Hometown: New York, NY. Occupation: Writer.Favorite destinations: Bhutan, Indonesia, everywhere Ive visited in Africa, and every place for me thats new.Dying to visit: Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Ethiopia, Madagascar.Bizarre travel rituals: Overpacking, despite every serious effort not to. But how will I know what Ill feel like wearing until Im there?In-flight relaxation regime: I immediately remove all unnecessary items from

Hometown: Queens, NY.Occupation: Owner and beverage director at Dell Anima, LArtusi, LApicio, and Anfora.Favorite destinations: Italy, Croatia, Greece.Dying to visit: Japan.Bizarre travel rituals: I never eat airplane food. On longer trips when Im staying in multiple hotels, I like to bring a laundry bag so I can separate dirty and clean clothes so that they dont hang out with each other in my luggage.In-flight relaxation regime: Watch a mo

Its dish after dish of acid, umami, uncanny seasoning, temperature play. Yotam Ottolenghis Nopi is everything Emily Fiffer hoped it would be.LONDON – Nettles are prickly suckers. They yield to few men. After a recent trip to London and a meal at Nopi in Soho, I can say with certainty that one man — lauded chef Yotam Ottolenghi (Plenty, Jerusalem, Ottolenghi restaurants, Nopi, you know the drill) — coaxes nettles the way I assume

Given her deathly allergy to shellfish, you might expect Sally Spaulding to skip Colombian fare and stick to the safe stuff. But she was inspired to find the best eats in Cartagena. After all, it was a life and death situation. CARTAGENA, Colombia – Sin mariscos… sin camarones… estoy muy alérgica.”When you’re deathly allergic to shellfish and traveling to Colombia where limited English is spo

The phrase hungry for adventure takes on a whole new meaning. A reader story.BEIJING, China – The Chinese have a saying: The best meat in heaven is dragon, the best meat on earth is donkey. Since my husband and I have no immediate plans to visit heaven, we decided to try donkey when given the chance.Beijing was the last stop on a multi-week trip that began in St. Petersburg, Russia. As we traveled through Central Asia, we sampled

With so much food delicious and interesting food in Burma, it would take a year to taste it all. Kate Donnelly had a week and came pretty close.MYANMAR – I spent a week in Burma and saw many interesting things. But, as usual, I was probably most interested by what was on the table in front of me. The food in Burma is a welcome melting pot of flavors and spices, a bold adventure of hot, sour, and sweet mixed with poppy surprises of Ind

ROME – Hows this for irony? I have to come home from living in Italy to host the fourth annual Identità New York 2013, an incredible festival with Italian chefs at NYCs Eataly. The international chefs forum Identità Golose produces this fantastic three-day event, where Italys best chefs cook and collaborate with New Yorks best chefs. There are demos, tastings, and two big, multi-course dinners cooked

INSTAGRAM – In this weeks roundup of our favorite Instagrams, were gearing up for the holidays with food snaps from our favorite chefs, photographers, adventurers, and food obsessives. Excuse the drool.

Zach Marks and Resham Gellantly traveled from Rajasthan to Mumbai meeting the people who make and sell chai tea for an upcoming book about the role chai wallahs play in Indian communities. They stopped in Pushkar to watch locals make a camels-milk version from scratch. PUSHKAR, India – Camel herding is in Durga Singh Rathores blood. We have been here in Rajasthan working with camels for hundreds, probably thousands

Fathom friend and passionate photographer Benjamin Ngooi took to the Iberian Peninsula for Spanish treats and warm weather. After spending time in Seville, Málaga, and Nerja, he discovered his new mission in life: to eat all the jamón in España. A noble (and understandable) pursuit. Click through for a selection of photos from his Andalusian adventure. ANDALUSIA, Spain – Last fall, I wanted a boost

Hometown: Born in Baltimore, Maryland. Grew up in Singapore. Now in Jersey City.Occupation: Editorial assistant at Fathom.Favorite destinations: Vienna, Istanbul, Seoul, Lugano in Switzerland.Dying to visit: Mexico City, Iceland, Morocco, the Stans in Asia, Naoshima Island in Japan.Bizarre travel rituals: Neurotic Excel spreadsheets that I end up almost never following. Stalking the local weather from the moment I book the flight.In-flight

New York City chef Marc Meyer has been an advocate for seasonal, local cuisine long before it became a culinary watchword.  No stranger to the different definions of local, hes cooked throughout the United States and in Italy. He recently followed an interest in Thai cuisine and a passion for muay Thai boxing to the source.THAILAND – Traveling to Thailand for the first time was an incredible opportunity that came about through le

Getting turned away from the hot Jerusalem restaurant he wanted to go to led Mark Colodny to an even better spot across the street. A study in serendipity.JERUSALEM – Having not given it much thought but acting on the recommendation of a well-traveled friend plugged in to some Israeli TV presenters, we showed up on a perfect warm Friday afternoon at MachneYuda in downtown Jerusalem. The restaurant, which is in a dense section of the city, a

Hometown: Perth, Australia.Occupation: Hand therapist by day, bartender by night.Favorite destinations: Berlin, Bologna, Seville, Hong Kong, Paris, and all of Iceland.Dying to visit: Japan and the U.S. of A.In-flight relaxation regime: Sleep during takeoff, wake up, read manga till I fall asleep again. Wake up on landing.Always in carry-on: Camera, iPad, earphones, and a playlist of new music.Concierge or DIY? DIY with the help of local blo

Bhakti Shringarpure, editor of Warscapes (one of our 24 Best Travel Blogs and Websites 2014), interviewed Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt, the authors of The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, a cookbook thats not just a cookbook, but a portrait of Gaza history, politics, economics, and feminism.GAZA, Palestine – Food is inextricably tied to identity, and cookbooks can transcend recipes to become forums for assembling na

We love all drinks but hold a special place in our heart for the Negroni. (It must be all those sunsets on the Amalfi Coast.) The world is getting in on the action this week.Suddenly seeing red? No need to call the optometrist: Its just Negroni Week, the seven-day spectacle taking place all over the globe from June 2-8, 2014. More than 1,000 bars and other drinky establishments are crafting their versions of the beloved classic cocktail and

Milans coolest speakeasy is also its most closely guarded secret. To get in, you have to know who (and how) to ask. Contributing editor Erica Firpo got the hook-up.MILAN – I was in Milan, looking for a giggle. I had heard about a bar that didnt exist. Well, at least not in the find-it-in-the-phone-book sense of existing. Rumor had it that there was an itsy-bitsy hole-in-the-wall that served delicious and beautifully mixed drinks to th

Dear Fathom,I often travel alone — for work, for fun — and I dont want to miss out on incredible restaurants. But, well, Im dining alone. How can I do it without feeling like all eyes in the room are on the lonely guy at the table?Dear Lonely Guy,Many years ago, we were lucky enough to eat dinner with friends at The Fat Duck the night after it had been named the worlds best restaurant on the San Pellegrino list. The meal was a m

Whats new in the Venice restaurant scene this summer? The past. At Oro, chef Davide Bisetto is giving culinary classics a light and beautiful twist. Petra Dokken waxes lyrical about her meal.VENICE – Jade green water sparkles under a pink sky. Theres a softness in the air as the swallows calls fill the dusk with magical golden clouds. I am dining alfresco on Rio San Giorgio at Oro, the new restaurant at Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venic

On a New England hotel hop with her colleague earlier this summer, Mr and Mrs Smith editor Kate Thorman fell hard for the delicious bits (lobster, oysters, clams) that are Maines claim to fame. PORTLAND, Maine – The man at the end of the bar eyed the plate of deep red yellowfin tuna crudo right in front of us in the sort of twitchy, captivated way that meant only one thing. Five, four, three, two...What is that?Mouths still