Blackberry Farm, one of the best resorts in the United States, takes over a mountain in rural Tennessee. It is bucolic bliss.WALLAND, Tennessee - Life has a funny way of shaking things up when you least expect it, which is how I found myself driving up the Natchez Trace, a historic forest trail that extends roughly 440 miles from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. I had spent the past couple of weeks living on an old plantation

If your travel dreams have you spending a few days in a charming town in the country somewhere, youre not alone. You might want to bookmark this Cotswolds bolthole for the next time youre in London and want a lovely getaway.COTSWOLDS, England - We Brits are a little obsessed with the weather. Largely because we are mostly disappointed by it. But sometimes, just sometimes, you’re lucky and a mid-week, mid-season, mini-break in the Cotswolds

Doors. On a practical level, they separate the outside from the inside, keep the heat in and the cold out (or vice versa), uphold the privacy of rooms, and maintain the safety and security of homes. Doors can protect secrets, belie mysteries and, in the case of San Miguel de Allende, hide marvel after marvel. The huge, ancient, wide and wooden doors that dominate this sprawling ancient city’s cobblestone streets can be misleading. A first-t

THE DESERT, California — I am back from Palm Springs and awed by the landscape, refreshed from the desert heat, and inspired by the pastel colors and retro architecture.I’m not sure if it was sensory deprivation from a year spent at home, or if it truly was just the magic of this private oasis in the California desert, but I’ve never fallen for a hotel like Ive fallen for Casa Cody. History abounds within the walls of the oldest

Harvest InnSt. Helena, CaliforniaCozy Napa Valley charm, $$ (average $199)Napa Valley is not one to hide its riches. And why should it? The area is so blessed with natural beauty and resources that its easy to understand why the German settlers who failed to find gold here in the 1800s stayed anyway. But it can also be a valley of exaggeration, especially when it comes to the price tags at the better-known hotels, restaurants, vineyards, an

If your dreams of spending the summer in the Mediterranean feel a little too complicated this year, look to Napa, which is fast becoming the New Provence. Contributing editor Christina Ohly has a look at the areas best new offerings.NAPA VALLEY — Napa Valley — long an escape for oenophiles and foodies alike — is coming back from a year like no other. Between pandemic shut-downs and devastating wildfires, the area literally

The Kentucky Derby, otherwise known as The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports, comes down to horse racing and bourbon drinking. So we turned to Trey Zoeller, founder and master blender of Jeffersons Bourbon, to share his quick list of proper Louisville watering holes. To say that the man understands the finer points of Kentuckys barrel-aged distilled spirit is an understatement. His family has been making bourbon since 1799. His eighth-generati

LONDON – London diners, like their New York City counterparts, are in thrall to fat. Especially fat of the pig variety. The trend has been reigning supreme for years now, and though vegetarians are gaining ground from the left flank, the noble hog isnt ceding his throne anytime soon.Much ado was made of Terroirs when it opened near touristy Trafalgar Square in 2010, and much is being made of its new sister restaurant, Brawn, on the East End

LONDON – Maltby Street, in a non-descript corner of Bermondsey, is the last place youd expect to find a gourmet food mecca. But tucked away under the railway arches, a collection of stallholders — in an ongoing dispute with nearby Borough Market — set up shop every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.To Market, To MarketStroll among locals and foodies-in-the-know to find such traders as Monmouth Coffee, Kappacasein (

I was flying back from the Aspen Food & Wine Festival with a co-worker. We were supposed to drive to Vail, fly to Denver, and then connect to an NYC flight, but because of the high winds, they decided to bump 10-15 people from the first flight. After all was said and done, we got in a rental car with three other bumpees for a three-hour ride (with my suitcase on my lap) to the Denver airport so they could make their connection and we could

AUSTIN, Texas – Some people come for the music, some people come for the film festivals. If youre me, you came from Manhattan to make a movie, fell in love with the cowboys and cold beer, and decided to stay forever. In order to get my NYC buddies to visit, I went right for the heart — or rather, the stomach — and created the 72-Hour Food Tour of Austin. Pack your elastic waist pants: Youre tasting what Austin has to offer.DAY O

SCOTLAND – I love oysters. I love dairy products. I love whisky. And now I love Scotland. No one ever told me that this great country produced the holy trinity of foodstuffs. Considering there are 790 Scottish islands mingling in the Atlantic Ocean/North Sea, and a history of royal affairs with the French, it makes sense that the Scots know a thing or two about shellfish and good butter. You can get a taste of it in just a few short da

Dear Rancho Loma,It is agony to be apart from you. I long to sit on your porch, glass of cava in hand, taking in a pre-dinner sunset. The memory of your grilled rib eye seared in duck fat or venison with spicy roasted pears drives me to distraction. You leave me, sitting at my computer, staring out the window dreaming of heated assignations with your jalapeno blue cheese polenta. When can I taste the silken texture of your chocolate ancho c

Novelist Alexander Maksik lives in Paris. Of course he found the perfect bar.PARIS – Rosebud is a winter bar. A place to come when its dark early. I found it in December, my second year in Paris. I was very cold, coming home from a party. I passed by and saw their art nouveau lamp glowing in the window. I liked the look of it, the lamp, the blue velvet curtains, the quiet hum of conversation.To look at it, rue Delambre is unremarkable.

I met Pavia Rosati for drinks one slightly soggy evening in London and told her of my upcoming trip to Tuscany.When she heard I was staying in Greve in Chianti, she became animated and made me promise to dine at Solo Ciccia (which roughly translates from Tuscan as only meat), Dario Cecchinis restaurant. Dario is a well known butcher in the neighboring village of Panzano. He has two restaurants opposite the shop, Solo Ciccia and Officina del

I travel for a lot of reasons, but chilling isn’t one of them.I had an inkling this was the case, but my suspicions were confirmed during a trip to idyllic Rancho Pescadero in Baja California Sur. Upon arrival at our rustic-in-all-the-right-ways-for-a-gringo boutique hotel, while other guests worked on either siestas or cervezas, I spent a few hours asking the hotel staffers what they did for kicks.As it turns out, not much. Answers na

The mission was simple: guide a superstar Italian chef, who has never set foot in the United States, on a lightning lunch tour of Manhattans best Italian restaurants to see what he thinks of Americans version of Italian food.The superstar is Fulvio Pierangelini, executive chef of Rocco Forte Hotels, which include Hotel de Russie in Rome (see our Fathom Postcard), Hotel Savoy in Florence, Browns in London, Verdura in Sicily, and Ho

Sometimes a bar is just a bar. Other times a bar is just a delicious taco joint. Or just the most popular brunching beer hall in town. CHICAGO – Ive always fancied myself a New York food snob, but after a two-day food-blitz in Chicago, I fancy myself a Midwest food snob as well. Especially after tasting whats on offer at two casual standouts that made the trip: Big Star and Publican. Lunch at Big Star starts slowly enough. Its in Chica

Kerala, India, is called Gods Own Country because of its natural beauty: lush, languid waterways, endless green rice patties, and white sand beaches that drop into the Arabian Sea. The pace is slower than most places, the people nicer, and the feeling tropical. It is a cherished respite from the dizzy chaos of North India.I had my own divine experience on these backwaters, not just absorbing the scenery, but also experiencing the regions cu

We figured Thanksgiving — the American high holiday of food — would be the ideal day to feature photographer and Fathom contributor Melanie Duneas just-released My Last Supper: The Next Course. The lush photography book, like her original My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals, features portraits, interviews, and recipes with the worlds best chefs based on the question, what would you eat for your last me