When I say Liguria, I’m talking about the Ligurian coast in the Italian Riviera. Topographically different from the rest of Italy, the coastline is scattered with mountainous cliffs that drop straight down into the ocean,...
The one and only Paystyle rolled into town a couple of weeks ago. Although he would be fully booked with personal engagements, I knew exactly how to get him to pencil me in. A few days before he was scheduled to land at...
Downtown Los Angeles is a special place--a part of town that still feels authentically gritty and big city-like. Even amongst the gentrification going strong in a few, piecemeal pockets, downtown LA is still pretty much what it was in Beverly Hills Cop 2. Sure, the...
It’s getting colder here in Brazil and dry season is approaching. In the North, the crops have been harvested. Festa Junina (June Festival) was carried over from the Portuguese to celebrate and thank God for the rain by eating wonderful foods--and like any good Brazilian...
I’m really glad we made it to Florence before the Jersey Invasion dropped a gang of guidettes into the birthplace of Michelangelo. Although I’m sure they feel quite at home amongst the various Guess stores and Footlockers, I was disappointed that there is no legitimate...
After having spent my later teen years plowing through the novels of Douglas Coupland, Bret Easton Ellis and other post modern cynics, I can't help but see myself in so many typical Generation X situations. Meaning that you suddenly find yourself in a condition...
People often ask me, "Why did you leave NYC?" It's true, I just sorta packed my bags and ditched my glamorous job, my wonderful friends, my comfortable routine, and the GREATEST! CITY! IN! THE! WORLD! (at least the greatest metro system in the world). All...
In the past week there's been a lot of buzz in cocktail circles regarding the outcome of a legal dispute between Pusser's rum and Painkiller, a tiki bar in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It's a story that's led to a...
Mash-ups has been en vogue for over seven years now. Every time Britney or Gaga release a new smash hit it's instantly mashed up with an old Kylie Minogue or Human League hit. Sometimes, it's because mixing and mashing creates an entirely...
One of the best things about living in a multicultural and cosmopolitan city like London is that if you fancy something to eat, you can be sure to find it (...except for proper ramen, that is). Compared to twenty years ago...
I was recently in Holland for a week, and my good friend and travel buddy, Josh, became OBSESSED with stroopwafels, a Dutch delicacy. A stroopwafel is like a big wafer cookie sandwich that's a bit chewy and filled with a sweet syrupy...
There’s nothing more gag-inducing to me than Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun, yet there is nothing that made me feel more like Diane Lane than actually being "under the Tuscan sun". Ok, I admit. I did fantasize about buying...
I've been pretty sickly lately. Two weeks ago I caught some awful stomach flu (or food poisoning? whatever) and as I laid in my bed for 72 hours in a sweat pool of misery, starving but unable to keep anything down (nay liquids, tmi), all...
In a city like São Paulo with its mild climate, and millions of Italian immigrants, you would expect to find loads of good gelato. Instead there is a ton of picole (popsicles) and regular ice cream. Luckily for us, just down the street is
This post goes out to all you haters out there on the internet (specifically, those living in the suburbs of Chowhound and Yelp), please stand corrected. Of the many, many times I've dined at Howard's Famous Bacon & Avocado Burger, I've never...
*Dear Martians, please welcome the newest addition to the Umamimart Familia, Jerkey. She is based in LA, and a good friend of Umamimart writer Sarah Nevada and Yoko's cousin (and loyal reader) Tomo. We first met at the San Pedro Fish Market Umamiventure,...
PREFACE Skankynavia: In the US (Part 1 - Berkeley) Last week I listened to the great NYC radioshow called RadioLab. They deal with quirky science and interesting true stories, and last week's subject was "memory" (a rerun from 2007, listen here)....
My family and I went on a flying visit to Paris again to rendez-vous with my dad (since he managed not to get his UK visa in time--visa people suck). Last year I gave him a copy of Ernest Hemingway's memoir...
I want to talk about the US, particularly about its food. USA--my god, such a vast, vast country--so much space, so many people it's almost hard to fathom. Especially for someone who lives in a tiny country of five million where everyone who's anything knows...
I went to Miami for my birthday this year. I didn't do much besides reading, lounging by the pool, drinking piña coladas, and eating. It was 90˚F every day, sunny, dry, and my allergies disappeared while I was there. For...
