estrnboarder, Author at Foodie Travel USA

Stowe, Vermont’s Craft Food Movement

Stowe, Vermont’s Craft Food Movement

Home to the state’s highest peak of Mount Mansfield, Stowe, Vermont is best known for its skiing. It is so much a ski destination, in fact, that the tiny town is referred to as both the Ski Capital of the East and the Swiss Alps of the East. When snow is on the ground, you can fill your days with endless outdoor activity: not just alpine skiing, but traversing cross-country trails, skating at an outdoor ice rink, ice fishing on frozen ponds, dog sledding or “fat biking”—which, despite what SoulCycle might have you believe, is mountain biking on bikes with wider tires made for snow and ice. It’s easy to have a healthy, exercise-heavy vacation in Stowe, especially in January, when resolutions are new and, in the quiet after the holidays, your time is finally your own again.

estrnboarder2019-01-16T16:14:57+00:00January 17th, 2019|Categories: Featured, Northeast, Producers & Purveyors, Regions|Tags: Markets, Restaurants|0 Comments

Virginia’s Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail

Virginia’s Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail

Winding through more than 300 miles of southwestern Virginia, the Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail dishes up authentic gospel and bluegrass music along side a mouth watering selection of local pit stops. The trail features nine major venues and more than 60 affiliated venues where you can listen to bluegrass pickers, a capella gospel singers, fiery fiddlers,and old-time string bands, plus lots of spots to explore the region’s rich musical traditions at museums and educational exhibits along the way.

estrnboarder2019-01-10T20:33:23+00:00January 15th, 2019|Categories: Featured, Mid-Atlantic, Regions, Trends & Trails|Tags: Itineraries, Restaurants|0 Comments

BBQ Side Trips on Tennessee’s Music Highway

BBQ Side Trips on Tennessee’s Music Highway

Consider this a second helping of “Eating Your Way Down the Music Highway,” as we here at Foodie Travel USA showcase more of the best dining options along Tennessee’s Music Highway, the official designation of the strip of Interstate 40 that runs between Nashville and Memphis. The route is only about a four-hour drive between the two major cities, so really, what’s your hurry? Take your time and savor some great out-of-the-way restaurants with a short side-trip or several stops off the main highway. If the word “barbecue" isn’t enticing enough, consider at least taking a break from watching mile markers click by to stretch your legs where the air smells delicious.

estrnboarder2019-01-07T17:33:22+00:00January 8th, 2019|Categories: Barbecue, Cuisines, Featured, Regions, Southeast|Tags: Itineraries, Restaurants|0 Comments

Taste Shenandoah County, Virginia

Taste Shenandoah County, Virginia

Peak-of-the-season flavor isn’t a one-of-a-kind experience in Virginia’s Shenandoah County, it’s a way of life. Here, farm-to-table isn’t an elite experience reserved for white tablecloth dining. You can simply rip open a bag of potato chips. Farms dot the Shenandoah County landscape, a breathtakingly beautiful area in northwestern Virginia nestled between the Allegheny and Massanutten Mountains and lapped by the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. Rich soil, fresh air, clean water and farmers’ skillful traditions help make this the state’s fifth most productive agricultural region.

estrnboarder2019-01-02T17:14:55+00:00January 3rd, 2019|Categories: Featured, Mid-Atlantic, Producers & Purveyors, Regions|Tags: Restaurants|0 Comments

Mississippi Delta Tamales

Mississippi Delta Tamales

The tamale really is an odd little food item. Stewed meat is wrapped in some sort of mushy corn meal and rolled up in inedible corn husks. Don’t try to eat the whole thing like a dolmathakia, the Greek delicacy of stuffed grape leaves. There are better ways to get your daily fiber allotment. But to some foodies, especially those who grew up eating tamales, they’re an object of obsession. Most folks probably associate tamales with Mexican food and those tamales usually use masa flour as the main ingredient and are served at both breakfast and dinner. In the Mississippi Delta, however, a uniquely American brand of tamales is made using cornmeal and pork, beef, chicken or turkey. These tamales are often packed by the dozen in plastic jars or coffee cans and sold on the front counter of convenience stores or gas stations.

estrnboarder2018-12-27T15:09:04+00:00December 27th, 2018|Categories: Cuisines, Featured, Regions, South, Southern|Tags: Restaurants|0 Comments

Iconic Eats in Buffalo, New York

Iconic Eats in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York is nestled on the shores of Lake Erie midway between Jamestown and Niagara Falls. The state’s second largest metropolitan area (after New York City) is home to hearty folks who endure notoriously bad weather, yearn for a championship from the NFL’s Bills and NHL’s Sabres, and know how to eat! Locals take pride in homegrown, original foods, some of which—like wings(not Buffalo wings, not chicken wings, just wings)—have become synonymous with the area. For 40 years, I lived a few miles south of Buffalo. Now that I’m living in South Carolina I don’t miss the winters a bit, but I do miss feasting on Buffalo food traditions. So I make an annual pilgrimage north to savor favorites at local restaurants and tote home a carload of staples. Here’s a list of the foods that I think sets Western New York apart. Shuffle off to Buffalo, seek, sample, savor and let the feast begin!

estrnboarder2018-12-14T15:15:04+00:00December 20th, 2018|Categories: Americana, Cuisines, Featured, North, Northeast, Regions|Tags: Restaurants, Stores|0 Comments

Iconic Foods of North Carolina

Iconic Foods of North Carolina

Every state has an iconic food. Think of Maryland and your mind goes to crab cakes, Pennsylvania and it’s a juicy Philly Cheese steak, West Virginia (yes, West Virginia, hey, it’s my home state, I have to show it a little love) has pepperoni rolls, and in North Carolina, it’s barbecue. While these foods may be the first to come to mind, they’re by no means the only foods worth note. Take North Carolina, my adopted home state, as an example. Yeah, we’ve got barbecue—two styles and a dozen great places for each—but with more than 300 miles of coastline we have exceptional seafood, and every ethnic group that’s called this state home has left a greasy thumbprint on our food culture. So, if you’ve got a hankering for some of the iconic foods of North Carolina, here’s my list of where to start.

estrnboarder2018-12-13T18:29:35+00:00December 18th, 2018|Categories: Coastal, Cuisines, Featured, Regions, South, Southeast|Tags: Restaurants|0 Comments

Great Beer + Great Food = Atlanta, Georgia

Great Beer + Great Food = Atlanta, Georgia

San Francisco’s restaurant scene is known for three main types of cuisine: California, fusion, or both. Local and sustainable ingredients are routinely showcased; it’s common to find names of farms and vineyards featured alongside menu items. Special occasions and pop-up dining events are often an excuse to feature ingredients not otherwise available on the menu.

estrnboarder2018-12-07T17:13:04+00:00December 13th, 2018|Categories: Featured, Trends & Trails, West Coast|Tags: Holidays, Restaurants, Traditions|0 Comments

Réveillon Dinners

Réveillon Dinners

Once you pass underneath the gateway arch at the foot of Federal Hill, you’re in Providence, Rhode Island’s Little Italy. Classic red sauce restaurants—some of which date back a century—line Atwells Avenue. In between, there are Italian specialty shops where dried sausages hang in the windows while songs by old crooners are piped out into the street. There are bocce courts, and an Italianate fountain in DePasquale Square with twinkling lights hanging overhead. This time of year, there’s also a huge Christmas tree illuminating the piazza. If you can catch it during one of the season’s first snowfalls, you’re not likely to find a more magical scene.

estrnboarder2018-12-05T21:46:02+00:00December 11th, 2018|Categories: Featured, South, Trends & Trails|Tags: Holidays, Traditions|0 Comments

The Feast of the Seven Fishes: West Coast

The Feast of the Seven Fishes: West Coast

San Francisco’s restaurant scene is known for three main types of cuisine: California, fusion, or both. Local and sustainable ingredients are routinely showcased; it’s common to find names of farms and vineyards featured alongside menu items. Special occasions and pop-up dining events are often an excuse to feature ingredients not otherwise available on the menu.

estrnboarder2018-12-31T13:21:13+00:00December 6th, 2018|Categories: Featured, Trends & Trails, West Coast|Tags: Holidays, Restaurants, Traditions|0 Comments

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