Author Archives: Epicurious Travelers

About Epicurious Travelers

Ms. Margolis-Pineo created EpicuriousTravelers.com to showcase her published work and ongoing food-travel adventures. Based in Portland, Maine, she travels frequently both in her home state and north to Montreal, her favorite North American city. Although she refuses to use the word "foodie," she has an abiding interest in food and wine. Ms. Margolis-Pineo's background as a designer gives her site an edge in the oversaturated blogosphere. New contacts, "likes," subscribers and content are always welcome!

Woody Guthrie, Steinbeck … and Shetterly

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

“America stretched out beyond our windshield, undiscovered by us – huge, exciting and full of possibility.” In her newly minted book, Made For You And Me, my friend and Portland neighbor Caitlin Shetterly chronicles her small family’s inspiring cross-country odyssey … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged American Dream, California, coast-to-coast, community, cross-country, Dan Davis, dinner parties, economic crisis, family, Great Recession, hard times, home cook, journey, Kerouac, memoir, mobile, new generation, NPR, odyssey, out of work, perseverance, Portland Maine, road trip, rural maine, Shetterly, unemployed, Weekend Edition, west, wild west, Winter Harbor Theatre Company | 1 Comment

Gator Gastronomy

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

Here at last are tasting notes from Lake Charles, where the food soars from down home to upscale without skipping a Zydeco beat. Our top picks from this cozy little corner of Calcasieu Parish include: 1. Down Home Breakfast: Boudin … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and Wine, Travel | Tagged 121 Artisan Bistro, alligator, Bayou, beignets, Boudin, brunch, Calcasieu Parish, crawfish, Creole cooking, Down Home, Ember grill & Wine Bar, epicurean travel, Isle of Capri hotel & casino, Lake Charles, Lake Charles nightlife, Lake Charles vacations, Louisiana, Mardi Gras, Otis & Henry's, Po' Boys, regional cuisine, seafood, soft shell crab, Southern Hospitality, Steamboat Bill's, Stellar beans, upscale, winter getaways, Zydeco | Leave a comment

Listening for Tony Kushner

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

No place is any one thing. Lake Charles, Louisiana, had to be more than fried catfish, King Cake and spicy gumbo. Playwright Tony Kushner grew up in Lake Charles and may be its most famous literary resident. He describes a … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged alligator, beignet, Boudin, catfish, crawfish, Creole, Creole Nature Preserve, egret, epicuriean travel, heron, King Cake, Lake Charles, Louisiana, Mardi Gras, nature preserve, Southwest Louisiana, Tony Kushner | Leave a comment

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouller

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

Fat Tuesday at Last Cajun music is thumping and grinding as morning revelers dance a freestyle Zydeco mash-up of mambo, tango, two-step and whatever. Accordion, drums, guitar, fiddle and “frottoir” (washboard) are so boisterous you can’t hear yourself think. Then … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged Bayou, Boudin, breakfast, Cajun, Elmer's Heavenly Hash, epicurean travel, food, gator, getaways, Gumbeaux Gator, gumbo, histoic homes, hospitality, King Cake, Louisiana, Mardi Gras, music, outdoors, parades, southern food, Southern Hospitality, vacations, winter getaways, Zydeco | 2 Comments

Throw Me Something Mister

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

Day 1 at Mardi Gras in Lake Charles, Louisiana, home of the shiny, beaded and fried (pronounced “fraahd”). It’s Mardi Gras and we’re throwing green, gold and purple beads from Gumbeaux Gator’s parade float. We roll past hundreds of kids … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged epicurean travel, hospitality, New Orleans Once-Removed, Offbeat American cities, outdoors, winter getaways | Leave a comment

Tuscan Trifecta

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

Pistoia, Montecatini and Lucca Massive snowbanks line our street and yard-long icicles hang outside my window. The temperature hovers around ten degrees. From the Maine deep freeze, I recall a warm and sunny afternoon in the Tuscan Hills. Ready for … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and Wine, Italian Travel, Travel | Leave a comment

Sting in Florence

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

We were all set to buy tickets to a “Sting-a” concert here in Firenze until we learned that hearing “Roxanne” under the Tuscan Sun would cost more than our airfare home. Sting has been producing extra virgin olive oil, honey, … Continue reading →

Posted in Italian Travel | Leave a comment

Mo’s Dark Bacon Bar

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

Okay. Last night we shared a bacon chocolate bar celebrating our 30th anniversary with Anne, Joe and Chris. Bacon, chocolate and good friends – what can I say?

Posted in Food and Wine | 1 Comment

St. Emilion Afternoon

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

by Guest Writer Chris Akerlind We left Bordeaux, heading roughly 40 kilometers east, for an afternoon tour of St. Emilion, a hill town in wine country named for an 8th century miracle-working monk and confessor who found home in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and Wine, Travel | Leave a comment

Mario Batali Loves The Frankies Spuntino…

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Epicurious Travelers

“Grandma never broke a sweat. Neither should you.” My sister-in-law Aimee Good gave me The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual. I love this book. Mario Batali loves this cookbook, too.* Frankies Spuntino is a tin-ceilinged exposed-brick restaurant in … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and Wine | Tagged Brooklyn, cookbooks, Cooking, Cooking Manual, food, Frankie's Spuntino, Good Dirt Garlic, Good Farms, Italian cuisine, Italian-American food, Kitchen Companion, kitchen tips and tricks, Maine, Mario Batali, Monticello | Leave a comment