It is often said you are what you eat. So there’s reason enough to focus on healthy foods.
In Crete, land of dittany, that is precisely what they do – taking the effort almost to an extreme, and producing their own medicines even. We were treated to a traditional medicine-making class, to learn how Greeks; both of yore and of right now; make cough syrups and throat drops that clear congestion and fight coughs.
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With winter tightening its chilly grip over the UK, I escaped to sunny Crete for an Agro-Adventure.
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My blog is up for public voting in two categories: Travel and Food and Drink. There’s a ton of entries. I don’t think stand a chance. But, ya never know.
To vote for tikichris …
Click here:
http://blogawardsuk.co.uk/ukba2016/my-entry/tikchris#votenow
You’ll see a drop down menu with these options:
– Travel + Food and Drink
– Travel
– Food and Drink
I would appreciate it most if you could vote for that first Travel + Food and Drink option.
Voting for the 2016 UK Blog Awards is open from Monday 4 to Monday 25 January 2016 at 9pm.
To vote you’ll need to enter your name and email address. I hope that’s okay!
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The invite paired well with my need to be in that part of town on an upcoming date and turned out to be a good chance to meet with a friend whom I hadn’t seen in a while. Plus, I was curious to see if the place would be as I had imagined.
COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LOTS MORE FUN AND FREEBIES TO COME!
And what better way to celebrate the life and works of Scottish poet Robert Burns than with a toast of single malt Scotch whisky? I’ve got a bottle of R&B Distillers’ Raasay While We Wait put aside for one lucky reader that’s sure to be the hit of any Burns Supper.
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The difference is though, for 2016, I hope to hone my year-old resolution not only to continue trying for the chance to tell compelling stories, but also to realise more fully my voice in that process.
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I’ve been publishing a London Daily Photo since the summer of 2006, the year I moved back to London. It’s been a fun way to chronicle my adventures in and observations of this amazing city. The series helped hone my skills as a photographer (and a blogger), while serving as an outlet for my creative expression. However, putting the series to rest has been something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while.
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Enjoy this list of fine things to see, sip or savour – all of which I’ve come across recently and thought were worth sharing with you.
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I also hope that in some small way my 2015 blogging helped you have more fun, discover something amazing, save some money or otherwise make more of your time than you might have otherwise.
Over the past several days, I’ve been recapping the year with a series of posts highlighting some of my favourite places and experiences from the past 12 months.
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This list of best beers of 2015 is in alphabetical order and – as is the case with all my Best of 2015 lists – merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new beers available on the market.
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Here’s a look at our top 10 posts—offering perennial tips and inspiration to prepare you for your 2016 adventures.
Read my complete post at OneTravel.
My list of favourite hotels veers toward the luxury end of the spectrum, but budget friendly considerations are included. In large part, hospitality and appreciation won out over bling or lavish excess.
It’s worth noting I’m using the term “hotel” loosely to mean a broad range of accommodation. This short list includes an albergo, an inn, a hostel, and a safari lodge as well as a more traditionally conceived hotel.
This list is in alphabetical order and – as is the case with all my Best of 2015 lists – merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
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In a way this list is for ‘everything else’ that I loved taking a bite of this year but didn’t fit neatly into any specific category. It’s worth noting, I tend not to gush about pop-ups, supper clubs and such. So, the four outfits listed here – a couple of kitchen takeovers (one at a pub the other at a wine bar), as well as a catering company, and a supper club hosted in a private home – all really impressed me.
This list is in alphabetical order and – as is the case with all my Best of 2015 lists – merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of long established and brand new businesses as well as ones that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
By their very nature these enterprises may be subject changes in location, dates, and services offered. Also, I might be mentioning only one aspect of what they do and where you can find them. Check for yourself with the links provided before venturing out to try any of them.
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Some of London’s best meals are still its cheapest. This seems especially to apply in the east (Walthamstow!) more than the west. But even foraging for affordable food in the heart of the West End or passing through some of Central London’s hippest and most trafficked areas, grabbing a bargain bite that’s filling and flavoursome remains a possibility.
Please note, this list – as is the case with all my Best of 2015 lists – merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of long established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
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My list of best London bars and pubs is in alphabetical order (bars first, then pubs) and – as is the case with all my Best of 2015 lists – merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Bottoms up!
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One reoccurring theme I hadn’t expected to encounter along the way was the mention of coffee as an ingredient to making the smoked meat taste so good. Not quite with the same frequency of mention as quality of meat, wood type, temperature, or cooking time, coffee still came up a number of times in my research and in conversation as an important component to making the best “low and slow” smoked meats.
Read my complete post at espressoCrazy.
Please note, I left out London bars as I intend to share my faves in my next ‘best of’ post. Also keep in mind that venues are listed in alphabetical order and that this list – as is the case with all my Best of 2015 lists – merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Cheers!
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Building upon the success of its first London outpost, the new Kanada-Ya Panton Street brings authentic tonkatsu ramen to the west side of Theatreland with plenty more space than at its ultra popular sister site just east in St Giles. Heck, they’ll even let ya book a table (if your party’s big enough) at this newest venture of the small but oh so slurp-tastic global group of famed ramen bars (with locations in Japan and Hong Kong).
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I kinda hate to say it – if only for my own gluttonously self-centred reasons – but as 2015 comes to an end I find myself wondering if the London dining scene has plateaued. I saw a lot more replication, style over substance, and high prices for the sake of high prices (or paying rent that squeezes out independent mom ‘n pop traders) than I recollect from recent years past. And too many people in general still seemed too obsessed with building a better burger and smashing avocados.
Nevertheless, there were standout restaurants scattered around town where I had exceptionally memorable meals worth mentioning in a ‘best of’ roundup. They came in all shapes and sizes … and in a variety of less than typical situations ( a fish and chip shop … a cargo container … a driving range?) from the ultra fancy schmancy to the decidedly stripped down and plain – but in every circumstance the food was the star.
Please note, this list – as is the case with all my Best of 2015 lists – merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
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First of all, it must be said that a significant number of the restaurants listed in yesterday’s Best BBQ post would have featured prominently in this overall list had I not decided to give the BBQ places their own separate list. Definitely some of the best meals I had in 2015 (and maybe in my life) were enjoyed at a few of those BBQ establishments – and all of them listed were far better restaurants than most I’ve encountered, whatever the cuisine.
Also, I left out London restaurants as I intend to share my fave London eateries in future ‘best of’ posts in this series. As a London-based writer covering London first and the rest of the world second (although there’s more and more world coverage competing with London stories for my times these days), I tend to differentiate between what happens in London and elsewhere. Elsewhere was extra awesome this year – especially with respect to restaurants.
So without further ado, here’s a look at the eight best non BBQ/non London restaurants (plus two honourable mentions) I had the good fortune to visit in 2015. Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
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To kick off my Best of 2015 series of yearend posts, I’d like to start with a roundup of the 25 best BBQ restaurants visited during my BBQ Bound road trip through the American South in October.
Listed below are 25 BBQ restaurants. Each one of these independent and mostly family-owned establishments astounded my palate profoundly with authentic and traditionally made American food.
The list is in alphabetical order, but I do have opinions about which places rank where on my list. Moreover, I definitely have an answer to whom should indisputably be ranked the top BBQ in America– as I had the most delicious food I’ve ever tasted there.
Curious about how I’d rank ‘em? Buy me a beer.
Why 25? I hit just over 30 joints during my tour. Only a few didn’t make the cut. And aside from one particular place that was hands down my absolute fave, all the others pretty much came in neck-and-neck as runners up.
Please note, this list is hardly exhaustive and merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me. It is not without glaring omissions. For each pit checked off, several other shrines of wood-smoked tradition were closed when I would have been able to visit or just out of reach for whatever reason.
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Lines deliciously blurred throughout 2015. That made categorising my 2015 faves a fun but challenging task.
Did I love ‘bar x’ for its amazing coffee, speedy breakfast, kick ass cocktails, affordable and scrumptious snacks, or overall ambiance? Was my stellar experience at ‘pub x’ so great because of the hard work of the publican and an amazing beer list or because the food from the street food vendors taking over its kitchen was such a treat? What should I do if one of my favourite meals was in the working kitchen of a caterer? Can one of London’s best restaurants be at a golf range … or in a cargo container?
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In need of a last minute recipe? Keen to impress your family and dinner guests? Wondering what to do with your leftovers? Looking for some inspiration or simply love to admire the ideas of great chefs and photographs of amazing food? Presto! Great Italian Chefs to the rescue!
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