Tales of a Traveling Marketer

A (wannabe) escapist from a conformist world. Marketing communications professional. Wanderer. Student of life.

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On Human Achievement

There are times when there are more questions than answers, and that’s okay. It’s man’s continuous search for meaning, purpose, his origins and history that make way for great discoveries. Mysteries keep us grounded, knowing we don’t know everything there is. The simplest of them — was it of ritual, maybe brought by necessity, perhaps scientific — feats of engineering and architecture, mathematical precision, human achievement far advanced than the time they were created.

(Photo taken at Wiltshire, UK, May 2012)

Footnote to a post: I encourage everyone to travel on their own once in their lives. There are many ways to do this. I chose Contiki, a service that lets you travel with people ages 18-35 to destinations worldwide.

By doing so, you may not know it at the time, but no matter your destination, you would be setting off to a life-changing experience.

My trip was years ago now but I still remember getting to the Stonehenge site vividly and it becoming real for me. I still remember the rest of the trip as well, but perhaps I will tell the rest of the story another time.

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The Best Risotto Yet (And A Must Go In Jersey)

Tell me you’ve got risotto on the menu, and you’ve got me. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. Along with chocolate and eating with chopsticks and dulce de leche. And the best risotto I have had so far is from this place called The Pluckemin Inn in New Jersey.

It was during one of those weekends we gave up on in the spring of this year, looking through listings on Open Table and chanced upon The Pluckemin. The criteria: proximity to where we were at the time, user reviews and Open Table points we were to earn. We had to cancel reservations at a different restaurant that night and were looking forward to having the place’s interpretation of cacio e pepe, a difficult-to-find-in-the-US pasta dish that we had in Rome months earlier, but that already did not pan out — so we had low expectations for our second option. Needless to say, we were more than pleasantly surprised at how good this restaurant experience turned out to be, giving us some of the best food we’ve ever had.

The risotto, 2nd course off a five-course prix fixe menu, was cooked perfectly. It also had perfectly cooked chicken oysters, tastefully flavored and complemented by the peas (which I don’t usually like, but works in this dish, especially texturally) among other flavors:

Organic Risotto (chicken oysters, wild mushrooms, parmesan, English peas) In addition to the food, the service staff was outstanding. There were five, maybe even six, people designated to our table of two. All of them courteous and precise. At one point, the woman about to serve our entrees turned back to the kitchen. We were wondering why and realized she wanted to make sure she knew whose dish is what, and that she would not make a mistake. Our main server is so passionate about the food that it’s contagious, and he has every right to be. I realized, watching them while savoring my gourmet meal, when you’re in a place like that and you do not have a passion for food, you don’t belong there. We also found out that the Executive Chef Andrew Lattanzio is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. By the time we got to the end of the meal and they gave us petit fours, we found the experience too similar to our experience at Bocuse that we thought there’s no way he isn’t, so we looked it up.

The meal was outstanding, I can’t wait to go back to The Pluckemin Inn to taste their menu for the next season. Pluckemin Inn Restaurant Rating: 9.75

Pluckemin Inn Risotto Rating: 9.75 out of 10

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Candid

What do people see in us during our most unguarded moments? When we allow ourselves to just be, at our most free, one with our truth, stripped to our core, unpretentious, alone with our own thoughts, most honest, most vulnerable?

(Photo taken by MW, Bodrum, Turkey, November 2013)

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German Food Sunday

Yesterday, while everyone was busy cheering Germany on towards World Cup dominance, I had my first taste of German food at the Black Forest Mill. It’s a restaurant in Highland Mills, NY specializing in German favorites, also serving Polish and other European dishes. For my entree, I ordered one of the specials: a pork dish with its skin on (pictured), served with potato dumpling and brown gravy, which I had them serve on the side, as well as creamed spinach. They promised me crispy skin and it came out softer than I expected, but the flavor was good, not overly spiced. In order for us to have a taste of what the place had to offer, my boyfriend ordered the Black Forest Sampler Skillet: Jaeger Schnitzel, Pork Loin, Sauerbraten, Bratwurst, served over spaetzle. The best part of our meal was the appetizer: Polish Cheese-Potato Pierogi on Sauerkraut (Polische Teig Taschen mit Kaese und Kraut). My boyfriend ordered a Black Forest Cake to go, which he afterwards gave a thumbs down. What was most interesting to me was the number of courses the meal was made up of and the number of side dishes. It seemed after we had our appetizer, we were served soup, then a salad, a potato salad, coleslaw, followed by our meals which came with side dishes plus sauerkraut. By the time my entree was served, I was so full I had forgotten I had ordered one. Overall it was a nice experience, and I would go back to this restaurant (even if only for those yummy pierogis!).

Black Forest Mill Restaurant Rating: 7 out of 10

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Happy Birthday Tatay

Birthdays are a big deal in my family growing up, and it was the most evident at my grandfather’s celebrations. His guests would include three generations, even four, of members from both his and my grandmother’s sides of the family; in-laws; friends from his high school days to present ones from the barangay; colleagues who still remembered his birthday long after he retired; neighbors; his children’s and grandchildren’s friends; all there to celebrate another year of his life.

When he passed away, it was a testament to the way my grandfather lived that the same people who celebrated with him during those birthdays were also there to pay their respects.

Tomorrow is his birthday. Happy birthday in heaven, tatay. As we celebrate another year of your memories may we learn to live a life such as yours, so as we celebrate not only days and years, but live a life worth celebrating long after we are gone.

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On Serenity

In the middle of crowds and chaos, I am learning to tune out noise and aspire for calm. There, in the in between, in the just-arrived and not-there-yet; the I can come in and choose to stay an observer; twinkling lights, fun and merry-go-rounds against a soft picturesque as-if-it-was-painted backdrop; the middle of the day and night, the light still but not quite dark — is serenity.

(Picture taken of Warwick’s 4th of July Carnival, 2014, Warwick, NY using my iPhone)

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When in Turkey

2013 brought my boyfriend and I to a number of places I never thought I would find myself in. During our most recent cruise, Marmaris, Turkey was a mystery to us. We did our research and had low expectations about the port. When we got there, it turned out to be beautiful, and most importantly, it was where we found the best lamb dish we’ve eaten:

Ottoman Kebab at the Liman Restaurant Marina

At the entrance of the restaurant was a guy welcoming guests and a huge menu with pictures, descriptions and prices. We immediately pointed at the picture of the Ottoman Kebab and asked what it was. I personally do not eat lamb, but I am so glad we decided to try it — the moment the server brought it to our table, you could smell how delicious it was (made the person seating next to us curious and ask what we were eating). Any other lamb I have tasted anywhere else has a weird taste to me, but for some reason this kebab had none of the weird taste at all. The dish was authentic, seats were very comfortable, and the staff and service were excellent. (In addition to the lamb, we also ordered an out-of-this-world calamari that was extraordinarily fresh as if they pulled it out of the ocean minutes before it was served.)

If you’re going to find yourself in Turkey anytime soon, please do make your way to this restaurant, it will be worth your while.

Liman Restaurant Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Lamb dish rating: 9.5 out of 10

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On beauty

There are moments in our lives when we realize that we were granted a rare window to seeing what’s truly beautiful. In those instances, awe takes over and we know, we have been changed forever.

(Photo taken in Santorini, Greece, during our cruise in November 2013 using my iPhone)

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Let’s Talk Ice Cream

I have had a lot of good ice cream in my travels, and the best ones are the unexpected ones. Those that came from nowhere. You take a bite and you say, wait, this one’s for the books. Being a chocoholic, I do go for the usual chocolate or peanut butter flavors, and like my ice cream with texture. When at home, I like my ice cream not too frozen, pop it in the microwave for a little bit so it’s just the right consistency.

So during a recent trip to Hyde Park, it was Bocuse’s table-side lavender ice cream that blew my boyfriend and I away: Lavender Ice Cream, Sablé, Wild Blueberry Sauce Yuzu-Lime Baba, Mascarpone Cheese and Mixed Berry “Mirror” Green Tea-Red Bean and Jasmine Rice Pudding Gâteaux Canelé de Bordeaux Warm Mixed Berry Pound Cake Lavender is not a flavor one would think for ice cream — and when we put it in our mouths, it was refreshing, and the contrast between the ice cream and the texture of the sable was perfect.  A close second would have to also be at The Culinary Institute, this time at its American Bounty Restaurant. The server, a student at the Institute (all restaurant staff are students being trained at the school), went over the dessert menu and told us the day’s special (it was Mother’s Day and we were there to treat my mom) fried chicken and waffles dessert: waffle cake, whipped maple syrup, honey tabasco pearls and fried chicken ice cream. He said he had a bet with the head chef, who came up with the special dessert, that he can sell this to someone. I of course knew the moment he started telling us about it that if there’d be people to try it, they’d be my stepdad and my boyfriend. Both are adventurous when it comes to food. It of course paid off, because the dessert was pure genius. I admit I only had a taste of it, but still. (I asked my stepdad afterwards if this is the best ice cream he’s ever had. He said no, but it’s certainly the most interesting.)

It is amazing to me how creative these chefs are for them to have thought the combination of these ingredients would work. How about you, what’s the best ice cream you’ve had?

Bocuse Restaurant rating: 9.75 out of 10 Lavender Ice Cream rating: 9.75 out of 10

American Bounty Restaurant rating: 7 out of 10 Chicken and Waffles Ice Cream rating: 9 out of 10