Scrappy Travels

Recently, I've found myself craving Ramen pretty much all the time. Not the stuff that comes in a styrofoam cup and is full of all sorts of preservatives that assures it'll still be good in the year 2172. Nope, I've actually never even tasted that stuff. I want the good stuff. The soup that chefs perfect over many, many years of practice and recipe-tweaking. A really good bowl of Ramen is deceptively difficult to make. It looks fairly simple - noodles, broth, protein and some veggies. However, the broth - like most broths - is most important. If you don't have good broth, then the Ramen will be just as bad. And a good broth can have dozens of ingredients simmered and boiled to perfection. It's no wonder that few chefs go into the Ramen shop business. However, a few cooks out there have perfected the technique and choose to serve this unbelievably delicious food to the masses. One such shop is Ivan Ramen in the East Village of Manhattan. I first had this pa...

San Antonio Texas is somewhere I've been for work. It's not a city I'm a fan of. If I'm going to Texas, I'm heading to Austin. While San Antonio has parks, and the River Walk and great places to shop, it's just not my ideal place to travel. However, there is one restaurant in the city, that I'd transport here to Maryland in a heartbeat if I could. There are not many destinations I'd brave a 2 mile walk in 100 degree heat for. It's quite possible that Guenther House is the only one. The Guenther House is an old powder mill on the banks of the San Antonio River. During my last trip to the city - a trip that only lasted 3 days - we enjoyed breakfast there twice. Unfortunately, this trip only included one visit, yet that visit was all together as delicious as I had remembered it. Their menu includes staples such as eggs, bacon and waffles. Though, because they are a powder mill, their waffles, pancakes and homemade biscuits are their specialties...

Illustration - Eater Up until about 15 years ago, I was the pickiest eater to ever eat. I'd avoid things I'd never tasted because they looked like something I wouldn't like. I'd only eat about 3 things for lunch. And many meals included something I would just leave on the plate. For most of my childhood and adolescence, this is how I lived. I loved to eat, but I preferred the food that my Dad cooked because he followed my food rules.  Now don't get me wrong - I wasn't eating peanut butter and jelly each day. My Dad is a fabulous cook. So I was eating homemade Spaghetti or Stuffed Porkchops, and other delicious meals for dinner most nights. But in restaurants I stuck to basics and only ate things I knew.  Then I read A Cook's Tour and my food-loving world opened up.  While it is his least favorite book, Anthony Bourdain's account of his travels around the world, eating all sorts of new and interesting meals made me realize just how ridiculous I...