Queens

Native Dish: Upi Yuliastuti’s Beef Rendang

Based on NYC Media’s new food TV series, “Native Dish: United Flavors of NYC,” Culinary Backstreets brings you a behind-the-scenes look at some of the New Yorkers featured in these short videos. The series, which aims to celebrate New York City immigrants from all over the world, focuses on one individual and one dish at a time as a means through which to explore the myriad cuisines represented in the city and the people who make them. This month, we are spotlighting Upi Yuliastuti, an Indonesian immigrant from the Pandang region of Sumatra, who has been the chef at Upi Jaya restaurant for 15 years. Through her daughter Tika, we hear about Upi's dedication to her kitchen, her desire to share Indonesian food with the city and what sets her beef rendang apart from all the other eateries in town.

Porto

Freshly Ground Coffee in Porto

While on our Beyond the Barrell culinary walk, we popped into an old-school coffee shop for a cup of strong brew. Rustic spots such as this one are not far from century-old opulent Parisian-style cafes, sometimes staffed by tuxedoed waiters – it’s all part of the complexities and contrasts of life in Porto, which we dig into on our full-day culinary exploration.

Athens

A Powerful Greek Breakfast

Pictured is an invigorating Greek breakfast of yogurt, honey and walnuts at a local institution. This is how we begin our culinary walk of downtown Athens!

Queens

Native Dish: Jamyang "Jimmy" Gurung's Yak Momos

CB has teamed up with the creators of “Native Dish: United Flavors of NYC,” NYC Media’s new food TV series, to offer a behind-the-scenes look at some of the New Yorkers featured in these short videos. The series, which aims to celebrate New York City immigrants from all over the world, focuses on one individual and one dish at a time as a means through which to explore the myriad cuisines represented in the city and the people who make them. This month we are spotlighting Jamyang “Jimmy” Gurung, a Nepalese immigrant from the Himalayas, who manages the Himalayan Yak, a Nepalese/Tibetan restaurant, and Raksha Thapa, a waitress and former teacher from Kathmandu Valley. The Himalayan Yak team delve into their still-deep connection to Nepal and their love in sharing their cuisine and yak momos with New York.

Istanbul

CB Book Club: Caroline Eden's "Black Sea: Dispatches and Recipes, Through Darkness and Light"

We recently spoke with travel writer Caroline Eden about her culinary travelogue, Black Sea: Dispatches and Recipes, Through Darkness and Light (Hardie Grant; May 2019). Eden has written for the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Financial Times, among other publications, and has filed stories from Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent. Eden is also co-author of Samarkand: Recipes & Stories from Central Asia & the Caucasus (Kyle Books; July 2016), a Guardian book of the year in 2016 and winner of the Guild of Food Writers Award for best food and travel book in 2017.

Barcelona

Taking time for vermut in Barcelona

On our Bodega culinary walk in Barcelona, we visit the neighborhood bodegas where locals meet up for vermut and wine, as we learn how to (and how not to) use the porró.

Porto

Fourth generation wine shop in Porto preparing for the fifth

On our Porto culinary walk we visit Luis at Azeitoneira do Porto, which has been serving loyal customers since 1862 - and is training the next generation to take over the family business.