Forking Tasty

Italian Food In China…Never Again!

In Sanya China our goal was to hit the beach for a little while. We got in a cab and the cabby was supposed to take us to a close beach. The cabby kept driving and driving and driving. We must have passed about 4 beaches and we still were not where he was thinking of taking us. Finally we had him just pull over and we walked across the street from a bunch of hotels and plopped down on the beach. There was a little Tiki restaurant on the beach and it was the only thing around that was close that had food. This Tiki restaurant mainly sold Italian food. Italian food is the last thing I wanted on the beach let alone having Italian food in China. I should have known this was a sign of a crappy meal. The menu was interesting. It let me pick the noodle and the sauce for my pasta. I decided on a gnocchi Carbanara. Sounded great when I order it….then it came…

Sandwich Buzz

You can’t hate a job that takes you into the heart of San Francisco, buys you a sandwich and lets you “work” in the park over looking the bay for an afternoon. That’s what went down a few days ago as the Buzz Team and I started work on our next set of BIG ideas. This video will give you a peek into where the “magic” starts and how we do what we do.

Fondue Fakeout

It was a holiday weekend and I headed up to Quebec City to meet Kelsey for 3 days. The Eurodam had a rare double over night and we took advantage. Quebec City is a fun little town with lots of restaurants, galleries, bars, clubs, a huge fort, and a lot of shopping. It was a beautiful day to just walk around town and there are all these café and bistros with outside seating…

Defiantly Delicious Dessert – Dover

La Via Romana – Dover England from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

It was a really nice afternoon in Dover England and for some reason there was no shuttle from the ship to town so we had to walk it. It was a nice day out so it was ok. When we got to town we found a small pub and relaxed outside with a tall beer. The beer was good and on a slightly empty stomach I could kind of feel it….

Friday afternoon in the Bronx

Mike’s Deli from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

It was a perfect Friday afternoon and two friends of mine had planned to spend the day at The Bronx Zoo. It’s been a really really really long time since I had been there. I actually don’t even remember it at all. Apparently that is where I got my favorite stuffed animal as a kid (Rocky Raccoon). I was really excited to see all the animals but before we go to look at these amazing animals we made a pit stop on Authur Ave to an Italian market place.

Mexican Lasagna

As a guest in the LeBright’s house they wanted to cook me up a LeBright special. Erica wanted to make something easy but something that I have never had before. When she mentioned Mexican Lasagna I was definitely curious.

Jury Duty

I got back from the ship in July and came home to a summons for Jury duty in my stack of mail. Oops! I called and they told me to come in Monday. This is a very long day of pure boredom, as most of you know who have gone through this process, and when we braked for lunch I thought I should treat myself.

London Italian

I was looking for a quick hit one day in London and every pub and restaurant was either no longer serving or not yet serving. I walked past an Italian restaurant that had a small sandwich shop next to it. I walked a few blocks more before deciding to return and order a salami and cheese on a roll.

The english gentleman who made my sandwich had ancestry in northern Italy. We exchanged stories as he made my lunch. Amongst topics was the debate if we should put mayo on the sandwich and double up the salami with mortadella. He won both debates. Mayo but no mortadella.

I took my plate outside and sat in front of the shop taking in the view, savoring the sandwich and listening to two old time brits speak Italian to each other. I almost could have been in Fundi if I wasn’t in London.

Vapiano reunion

Vapiano is a “fast food” Italian joint that I discovered three years ago while living in Berlin. Graciously called The Vap, Jen and I frequented the establishment at least 5 times a week during our Berlin days.

The last port of call on the ship was to the small town of Kiel Germany. To my amazement Kiel had a Vapiano. From the moment I discovered this I could not wait for the meal. The above shows how the reunion unfolded.

Making Mom Happy

It seems that in recent years my mother has acquired quite penchant for Osso Buco, the Italian peasant food that is now a top priced menu item. If you as her she will tell you she has always loved it. Regardless, If a restaurant has it on the menu we are there. It doesn’t matter what the restaurant looks like, smells like or where it is, we must go in and order the osso buco. In a lot of ways I think this is a fun little game but on the flip side, I can not help but think how easy it is to make the dish. So, today…