As a chef and freelance food, wine and travel writer, I look for connections among people, their activities, the environment and what they eat that tell the stories of a region and a culture whether that be in the remote Andes Mountains or the streets of Philadelphia. Publications include my travel web site on Argentina: www.travel-with-pen-and-palate-argentina.com, and my articles covering a diverse range of countries and cultures at www.travelpenandpalate.com. I am the Philadelphia and International Dining Examiner at Examiner.com, Feature Writer for Suite101.com for travel and culinary tourism and contributing writer for City Suburban News (Philadelphia).
I'm an active member in the American Culinary Federation, the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and International Culinary Tourism Association. Experience includes 17 years as director of Culinary Arts at a large vocational high school and an additional 20 years in hotel and restaurant management, catering, as well as teaching history, writing, theatre and business. I lived for many years in Puerto Rico and Nova Scotia, Canada. I travel extensively in southern South America, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America as well as Zimbabwe, Africa.
Published Articles
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Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks: Days of Food and Wine
From the moment you drive across the 1931 Bagnell Dam, you know you've entered a different world. The village of Lake Ozark is a time warp out of the 1940s and 1950s, when post-war families packed the kids into station wagons piled high with camping gear. |  |
Sweet Fire in Ushuaia
You will not find Dulce Fuego in any guide book, and if you ask most locals about this four-year-old establishment you may get blank stares. Dulce Fuego is certainly not on the tourist map and even the taxi driver had to check the location of Calle Cabo de Hornos. When he did turn onto the dimly lit street he had to look carefully to find the house number. |
A Culinary Conundrum: Confusion Over Fusion
Is the continuing popularity of fusion cuisine broadening culinary horizons or eroding regional foundations on which its based?
The view from Nong Kiau Riverside Resort and Restaurant is worth the trek
In the far north of Laos, overlooking the swift flowing Nam Oh River as it cuts a path through towering forest covered limestone mountains, the Nong Kiau Riverside Resort and Restaurant melts into the lush countryside.
A Visit to Galen Glen Winery
What is it with engineers and chemists opening wineries? Having visited numerous American vineyards over the past couple of decades, Im definitely sensing a pattern.
(Link is to the PDF of the newspaper; the article is on page 7).
Kinnaree highlights the French influence on Thai dining
Set in an unassuming Horsham strip mall, Kinnaree Thai French Cuisine balances traditional Thai dishes with centuries old French influences.
Laos in the North: the Battery of Southeast Asia
Forested mountains and ethnic villages may dominate photos of northern Laos, but its the regions swift rivers an energy hungry southeast Asia covets.
Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes: Two Easy Laotian Appetizers
Roasting eggplant and tomatoes imparts an earthy flavor to these two quick and easy Laotian dips or spreads.
Luxury Lodges at Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls
Undoubtedly one of Earth's great natural sites, Victory Falls offers Zimbabwe's most luxe accommodations.
In the Land of Kings: Zimbabwe's Ancient Treasures
Three hundred million year old fossil remains, 6,000 year old Matobo cave paintings and 800 year old buildings of Great Zimbabwe are waiting and welcoming.
Zimbabwe's Inns and Lodges: Nature Up Close and Personal
Throughout Zimbabwe visitors have abundant opportunities to view Africas array of animal life on a guided safari photo tour or from their room's balcony.
Arthouse Cafe, Luang Prabang, Laos
Arthouse Cafe stands out among the competition in Laos' historic Luang Prabang
Purple Sticky Rice with Coconut Sauce: Laotian Khao Gam
To many outside South East Asia, sticky rice is exotic, but in Laos it's the common carb. This recipe from Luang Prabang, Laos, creates an elegant dessert.
The Siphandon: Laos Mekong River Oasis
Just 25 miles from the Cambodian border, Laos Mekong spreads up to 8 miles wide creating a delta-like region, the Siphandon, sheltering human and wildlife.
Southern Laos Eco Tourism Future
From post-revolutionary obscurity, the once ancient kingdom of Champasak is at the center of southern Laos' eco-tourism incentive.
Tom Kha Gai from the Look-in Restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand
In Bangkok, the Look-in Restaurants Chef Wan prepares the best Tom Kha Gai Ive ever consumed.
Look-in Restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand: Tradition Meets Fusion
Chef Wan of Bangkoks Look-in Restaurant is as comfortable deftly tossing freshly made pizza dough as he is with the intricate preparation of Tom Kha Gai.
Borough Market, London, England: the Empire Live on in Food
Londons Borough Market is appropriately located near Borough High Street station delivering the worlds food to ancient Southwark Cathedrals door.
The Sheraton Wild Horse Pass and New Native American Cuisine
Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, Spa, and Kai Restaurant, celebrate the spirit and tenacity of Phoenix's Gila River Indian Community in 5 Diamond regalia.
Recipes from New Native American Cuisine at Kai
Recipes from The New Native American Cuisine, Five-Star Recipes from the Chefs of Arizona's Kai Restaurant, with Marian Betancourt, Wild House Pass, Phoenix
Geeche Kunda Cultural Center: Georgias Lost Culture Revived
Americans want to believe we're a homogeneous society. Wake up, we're not. A visit to the Geeche Kunda Cultural Center explodes another cultural myth.
Boiled Peanuts and Georgia's Geechee Gullah Low Country Cuisine
African victims of the slave trade brought with them the cooking traditions of their homeland creating what we know today as Low Country Cuisine.
Luang Prabang, Laos: Tamarind Cafe's Stuffed Lemongrass
Within a lush garden setting on Luang Prabang's Nam Kahn River, Tamarind Cafe teaches the fragrant secrets of Laos renowned cuisine.
Shrimping on the Georgia Coast Aboard the Lady Jane
Eating wild Georgia White Shrimp within minutes of being caught, while on the Lady Jane off St. Simons Island, is a culinary experience not to be missed.
Antelope Park, Zimbabwe: When ALERT is Being Alive
At Antelope Park, Gweru, Zimbabwe, a dozen journalists take two cats for a walk actually, two lions.
Ballooning Over Phoenix: Up, Up and Champagne
At daybreak, floating over the Sonoran Desert at 6,000 feet in a basket is an awesome way to start the day.
Zimbabwe Cuisine: A Tale of Three Meals
The cuisine of Zimbabwe, not surprisingly, represents a fusion of traditional foods, Colonial influences and modern marketing.
Westin Kierland Resort & Spa: Pirate, Piper, Painter
In swank Scottsdale, AZ, the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa provides everything a leasure or business traveler would want including a Chief Fun Officer.
King and Prince Resort's Shrimp and Grits in a Tasso Cream Sauce
The King & Prince Beach & Golf Resort, St. Simons Island, GA, finesses a classic dish served in every southern dinner elevating Shrimp and Grits to stardom.
The Smiles of Zimbabwe
Whizzing by on the bus in the dusty southern Zimbabwe rural countryside a women flashes a big smile as I snap a picture through the windshield.
Columbia Blues: The 2011 Roots, Blues & BBQ Festival
Since 2007 Columbia, Missouri, has hosted one of the nation's top roots and blues festivals at an admission price that should be the envy of music lovers.
Columbia Dining: Beer, Dick Tracy and Peanut Butter
Columbia, Missouri, in Americas heartland, embraces sophisticated dinning and imaginative culinary trends while celebrating down home ingredients.
Columbia Farmers Market: City Support for Sustainable Agriculture
Columbia and AgriMissouri are putting money where its mouth is supporting farmers markets and sustainable agriculture.
Columbia Star Dinner Train: Bygone Elegance Revived
The crystal clinks, the linen is crisp, the silver plate gleams and outside the picture window the late summer Missouri farmland slowly glides past.
Les Bourgeois Vineyard: Fine Wine and Dine in Central Missouri
Since 1974 a Cajun family has turned a hobby into the award winning Les Bourgeois, Missouri's fourth largest vineyard.
An Inside Outsider at Columbia's Roots, Blues and BBQ Festival
The Kansas City BBQ Society does not allow observers inside judging tents until one Philadelphia chef and writer was given an exclusive scoop.
Your Brain on BBQ: Four Roots, Blues & BBQ Festival Teams
Interviewing four of the 60 teams competing in Columbia, Missouri's Fifth Annual Roots, Blues & BBQ Festival reveals a surprising mix of business and fun.
Rocheport, Missouri: The Town Time Ignored
Rocheport rests on the languid banks of the Missouri River enjoying its place in the Nineteenth Century. Is that Lewis and Clark approaching town?
For the Love of the Grape on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail
Big Creek and Cherry Valley are just two of the vineyards on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail in northeast Pennsylvania that make for a pleasant weekend getaway.
Salvatore Vito: Pocono Limited Winery's Master of the Apple
Pocono Limited Winery organic apple wines redefine the genre for this writer whose last experience with the fermented fruit was Boone's Farm during college.
Uncommon Chefs: Shawnee Inn's Team at The Gem & Keystone Brew Pub
Gem & Keystone Brewpub's Dan Stripp and his team of "artists, skateboarders and rock stars" are unconcerned they're on the cutting edge of national trends.
Keeping Things Fresh: Chef Gaurav Navin of Shawnee's River Room
From India to rural Pennsylvania, Chef Gaurav Navin brings a world's experience to Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort's menu using locally sourced products.
Shawnee Inn's Own Local Sourcing
Pennsylvania's Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort takes food sustainability seriously, and creates profits, taking food from their farm to their tables.
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Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort: Preserving the Best for a Century
On Pennsylvania's Shawnee Inn and Golf Resorts spacious and secluded grounds guard bees congregate on the porch of the hives providing ventilation for the life of the queen. Six varieties of tomatoes, white eggplant, Chinese five-color peppers and multi-colored chard thrive in the middle of one of Americas oldest award-winning golf courses. Micro-beers are being bottled by a former electronics engineer of advanced defense weapons. Goat cheese is delivered fresh from a local farm. The mist on the Delaware River swirls through the tree-covered Pocono Mountains, and Frank Sinatras voice croons softly through the 100 year old lobby. This is the 21st Century?
Galveston Gourmet
Galveston, Texas, from breakfast at the Tremont through a late night cocktail at M & M's, this city should be on any foodie's culinary map.
Galveston Rising
Galveston, Texas, once the New York of the Southeast, is struggling to regain its much deserved prominence among America's ocean side retreats.
Marc: A Teaching, Cooking, Writing, and Traveling Career
The great site, www.teachingtraveling.com, has just published an interview article on me they requested that I write:
"I was born with wanderlust according to the Minneapolis Multi Phasic Personality Inventory..."
The Black Trumpet, Spring Lake, NJ: Gourmet Lunch on a Budget
The Black Trumpet's lunch in Spring Lake, New Jersey, is oceanfront fine dining at a fast food price.
Spring Lake: New Jersey's Irish Festival on the Riviera
Spring Lake, NJ, known as the "Irish Riviera," goes all things Celtic in mid-June but no green beer.
Kansas City, MO: Blues, BBQ and Baklava
Kansas City: this gateway to the west keeps on the move gathering an international mix of cultures, food, jazz and blues defying mid-west stereotypes.
Kansas City: Missouri's Modern Day Phoenix
Missouri's Kansas City is undergoing a revival that's attracting businesses back from the suburbs and, especially, from that "other" Kansas City.
Columbia, Missouri: A Zou for the Lively Arts
Be it jewelry, painting, film, music, writing or culinary, 100,000 Columbians enjoy a surprisingly rich artistic life - and a lively "Zou" of 50,000 students.
Kansas City, Missouri: Historic Westport
Kansas City's Historic Westport District is the true gateway to the west.
The Duck and HK's: Fine Dining on Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks
Great dining experiences in Missouri: the heartland of America has more to offer than just being "that empty space" one flies over from coast to coast.
Horatio Quiroga's San Ignacio
San Ignacio probably would no longer exist if it were not for the ruins of the great Jesuit mission, San Ignacio Mini (1696-1768), a UNESCO World Heritage site that attracts thousands of tourists each year.
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