I was just in Naples for a few days, checking off a bucketlist trip to the birthplace of the pizzeria. Neapolitan pizza is adored for its quick, high heat bake; its leopard spotted cornicione (perimeter) and somewhat juicy/soupy middle. It’s the original “pizza” but of course, it’s not as widely known in America. In fact, … Continued
If you’ve been following my Instagram at all in the past year or so, you’ll see an inordinate amount of pizza. Slices, pies, wedges and all sorts of oven situations. I’m not opening a pizzeria, but rather, building a tour business. My book, “Pizza City USA: 101 Reasons Why Chicago is America’s Greatest Pizza Town” … Continued
Since I’ve decided not to lead another trip to Cuba this year, I thought it was time to return to Spain. Barcelona is one of my favorite cities to eat and drink in, and on this trip – put together with the fine folks from Royal Travel here in Chicago – we’re also going to … Continued
2017 is shaping up to be an ambitious year for my culinary tours. We kick things off in February with an action-packed (and food and wine-filled) tour of South Africa. Once again, I’m working with Earthbound Expeditions, which does an excellent job of accommodating special requests (I have many, when it comes to providing a unique … Continued
Jetting off to Quebéc for an overnight trip with two other couples was a truly delicious endeavor. Sure, we hit some of the usual suspects – no less than three smoked meat delis, plus my favorite bagel anywhere, in the world – but we also managed to have an elegant lunch at Bouillon Bilk with … Continued
I put together this tour for a small group of six, which included a private jet from Midway Airport, direct to New Orleans. We hit the ground running: lunch at Cochon Butcher with the Restaurant Critic at The Times Picayune, a walkabout the Quarter, including oysters and Abita on tap plus cafe au lait and … Continued
This tour took place in November, 2015. I’m working on another trip for later in 2016, but if you’d like more information, contact Earthbound Expeditions, who organized the details for me. I went to Havana on my own in August, to scout some of the paladares (private restaurants in people’s homes); we then put together … Continued
I organized this event for 13 people, who were all coming in town for a team-building retreat. We took the water taxi from River North all the way to Chinatown, then walked five minutes to get bubble teas and smoothies at Joy Yee’s (I arranged the orders ahead of time so there was no waiting). … Continued
The theme of this trip was “farm to table,” and though we tried to make it in one day, even with a private jet, the three hour, 45 minute flight each way required an overnight stay in Napa. We began the day at the Oxbow Market in Napa, for the best English muffins in the … Continued
Since the softening of relations between Cuba and the U.S. has been in the news the past few months, we figured it was time to go before the floodgates opened. Unlike previous tours I’ve organized, this one is going to encompass much more than just eating. We’ll visit farmers, eat in paladars (people’s private homes, … Continued
I recently organized a “crawl” through three spots in Logan Square for a Midwest-based corporation, having its quarterly Team Leader retreat in Chicago. On a Wednesday night, we had Chicago Trolleys pick up the group of 44 employees, take them first to Billy Sunday for two rounds, and learn a little bit about the area … Continued