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Everyone interested in New York City, history and/or food should take Big Onion Tours' Multiethnic Eating Tour. It's a nifty way to learn about immigration and ethnic neighborhoods in New York, as it leads participants through the lower east side, Chinatown and Little Italy(which often overlap, strangely enough). You get commentary and picture-taking ops in all three areas, plus pickles, Jewish pastry, Italian cheese, dim sum and other typical offerings in each neighborhood. Guides are grad students in New York City history and culture. You can find out in advance of your visit when this and other theme tours are available at bigonion.com. The cost for the eating tour is $20, $15-17 concessions; all other tours are $15 and $12, I think. You should really take an afternoon and do this and/or others of their offerings--it's a great deal.
Delancey and Essex street, NYC; check Big Onion Schedule at www.bigonion.com
An ancient thatched inn that dates back, in part, to the 13th century. Great food and wonderful location on the waterfront with local beers. Just ignore the moody barmaid.
Check it out: www.pandorainn.com/index.php
Just outside of Falmouth: The Pandora Inn, Restronguet Creek, Mylor Bridge, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 5ST.
Drive, cycle, walk or catch a boat from Falmouth or Penryn, see directions: www.pandorainn.com/pdf/cycling.pdf
Affordable, superior bay view and excellent service are reason enough to take a train from London. Walking distance from train station and car hire.
Penzance Railway Station is just southwest of it.
Where to start? This is a little, six-table, tucked-away Italian restaurant run by patron/chef Emil, a Bulgarian who spent 17 years in Italy.
The night four of us went it was empty (Sofia natives disappear in August). No menu, we willingly went along with whatever Emil proposed. After bruschetta, wonderful antipasti, then a ravioli (home made, of course) of spinach and ricotta with a gentle creamed tomato sauce with shrimps and courgettes. Each flavour given its proper due.
Then two of us shared a salt-baked fish, two shared a fillet steak with fresh peppercorns. Although we had no room for more, Emil suggested we share a tiramisu and a torta ricotta. How can I ever eat another tiramisu, now that I know how it can be? Both desserts made for the Gods. Limoncello on the house.
Only Italian wines here, so perhaps wine is a little more expensive than elsewhere. Each dish simple, each element a perfection of taste and texture, cooked with passion. What more could one want? This was a meal I will never forget. For such a memory, we spent 60 Leva each, about €30. Booking is essential. (I know, it was empty the night we went, but that was chance!)
ulitsa Lavele 11 - entrance in ul Lom
02 986 08 54
(between bul Todor Aleksandrov and bul. Aleksanser Stambolski)
open 11.30 - midnight
Closed Sundays
Perhaps one of the only restaurants of its type in Europe, this intimate little eatery serves up piping hot Japanese pancakes - imagine a big potato pie stuffed with fillings - and boasts a stunning location in the picturesque Jordaan. Mains from around 13 Euros: check out the 'dancing fish flakes' for added entertainment.
Tweede Eglantiersdwarsstraat 24a (a side street off Eglantiersgracht perpendicular to the west side of Prinsengracht)
www.japanesepancakeworld.com
+31 20 320 4447
Bar/restaurant just above the beach with wide floor-to-ceiling windows giving a fantastic view of the beach and sea. Good food, great relaxed atmosphere, good with kids and, although it can get a bit busy in high season, it's a fantastic place to recover from a walk along the Sands.
Praa Sands, off the A394 Helston - Marazion
A fine Indian restaurant with a €11.50 set lunch (not Sundays) and lovely decor. Something different from steak frites - and in a country where Indian restaurants are still a rarity, well worth finding.
Rue de la Clouterie, Chartres - old city centre, 5 mins walk from the cathedral
Small informal cafe in the Old (German) Fort. Sit on the long museum verandah for a fine view over the city centre away from the crowds. Good selection of snacks and African meals. Interesting displays and history of independence.
Alte Feste, Robert Mugabe Ave. Windhoek. 5 mins walk from Independence Ave.
Info at www.namibia-travel.net/centralnamibia/windhoek.htm
Tempted by a guide saying this was "the best pasta in Sofia" we went to this Italian restaurant in a smart residential suburb.
In terms of decor and general ambience this is a stylish and elegant (two words not usually associated with Sofia) restaurant that would not look out of place in Beverly Hills or Belgravia.
Sadly, the food was less imaginative and not up to the cooking standards of the amazing cheap'n'cheerful Double Espresso in Balham. Spaghetti alio olio, my test for an Italian kitchen, had no evidence of garlic. Penne Arrabiata bland. At the upper end of prices by local standards. Sorry. Go for a stylish meeting or a drink - forget the food.
ul Atanas Dalchev 6 Sofia 1113
tel: 02 970 01 28
A genuine French restaurant, French chef/owner and Bulgarian wife make it welcoming and familial.
The food is superb from the relatively small seasonal menu. Warm fig salad, duck with honey and balsamic vinegar, and desserts to die for, all make this a-little-above-average-priced restaurant worth every Lev.
Closed Sundays and in August (well, it is French!)
Open 12 - 10pm weekdays, 6pm-10pm Saturdays.
ul Tsar Simeon 78
(about four blocks north of pl Nezavismost)
tel 02 983 14 17 or 0887 523 376
Opened in 1926, timber beamed and clad, a large restaurant with many covers, but with several spaces inside and out, so that everywhere seems reasonably intimate. Tree shaded courtyards.
Traditional Bulgarian food of the highest quality - and huge portions! Plenty for vegetarians, and a meat-eaters heaven. My mixed grill was one of the best I have ever eaten. The large menu and extensive wine list are very reasonable. On a Monday evening, the restaurant was completely full, which would indicate essential booking. Highly recommended. Folk music on weekend evenings, which I haven't experienced.
ul Elin Pelin 1
tel: 02 866 50 53
open 12 noon - 1am
Just some observations - public transport is poor in Sofia. However, taxis are very cheap and plentiful. I have never had a problem, but of course there are stories of cabbies trying it on. Normal caution should suffice.
Pavements are dreadfully dilapidated, and often obstructed by parked cars. This is not a town for baby buggies, let alone wheelchairs (I have never seen anyone in a wheelchair). The elderly should also beware.
A good guide, published quarterly is Sofia in Your Pocket: www.inyourpocket.com
Also, an English-langauge newspaper Sofia Echo, published Fridays with listings: www.sofiaecho.com
In August, theatres are closed, and some restaurants. Check first.
Apparently there are 161 monasteries in Bulgaria, and this restaurant has 161 dishes on the menu taken from them, made an even more lengthy read with its anecdotes, proverbs and cooking tips.
The traditional food is superb, with many dishes not usually found even in other "traditional" menus. An extensive wine list, a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere make this an ideal place to go for a leisurely meal. Like most restaurants in Sofia, it is open all day, in this case from 11am-2am.
In the heat, the courtyard is a delight, with trees and a water mist system that keeps it wonderfully cool. Be warned that in this and most restaurants in Bulgaria, the portions are more than generous - sharing is fun! Booking absolutely essential.
Ed's note: see updates by same author.
ul. Han Asparouh 67
tel 02 980 38 83
www.magernitsa.com
Off 6 Septemvri Str, one block from Patriarh Evtimrii Bld.
Churros con chocolate is a great Spanish traditional breakfast. There's a little churreria stand on the square between the Alcazar and the Caliphal baths.
Order your churros (sort of long doughnuts), watch them being fried, and eat them on the hoof. Much better than a slice of toast and coffee.
Famous old hotel in Kangaroo Point with a fantastic view across the river of the CBD. Good tucker in three different bars or in the adjoining steak house (Deery's Restaurant). Annual cockroach racing on Australia Day.
Story Bridge Hotel
200 Main Street
Kangaroo Point, Brisbane
Queensland 4169 Australia
www.storybridgehotel.com.au/
Famous old hotel in Kangaroo Point with a fantastic view across the river of the CBD. Good tucker in three different bars or in the adjoining steak house (Deery's Restaurant). Annual cockroach racing on Australia Day.
Story Bridge Hotel
200 Main Street
Kangaroo Point, Brisbane
Queensland 4169 Australia
www.storybridgehotel.com.au/
Google map: tinyurl.com/kw36o2
Converted Liverpool-built steam tug boat that plied its trade in Cape Town, now forms a stylish, excellent restaurant and bar, specialising in great local seafood, with views to match.
Positively cheap by European standards.
Seafront at Swakopmund, a delightful historic german port and popular seaside resort to get away from the desert heat
A much praised (in the guides) Galician restaurant with a Michelin star. Deperately snooty. Desperately contrived. We should have been suspicious because we walked in and got a table without a reservation. Both other tables were visitors like us. Neither the food nor the service lived up to the star rating (not our first visit to a starred place.) Tasteless Croquetas de Mariscos (we had better in a small bar in Padron the following day for a fraction of the cost.) Pointless sugar flourishes, adding nothing. Appalling unhelpful and begrudging service of courses in the wrong order. Freezing cold cheese platter - explained to us by the chef herself "the Spanish don't eat cheese so we have to keep it in the fridge..." What???? Chef (in civvies) and waiter (with blocked nose - hay fever or a cold?) pacing the floor impatiently throughout the meal - not helpfully, but as if desperate for us to be out of the way - and this was before we had indicated we were not entirely delighted. If you have money to spend on good food, go somewhere else.
Rosalía de Castro, 24 - 15706 Tel.no.: 981 594 100
This restaurant is amazing! A great selection of innovative dishes with fabulous service.
Caminetti is a cosy family restaurant with a beautiful outside dining area overlooking the Piazza and Arco Della Pace and a delightful traditional interior.
Try the carrot and almond tart and follow up with the theatre that is macaroni heated in a giant parmesan wheel of cheese! Perfectly situated to move on to to some fantastic bars when you have finished your stunning meal.
The best meal we ate in a two-week tour.
Piazza Sempione 8
TeL 02.345 37 919
Bagel and coffee shop. I have just spent 10 days in Edinburgh for the first time, went to this cosy, crazy cafe on my second day and found myself heading back there every day for the rest of my hols!
Amazing choice of Bagels, good coffee and not too pricy. Just a brilliant place to hang out and relax (hope my drawing makes it on to the wall).
Nicolson Square
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