I wrote a guest blog post about the tour of M. Chapoutier wine tour that the kind folks at Whole Foods organized for us during our foodie fantasy trip. Click here or the image below to check it out. We also took pictures of ourselves all over Europe with a Whole Foods paper bag and I included a less than one minute video of the bags’ adventures.

Whole Foods also organized an amazing cheese tour in Paris. Check back to tomorrow for that post!

When I heard the news that Austin American-Statesman food critic Mike Sutter was taking a buyout and retiring from the paper, I felt a pang of sadness.
Everyone had their own opinion of his reviews, but to me, they were smart, funny, and always well-researched. I knew that if I read a review by Mike, that it would mean he had visited the restaurant at least three times, taken pains to ensure he wasn’t recognized, and did his best to give the restaurant staff the respect and care they deserved.
He understood …

Today I had lunch at Lamberts with Jonathan Bloom, my favorite kind of Austin visitor. In town for the International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference (IACP) Conference, he’s a food nerd and isn’t squeamish about sharing with someone he’s never met before.
Jonathan is the brother of a former colleague of mine, blogger at Wasted Food, and author of the book American Wasteland. According to his blog, he “writes about why we waste food, why it matters and what we can do about it.”
Bloom will be participating in the IACP Culinary Book …

In Austin, Marfa is spoken of in hushed tones almost as if going there is a religious experience. I can’t tell you how many times people have said to me over the years, “you have to go to Marfa, you will love it!”

Now, I’ve been there. And, I love it. Marfa is seven and a half hours west of Austin, and I can’t wait to make the pilgrimage again.
We stopped in Alpine on the way in, the largest city in the triangle of cool West Texas towns that includes Marfa …

So now you know where to stay if you ever drive through Marathon, in West Texas. And while the Gage is a huge draw for this small town, they also have some great places to eat and a few gems for shopping.
Where to Eat Dinner:
If you visit Marathon, I’d guess that you’ll probably plan to be there just one night, unless you have some serious chilling out time. Our first night in Marathon, Adam and I ate at 12 Gage, the upscale restaurant that is part of the Gage hotel. …