Vlita in English means amaranth greens. In Greece, the name usually refers to tender amaranth leaves and shoots boiled until soft, then served with olive oil, lemon and salt. That…

At four o’clock Jerez does not exist. Every shutter on Calle Larga is down. The heat comes up off the paving and sits at chest height, and the only thing…

Ourense is the only province in Galicia without a coastline. It also cooks the best octopus in Galicia. Nobody here treats those two sentences as a contradiction, and getting over…

Mouraria — the bifana counter I’m leaning against a marble counter in Mouraria with a bifana in one hand and the second beer of the afternoon in the other, and…

The street was empty in the way that only Portuguese streets are empty on a Sunday at noon — not abandoned, just waiting. The windows were open. The radios were…

In Tbilisi, the table was set for me. In Kakheti, I watched them set it — slowly, proudly, with the kind of patience that only people who grow their own…

There’s a moment — and you’ll know it when it happens — when a city stops being a place and starts being a meal. Tbilisi did that to me on…

There is a profound difference between traveling and taking a vacation. Traveling requires logistics, spreadsheets, and movement. A vacation is a state of mind. It is the absolute, unapologetic pursuit…

Introduction It hits you somewhere near your nose: that buttery-caramel scent curling through the air like a promise. You follow it across a cobblestoned square and there they are—stroopwafels, hot…

Introduction: A Taste of Greece You’re sitting at a seaside taverna in Santorini, the scent of freshly grilled seafood mingling with the salty breeze. The waiter sets down a plate…