Travel for foodies

4:49 PM EST, January 17, 2012

Phil Vettel: Dining, indulgently, in the Big Easy

I get to New Orleans every so often, and my waking hours there can be separated into three categories: Eating, getting ready to eat and just finished eating. I map out my semiregular restaurant assaults the way some parents plan a day at Disney World: I figure out which attractions I most want to see and time my arrivals to ensure a good seat.

4:56 PM EST, January 10, 2012

Chile 101

Before embarking on a 17-day cruise to South America, I knew very little about Chilean food. Tasting my way through three Chilean ports changed that. Chilean food isn't particularly bold. Rather, it's characterized by its no-nonsense simplicity that emphasizes ocean-fresh fish and shellfish and features abundant farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. Dishes and menus are built on centuries-old Spanish traditions. The food is enhanced, of course, when paired with a glass of excellent Chilean wine.

4:59 PM EST, January 10, 2012

South a road-tripper's feast

Morgan Murphy, former Southern Living travel editor, food critic, Navy reservist and admirer of vintage Cadillacs, is a certified road-tripper — if such things were certified. He traveled the South in a vintage Cadillac, steering clear of interstate highways, for his book "Southern Living Off the Eaten Path: Favorite Southern Dives and 150 Recipes That Made Them Famous" (Oxmoor House, $21.95).

5:23 PM EST, January 10, 2012

Helsinki bars break tradition

"Finns drink hard," confides Timo Siitonen, bartender and managing director at A21 Cocktail Lounge (a21.fi) in Helsinki. This is especially the case during the long summer days, when the midnight sun encourages tipplers to go for the long haul.

5:07 PM EST, December 27, 2011

Drink to Mafia's bad health at Rome's dolce vita cafe

ROME — During the heady days of la dolce vita in the 1960s, Rome's Cafe de Paris was one of the preferred watering holes of starlets and sultans.

6:26 PM EST, December 20, 2011

Tastes of Asia in British Columbia

Although we're on the Pacific Northwest coast, the sights, sounds and smells of Richmond, British Columbia, make us feel like we've taken a trip to Asia. We hop off the shiny, driverless Metro Vancouver SkyTrain at the Lansdowne Station, a legacy of the 2010 Olympics in this city that's home to Vancouver International Airport.

6:14 PM EST, December 20, 2011

Atlanta establishments elevating cocktail game

Forget what you've heard about the slow Southern drawl. Bar manager Brian Stanger is talking extra fast on this day, mere hours before the recent grand opening of Southern Art and Bourbon Bar (southernart.com) in Atlanta, located within the InterContinental Buckhead hotel.

3:43 PM EST, December 6, 2011

Upcountry in Maui brings a taste of old-time Hawaii

KULA, Hawaii — Mornings in Maui generally demand nothing more strenuous than pulling on a pair of shorts and sandals and heading for the beach. So what am I doing in long pants, hiking shoes and a jacket?

October 9, 2011

Olive harvesting in Umbria, Italy, drips with tradition

The anonymous stone building on the outskirts of Civitella, my Umbrian hilltop village, was a mystery to me. Every time I drove past, it was shut up and seemingly deserted. But on one moonless night in November, lights blazed through the dirt-encrusted windows, and tractors, trailers, little Fiat 500s and the three-wheeled trucks called Apé were strewn across the road outside.

8:49 PM EDT, October 18, 2011

Renaissance of the cocktail

Fifteen years ago, licensing reform in Melbourne sparked a "small bar" revolution, attracting a global influx of bartenders to Australia. Since then, Victoria's capital has become famed for its particularly diverse and energetic bar scene.

8:54 PM EDT, October 18, 2011

Where to find haute dogs

Guess what food Lady Gaga chose to showcase at a recent Vanity Fair photo shoot? Not a grilled version of her infamous raw meat dress. Not a lobster hat made with different shellfish.

5:36 PM EDT, October 11, 2011

10 cities that whet travelers' appetites

TripAdvisor, the website powered by user-generated reviews, has named its 2011 Travelers' Choice Food and Wine U.S. Destinations. According to TripAdvisor, these spots were determined "based on the most highly rated food and wine destinations by travelers in TripAdvisor reviews." The 10 winners, and why they were chosen:

4:03 PM EDT, October 7, 2011

Street food keeps tailgates on a roll

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Walk down Liberty Street, and you'll stumble upon a small building painted red and framed by arches. It's a shack that aspires to be a castle: The perfect home for Le Dog, a local institution renowned not for hot dogs, but lobster bisque.

3:11 PM EDT, September 20, 2011

Homegrown heat

SAN ANTONIO, N.M — Rowena Baca was just a toddler on what she calls "the day the sun rose twice" in New Mexico.

October 2, 2011

Dining with a txoko in Spain's Basque Country

San Sebastián, the heart of Spain's Basque Country, is well known for its superb cuisine. The elegant seaside resort of 185,000 lays claim to more Michelin stars per capita than any other city in Europe. Restaurants such as Arzak and Mugaritz, acclaimed for their high-tech gastronomy, attract diners from all over the world.

3:36 PM EDT, September 27, 2011

On the trail of the white truffle festival

SANT'AGATA FELTRIA, Italy — The clouds and fog are hanging so low and the rain so heavy that we can barely see. We blindly follow the GPS up the single winding mountain road that leads to Sant'Agata Feltria.

3:30 PM EDT, September 13, 2011

Food snob goes local in Mexico

I was lazing by a hotel pool along The Corridor in Los Cabos, Mexico, when I overheard two Canadians mention that George Clooney had recently been sighted at a local taqueria. I immediately found out the directions so we could go there that evening.

July 21, 2011

 Don't doubt Detroit's dining chops

DETROIT — Stand in Roosevelt Park in front of the empty Michigan Central Station, a hulking train depot that once was one of the biggest in the world, and you could find in its broken windows and decaying facade a metaphor for a dying city.

3:23 PM EDT, September 6, 2011

France: Whisked away to another world

Find out what a gourmet cooking class at the estate of the Hostellerie Berard in La Cadiere d'Azur, France is like.

3:36 PM EDT, September 6, 2011

Food, family focus of Sorrento class

We arrive for our cooking class in Sorrento, Italy, on Pasquetta, the Monday after Easter — a national holiday celebrated by families throughout Italy. It seems appropriate that today everyone is focused on food and camaraderie.

3:26 PM EDT, September 6, 2011

Whip up a trip to Italy

You've done the museums of Paris (twice), zip-lined in Colorado and stayed at pubs in Ireland. So you already know your travel style.

11:20 PM EDT, September 3, 2011

Columbus shows Ohio's adventurous side

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Bartender Cris Dehlavi is making a mint julep at Mouton, a Short North arts district hot spot that specializes in Prohibition-era cocktails.

11:04 PM EDT, September 3, 2011

The sea change: Ever finer cruise dining

Cruise ship dining once conjured images of gluttons bellying up to the buffet. Now gastronomy trumps gluttony: A more discerning generation of foodies is selecting ships and itineraries based on culinary allure. In response, cruise lines — from mainstream to luxury — are going overboard to meet the more refined tastes of passengers.

5:44 PM EDT, August 30, 2011

The tasty toast of Georgia

DAHLONEGA, Ga. — So what wine goes best with fried pork rinds, anyway?

4:53 PM EDT, September 13, 2011

Phil Vettel: Charleston food, on foot

Charleston, S.C., is perhaps my favorite city in the South. Good-looking, friendly and rich with history — its history being especially relevant this year, the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. And the downtown area is cluttered with one good dining option after another.

3:33 PM EDT, September 27, 2011

Made in the U.S.A.

Hungry travelers and curious foodies crisscrossing the United States have long leaned on Jane Stern and Michael Stern for where and what to eat thanks to their classic guide, "Roadfood." Now the Connecticut-based authors are back showcasing the nation's bounty in "The Lexicon of Real American Food" (Lyons Press, $19.95).