Worldwide

Milk Street on the Road: Penang

Fragrant with lemongrass, galangal, ginger, coconut and spices, the food of Penang tells a story of geography, trade, class and time. From the intricately prepared dishes of the Nyonya Peranakan culture to the vibrant hawker stall scene to the farms and fisheries of the rural lands, Penang is a rich classroom for the culinary traveler. Located at the strategic entrance to the straits of Malacca, Penang was once a trade powerhouse, gatekeeping the sea route between the East and the West. As a result, it’s home to many different immigrants and the birthplace of new, blended cultures. One of these is the Nyonya Peranakan, and their historic and contemporary foodways are the focus of our trip with Linda Tay Esposito and Captain Poh Hoo Peng. You’ll make Linda’s family recipes at a cooking school inside a spice garden, cook a multi-course traditional Nyonya Peranakan feast with culinary ambassador Su-Pei, visit historic homes and villages, learn about intricate Nyonya beadwork and fabrics and stroll George Town’s picturesque streets.

Marseille

Cha’Houla: Comoros in a Bowl

We’ve never seen a place like Eater Food Club. Advertised as a food court in the non-touristy Saint-Pierre neighborhood, we expected a shopping center or one of the more modern food halls that are all the rage. Instead, we found a non-descript corridor that seemed more corporate than culinary. Yet in lieu of office doors, the hallway is lined with counters at open kitchens. Despite this unique layout, Eater Food Club slings standard food-court fare like burgers, bao, and pizza. Among these, Cha’houla stands out for its Comorian food. At Cha’houla, you’ll find comforting Comorian dishes like madaba – stewed manioc leaves – and n’tibe beef stew. “My greatest pride is sharing my culture,” beams the young owner, Fayad Hassani. Marseille has more Comorians than the island nation’s capital, Moroni, yet their cuisine is relatively unknown here due to very few Comorian restaurants.

Lisbon

CB On the Road: Olive Oil, Wine, and Cork in Romeu

It’s an epic love story between the Menéres family and the land of Romeu, a remote village in the region of northeast Portugal called Trás-os-Montes, whose name literally means “beyond the mountains.” Over 150 years ago Clemente Menéres began the family farm, and today the Menéres estate continues to produce certified organic olive oil and wine, as well as cork, with absolute respect for the land and the people living and working in the hilly fields. On our arrival we’re received by João Menéres, the fifth generation to lead the family business, whose infectious enthusiasm resists the high temperatures of the scorching summer months and the unusually harsh cold of winter. João leads the way as we explore Romeu, sharing a bit of the family’s story along the way.

Marseille

Recipe: Yabrak, Stuffed Romaine Leaves For a Tunisian Passover in Marseille

On March 27 of this year, Monique and Josef, the Moroccan-born couple that own Patisserie Avyel, plan to roast a turmeric-coated lamb shoulder above a bed of onions. My friend Judith, whose family hails from Algeria’s Tlemcen region, will blend almonds and raisins into mlosia, a thick jam. And, in my apartment, I will simmer matzo balls in chicken broth as my Lithuanian ancestors once did. All of us Marseillais will be cooking these foods for Passover, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. While Jewish celebrations and cooking are as intertwined as the braided challah bread we eat on Shabbat – “all of our fêtes pass through the kitchen,” quips Frédérique, a Marseillaise with Tunisian roots.

Tbilisi

Recipe: Nazuki, Georgia’s Forgotten Easter Bread

In Georgia, there are certain dishes that everyone associates with Orthodox Easter: paska, a sweet panettone-like bread and chakapuli, a lamb stew. However, there is another Georgian Easter tradition, one often overlooked: nazuki. Beautifully glazed and filled with raisins and spices, in recent years these fluffy sweet breads have become associated almost exclusively with the village of Surami in the Kartli region. In this small settlement between Tbilisi and Kutaisi in the West, huts line the side of the highway, each with a tone (a cylindrical traditional oven), a baker and a family nazuki recipe.

Athens

Recipe: Easter Stuffed Lamb Roulade

On Easter Sunday in Greece the star of the feast is the lamb, which is often substituted with goat. In some regions (and nowadays all across the country) it’s iconically slow roasted outdoors on a large rotating spit, symbolizing the sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of humanity. This tradition of spit roast lamb is linked to customs from ancient Greece and the Jewish Passover. In many parts of Greece, tradition calls for other recipes for cooking or roasting Easter lamb. Tradition generally dictates that the whole Easter lamb must be used and consumed – including the offal and head – as the lamb here is symbolic and represents the animal sacrificed during the Resurrection of Christ, and thus serves as a tribute to the divine sacrifice.

Bilbao

Bilbao: State of the Stomach

With just 30 minutes to go until noon, Plaza Nueva already smells like pintxos de tortilla. Children chase after a ball or trade collectible cards while adults scramble for free tables. Meanwhile, gildas – skewers of olive, pickled guindilla pepper, and anchovy – stand firm at the bars like armies of tiny soldiers. It’s a typical Sunday in Bilbao, as long as the weather cooperates. If not, all the action moves under the arcades, where crowds gather, raising their marianitos high. This local drink, a mix of vermouth with a splash of Campari, another of gin, a few drops of Angostura bitters, and sometimes orange juice (every place has its own recipe), is practically a religion here.