Friday, September 28, 2012

Destination Europe: Three Weeks, One Passat Wagon


touring baltic states and central europe these days.
later today prague, tomorrow plzen
to taste the famed pilsner urquell (original pilsner beer) at epicenter. 


 

looking forward to riesling in alsace,
chocolate in zurich.
with spotty rain the promise of warmth in milano tickles the mind.
we've seen some amazing places.

eaten, have drunk and chatted with lovely people.
few people speak english.
mostly university aged women speak a little,

no matter where we are,
language-wise women are clever
and we speak no latvian, polish, czech etc.





as a rule everyday a new place.
when tired the rule is bent.
the logistics of touring in a car can be daunting.
load, unload. maps, guidebooks, websites, two gps devices.

being we've no fixed itinerary,
hotels are booked on the fly.
we use a swiss cell phone and hotspot tech.
which works or doesn't. 

if not it's an "ask and see" challenge
to find room at the inn.
any inn.



difficulties do not eclipse the experience.
a whirl-wind tour of europe

is nothing less than a marvel.
on the culinary front i've learnt much

so many twists and pairings at every turn.
i ache to get into a kitchen
& put some thoughts on the stove top.

all is well in the swirl.





Copyright © Mick Huerta 2012. All Rights Reserved. 
mickhuerta@gmail.com All Accordin' - 
Travel, Culture, Food & Wine!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

A Bridge Between Hearts ~ Vilnius, Lithuania



If one can accept the heart as a bond that binds then it's easy to understand the impulse to attach a lock to the railings of bridges all throughout Europe as a symbol of a love that will endure...

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2012. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
All Accordin' - Travel, Culture, Food & Wine!


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Rocket Bakery and Fresh Food ~ St. John's Newfoundland


After walking the waterfront each morning, I'll pop by Rocket Food Newfoundland located at 272 Water Street, St. John's to get fueled. The coffee is superb, pastries fresh and the atmosphere is neighbourly. Every visit I try a different nibble. This morning I selected a Lemon (Citron) Tart which augmented my pucker power! I loved it! Locals and folks coming off the boats agree, Rocket is fast and succulent! And that is good reason they're going off like a rocket, soaring to new culinary heights and taking us right along with them...

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2012. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
All Accordin' - Travel, Culture, Food & Wine!


http://www.facebook.com/rocketfood

Rocket Bakery and Fresh Food on Urbanspoon

Ches's Fish & Chips! ~ St. John's, Newfoundland


Family tradition has it that any trip to St. John's, NL requires a visit to Ches's Fish & Chips! In part because the Freshwater Road location is a mere half block down from our grandparent's house. And honestly this first week, we've eaten there three times! First two were during lower traffic times and the Fish & Chips were incredible! Crispy batter, fish right on and the chips, PERRRFECT! But the third Ches's was slammed, packed to the gunnels and our plates arrived greasy. Argh!

When it comes to frying the adage "Haste Makes Waste" is exceptionally true. Someone should caution the cooks that when you add food to heated oil the temperature drops. And if you don't attend to maintaining temperature and add food when temp is low, the result is greasy fried food. Never an appealing thought. Two out of three ain't bad. But I now know why internet reviews of Ches's hint at spotty performance. Some rave; others call it an oil slick.

Whos right? Apparently, they all are. But this is an easy fix in the kitchen. And then we, the customers, won't play grease roulette when looking for Ches's Fish & Chips at their very best!

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2012. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
All Accordin' - Travel, Culture, Food & Wine!


Ches's fish & chips on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

"On the Dock!" ~ London Dock Rum



Salt Cod produced in Atlantic Canada made it's way south to the Caribbean. To return, the tall ships were brimful with barrels of island rum increasing availability, lowering prices and subsequently changing Maritime drinking culture altogether. A 300-year-old trading tradition will certainly have that effect.

And in all that old history it's understandably there are strongly held preferences when it comes to rum; some select light for spritzing with a twist, golden for mixing the (in)famous Planter's Punch with a scrap of fresh nutmeg. And the dark rums, expressly those from Guyana, are heart felt favourites for those who look for big, essential rum flavour in a glass.

Guyana is reknown for rich, dark Demerara Rums (produced on the banks of the Demerara River, just outside of Guyana’s capital, Georgetown). Throughout history these rums overwhelmingly have been strong, over-proof (cask strength). And because of their full and bounteous flavor, Demerara rums can be aged for extended periods with very smooth results dominated by caramel and molasses flavors. Some fill a snifter just as nicely as a good cognac, to the euphoric pleasure of rum aficionados.

Fortunately, London Dock Rum is blended in Canada under license to White Favell, Vintner's of London and is a true Navy Rum coming in at 57.1% alcohol by volume. Even the label of Favell’s London Dock Rum maintains a nostalgic windjammers theme harkening back to a long nautical history. This is a stand alone rum. No need to do much but spritz and sip.

Recipe: Pour a brimming ounce over crushed ice in a frozen glass, then squeeze juice fresh from the citrus - lemon, limes and perhaps even oranges. The result is a cocktail to take the edge off the day and steep you in Maritime tradition. Shlàinte!

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2012. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
All Accordin' - Travel, Culture, Food & Wine!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Water Lilies - Newfoundland, Canada


A weekend of roughing it just south of St. John's, N.L. was full of the cry of loons, osprey's taking flight with trout in talons yet the thing that really touched me was walking between ponds and ponds chock full of Water Lilies. Something so delicate so far north and so short lived reminded me that this moment is precious, this moment is ephemeral and that this joy is mine forever.

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2012. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
All Accordin' - Travel, Culture, Food & Wine!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Casting Off Strings ~ SLC, UT




Artists, Cory Thorell (SLC) & Byron "Be" Whiting (NYC), are in process of staging a memoir dealing with casting off strings which will be expressed with the assistance of marionettes. Mr. Thorrell reports that the writing goes swiftly forward yet the making of three more marionettes to flesh out the acting company will take just a bit more time. Pictured above is "Martha Graham Cracker" animating the dining table of a downtown Salt Lake City, UT home called the "Painted Lady." The private residence has housed traveling artists, actors and dancers going on a decade.

Both artists promise to keep us posted regarding performance dates. More at that time...