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Food

Aug 04
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Jenny and Kris - Spain Food & Wine Tour Taste Vacation

Tasty Bites Chat: Spain Food & Wine Tour

By Food, Taste Vacations, Wine No Comments

We created Taste Vacations to celebrate the food, wine, and beer in premier vacation destinations around the globe. The unique food and drink experiences we instill into each tour ensures your vacation is interesting, educational, inspiring, and fun.  To help provide some more details about our upcoming Spain Food & Wine Tour, recently hosted a 30-minute Q&A session with Jenny Siddall, our local Rioja guide, and Kris Keys, our tour operations manager who organized the tour.

In case you missed it, we’ve provided the recording below.  If you have any questions about our Spain Food & Wine Tour, please feel free to leave them in the comments below or reach out via our Contact Us form.

Jun 17
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How to do a proper tapas crawl

How to Do a Proper Tapas Crawl

By Food, Taste Vacations No Comments

As many people know, tapas are popular Spanish dining style made up of a variety of hot and cold dishes that combine to make a full meal. In Spain, it is not uncommon to gather a group of friends together and go out on a tapas bar crawl, much like a regular bar crawl, where you visit several tapas bars in one night, ordering a different dish and drink at each one.

Taste Vacations’ guide, Jenny Siddall, is a Brit living in the beautiful wine region of Rioja, Spain.  She’s not only an expert in wine, but she can also tell you how to organize your own proper tapas crawl. Check out her tips below:

Stand and eat at the bar. 
The general rule is to have one tapa and one drink and then to move on to the next bar. Tapas is not a seated, comfortable affair but rather a mobile feast!

Be adventurous.
A tapas crawl is a great way to try different wines and tasty morsels, so don’t be timid! It’s a perfect time to try a dish you’ve never had before.

Ask your server what their specialty is. 
Each tapas bar has its own speciality, whether that be Jamón Iberico, wild mushrooms, stuffed peppers, anchovies or seafood.  Some tapas are freshly cooked for you and others are displayed on the bar top.

A good team strategy is essential. 
Nominate someone to be the banker. This person will order and pay while the rest of the team helps pass out the drinks and looks for an open spot a the bar to eat your tapas.  Typically, you will pay after you have finished eating.  How the barman remembers what you have had is the biggest mystery to me! You may want to ask if you can pay right after you’ve ordered to make it simpler and so that you can leave whenever you’ve finished your tapa.

Not only are tapas crawls a great way to try new things, but they are also a fun way to experience the Spanish culture and nightlife. ¡Buen provecho!

Join us on the Spain Food & Wine Tour

 

May 25
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WHO MAKES IT BEST? A CEVICHE COMPARISON

Who Makes It Best? A Ceviche Comparison

By Food No Comments

The origin of ceviche has been much debated. Though most historians would agree that the seafood salad dish is from Peru, rather than Ecuador, it is unclear how it came about in the land of the Incas. One theory suggests that the Spanish brought it over along with their European citrus fruits like limes. Another theory is that Polynesian travelers brought over their tradition of marinating fish in citrus fruit juices in pre-Columbian times. And yet another suggests that ceviche was invented for a great Incan emperor so that he could still eat fresh fish while living in Cuzco by having it marinated in juices before being carried via relay runners to his throne.

Regardless of where it originated, it has certainly spread throughout Latin America picking up little variations depending on the most popular seafood in the local area and other culinary customs. Each country, of course, claims to have the best ceviche.

Peruvian Ceviche consists of fresh fish placed in Peruvian lemon juice (highly acidic green lemons) for only a few minutes and served with onions, garlic, and Peruvian chillies. It is often served with sweet potato or plantain chips.

Ecuadorian Ceviche is typically made with a tangy tomato sauce with lime and salt and often includes shrimp as the main type of seafood. It is usually served in a bowl with toasted corn kernels or plantain chips.

Costa Rica Ceviche is composed of fresh seafood, bell peppers, onions, vinegar, and lime juice and often includes white sea bass as the main type of seafood.

Mexican Ceviche can be served “wet” or “dry” where the “dry” is just the contents drained of the excess juices. It usually consists mainly of shrimp and tilapia and is typically served with tortilla chips or inside tacos.

There are, of course, other variations of ceviche that can be found just about anywhere fresh fish and seafood are caught directly from the water. Though there is no clear winner as to which country has the best ceviche, we try to make it a habit to taste test this delicious dish whenever we have the chance.

May 04
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What People Eat For Breakfast Around the World

7 Delightful Breakfasts From Around the World

By Food, Taste Vacations No Comments

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But what a person has for breakfast can vary greatly depending on what part of the world they are coming from.  I, for one, am in the camp of eating anything for breakfast – eggs, bacon, cold pizza, grilled cheese, leftover pasta, anything!

Typically, an American breakfast consists of eggs, bacon or sausage, toast or pancakes, hash browns, and a cup of coffee.  Or for a lighter fare, some yogurt with fruit and granola.  This all sounds tasty but I’m on the hunt for a more adventurous morning meal, which is why I’ve compiled a list of seven delightful breakfasts from around the globe:

Typical Malaysian Breakfast

Roti Canai is a flatbread that is left chewy in the center but crispy around the edges can be stuffed with egg, chicken, jam or banana. The roti canai featured in the image above is served with curries and sambal.  I crave savory foods (rather than sweet) so this breakfast suits me quite well.

Typical Peruvian Breakfast

Peruvian Breakfast

Image Source: Ang (Flickr)

In Peru, a typical breakfast may consist of triangular-shaped rolls, roasted wheat kernels, mote (boiled dried corn), and tea or coffee. The pictured roll looks quite tasty, don’t you think?

Typical Australian Breakfast

Typical Australian Breakfast - Vegemite

Image Source: Janeen (Flickr)

A typical Australian breakfast consists of fruit, eggs, and toast with Vegemite – a dark brown salty food paste made from various vegetables and spices. I know vegemite has gotten a bad rap of being rather bizarre outside of Australia, but I would still be curious to try it!

Typical Thai Breakfast

Typical Thai Breakfast Jok

Image Source: Amber Hoffman(Flickr)

Jok is a thick rice porridge usually enriched with pork, chicken, or shrimp and is typically eaten for breakfast in Thailand.  The jok featured in the image above is served with ground pork and topped with ginger, scallions, and chiles. Comfort food + a little spice = perfection.

Typical Morrocan Breakfast

Typical Morrocan Breakfast Bessara

Image Source: Par Taste

The typical Morrocan breakfast consists of beghrir which are small, spongy pancakes, and bessara, which is dried fava beans stewed with cumin and paprika. Seems like a delicious way to start your day.

Typical Italian Breakfast

Typical Italian Breakfast

Image Source: Stephen Rees (Flickr)

Caffellate or cappuccino are the main focus in Italian breakfasts, usually served with bread, butter, jam, or even cake. As an avid coffee drinker, I can’t say I mind the emphasis on a nice hot beverage.

Typical Nigerian Breakfast

In Nigeria, you can find fried plantains, a tomato-based stew, and baked chicken for breakfast.  A Nigerian breakfast looks rather like an American lunch or dinner – and I’m definitely okay with that!

With so many delightful options, you may want to consider adding a few more destinations to your bucket list based on breakfast alone!

Mar 21
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Living in the Moment: the South American Attitude Towards Life

By Food, Taste Vacations, Wine No Comments

Traveling through Chile & Argentina over the past few years, I’m always struck by the beauty, cuisine, and, of course, wines of these charming countries.  But what has had the biggest impact on me is the South American attitude towards life. From my perspective, South Americans enjoy focusing on living in the moment rather than have their lives be dictated by a clock.

As a North American that used to be in the heart of the hustle and bustle of a large metropolis, working a fast-paced, high-stress job, and being one of those people who never used all of my given vacation days, I can wholeheartedly appreciate this kind of life philosophy. Us northerners can take a page from our southern friends and take a step back to enjoy each experience to the fullest. Now that I have my dream job where I get to split my time between the marketing of Taste Vacations and Zephyr Adventures, and guiding tours all over the globe, I find myself trying to help our guests to do just that.

There have been many times, especially at the beginning of a trip, where I’ve needed to gently remind a guest that vacation isn’t necessarily about getting from point A to point B so that you can check it off your list. But it is rather about the journey and experiences that bring you from one destination to the next, even if some of those experiences were unplanned. In fact, it’s the unplanned ones that usually end up creating the best memories!

But there are two sides to every coin. As a travel guide leading a tour through South America, it can be tricky to stay on schedule and make sure that you are delivering on the promises that the tour itinerary has laid out. Things happen at a slower pace in Chile & Argentina, which means we have to sometimes pad our itineraries to account for delays in crossing borders, the time it takes to get a lunch bill paid at a small restaurant, hotel check-in processes, etc. Though we try to predict where these delays can happen and plan accordingly, we can’t always foresee the hiccups that arise.

In my mind, a perfect solution would be to meld the two approaches together. At Taste Vacations, we actively try to blend the efficient and detail-oriented processes of North America with the South American ability to slow things down and truly savor what life has to offer. I encourage you to try to do the same, wherever your next vacation may be.