Great Szechuan in NYC’s Theatre District

We visit New York City a lot, usually to catch a Broadway play or two, or an exhibit at one of the city’s great museums. However much we love doing this, dining in the theatre district can be challenging. There are a lot of tourist traps – pricey places with truly awful food, a canteen or two (like Shake Shack or Pret a Manger), and … Read more

Spicy Asian – Authentic Szechuan in Ithaca

Wherever I go, for work or for personal travel, I like to hit a good restaurant during my trip. If that restaurant can be a Silk Road restaurant, all the better. I had the chance this past weekend to find a little gem of a Chinese restaurant in downtown Ithaca, New York. Spicy Asian restaurant is a small place on Elmira Road, that delivers a … Read more

Food and Wine at Pheasant’s Tears

This is an essay that is long overdue. It’s been well more than a year since I ate delicious food paired with fantastic wines at Pheasants Tears tasting room in Sighnaghi, Georgia. The dishes and the wine were wonderful and remain vivid in my memory, but they were also matched by the hospitality shown to me by the people of Pheasants Tears. My apologies, Gia, … Read more

An Evening in Tashkent

If you ever find yourself hungry in Tashkent and want a wonderful sit-down dining experience, go to The Caravan. The food is classic Uzbek: Lagman, Norin, Beshbarmak, and Manti, and it is very good. But the dining experience at Caravan goes beyond the food, the restaurant is a work of art, and its beauty enhances the enjoyment of the food. The garden is draped with … Read more

Flavors of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a place to dream about: a far-away land of palaces, emperors, mosques and some of the world’s most beautiful stark and stunning scenery. A sigh, a sip of tea, and no matter where you are, you imagine yourself perusing the exotic goods in crowded market, or on a caravan heading east towards the Fergana, with its dangers, mysteries and potential treasures. (For other … Read more

A Taste of Burma in Downtown DC

Morning mist rises above the stupa like diaphanous tendrils from the forest floor as the sun warms the earth. Birds of all shapes and sizes clatter in the treetops proclaiming their territory, and in the village, dogs bark the dawn like town criers. Until recently, those of us in the US and Europe had to travel half a world away to get Burmese food. But … Read more

Himalayan Hospitality

Food not only nourishes us, but when well prepared, it can bring excitement, pleasure and contentment. When shared, it can bring dining companions together around the table as they enjoy and comment on delicious dishes. I had a wonderful dining experience recently when I shared some great Nepalese food with colleagues from work. On the last night of a week of meetings to discuss an … Read more