Photo credit: Tokyo Times

Manga Latte Art

The manner of presentation of food and drink being considered a legitimate art form is nothing new; we see the comparison made all the time. Meticulously-arranged meals plated in an attractive fashion are called “masterpieces.” Cocktails constructed with striking stylizations get photographed and those photographs blogged and re-blogged ad infinitum. Still, every so often, something food art-related speaks to the geek me in a personal way. This manga-inspired latte art created by talented latte artist Sugi is one such thing. Speaking as a fan of both manga and anime, the level of detail in these astoundingly accurate renderings seem more than worth waiting a bit longer for my cup of joe. Using toothpicks to draw in the milk foam atop the hot coffee drinks, she manages to do more with chocolate syrups and cocktails syrups than most people could do with pencil and ink, and that’s so cool, it’s hot (and caffeinated!)

Via Tokyo Times

Photo credit: Food Republic

Grilling Gift Pack Giveaway

Quality food delivery has been the business of Schwan’s Home Service for over 60 years. With the Memorial Day weekend about to unofficially kick off this summer’s grilling season (and with May being Grilling Month over at Food Republic,) Schwan’s is hosting a contest for a chance to do the thing up right without spending a fortune. For a limited time, visitors to their website can enter for a chance to win an 11-product meat and seafood sampler pack worth $250 and including high quality awesomeness like Beef Sirloin, Fire-grilled Italian Cod, Salmon Burgers, and more. Carnivores unite; Schwan’s is thinking about us and wants us to be happy…

Via Food Republic

Photo credit: birdcafe.jp

Bird-Flavored Ice Cream

Japan’s Torimi Café serves up homemade sweets in a comfortable setting that surrounds its patrons with birds.  The latest ice cream flavor offerings it has rolled out (debuted earlier this month in Osaka at a small bird expo, natch) seem to take its characteristic appreciation for our feathered friends to new heights.  Available in Parakeet, Java Sparrow, and Cockatiel, these ice cream flavors are intended to evoke “the aroma of parakeet” on your palate, or that moment “when you’re sleeping with your mouth open and your cockatiel runs over your face and gets its leg in your mouth.” (and honestly, who among us hasn’t been there at one time or another?) Insert your bird pun of choice here.

Via Foodbeast

Photo credit: The Braiser

The New Taste of the Upper West Side Classics 2013

The Braiser has two tickets to the New Taste of the Upper West Side Classics with your name on them. Happening next Friday, May 31st, this event hosted by Adam Richman will see over 40 chefs gather to showcase their best, most comforting culinary creations. Tickets are available for purchase at $105.00, or you can enter here for a chance at a gratis pair. Then after you enter, go polish up some witty repartee and maybe an interesting question or two for the chefs and culinary personalities that will be mingling among the crowds just waiting to rub elbows with you.

Via The Braiser

*Mention of a product, good, or service in a Friday Fourplay posting should not be interpreted as an endorsement either from Anthony Beal or Flavorful World food and drink blog. Vendors are not notified ahead of time that their products/services will be featured, thus Flavorful World will at the time of posting have had no related interactions with said vendors or any sample of their products/services by which to judge them. As such, we have no idea what these vendors are like to work with, or about the quality of their merchandise and are unqualified to vouch for them as reputable. Our Friday Fourplay lists are posted in the simple spirit of our having come across something that looks and sounds engaging, and thinking that perhaps our readers will think so too; no more, no less. With that in mind, patronize these establishments and vendors at your own risk.

Photo credit: TheSpiritsofMexico.com

With just over a week left until the Spirits of Mexico festival takes over New York City’s Astor Center for an evening, I thought I’d examine some of the spirits that attendees will be sampling.  While I’m familiar enough with tequila and mescal, other like raicilla, bacanora, and sotol are wild cards to me because I’ve never tasted them.  I’m looking forward to a thorough education on the merits and nuances of each, led by experts in the field on May 29^th between 6 and 9 p.m.  For now, I’m happy to share here, for the benefit of those who are as unfamiliar as I am with these spirits, a few highlights on how each one is produced.  I pulled this info from the Spirits of Mexico website, and from RaicillaCentral.com, two wonderful resources for anyone seeking to learn more about lesser-known Mexican spirits.

Bacanora
A 400-hundred year old spirit distilled from wild Silvestre agaves that flourish in the Sierra Madres Mountains of Sonora…The mature agaves are harvested and slowly roasted in underground pits. The roasting process contributes to its mineral nuances. Fermentation takes place in wooden or stainless steel vats for upwards of 10 to 12 days. The roasted agaves are then fermented in open wooden vats, a long process that utilizes wild, airborne yeasts to precipitate fermentation. Bacanora is double-distilled in a copper pot stills and bottled at 40% alcohol by volume.
Via TheSpiritsofMexico.com

 Raicilla
A centuries old drink… [Agave is cooked] over a slow fire, to produce a fine, aromatic steam. When the steam comes in contact with a copper cone cooled by fresh spring water, it condenses and, drop by drop falls into a slender mezcal sheath  (husk). The aromatic liquid is then received by a glass jug and is given a final purification step in this completely natural process. Extreme patience is required because it takes an average of eight years from the planting of the agave, to obtaining Raicilla…it is safe to say that Raicilla can be considered the grandfather or the predecessor of Mexico’s most famous drink.
Via RaicillaCentral.com

Sotol
Sotol is distilled from the desert spoon plant, a hardy variety of agave native to deserts of Chihuahua. It takes the plant 12 to 15 years to mature and yield the highest amounts of fermentable sugars. After harvesting, the agave are baked in clay ovens for upwards of 3 days, crushed to extract the agave’s precious juice and then allowed to slowly ferment. The fermented wash is double-distilled in copper pot stills.
Via TheSpiritsofMexico.com

Flavorful World is proud to be a media partner with the Spirits of Mexico festival coming to lower Manhattan’s Astor Center on May 29, 2013.  Catch our live Tweets from the event by following @flavorfulworld

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

National Chardonnay Day is coming this Thursday, and our friends at Wente Vineyards want to include you in the celebration!  To that end, the Wente family is hosting a live toast to this delicious and versatile wine dubbed America’s Favorite Varietal on Toutsuite.com.

Here are the details, courtesy of California’s First Family of Chardonnay:

In 1912, the Wente family brought Chardonnay cuttings from France and planted them in the Livermore Valley. The 1936 vintage was the first varietally labeled Chardonnay in the nation. Today, the Wente clone of Chardonnay is the most widely planted in California.

When:
Thursday May 23, 2013
4:00 PM PST

Where:
Wente Vineyards Events Center,or via ToutSuite, or wherever you wish to enjoy and share a glass of Chardonnay!

How to Celebrate:

• Open a bottle of your favorite Chardonnay with friends and family and toast this special occasion!
• Join the conversation on Wente Vineyards Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages!
• Host your own National Chardonnay Day Celebration with friends and family! Click here to download the Party Kit from Wente Vineyards’ exclusive National Chardonnay Day page!

Tweet it:
Join in on the virtual toast by tagging @WENTE and using the hashtag #CHARDDAY #WENTECHARD between 4 PM and 5 PM PST

Facebook it:
Share your photos and video of Wente Vineyards and tag @WENTE VINEYARDS

CHEERS!

For questions and more information please contact Charles Communications Associates at press@charlescomm.com or 415-701-WINE (9463)

Photo credit: Bon Vivant

Cheese Grater Business Card

So, in the almost 40 years that I’ve been kicking around this place and others, I’ve amassed a fair collection of business cards from various establishments with the expectation that having their info would facilitate my continued patronage. However, I’ve never once encountered a business card of such unmitigated awesomeness that I felt compelled to snag more than one, or been barred by store policy from doing so.  Having said that, I’ve never visited Brazilian cheese shop Bon Vivant, or had one of their cheese-grating business cards offered to me.  I might feel differently then, because these light metal graters printed with the store’s contact info double as functional cheese graters with the dimensions of a standard-sized business card.  The limited 1,000 produced by JWT ad agency proved so popular that bon Vivant was forced to limit the frequency with which customers could return to receive another one.  Hopefully there are more on the way, because Brazil is very near the top of my list of desired vacation destinations and when I arrive, my cheese ain’t gonna shred itself.

Via Huffington Post

Photo credit: Foodbeast.com

The Tea Calendar You Can Drink

German tea manufacturer Hälssen & Lyon is out to make sure each new day is a good one for tea drinkers.  The product they’re using to accomplish this is a 365-day calendar made up of date-bearing tear-away tabs composed of pressed, dried tea leaves.  How it works is simple: you heat water for tea, then tear off the respective date, put it into your cup of hot water, and let it steep.  Minutes later, savor the flavor, fullness, and aroma of a brand new day.  Savor it!

Via Foodbeast

Photo credit: EXPbar.ca

Canada’s Video Game Restaurant

Vancouver, British Columbia is the site of shiny new gamers’ food paradise, EXP Restaurant and Bar. Old schoolers will come for the Super Smash Nachos, and likely will stay for the Triforce Burger (branded with the mystical Legend of Zelda insignia) and for the general air of merriment one would rightly expect of an establishment boasting an extensive menu of drinks named after various Pokemon (and possibly for main course menu items bearing names like “Epic Shrimp and Crab Battle for Righteousness.”) Failing that, the large screen televisions positioned throughout the place for gamers to get their Goldeneye on tournament-style between bites should do the trick.

Via Kotaku

Photo credit: Cool Material

The Cocktail Chart of Film and Literature

This one’s exactly what it sounds like: a chart of the forty-nine most iconic mixed drinks in all of literature and filmdom, with instructions on how to craft a perfect rendering of each one.  Removing the guesswork as you attempt to drink like your favorite fictional characters…that will free up all sorts of time you’ll be able to spend reading and watching your favorite films (and calling it mixology research.)

Via Cool Material

*Mention of a product, good, or service in a Friday Fourplay posting should not be interpreted as an endorsement either from Anthony Beal or Flavorful World food and drink blog. Vendors are not notified ahead of time that their products/services will be featured, thus Flavorful World will at the time of posting have had no related interactions with said vendors or any sample of their products/services by which to judge them. As such, we have no idea what these vendors are like to work with, or about the quality of their merchandise and are unqualified to vouch for them as reputable. Our Friday Fourplay lists are posted in the simple spirit of our having come across something that looks and sounds engaging, and thinking that perhaps our readers will think so too; no more, no less. With that in mind, patronize these establishments and vendors at your own risk.

For ten years, the event has been bringing together aficionados and industry experts alike, all of them gathering to proclaim their passion for agave spirits and how best to enjoy them in their purest expressions. These fetes have also explored the evolving role of such spirits in Mexican cuisine and have collected numerous accolades over the course of a decade spent furthering knowledge and appreciation of tequila and many of Mexico’s fine spirits that are lesser-known in the United States.

Here’s a small sampling of honors and recognitions this oldest, largest Mexican spirits event in the United States has earned:

• In 2012, this annual celebration of “the agave distiller’s art” earned the declaration from Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer that its May 23rd commencement would be known as official “Spirits of Mexico Appreciation Day” in the City of New York.
• In 2011, The Spirits of Mexico festival was selected as the exclusive organization to host and debut a certification program of ascending educational courses for enthusiasts seeking to earn the title of Master Mezcalier.
• In 2009, the event was cited as one of 6 Food Festivals That Are Worth the Trip in the September issue of O, the Oprah Magazine.
• The festival has earned commendations from the Old Town San Diego Chamber of Commerce for the past three consecutive years in 2010, 2011, and 2012.

It bears repeating here: these are but a small portion of all that this event has accomplished since its simultaneous launches in New York City and San Diego, California a decade ago. One can only imagine what honors await the Spirits of Mexico festival in the future.

So if, like me, your idea of a good time includes award-winning spirits and fine Mexican gastronomy showcased at a renowned annual multi-city event frequented by masters of their craft and the people who love them, Tickets are still available. Don’t miss your chance to get in on the celebration.

Salted mixed nuts and alcoholic beverages, generally beer and ale, have long been traveling companions. With Doug’s Nuts, a product I most recently sampled for the purpose of this review, that subtly sweet aroma in the air smells like change. Doug’s Nuts is a snack blend made up of cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.  These get flavored with oatmeal stout beer, organic vanilla and maple extracts, and other ingredients including a bit of sea salt. The result is a sweet, lightly-salted bite enlivened by the somewhat understated flavors of maple and vanilla.

Photo credit: DougsNuts.com

After sampling this blend in accompaniment with my favorite pale ale, with my favorite lager, with dry white and red wines, and even with various sodas, I’d give Doug’s Nuts Original Blend favorable marks across the board.  Apart from being a healthy alternative to others of its kind, it pairs well with a variety of beverages of varying flavors and textures. Simple enough for your super bowl party or backyard cookout, but sophisticated enough to offer alongside wine and spirits, here is a snack that should appeal to anyone who enjoys nuts and delicate flavors that complement rather than mask. The use of organic sugarcane juice and extracts in its production should please consumers conscious of their refined and processed foods intake. A minor point that nonetheless deserves mentioning as well is that a lot of flavored finger snack foods (think popcorn or other nut assortments,) while tasty enough, tend to leave the fingers and hands sticky or dusty with whatever artificially-flavored coating has been applied to them.  I encountered no such unpleasantness while enjoying this product.

On individually sampling each component  of the blend, I found the hints of maple and vanilla were most appreciable on the cashews, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds.  They seemed a bit less so with the hazelnuts, almonds, and walnuts (though admittedly and to place that statement in proper context, I am not a huge fan of walnuts in any capacity, and my fondness for almonds is lukewarm at best.)  Still, Doug’s Nuts Original Blend is a snack that is greater than the sum of its parts, and is a great step up from plain old salted pub peanuts as well as a satisfying remedy for between-meal cravings.

Photo credit: Food Republic

The Easy Butter Former

Japan just keeps on giving the world interesting food- and cooking-related things. Today, I’m talking about the Easy Butter Former, a kitchen tool that alleviates the…um… ever so mildly annoying uh…”problem” one meets when one attempts to spread too-cold butter on toast. The EBF, as I will henceforth refer to the device, solves this dilemma by grating your cold butter like hard cheese, that you might distribute it more easily over whatever your heart desires. Kitchen necessity? Doubtful. Conversation piece of the night when visitors come calling? You bet.

Via Food Republic

Photo credit: Gizmodo

Coca-Cola’s Slender Vender

Coca-Cola recently unveiled the world’s slimmest vending machine, filled with Diet Coke, and unwittingly placed me on the horns of a supreme personal conflict. The slender design is a good idea, making refreshing beverages available in places a standard refrigerator-sized machine cannot fit, and doubtless saving money on production costs by requiring less material than its brawnier forebears. However, it also deprives me of that smug sense of satisfaction I used to derive from the knowledge that while I could certainly stand to shed a few pounds, I am significantly thinner than a vending machine. So, yeah. Conflicted over here.

Via Gizmodo

Photo credit: Tasting Table

Tasting Table’s 2013 Mother’s Day Gift Guide

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and Tasting Table has assembled a wide-ranging list of gifts that are sure to put a smile on the face of any mom with a taste for the finer things in food, libations, books, pantry gems, and more.  Does anything scream “LOVE” louder than a box of French charcuterie and a bottle of the sparkling divinity that is Prosecco?  I think not.

Via Tasting Table

Photo credit: Thrillist NY

The Cronut

Why, despite a sometimes tenuous relationship with my hometown, do I continue to love the place no matter what?  This is why.  In NYC’s Soho neighborhood, Dominique Ansel Bakery has rolled out a sweet new evil called the Cronut (a hybrid croissant/donut that I have to think would have existed on the island of Dr. Moreau, had the good doctor chosen pastry chef as his profession instead of lunatic scientist.)  Thrillist’s Paige Beaumont recently taste-tested this latest glazed, cream-filled bit of evidence that the universe adores us.  Her advice? Get in line, and get in line early if you want to experience the Cronut’s fried, sugary wonder, because they tend to sell out fast.  One can only wonder why.

Via Thrillist NY

*Mention of a product, good, or service in a Friday Fourplay posting should not be interpreted as an endorsement either from Anthony Beal or Flavorful World food and drink blog. Vendors are not notified ahead of time that their products/services will be featured, thus Flavorful World will at the time of posting have had no related interactions with said vendors or any sample of their products/services by which to judge them. As such, we have no idea what these vendors are like to work with, or about the quality of their merchandise and are unqualified to vouch for them as reputable. Our Friday Fourplay lists are posted in the simple spirit of our having come across something that looks and sounds engaging, and thinking that perhaps our readers will think so too; no more, no less. With that in mind, patronize these establishments and vendors at your own risk.

Photo credit: TheSpiritsOfMexico.com

The Spirits of Mexico Festival is coming to New York City on May 29th, 2013, and Flavorful World food and drink blog will be there!

Marking the 10th anniversary of its simultaneous launches in New York and California, the festival will stop next month in Chicago before continuing onward to  San Diego, the other city of its birth. The fun begins in my old backyard, though, and I couldn’t be happier or more grateful to be on the scene when it does. Sponsored by Olmeca Altos, the Spirits of Mexico Festival will lend some serious flavor to lower Manhattan’s Astor Center, located at 399 Lafayette Avenue, New York, NY.

Yours truly will be live tweeting from this 6pm – 9pm event between samples of tequila, mezcal, bacanora, and other hard spirits traditionally produced throughout beautiful Mexico. Mixing and pouring the love will be a cadre of master distillers, tequileros, and mezcaleros, with distinguished ambassadors from world-renowned labels as well as new-to-market brands on hand to share their knowledge, experience, and dozens of Mexican spirits.

Want to get in on a fun and informative evening of exotic spirit sampling? Tickets are on sale now at the Spirits of Mexico website.

Photo credit: Zagat.com

Liquid Pizza

Okay, sure. I’m as over the whole “deconstructed food” thing as many of you are.  Still, this is the first edible undone I’ve encountered in a while that I’d feel genuinely interested in tasting.  Consisting of a slice of oregano- and anchovy-topped cheese toast and a cup of seasoned tomato water, this…this intrigues me, and intrigue is never a bad thing with regard to presentations of food and drink.  If feeding the eyes, the senses, the imagination is truly as necessary as filling the stomach, then this deconstruction has already succeeded.

Via Zagat

Photo credit: Thrillist NY

Sriracha Philly Cheesesteak Tacos

Cinco de Mayo will have come and gone before the next Friday Fourplay column publishes, so this seemed worthy of sharing now.  New Yorkers and visitors to the area can celebrate May 5^th at rooftop margarita haven Tequila Park, where flour tacos loaded with sriracha philly cheesesteak, quinoa chips, and chipotle aioli will no doubt be the belles of the ball.  Other enticing fare on the menu includes dishes like the “48 Hours Pork Belly Carnitas” and Shrimp Kimchi Nachos, but as far as I’m concerned, Tequila Park had me at “sriracha.”

Via Thrillist NY

Photo credit: Adagio Teas

Fandom Teas Blends

Over a thousand user-created “fandom teas” are currently available for purchasing from online tea seller Adagio Teas, their inspirations ranging from Games of Thrones to Doctor Who.  Created and blended by customers, these teas let one select the flavors to be blended, and render label art for their creations. It’s funny; the ability to drink my favorite characters from film and television is something I didn’t even know my life was missing until now.

Via NPR The Salt

Photo credit: Devour

Japanese Elephant Dung Beer

SanktGallen is a Japanese brewery that has created a beer in which elephant dung plays a key ingredient.  Coffee beans made using elephant manure lend their unique flavor to SanktGallen’s dark Un Kono Kuro stout, a small batch brew that sold out almost immediately. (Insert scatological punchline of your choice here.  Then raise your glass. We both know you want to.)

Via Devour

*Mention of a product, good, or service in a Friday Fourplay posting should not be interpreted as an endorsement either from Anthony Beal or Flavorful World food and drink blog. Vendors are not notified ahead of time that their products/services will be featured, thus Flavorful World will at the time of posting have had no related interactions with said vendors or any sample of their products/services by which to judge them. As such, we have no idea what these vendors are like to work with, or about the quality of their merchandise and are unqualified to vouch for them as reputable. Our Friday Fourplay lists are posted in the simple spirit of our having come across something that looks and sounds engaging, and thinking that perhaps our readers will think so too; no more, no less. With that in mind, patronize these establishments and vendors at your own risk.

Photo credit: Alaiyo Kiasi-Barnes

I had the pleasure of talking this month with Alaiyo Kiasi-Barnes, creator of Pescetarian Journal, a food website presented with an eye toward why and how we should maintain sustainable seafood practices and cooking with organic produce.  I’ve never encountered anything but delicious-sounding, visually-inspiring meals on her site, and despite my being neither exclusively pescetarian nor vegetarian, I routinely encounter easily-prepared dishes for which I’d gladly forgo my much-loved steak and poultry a bit more often.  It was a real treat to have her join me to share her thoughts on the diversity of kitchen cultures influencing her cooking, dispelling popular myths about vegetarian cooking, and a great deal more.  And because treats are more enjoyable when shared, I’m happy to present this interview you’re sure to enjoy.

Flavorful World: Compose a three-course cookout-themed meal whose main course is best enjoyed hot off the grill and tell us why you chose those foods.

AKB: I think of flavors first, so for a cookout-themed meal: smoky, tangy, and sweet. Grilling is great for entertaining, because I can be out among the guests and participating in the conversation. Why not grill all three courses and hang out with everyone? I’d start with a smoky appetizer: grilled jumbo shrimp with a chipotle-orange glaze. I choose this dish as an appetizer because the flavor of chipotle sauce with orange juice and zest is just made for grilling. It’s an easy marinade, combined with a little salt and pepper, and it grills beautifully. The main course would include grilled tuna steaks over a leafy green salad with lime vinaigrette and grilled corn with miso butter. For dessert, grilled mango, because grilling heightens the sweetness of the mango. Everybody is ready to take a nap after this meal!

FW: What do you think is the best means of engaging young people as early as possible regarding the concept of food sustainability and its importance?

AKB: I think parents are their children’s most important models and influencers regarding food choices and how food should be approached. What I mean by that is this: if a child learns that food, any food, is best eaten in a way that is not wasteful, then that’s an important attitude to grow up with. Gardening with children or taking them to local farms that invite consumers to pick their own produce is another way to communicate the message that locally available food is desirable. I don’t think the word “sustainable” has to be mentioned, necessarily, but showing its importance through actions is what will be remembered. It’s what I remember from my childhood.

FW: From ingredients to cooking methods, your recipes cross a wide range of cultural styles.  Which two styles best lend themselves to combination with regard to pescetarian/vegetarian cooking and why?

AKB: Well, Gulf-Coast, southern-style cooking is varied in its approach and includes influences from the French, Spanish, Native Americans, and Africans. If you’ve ever been to New Orleans and eaten food there, you know that the influences are many, and the food is beyond fabulous. Shrimp and grits, seafood gumbo, oysters, and red beans and rice, etc., are dishes that excite the palate and are comforting as well. If beans and rice is part of your culinary past, it’s not thought of as a vegetarian dish, necessarily, it’s comfort food. It’s the taste of home.

FW: Heywood Campbell Brown is credited with the quote, ”I doubt the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice cream.” Replace “ice cream” with a food with which you most recently enjoyed your first adventure, and tell us about the experience.

AKB: Without a doubt, that food for me is oysters. Although I’ve eaten cooked oysters all my life, I tried them raw on the half shell for the first time last spring. My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary, and the waiter talked me into trying them raw. He said the oyster’s “blood” was the water from which it was harvested. Weird as that sounded, I was intrigued. He brought Salutation Cove Oysters from Prince Edward Island in Canada. It was the purest taste—like cucumber water. I’ve been eating raw oysters ever since.

FW: Which of your recipes would you say you took the most time in perfecting, and what aspect of that dish made it challenging?

AKB: Some fish, like cod, are delicate and the thickness of the fish belies its delicateness. I tended to overcook the cod and, of course, when it’s overcooked it’s bland and tough. I had to learn to cook the fish for less time, but making sure the internal temperature was 145 degrees.

FW: What do you think is the most popular misconception about vegetarian cooking, and what would you say to dispel that myth?

AKB: I think the most popular misconception about vegetarian cooking is that vegetarian dishes are bland. I can’t count the number of times when friends and family remarked that a particular meatless meal was something that they could “eat every day.” Meals don’t have to include meat to be flavorful, of course. Movements such as “Meatless Monday” are great, because it introduces more people to flavorful and healthful meals.

FW: Tell us about the best meal you’ve ever eaten outside the state in which you currently reside, and what made that meal remarkable.

AKB: The Marietta Diner in Atlanta was wonderful. The restaurant has been featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” I ordered seafood paella and it exceeded my expectations. The seafood was plentiful and the sauce seemed homemade. It was just a righteous dish. Somebody’s European grandmother was in that diner’s kitchen cooking that paella. I just know it.

FW: Excluding the name of any of your pre-existing blogs, websites, or print/online personas, tell us what name you would give to your memoir about your culinary exploits?

AKB: “A Pescetarian’s Food Journal.” Too dull sounding?

FW: When you aren’t cooking and/or eating delicious foods, how do you most enjoy spending your time?

AKB: I enjoy losing track of time because of an all-absorbing novel or memoir. I love reading the memoirs of chefs and politicians. I like to spend time in my garden and I’m enjoying photography more each day. I enjoy my family.

*Notes to Readers: Want to learn more about delicious, sustainable seafood options and how to bring out their tasty best right in your own kitchen? (of course you do, because who wouldn’t?) Then you’ll be as happy as I am that aside from Pescetarian Journal, you can also stay current on Alaiyo’s food musings and recipes by following her on Pinterest and Twitter.