Great Gastronomad Gear

As you know, we live for months each year in Airbnbs around the world. Most Airbnbs come with a fully-equipped kitchen with pots, pans and dishes.  

However: I hate using other people's cutting boards. And Airbnbs rarely have sharp knives, or any tool for sharpening knives. Life is too short for dull knives. 

That's why I recommend to all gastronomads to carry your own cutting board and knives. 

One great option is the Gerber Freescape Camp Kitchen Kit. 

It's basically a briefcase with a handle, where the top is a cutting board. Inside are two good knives in a locking drawer and integrated ceramic knife sharpener. 

I also recommend that everybody carry eating utensils. 

One way to minimize what you carry is an integrated spoon and fork — a spork. 

The Sparkfun S.H.O.V.E.L. (for "Semi-Horned Oblong Versatile Eating Ladle") is a titanium spork with a serrated knife, a bottle cap opener, and six feet of red paracord!

Here's all the gear I use and recommend.

Love this rugged iPhone cable with a built-in battery

My iPhone and iPad lightning cables get trashed. I carry them all the time — sometimes in my pockets, other times in one of my backpacks. 

And I also need a battery pack that's not too big and heavy, because I have to carry that, too, in my jacket or pants pockets. 

That's why I really like the Nomad Ultra Rugged Battery Cable and portable battery. 

The cabling is made with "ballistic nylon" and "Kevlar core." I'm not sure what that is, exactly, but it's super durable. 

The battery charges only one device once, but it's smaller and shaped better for a pocket than most chargers I've seen. Plus, the charger is actually built into the cable. 

Here's all the gear I use and recommend. 

#portablecharger #ruggedcables
 

A very vermouth evening

In the past three years, Barcelona has made itself the vermouth capital of the world. Hundreds of establishments there now make house-made vermouth — from posh restaurants to two-stool hole-in-the-wall sidewalk joints. 

You can't understand the new Barcelona without understanding its vermouth culture. 

So Amira and I brought our gastronomads to the spectaculicious Bodega Els Sortidors del Parlament — our favorite vermouth and tapas restaurant.

Yada, yada, yada — it's safe to say we all formed a personal relationship with vermouth. And had some mind-blowing tapas to go with it!

What a night. Unforgettable. 

If you have a time machine, I highly recommend going back in time and joining our Gastronomad Experience in Spain. If you don't have one, make sure you join a future experience in Italy or France! 

Gastronomad Gear: Gentlemen's Hardware Kitchen Multi-Tool

We practically live in Airbnbs. And because we stay for weeks or months, we cook a lot in those rental homes. 

Nearly all Airbnbs are equipped with plates, cups, glasses, pots and pans. It's also true that most are lacking in other areas. Airbnb kitchens often lack random items like cheese graters, garlic crushers sometimes even — gasp! — wine openers. 

Amira and I travel with at minimum a cutting board and kitchen knife (we don't like using other people's cutting boards; Airbnb kitchen knives are rarely sharp). 

That's why I love the Kitchen Multi-Tool from Gentlemen's Hardware. It's got several kitchen knives, as well as a cheese grater, zester, peeler, garlic crusher, corkscrew, can and bottle openers and even a spoon and fork. 

It's also great for picnics! 

By carrying the Kitchen Multi-Tool, as well as a thin and lightweight bamboo cutting board, gastronomads will be ready for anything. 

#travel #kitchen #gastronomad

Tbilisi: the best city for wine

Lonely Planet has released its Second Edition "The Cities Book: A Journey Through the Best Cities in the World." 

The book pegs top cities like, say, the best city for architecture, the best city for nightlife and the best city for families. 

Interestingly, their "best city for wine" is Tbilisi, where we've been living for the past three weeks. 

Totally makes sense. I've never seen a more wine-centric city. 

The oldest wine-making culture we know of is right here in Georgia. Wine-making goes back at least 8,000 years. In fact, some 525 Georgian wine-grape varieties are still in use. 

In America, Europe and other wine-growing countries, everybody's obsessing and arguing about "natural wine" — wine grown with minimal intervention. In Georgia, "natural wine" is just what they call "wine." I'm pretty sure that everyone I've met here so far makes natural wine at home. It's pretty amazing. 

One of the big trends in California wines is an explosion of so-called "orange wines." In Georgia, they call it "golden wine," and it's everywhere and always has been. 

The Wall Street Journal suggested last year that Georgia may soon be the world's next "wine destination." 

And that makes sense. In fact, we're working on a Gastronomad Georgia Experience, which may happen in 2018 or 2019. (Stay tuned.)

Tbilisi, of course, is the capital of Georgia, and the motherlode of Georgian wine culture. And all the wine I've tasted here has been fantastic. 

So I applaud Lonely Planet for acknowledging Tbilisi as the world's top wine city. (Georgians are also obsessed with making toasts: So here's to Georgian wine!)

Inside Barcelona's Best Bakery

Anna Bellsolà is Barcelona's brilliant, visionary baker and owner of now THREE great bakeries. 

Her first bakery is Baluard Barceloneta. The second is a larger shop called Hotel Praktik Bakery (the lobby of the hotel is actually her bakery) and the third and newest location is Restaurante Santa Clara — just opened last week! (We'll be there in November to check it out in person!)

Anna is a 4th-generation artisanal baker. She's the author of a wonderful book on baking (written in the Spanish language) called "Pan en Casa. Del Horno al Corazon." And she received the prestigious L'Espiga d'Or prize, an extensive blind-tasting judgement that resulted in her being named one of the two best bakers in Barcelona. 

And she makes no compromises. Her breads are made with natural leavening (using a 10-year-old starter), ancient or organic grain flour and baked in a custom-made, wood-fired oven. 

These bakeries offer not only incredible breads and pastries but also great coffee, sandwiches, pizza and much more. 

A visit to Barcelona must include some quality time munching on goodies from one or all of these bakeries. 

Amira and I have been obsessed with Anna's bread and pastries since we discovered Baluard Barceloneta years ago. Since then, she and Amira have become friends. 

One day after winning the L'Espiga d'Or prize, Anna generously and exclusively hosted our Barcelona Experience gastronomads with an extensive tour of her Hotel Praktik Bakery, gave us countless insights into the art of baking and treated us to a brunch beyond delicious. 

Thank you, Anna! And congratulations on your continued success!

#Barcelona #spain #bakery #Baluard #AnnaBellsola

Accidental friendships

Gastronomad Experiences started out with a simple idea. 

For many years, Amira and I have been mostly living abroad. Sometimes we live in Spain, Greece, Kenya, Italy, France or Morocco for a month or three months or somewhere in between. While there, we find ourselves discovering really cool stuff, especially in the food department.

Amira, especially, has an insatiable appetite to learn everything about the food culture of each place we live. 

We occasionally post our discoveries and experiences on social media. Very often, people would say "I'd love to do that someday," or "I wish I could join you." 

The Gastronomad Experiences idea was: "Why not? Maybe you can!" 

It takes weeks or months to discover all the best markets, restaurants and food visionaries in city or region. So maybe we could take that time to make those discoveries. We could then invite like-minded adventurous foodies to join us for a week or so, during which time we could visit all the best places and experiences we had discovered. 

Our first Experience happened in Barcelona last month, and it was magic. 

What I didn't expect was to become such close friends with all our Gastronomads — like family. 

I'm not sure how it happened. But it has something to do with people self-selecting as adventuresome foodies — our kind of people. It has something to do with living together and sharing brand-new experiences every day. And it has something to do with the magic of community around a table. 

Whatever. I think having these awesome people in my life now is the best thing about our Barcelona Experience. 

(It's too late for Barcelona, but JOIN US for Prosecco, Provence and/or Mexico City Experiences!)

Lunch in the Catalonian wine country

In Europe, there's a beautiful country called Spain where you'll find a beautiful region called Catalonia, which is graced by a beautiful wine country called Penedès, which is the location of the beautiful Vinyas Singulars, owned by Ignasi Seguí and his family, where they have a beautiful estate, upon which grows a beautiful 400-year-old oak tree. 

It was in the shade of that tree that our group of Gastronomads with the Barcelona Experience last month enjoyed an epic Catalonian feast (put together by Veronica, as well as Ignacio's mother and wife) — homemade sausages, a selection of cheeses from Xerigots, tortilla (the Spanish and Catalonia kind), pan con tomate and more. We also took another crack at drinking wine from a porron. 

Did I mention it was beautiful? 

Here comes the Provence Experience!

Ah, Provence. Where the Mediterranean diet meets French cuisine. 

Taste Provence in the most profound way possible. Meander through glorious medieval villages, across fields of lavender, through mountaintop forests and on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean. 

Join our small group of gastronomads June 26 through July 1, 2018, for the one and only Gastronomad Provence Experience! And learn the true culinary arts and traditions of this enchanting French agrarian region.

We'll show you our secret hidden spots, and introduce you to our friends in Provence — winemakers, cheesemakers, truffle hunters and many others. 

Provence really is the ultimate foodie paradise: the delicious cuisines, the luscious wine, the most breathtaking lavender fields and a true devotion to ancient culinary tradition.

The lure of Provence is irresistible and the magic of it can only be experienced firsthand, guided by locals and experts. 

Experience, learn, discover and be transformed by the French Provençal way of life with its history and voluptuary culture.
 
We've timed our Experience to coincide with lavender season! Provence explodes with color this time of year — the overwhelming pink-purple of the lavender fields in full bloom, searing yellow of vast fields of sunflowers, deep greens of vineyards, forests and grazing meadows, shocking copper-reds of Roussillon, and the crystalline blue water of the Côte d'Azur (not to mention the pale pink of chilled bottles of rosé on every table along the coast in summer).

We'll immerse ourselves into the sublime food culture of this idyllic, sun-soaked region. We'll learn how to make wine the French way. We'll make cheese with some of Provence's legendary cheese makers. We'll hunt for truffles, take cooking classes from master chefs, learn how to make french pastries and so much more. 

We'll taste everything, guided by experts. 

Here's how the Gastronomad Provence Experience works. Our small group will live together in an exquisite location. From that home base, we'll visit the region's greatest food visionaries, most amazing outdoor markets, incredible restaurants and beautiful food shops in picturesque, hill-top medieval villages. 

The cost includes all lodging, food, drinks and transportation during the experience. (Airfare and airport transfer not included.)

This exclusive 6-day, 5-night experience will transform your understanding of French, European and Mediterranean foods. 

Go here to reserve your spot now (availability is limited; don't wait!)!

Or, fill out the form here to get more information about the Provence Experience. 

My office today: Acid Cafe in Tbilisi

Acid Cafe is a somewhat overpriced restaurant, but with good wi-fi and good spaces for spending hours working.  

#gastronomad #digitalnomad #cafe

A very Georgian evening

Amira and I spent an unforgettable evening last night overlooking the City of Tbilisi with great new friends sampling delicious light foods and mind-blowingly good home-made Georgian wine. 

These Georgians know how to live, I tell you. 

#georgia #tbilisi #wine

Under the cava country

The Catalonian version of "swords into plowshares" is: bomb shelters into wine caves!

Our Barcelona Experience (September 12 - 17) took us to Ignasi Seguí's biodynamic Vinyas Singulars vineyard, where he uses a Spanish Civil War bomb shelter to develop cava. He gave us an exclusive look inside the bunker — we're sworn to secrecy and can't tell you where it is! 

We emerged from the shelter to toast life with our friend Florian Porsche (co-owner of VisitPenedes). And it was the bomb!
 

Say cheese!

So little time, so much to taste.

Our Gastronomad Barcelona Experience headed straight to the cava country’s best affineur, called Xerigots. (An affineur is someone who ages cheese. The dairy farmer makes the cheese, and the affineur brings it to perfection through temperature, humidity, proper handling and time.)

Xerigots’ owner Jordi hosted us, and Victor gave us insights into Xerigot’s history, cheese and facility.

Xerigots is located near the old railway station where trainloads of cava were bottled, packed and shipped out of this region and into France and elsewhere, especially during the mid-19th Century Great French Wine Blight.

Cava is stored in underground tiled caverns, and Xerigots ages cheeses in modified caverns. Individual tanks can be controlled for temperature and humidity. We got an exclusive, up-close look inside these caverns.

Xierigots is an extremely high-quality affineur; they select cheeses from various places in France and Spain, age them to perfection, then sell them to restaurants and also to the public.

After our exclusive tour of the aging rooms, we sat down for a guided progressive tasting (progressing from mildest to strongest) with Jordi, along with the obligatory cava, which paired flawlessly with the full range of cheeses we sampled.

If you ever encounter Xerigots’ cheese, do yourself a favor and buy all you can.

Into the Cava Country

Next morning our Gastronomad Experience Barcelona headed out to the nearby “cava country.” First stop: the Mas Comtal winery in Avinyonet del Penedès.

The winery has belong to the Mila family since the 15th Century. Co-owner Marta gave us a tour of the house, which was built in part from a 2nd-century Roman building, and the vineyards, which grow organic Xarel-lo, Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

After checking the place out, we were treated to a tasting of Mas Comtal’s Clàssic Penedès, which is a style of wine like cava but of higher quality.

Incredible!

A Spanish feast!

A Spanish feast!

In addition to the gazpacho, seafood paella, sangria and crema Catalana we all made together, Ella prepared a scrumptious board of local cheeses, extremely high-end jamon iberico (Spanish ham), an assortment of veggies fermented by our chefs, teachers and hosts, Alberto and Ella, at Espai Egg.

We did a David Copperfield on that sangria (we made it disappear) and moved into a nice Catalonian table red. 

Ella showed the group the finer points of drinking wine from a porron, which is a glass pitcher that pours wine in a stream through the air and into your face (or, if you’re drunk or uncoordinated, onto your face and the front of your clothes — as in "porron your shirt!"). 

Our gazpacho had a crazy twist: It was made with watermelon as one of the ingredients! 

The paella was truly amazing, as was everything we made. What an incredible experience with great food and great friends. 

After dinner, we were treated to a truly brilliant and intimate Flamenco performance that brought us to tears, and then to our feet. 

And that was our first full day of our Gastronomad Barcelona Experience!

Spanish-cooking class at Espai Egg!

After shopping for seafood at Barcelona’s biggest market, La Boqueria, brunch at Cova Fumada and cava at the beach, we headed for the Main Event: cooking class at Espai Egg!

Alberto’s and Ella’s Espai egg is an innovative gastronomic space for professional chefs, pop-up dinners, cooking classes and special dining events. 

Alberto and Ella are brilliant chefs, and leaders in Barcelona’s organic movement and culinary renaissance. 

Both our market tour and cooking class covered the broad strokes, as well as countless insights and details that go into making fantastic Spanish food. 

While most of our Gastronomad Experience this week will be all about Barcelona, tonight’s adventure focuses on Parts South — Valencia’s cuisine with paella and sangria, Andalusian cuisine with gazpacho, and then back to Barcelona with a dessert of Crema Catalana. 

This event was a professional-level course in cooking all this from scratch, and included detailed insights into the ingredients, equipment, methods, processes and presentation that goes into making this mind-blowingly delicious foods. 

Thank you, Alberto and Ella!

Here comes the video here!

Delicious and traditional Catalonian brunch at Cova Fumada

After buying fish for our evening paella at the Boqueria, we headed over to the most delicious and authentic family-run Catalonian spot in the seaside neighborhood of Barceloneta. 

The restaurant is called La Cova Fumada. It's tiny, loud, bustling and jam packed with locals. You can't normally get a table and certainly can't make a reservation for a group our size, but the grandmother who lords over the operation fell in love with Squishyface and she accommodated us. 

Cova Fumada is probably the most perfect expression of traditional Catalonian food, especially seafood. It seems like everything you eat there is the most delicious thing you've ever tasted.

Our waiter brought plate after plate of pan con tomate, spicy bombas, sausages, fish, shrimp, clams, squid, octopus and other delicious tapas, along with a chilled red table wine.

After brunch, we went down a couple blocks to the shore and drank some ice-cold cava on the beach. 

Here comes the video!

#GastronomadExperience #BarcelonaExperience #Barcelona #Spain

Shopping in Barcelona’s La Boqueria!

First thing day one of our Barcelona Experience, our group went shopping for seafood at the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, Barcelona’s legendary food market. 

Our excursion was led by the couple behind Espai Egg, Alberto and Ella, two of our favorite Barcelona food visionaries. (They’re teaching the cooking class we’re shopping for.... more on that in a future post.)

We learned about the history of the market, and also insidery intel on exactly how and where to choose the very best seafood` at la Boqueria. 

The Barcelona Experience Begins!

Our first Gastronomad Experience in Barcelona kicked off in style.

Our band of traveling super-foodies gathered together in our beautifully restored and eclectically designed old Barcelona apartment for tapas and cava before heading out to the coolest new restaurant in the city: Artte!

We enjoyed a spectacular, innovative meal with a mini wine tasting and, of course, more cava!

Best of all, we got to know our wonderful new friends, with whom we'll share a week of incredible Spanish and Catalonian food culture. 

How to play restaurant roulette

Discovering great restaurants is harder than it seems. Ratings apps help, but the users of an app aren’t necessarily the best collective judge. (I’ve been in towns in America where the highest rated pizza restaurant is Domino’s according to Yelp reviews. That can’t possibly be right.)

You can look for signs of quality and innovation by scanning menus, which often reveal if the menu changes seasonally (which is good) or is the same year-round (which may not be good). 

Check out what’s on the table. Does the food look good? Is everything deep fried? Also: If you’re in Europe and see what looks like high-quality olive oil on the table, that can be a good sign.

Sometimes beer selection unmasks restaurant quality. Most restaurants around the world serve some kind of mass-produced national lager, or possibly pilsner. Every country seems to produce one, two or a few. Coors and Budweiser in the US. Brahma in Brazil. Snow in China. Many European joints serve Heineken and Estrella, for some reason. Here’s what to look out for: Restaurants that offer nondescript beers exclusively telegraph indifference to the craft beer revolution sweeping the planet, and tend to be equally uninformed or uninspired in the kitchen. When we don’t have a lot of time for exploring restaurants, we’ll just look at what’s on tap at the bar, and move on if it’s limited and boring as it’s a clear signal that the restaurateur is indifferent about food generally and lacks creativity or knowledge specifically.

Bathrooms offer another clue. You’ll often find a positive correlation between cleanliness and attention to detail in the bathroom and the quality of a restaurant overall. 

Some restaurants around the world don’t have posted menus, anything on the tables or even bathrooms. Our gastronomad son, Kevin, keeps a checklist for authenticity in Latin American and Southeast Asian street food: Plastic chairs? Check. Fluorescent lights? Check. No menu? Check. Family staff (i.e. child labor)? Check. Packed with locals? Check. 

The point is that every region in the world has its own clues to restaurant quality, which can be divined before commitment. 

Ultimately there’s no test of a restaurant better than tasting the food. But how? There are so many restaurants and so little time. 

We play what we call restaurant roulette. 

Instead of sitting down and ordering drinks, appetizer, entree and more, we order a single item to share. If it’s amazing, we’ll order another thing. If not, we pay the check and leave, then find another restaurant. And so on. 

In other words, the process is to order one thing at a time, and order the next item in any given restaurant only if the last item was very good. If the food is amazing, we keep ordering food and enjoy a great meal, but that’s not what typically happens. 

We’ve been known to dine at as many as six restaurants for a single dinner. It’s a great way to cover many establishments in a short period of time. Best of all, restaurant roulette is a fun way to spend an evening, discovering, tasting and exploring.