Bonus Issue: Voting, Little Kurdistan, Subscriber Updates
Plus the best cider mill in the U.S., if you ask me!
Hello!
A quick special edition to update you about paid subscriptions, and because Election Day is around the corner.
Be a Better Citizen – Vote!
I wrote in 2020 about how voting impacts travel. While things have changed since then (we have a new president and Covid-19 restrictions are less of a thing, for example), voting is still important. More important than the ability to travel widely, of course, are women’s access to healthcare and threats to democracy.
Are you registered to vote? Illinois voters: the “Girl, I Guess” voter guide will get you up to date on everything on the ballot.
Be a Better Traveler - Visit Little Kurdistan
I’ve spent a lot of time in Halabja, Iraq over the past year covering an ongoing trial. In 1988, Saddam Hussein's regime used chemical weapons to kill thousands of Kurdish residents. Now, victims and their families are suing European companies that sold chemicals to Hussein, allegedly knowing he would use them on civilians. They’re hoping for compensation, international recognition, and adequate medical care.
Nashville is home to the largest Kurdish population in the U.S. (about 18,000 people), many of whom came to the U.S. from Halabja after the attacks. I wrote about how they feel about the trial for The Tennessean.
“No moment passes without grieving what happened in Halabja,” Yasin Kokoye told me. “It is my city. We are the victims. That’s why we are here. Why else would we leave our friends, our family?”
He said the case has brought him hope.
There’s an area of Nashville referred to as “Little Kurdistan.” Next time you’re in the city, eat kabob at Edessa Restaurant, buy samoon and stock up on groceries at Azadi International Food Market, and shawarma at House of Shawarma (in the back of the Newroz Market).
I hope you’ll learn about Halabja and what happened there.
“In the U.S., no one even knows about Halabja,” Nawzad Hawrami, who runs a Kurdish cultural center in Nashville, told me. It was a refrain repeated by many both in Nashville and Iraq.
Stay tuned for the outcome of the trial and a few more stories later this year, along with a guide to visiting Iraqi Kurdistan.
(A funny anecdote: Halabja is famous for its pomegranates. Yasin Kokoye, in the Instagram photo above, told me that when pomegranates started to become trendy in the U.S. in the early 2000s, he and his wife found it hilarious that grocery stores in Nashville printed out instructions on how to de-seed them. 😂 )
Travel for the Food & Drink
Some regional things worth traveling for.
I had New Haven-style pizza for the first time a few weeks ago and, not surprisingly, loved it. New Haven-style pizza is oblong, with a charred and almost chewy crust, and not heavy on cheese. Or, as Eater puts it, “a hotter, crispier, and dirtier descendant of Neapolitan style pie.” It’s also known for specific toppings, like plain tomato sauce and white clam pizza. We had Sally’s, Pepe’s, Zuppardi’s and Bar. (Before you email me–I know we should have had Modern! We ran out of time.) All were excellent and I would have to try them side-by-side to really tell a huge difference, but I think I liked Pepe’s sauce the best. Where does your loyalty lie?
Cheese curds and Brandy Old Fashioneds. I’m from Wisconsin so I’m biased, but on a recent trip home I had a brandy old fashioned for the first time in years (I typically get whiskey). In Wisconsin (especially outside of Madison or Milwaukee, where you’ll have more choice), an old fashioned comes with brandy. I had forgotten this until in Lake Geneva last weekend. I had also forgotten that you order them ‘sweet’ (with Sprite) or ‘sour’ (with sour mix.) It’s not for purists, but a Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet is a great fall drink. History and recipe here. Pair with cheese curds, ideally fried, ideally from The Old Fashioned in Madison, which makes the best light batter.
Hard Cider. After a week of ciders in New England and New York, all decent, none amazing, I have to say Michigan makes some of the best cider in the country. Vander Mill is widely available in the Midwest and more flavorful than most ciders I’ve had in the U.S. But my absolute favorite is Tandem Ciders. It was started by a couple who biked through England and fell in love with cider, and the cozy tasting room feels like a Midwest barn meets English pub. I especially like the Farmhouse, Smackintosh and Pommeau (a French drink that blends cider with apple brandy). The tasting room is definitely worth a visit, but if you can also find it in stores.
Shifting to Paid Subscriptions
This is the last completely free newsletter. Next time, I’m moving to paid subscriptions.
Like I said a few weeks ago, I write this newsletter because I love sharing travel tips. I love telling people about the best thing I ate in any given city, and talking about wine, or the ethics of travel. But writing this newsletter takes time away from writing that I am otherwise paid to do, like the above story about Halabja. The nature of freelance is that there is always another story I could be pitching and working on instead. While sharing travel tips and guides is something I enjoy, it is also only possible because I have spent years building up expertise.
I think about this a lot when people ask ‘where should I eat in X city?’ It’s not technically hard for me to look through my saved lists or photos or Google maps and email a few recommendations. But it does take time. Not only the time to send the email, but the hours that I spent researching before my own trip, and of course actual travel time. I know that I’m lucky to have created a very fun job for myself, but it is still my job and how I make a living.
So, what’s changing? The ‘Be a Better’ traveler section of the newsletter will remain free. That means my thoughts on female solo travel, “touristy” places, visiting the South, visiting Eastern Europe, trips vs. vacations, whether the Maldives are worth it, etc., will still be free for all subscribers.
Paid subscribers will get:
Guides, like how to walk through Provence, San Sebastián travel tips, the eater’s guide to Puglia, the Be a Better Traveler Guide to Mexico City, among others. These will be more detailed going forward and include more tips on how to ‘be a better traveler,’ including notes on politics, language, social issues, etc. The next guide is about Jordan, one of my favorite places on the planet!
Two one-on-one zoom calls per year with me, where I can help you plan a trip.
Discounts on travel brands.
Access to a subscriber group chat, where we’ll talk about all things travel and food.
Occasional giveaways.
Barely any links this week:
And this one is bad: Glaciers in at least one-third of World Heritage sites possessing them, including Yosemite National Park, will disappear by mid-century even if emissions are curbed, the U.N. warned in a report.
Hope you have a great rest of the week! I’m in DC for a wedding and excited to visit one of my favorite cocktail bars in the world and to finally check out the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
-Rebecca 💛
Didn't find where the paid subscriber option was.
Thanks for the information about Halabja. And best of luck with paid subscriptions! It was a big deal for us when we turned that option on as well.