The original Grand Velas revolutionized the all-inclusive resort sector in the Riviera Maya when it opened there more than 10 years ago. And now comes Grand Velas Los Cabos, which is guaranteed to be a game-changer for Mexico’s Baja Peninsula…
Category Archives: Travel: Culinary
Photo of the week: Langostine at Grand Velas Los Cabos
This is the langostino al carbon from Frida restaurant at Grand Velas Los Cabos, the newest edition to the Grand Velas resort family. The langostine is served with a chipotle-molasses sauce, esquites (corn salad) and a little blanket made from red chilies (like a spicy fruit roll-up)…
Hotel Review: Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad, India
On the outskirts of modern, high-tech Hyderabad, on a hilltop in the heart of the Old City, one of India’s finest historic palaces recently opened as a luxury hotel…
Hotel Review: The Robey, Chicago
After what seemed like the longest delay in hotel-opening history, The Robey finally opened its doors in November in the heart of Chicago’s Bucktown/Wicker Park neighborhood. A member of Design Hotels, the 69-room, 12-story Robey is the second U.S. property for Mexico City-based Grupo Habita…
Alinea, Chicago: 3 hours, 29 photos
Alinea reopened in May after a five-month closure to refreshen the restaurant for its 10th anniversary. They nailed it. This is still one of the greatest restaurants in the world.
THIS JUST IN: pdn Taste – 2016 FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS!
Winners were announced today for the PDN Taste – 2016 Food Photography Awards, and I won two categories! PDN Taste is the most prestigious food photography contest in America…
Photo of the week: The Agrarian Kitchen, Tasmania
The Agrarian Kitchen is a literal farm-to-table cooking school in rural Tasmania, 45 minutes northwest of Hobart. Pretty much everything that makes it into the kitchen here comes from the surrounding farm: chickens, ducks, hogs, fruits, vegetables…
Trout fishing — and the yearning for peace — in Kashmir
Death returned to Kashmir this month. A fresh wave of violence erupted after a teenage rebel — a local celebrity on social media — was killed in a shootout with police. More than 70 people have died in clashes in August alone. Five thousand more have been injured, according to various news reports. It is an ominous …
Review: Acre, farm-to-table in San Jose del Cabo
Fat drips from a fifty-pound hog, splashing onto the fire. Sparks flicker into the hot Mexican air. The pig has been roasting over the mesquite embers since sunrise. The temperature outside is already sweltering, made even hotter by the blistering rotisserie, which is cranked by hand, inch-by-inch, throughout the day. By 5 p.m., as the …
Photo of the Week: San Jose del Cabo, Mexico
Ah, Los Cabos. How I’ve missed you (I shot this photo in 2011), but I will see you again very soon. I just booked my flight. I look forward to photographing the spectacular new Mar Adentro hotel from famed architect Miguel Ángel Aragonés, plus…
Challenge the Chef: Tortilla Soup at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, Los Cabos (recipe included)
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, here’s a flashback to the time I challenged the chef at Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos with my tortilla soup, which ended up on the resort’s dinner menu for a while.
Photo of the week: Bangkok, Thailand
I shot this photo from Vertigo, the rooftop restaurant and bar atop the Banyan Tree hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. The city has an incredible rooftop bar scene, with outdoor bars on rooftops of skyscrapers all over the city. Vertigo was one of the first. Now there are dozens. The park in the foreground is Lumphini …
OC Review: Vaca, Costa Mesa
In Spain, the cow is important because that’s where cheese comes from, and it’s always nice to have some cheese when you’re eating ham. But in the hierarchy of the Spanish barnyard, the pig is king. The cow is just a cow, the maker of cheese.
This just in: IACP Finalist! NATJA Finalist!
Beef ribs, sausage and brisket at Bad to the Bone in San Juan Capistrano. Notice the tiny ration of sauce. If you want more, you have to get up and request it.
Phat Ky Mi Gia.photo by Brad A Johnson
Banh beo chen at Hue Oi in Fountain Valley. photo by Brad A Johnson
Sunset over the Gulf of Thailand aboard the Crystal Symphony (photo by Brad A Johnson)
Where to Eat in Telluride
Prospectors used to call this old mining town “To Hell You Ride,” a name that still aptly applies, but for different reasons. As a ski resort, the majority of runs here are black diamonds. Although novices are welcome, this is not a beginner’s mountain. Telluride is Colorado ski country at its best. Rugged. Remote. And utterly unpretentious. Here’s where to eat.
Photo of the week: Telluride
Counting down the days until my return to Telluride, Colorado. One of my favorite places on earth.
