crazy. But I make extra when I do so that we can continue to enjoy it over the next few days (and it often tastes better after the flavors have marinated).

Perhaps the best thing about cooking for yourself is that you control the ingredients. Restaurants don’t care that you’re trying to lose five pounds. They’re going for flavor with butter, oil, and salt. And who knows if that chicken you’re eating sat in a crate all its life eating genetically modified feed? (Chances are it did.)

Do you lack confidence in the kitchen, or feel intimidated by recipes? Simply knowing how to use a knife correctly made me feel much more empowered, and willing to cook something new. Just get in the kitchen already! Once you pull off one meal, my bet is you’ll want to try a few more.

Fishy Business

Most people have heard about the differences in meat quality (grass-fed v. corn-fed, fast food horror stories of hamburger meat additives), but do you ever think about fish? Four types of fish dominate our menu: salmon, sea bass, cod, and tuna and all of their stocks are compromised.

Helene York of Bon Appétit Management Company oversees the use of sustainable seafood in its 400 food service locations through the country. York offers three solutions:

• Consume smaller or less frequent portions of the four compromised species
• Work on ways to make other species more prevalent in recipes
• Perhaps most important, make less utilized seafood taste good in recipes. If it tastes good, people won’t need much more convincing to seek out those alternatives.

Some good news: The CSA (community-supported agriculture) model has come to seafood. SirenSeaSA connects young fishermen in California’s Bay Area directly to a customer base that encourages them to choose sustainable fishing methods (harvesting seafood that can continue to thrive in numbers without damaging the ecosystem). If you live near water, do you have a dock-to-consumer model? Are you inspired to help create one if not?

Final Thoughts

One overriding theme I loved hearing from various people at the conference is that we need to stop preaching to the choir—that is, patting each other on the back with what we already know as we nod our heads. As Naomi Starkman of Civil Eats said on her panel, “How many legislative wins has that really gotten us?” Or as Nichol Nelson of Take Part put it: “We’re not going to get anywhere without bringing more people onto the boat.” We need to reach out to those who don’t agree or don’t know yet, and have those uncomfortable conversations to change hearts and minds, and make mini-advocates of our friends and family.

Does someone in your family have diabetes or hypertension? Could their eating habits be improved to help their predicaments? In that vein, I highly recommend watching Forks Over Knives. Not only does it illustrate a direct link between consuming meat and dairy and turning “on” cancer, it also shows how people can reverse medical conditions (like diabetes and more) simply by eating a whole-foods, plant-based diet. Medicate with food, not pharmaceuticals.

As always, make an effort to get to know the people in your community who are trying to improve your local food options. For the most part, there isn’t a lot of money in it for them. In fact, they often lose money trying to establish new channels of production. They’re doing it out of passion and a belief that real food needs to win out in this marathon against engineered junk. Don’t you agree? Commit to inspire those around you—even if it’s just one person—and let’s work to make responsibly-sourced food the norm, not the rarity.

I used to make pesto every day when I was a prep cook at Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro in Milwaukee (I carried my 9-inch chef’s knife in my jacket walking through the park, and -yes- my mother made me demonstrate at parties). I also lived in Italy for three years so the Italians whispering on my shoulder tell me to use only the best ingredients—because it makes a grandissimo difference. Subpar oil and processed Parmesan powder? That’s not going to taste very good. Especially because all the ingredients are raw, you have to use the right ones to let them sing. It’s just a matter of putting them together—the recipe couldn’t be easier, I promise!

But nothing gets us in the kitchen like a sweet deal, so my partners Gustiamo and Pacific Sun extra virgin olive oil are offering these limited-time promotions:

PACIFIC SUN extra virgin olive oil: Enjoy FREE SHIPPING on orders of any dollar amount (usually only applies to orders of $65 or more). Expires 2/10/12. Enter code: LTBB. Offer only valid by clicking through this link.

FAELLA pasta: Buy one package of Faella pasta and receive a second one FOR FREE (a $7.85-$10.75 value). Expires 2/10/12. Enter “LTBB” under “special shipping/delivery instructions.” (2-for-1 will not be reflected online, but will be added to your shipment after processing.) Offer only valid by clicking through this link.

And now that you have all the tools, here’s how to make delicious basil pesto!
Click here to watch the video.
Click here for the pesto recipe.

Have you seen all four videos? We’re using them to pitch a TV show that talks about real (not processed) food in various cities across the country! Would you watch? Any improvements we could make? We’d love to hear from you!

One criticism is that organic food can be more expensive than conventional food, but not always. (I also ask you to consider why conventional food is cheaper.) Here are some ways to save:

• Buy from farmer’s markets (a recent study found them to be up to 40 percent cheaper than stores).
• It is not necessary to buy organic fruit and vegetables whose peel is later discarded. At the very least, buy organic when it comes to the “dirty dozen.”
• Buy in bulk when possible. Costco and Walmart sell various organic non-perishables.
• Prepare vegetarian meals more frequently. Organic lentils will be more affordable than organic grass-fed beef.
• Join a local CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture), or a farm that delivers its seasonal produce to you on a periodic basis. Suzie’s Farm, on the border of Mexico in San Diego, has a popular CSA program, and that’s just the beginning. Meet Quinn Wilson: watch the video.

Missed the first video? Click here to watch that.

As you’ll see in the latest video, Tommy Gomes loves to crack jokes, but he’s dead serious when it comes to sustainable seafood—that is, “the harvesting of healthy stocks with minimal bycatch* and no damage to the natural habitat.”

*Bycatch: marine creatures that are unintentionally caught in the nets while fishing for another species

So what should you look for when buying fish?

1. Try to buy only local fish. It’s freshest and leaves a minimal carbon footprint.
2. Look for low-impact fishing methods like “hook and line” and “pole caught.”
3. Avoid endangered fish like Mediterranean bluefin tuna or farmed fish like Atlantic salmon. Look up details on specific fish by clicking here.
4. Eat smaller fish, which have lower levels of toxins (like mercury), and their stocks replenish more quickly. Some great choices: squid, oysters, mackerel, sardines.
5. Look for the Marine Stewardship label. The Marine Stewardship Council certifies that your seafood was caught or raised in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.
6. Look for seafood frozen at sea. This means it does not need to be delivered by air and minimizes the carbon footprint.
7. Be careful about canned seafood. Cans are often lined with a toxic BPA plastic coating. Look for “BPA free” on the label.
8. Buy from trusted sources. And on that note… introducing Mr. Tommy Gomes!

Next week: The final video in the series: An interview with Quinn Wilson of Suzie’s Farm. Find out why it’s so important to go organic!

When Porter first opened the Linkery in 2005, he was surprised how difficult it was to find “righteous ingredients”—or ingredients that weren’t shipped frozen on trucks from faraway places. When he couldn’t find what he wanted locally, he forged relationships with farmers and other purveyors to create it. Even better, he wanted his produce to be organic (free of pesticides and genetically modified elements), his fish to be sustainable (causing no environmental damage), and his meats to be pastured (humanely raised).

As you can imagine, this was easier said than done. Not to mention pushing all the typical limits of razor-thin restaurant margins. But Porter, and a handful of other restaurant owners in North Park, just wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and a food revolution was born.

Next week: Our interview with Porter’s sustainable seafood purveyor, Tommy Gomes—part fishmonger, part late-night comedian!

The sunset over the Mississippi River as we landed. Hate to ruin the moment, but we soon learned that the agricultural runoff draining from 31 states to the north has created ecological dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico.

But First, The Food

Before we get into the environmental challenges this city endures, let’s enjoy the amazing tradition of food it has cultivated. There was one restaurant I just had to fit in to my visit: Cochon. All I knew is that 1) everyone who goes to New Orleans talks about it, and 2) it has pig parts. The waitress made two recommendations and they were the best things we ate (believe me, we ordered much more than this after an all-day flight and an abandoned airport salad).

Cochon’s wood-fired oysters with butter and hot sauce. We were going to order these again for dessert but the kitchen closed on us with no warning. Buzzkill alert!

Cochon’s smoked pork ribs in a tangy sauce with a kick of vinegar and “watermelon pickle”; and yes, the meat fell right off the bone. The finger-licking flavors reminded me of my long-coveted Cajun wings at NYC’s Great Jones Café. If I lived here, I would probably. live. here.

I dare you to pronounce the name on the street sign, especially after the “Swinekiller” cocktails we had.

Speaking of cocktails, I dragged a few of the conference ladies to Cure in Uptown on the advice of a friend who said it was one of the best places for drinks in the South. Here, the signature Sazerac, with Thomas H. Handy cask strength rye whiskey, Vieux Pontarlier absinthe (wait, what?), Demerara sugar, and lemon peel. Yep, I’m pretty sure this was the reason I was unusually chatty at dinner that night.

On the sweet side, a mandatory tourist stop is Café du Monde for coffee and beignets (fried dough covered in powdered sugar) and any of the fancy restaurants has a version of Bananas Foster (this one is at Arnaud’s—ooh, lookie here, I found the recipe!). I’m not a dessert person, but I could have easily gone for seconds (I blame the absinthe).

New Orleans and the Oil Refineries

We were honored to preface dinner at Arnaud’s with a visit from Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who had a handful of Southern-charm stories to keep the ladies laughing, but he also didn’t escape without a proper grilling over the stranglehold the oil companies have on this city. That’s when I knew I liked this group. There is deference and respect paid to busy people who have taken valuable time to speak with them, but they also seize the opportunity to speak directly about the contradictions they see, and they have a low tolerance for political spin.

The next day, we took a bus to the Barataria Preserve in Jean Lafitte National Historic Park, south of New Orleans, and outside of the levee perimeter. This gave a sense of the rapidly receding marshland, as did a boat tour on the bayou that afternoon, where we saw signs that warned of “no dredging” due to the presence of underwater oil pipelines. According to Mayor Landrieu and the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association, the state is the leading domestic producer of crude oil and the second highest producer of natural gas, accounting for 30% of the domestic oil supply. Tie that output to jobs and it’s hard to break the bond between oil companies and Louisiana politicians.

Is Gulf Seafood Really Safe?

So what does oil have to do with food? A lot, actually. Many synthetic preservatives, food dyes, flavorings, and pesticides are petroleum-derived. And the problems created by the oil industry in New Orleans are not just limited to one unfortunate disaster like the British Petroleum (BP) spill last year. As Anne Rolfes of the Lousiana Bucket Brigade told us, “The oil industry has an accident problem. I plan to repeat this sentence again and again until it becomes public knowledge.” She went on to say that there are nine oil industry accidents per week in Louisiana and thousands per year. When a conference member asked the panel if they eat the local seafood, Anne and her colleagues sheepishly admitted that they do not, and that, just the week before, a shipment of shrimp had arrived contaminated with oil—a result not necessarily from the BP spill but perhaps from the numerous other accidents that have followed it.

This is probably not something that Chef John Besh (left) and his guest at our dinner, shrimp fisherman Lance Nacio, want me to report, and surely they have their own data to refute it. (I’m guessing it has to do with whether you have a trusted supplier or not.) However, just one day before this trip, the New York Times reported that this year’s white shrimp harvest is all but nonexistent, with some reports saying it’s declined as much as 80 percent. It’s not yet certain that oil contamination is the culprit, but many have their suspicions.

At Besh’s flagship restaurant August, Nacio sat at our table and intrigued everyone with his friendly demeanor and honest assessment of both the seafood and oil industries. When Nacio couldn’t fish because of the oil spill, he worked for BP collecting and burning off the surface oil. He passed around photos of shrimp boats dwarfed by massive plumes of fire and smoke on the water. Nacio is now working diligently to get his sustainable shrimp business, Anna Marie Seafood, back on track, and that includes speaking out at events like this. Chef Besh told our group that he works with people like Nacio not to “eat local” but because it’s the right thing to do, “to teach ourselves to be sustainable and not wait for federal help.”

Maybe its the discipline he honed as a U.S. marine, but Besh’s belief in self-reliance was in evidence again when, in the days after Hurricane Katrina, he cooked rice and beans in a front yard to feed people, and then partnered with emergency reconstruction specialists to create ready-to-eat meals for distribution in the U.S. and abroad. The immovable commitment that people like he and Mayor Landrieu have to this city—that they never even considered living anywhere but New Orleans—is certainly inspiring. In that spirit, Besh sponsors the Chef’s Move! scholarship, which awards a year’s tuition at NYC’s French Culinary Institute to a minority recipient from the New Orleans area. The catch? They have to come back and cook in New Orleans afterward.

The Rebuilding of the Ninth Ward After Hurricane Katrina

Of course, one cannot come to New Orleans and not see the daily reminders of Hurricane Katrina, whether it’s the looming Superdome that provided shelter to so many residents, or some houses in the Ninth Ward that are still—six years after the disaster—boarded up and spray painted with rescue codes for emergency responders.

In 2005, for reasons that are still debated, a levee gave way directly adjacent to the Lower Ninth Ward and more than 4,000 homes were flooded and destroyed. In all, more than 1,800 people lost their lives.

Brad Pitt, who has an affinity both for New Orleans and for architecture, wanted to help. He started the Make It Right foundation to build sustainable and affordable housing in the Ninth Ward that he hopes will become a prototype for other communities. Pitt asked thirteen architects to design various housing models (free of charge) that returning residents could choose from. They had to be environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and storm-resistant, because no one disputes that the area will flood again. With heavy subsidies from Pitt’s foundation, each house costs $150,000 to build. At this time, about 70 of the planned 200 homes have been built or approved.

Design elements include solar panels, energy-saving appliances, non-toxic materials, and details like the ability to convert rainwater into irrigation for the garden.

The sidewalk is made with a pervious type of concrete meant to absorb water and each house stands at least five feet off the ground.

The “Floating House” is designed to rise and fall with a water surge of up to 14 feet.

With the closest grocery store more than seven miles away (it takes three times longer to get to a store than from any other New Orleans neighborhood), Make It Right also installed community gardens, open to all residents. (Periodically, goats are released to trim the grass.) It was recently reported that plans are in motion to build a grocery store here by 2013.

Looking from the Ninth Ward toward downtown New Orleans

One thing is for sure: a lot of people are working very hard to restore and rebuild this historical place, and it was inspiring to meet with them and understand their passion. Leaving here, you can’t help but want them all to succeed.

Restaurant recommendations:
August
Bayona
Cochon
Commander’s Palace
Coquette
Domilise Sandwich Shop (po’ boys)
Drago’s
Emeril’s
Herbsaint
Mother’s
Restaurant Stella
Sylvain
Willie Mae’s (fried chicken)

April Bloomfield, the acclaimed and understated British chef who’s already made her mark at the Spotted Pig gastropub, opened the Breslin in 2009. It’s connected to the Ace Hotel, which naturally brings mobs of hipsters with one eye on their aged rye whiskey and one eye on Bloomfield’s pig’s trotter. Luckily, we only had to nurse one drink at the bar before getting a table in the dark-wooded pub-like restaurant. At left, “scrumpets,” or breaded and fried lamb with mint vinegar. Top right, a delicate seafood sausage with beurre blanc and chives. Bottom right, the beloved lamb burger with feta, cumin mayo, and exceptional “thrice cooked chips.” Verdict? Comfort food that delivers on its promises.

I’d been curious about Lincoln, the newish pasta-centric eatery at Lincoln Center, particularly since it was opened by Per Se alum Jonathan Benno. First of all, the design is pleasing, nicely streamlined into the existing arts complex, making it an excellent option for pre-theater dining, and the floor-to-ceiling glass that surrounds the kitchen provides some mid-meal entertainment.

Had I realized we’d be eating from the brunch menu, which is very abbreviated compared to the dinner menu, I probably would have rescheduled. Top left, Andrew ordered his favorite salad, beet and goat cheese (it was delicious, and an obvious crowd-pleaser, but is anyone else tired of this salad plunked on every menu?). Top right, anchovies and escarole (this is usually right up my flavor alley but I was surprised at how salty it was, and I could probably survive on a salt lick). Bottom left, grilled chicken salad with oranges (clearly for the matinée ladies, and apparently Andrew who was feeling full from last night). Bottom right, I just had to get linguine with clams (razor and little neck) and shisito peppers. Unfortunately, it was the most disappointing dish: there must have been a stick of butter melted into it. I lived in Italy for three years. No one puts butter in the clam linguine! Extra virgin olive oil, yes, and keep it coming, but butter just made me feel like diving into a weeklong nap followed by a juice fast. Verdict? Despite some seasoning issues and service missteps (they didn’t have our reservation and they accidentally charged us extra on the bill), I would give it another shot at dinner.

It would not be stretching the truth to say I was a Veritas groupie in the early 2000’s, my friends and I huddled around the bar ordering an appetizer or two to last the night. Back then, Chef Scott Bryan was at the burners, my friend from high school was a sommelier, and we were highly entertained by Wall Street big shots opening $20,000 bottles of wine. Of course, those big shots are long gone now (with all our money, I think), and Veritas has gone though a few chefs and a few concepts since Bryan left. The latest, Sam Hazen, was recently given three stars by the New York Times and I was curious to see how my old hangout was, well, hanging.

If you ask me, not so well. At left, baby spinach salad with fried pancetta disks and Point Reyes blue cheese deviled eggs. Fun presentation, but back in the day I could have gotten something similar at Hale and Hearty on my lunch break in Midtown. At right, a beautiful and admittedly delicious roasted chicken with “potato pillows” and greens. Not pictured are the absolutely tasteless seafood crudo I ordered to start and the filet mignon with about a pound of Port-braised cipollini onions. To be fair, Andrew thoroughly enjoyed his salad and steak, but I think it’s because he’d been eating turkey wraps for the last week while I was gone.

Further issues: the service was somewhat stilted—not the professional yet easygoing staff I remembered, who knew what you needed three seconds before you needed it. Putting diners at ease was their strong point, and it’s gone now. Next, the chef spent about half his time schmoozing in the main dining room. I don’t know about you, but I like to know that the chef is working hard on my meal in the kitchen, and in fact want to see him stumble out with a stubbly beard toward the end of his shift looking like he gave it all he’s got; not like he’s about to pull up a chair with his buds and have a cocktail. Finally, Veritas has always been known for its illustrious wine list, and despite my many questions about a Pinot Noir I was ordering not being too much on the light side, it was essentially a $70 bottle of water, and I didn’t feel like fighting the fight that night. Verdict? I’ll be reminiscing about the good old days and dining elsewhere.

Not normally one to dine on the Upper East Side, I wanted to pay a visit to an ex-San Diego chef and a young star in the culinary world, Gavin Kaysen, now the Chef de Cuisine at Café Boulud. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the day we came for lunch but he graciously sent word to staff to give us the royal treatment, sending out a couple extra dishes and a lovely glass of Champagne that helped us recover from the torrential rainstorm we’d just survived (I forgot how awful getting a cab across town in the rain is. I still had mini-puddles in my sandals when I left two hours later. See, this is why I shouldn’t be allowed on the Upper East Side.) Our favorites were the butternut squash ravioli and two decadent desserts: at a loss for ingredients now, I’ll say one was a chocolate-liqueur dream and the other succeeded in making bananas a sin.

Some may have seen my rave about Jean Georges’s $38 prix fixe lunch, but his very popular farm-to-table concept, ABC Kitchen, left me disappointed. Of the five dishes we ordered, the Akaushi cheeseburger with herbed mayo and jalapeños is the only thing I’d come back for.

Lotus of Siam has something of a cult status in Las Vegas, ordained “best Thai restaurant” by Jonathan Gold, who’s legendary for his Asian cuisine prowess on the streets of Los Angeles. But word is the owners abandoned ship at the New York outpost shortly after opening. According to our friend dining with us, it showed. He said the Vegas meal was one of the best of his life, whereas this felt like upscale takeout. On the bright side, huddling over Pad Thai hit the spot that night as it began pouring, yet again, outside.

I was lucky enough to have a home-cooked meal while I was there, visiting my friends Katie and Zoubir, the masterminds behind KT Collection handmade jewelry. We melted Raclette cheese to pour over grilled vegetables and meats while Zoubir took one for the team by pulling up to the table on his young son’s chair.

Katie and I met up the next week to go to Torrisi, the Italian-American obsession of most NYC food heads these days. I was initially put off by their reservation system of having to stand in line from 5-5:30pm, at which point a hostess unlocks the door and puts you on a list for 6pm, 8pm, or 10pm. Let’s fix that, shall we? Unfortunately, this photo is all you’re going to see since Torrisi has a strict no-camera policy. Overall, the experience was pretty adorable. For $50 (the pricing has changed, see below*), we received 4 (often changing) mini appetizers: an exquisite warm ball of mozzarella drizzled generously with milk thistle and extra virgin olive oil, a somewhat forgettable broccoli salad with mushrooms, melt-in-your-mouth scallops with coriander and radish, and enjoyable spicy charred spare ribs. We were then served pasta—linguine with little neck clams, Tabasco, and shisito peppers (much better than Lincoln’s butter-drenched version). And our only choice of the evening was our entrée: Striped bass with yellow tomato marinara or veal shoulder with bell peppers and potatoes. Dessert was an assortment of mini Italian-American pastries like cannoli, shortbread, and flag cake.

*Torrisi has recently changed its dining options to a $60 prix fixe at both lunch and dinner, as well as adding a $125 reservation-only prix fixe dinner that promises 12 to 15 courses. Parm, a deli-style eatery about to open next door, will offer more affordable sandwich fare that Torrisi’s lunch was previously known for.

After dipping into Italian food emporium Eataly, and getting my fill of the genuine buffalo mozzarella that never makes its way to the west coast, I wanted to hit up a street market that sells locally sourced eats. New Amsterdam Market hosts several rows of food vendors every Sunday 11am to 4pm where the Old Fulton Fish Market used to be, just under the arc of the Brooklyn Bridge. My friend Jen was nice enough to accompany me on a hot, sticky day that got stickier with maple-bacon buns (wow) from Print Restaurant, mini Dutch pancakes from the Poffertjes Man, and (yes!) a half lobster roll from Luke’s Lobster (excellent crisp buttered bun, not too much mayo).

One last thing: I couldn’t leave New York without a proper bagel and my friend Liz the Chef told me to make a bee-line for Zabar’s. Specifically, pumpernickel. It was chewy yet crispy—perfect consistency. Plus, Zabar’s cream cheese has sour cream in it. Is this a thing? ‘Cause it should be a thing.

Until next time, NYC! Someone get me salad, lots of salad…

Other NYC restaurant reviews from this trip:
Best meal: Jean Georges $38 prix fixe lunch
Per Se
Blue Hill at Stone Barns

NYC restaurant reviews from May 2010:
Minetta Tavern: I Don’t Get It
Colicchio & Sons: What’s New Is Old
Eleven Madison Park: French Laundry Wanna-Be
Peter Luger v. Strip House: The Steak-Off
Motorino v. Kesté: Neapolitan Pizza Pie-Off
Locanda Verde: Swing and a Miss
Maialino: Danny Meyer Does It Again
Marea: Do Your Homework
Great Jones Cafe: Best Wings In The City
Apiary: Hidden Gem
Seäsonal Restaurant & Weinbar: Who Knew?
Brooklyn’s Fatty ’Cue: Malaysian BBQ
La Esquina: VIP Mexican Food?

Another reason I had only moderate hopes for this lunch is that I had long been enjoying the (now $32) prix fixe in the more casual adjacent café, Nougatine, for years. But on my last trip to New York, Nougatine fell drastically short, with lemon chicken that tasted of Pledge and a steamed artichoke that seemed as depressed as I was (pass the aïoli). Around the same time, I had heard that the main dining room had begun serving a prix fixe lunch, so why not give it a whirl now?

I invited Sarah LeTrent, Associate Editor at CNN’s food website, Eatocracy, to be my dining companion. Eatocracy made my year by profiling a then-8-month-old Let There Be Bite and I promised her that on my next trip to the city I would be thanking her abundantly with food (but what else?).

The bright dining room is friendly but formal. The seriousness of last night’s service lingers as camera-toting food lovers quickly take their seats next to the suited and bejeweled of New York, most of us quietly ecstatic about dining at Jean Georges without having to sell a kidney to pay for it.

First up, an amuse bouche: bell pepper soup, a jalapeno fritter, and shrimp. Good, but not sending any shivers yet.

For our first course, Sarah ordered “kampachi sashimi, sherry vinaigrette, and toasted pecans.”

I opted for “sea trout sashimi draped in trout eggs, lemon, dill, and horseradish” [pictured at top]. Holy mother, I could eat this every day for the next month. Generous hunks of salmon-like sea trout, the sea-water burst of its eggs, tart lemon curd, a kick of horseradish, salty fried sea bits, and a sweet smear of dill. The generous size of each portion is one reason this prix fixe stands out. Most restaurants tend to save on cost by minimizing portion sizes and dumbing down the complexity. Not here!

Of course we had trouble deciding on just two courses, so we added one more to share: “Parmesan risotto with mushrooms and herbs.” The woodsy mushrooms were seared to perfection and the lemony overtones had us repeating, “Just one more spoonful.”

Sarah’s second course: “Salt and pepper sweetbreads, sweet chili emulsion, pea shoots.”

My second course: “Sauteed veal scallopine, Flying Pig ham, mushrooms, and lavender.” Is it possible I ordered perfectly? I never do that! I’m a sucker for pounded veal, but this was punched up with a crispy slice of ham, probably more butter than I want to know about, and those woodsy mushrooms again. I was so full I couldn’t finish it, but so reluctant to waste it that I took the rest home and ate it for dinner with some leftover mozzarella, pleased as Punch I had the good sense to ask for a doggie bag at Jean Georges.

We declined dessert, but the petit fours arrived. The house-made marshmallows were spectacular, and I don’t even like marshmallows.

Someone said recently that the mark of a good meal is how much you reminisce about it the next day, and I am still thinking about this one.

Other NYC restaurant reviews from this trip:
Per Se
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Torrisi, ABC Kitchen, Lincoln, Veritas, Café Boulud, the Breslin, Lotus of Siam, New Amsterdam Market

NYC restaurant reviews from May 2010:
Minetta Tavern: I Don’t Get It
Colicchio & Sons: What’s New Is Old
Eleven Madison Park: French Laundry Wanna-Be
Peter Luger v. Strip House: The Steak-Off
Motorino v. Kesté: Neapolitan Pizza Pie-Off
Locanda Verde: Swing and a Miss
Maialino: Danny Meyer Does It Again
Marea: Do Your Homework
Great Jones Cafe: Best Wings In The City
Apiary: Hidden Gem
Seäsonal Restaurant & Weinbar: Who Knew?
Brooklyn’s Fatty ’Cue: Malaysian BBQ
La Esquina: VIP Mexican Food?