The Best Sparkling Water In the World
Plus recipes from Hisham Assaad's new cookbook & lots of links
Hello!
Welcome to the first newsletter of the year. Based on your feedback, this will go out biweekly from now on, and travel and food will remain together. Thanks so much for all the responses.
Every travel magazine is doing a ‘where to travel’ or ‘how to travel’ in 2022 list, so I felt I should too. But honestly…I’m not sure how many people are actually traveling right now, no one can make predictions at this point, and the way you travel in 2022 should be the way you travel all the time: responsibly, with a mind toward climate change, being kind and generous toward the people you meet, and spending money in line with your values. The major difference this year is vaccinations. Getting vaccinated/boosted keeps you and others in the place you’re visiting safe, but you already know that.
Be a Better Traveler: Ice Fishing Edition?
So instead of a ‘where to go’ issue, let’s talk about a travel experience closer to home, at least for those of us in the Midwest. Ice fishing! Have you ever been?
A few Februarys ago, I found myself sitting on a frozen Lake Michigan, five miles away from shore and uncomfortably close to one of my biggest fears–falling through frozen ice. I was ice fishing in Door County with Dale Stroschein of Wacky Walleye’s Guide Service. Actually, I was watching other people ice fish while my pole sat in a perfectly cut hole for hours, with not so much as a nibble.
Ice fishing in northern Wisconsin on one of the coldest weekends of the year is not something I would normally choose to do, but I was in Door County to experience what the area has to offer in the chillier months, and ice fishing with Stroschein came highly recommended. He’s been a guide for more than 20 years and is in the Fishing Hall of Fame, but all the expertise in the world couldn’t have calmed me as we drove out onto the ice.
“So, how many people have you seen fall in?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Oh dozens,” Stroschein replied nonchalantly, as if this wasn’t the most horrifying thing in the world. “See it a few times every year.”
He then regaled me with his own stories of falling through the ice, once while in a truck so he had to climb out the window and pull himself out.
The ice was about 50 feet thick, and I had to admit it was kind of cool (no pun intended). With nothing but ice and sky for miles it looked like we were on another planet. All around us men sat patiently with PBRs, waiting to catch some walleye. Read more here. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t catch any fish).
Travel stories around the web
Speaking of those lists. I thought the NYT 52 Places list was odd this year. Aside from including one very, very small part of Chicago alongside the entire country of Sierra Leone, for example, the reasoning for including certain places seemed like a stretch. But that’s a longer conversation I’m happy to have with anyone who wants to discuss. This list from Thrillist about how 21 cities are getting innovative on climate change was better done, in my opinion, and some of these initiatives seem really cool.
In much of the West, the walls are closing on anti-vaxxers
It’s 5 times more difficult”: the challenges of operating an Airbnb in Cuba
Travel for the Food
“I want to take you on a journey into the food of Beirut,” writes Hisham Assaad in the introduction to his new cookbook, “Bayrūt: Recipes from the heart of a Lebanese kitchen.”
Assaad grew up in a food-loving family. His father is a “butcher from a family of butchers” and his mother is an excellent cook, who taught him much of what he knows. He started sharing recipes on his blog, cookin5m2.com (his kitchen was five square meters), and eventually worked as a guest chef at local restaurants, worked in food styling photography, and led culinary tours.
Lebanese food is widely available in the U.S., but what is the food of Beirut, specifically? In his book, Assaad highlights and preserves recipes specific to the city, from street food to home cooked stews, and plenty of his own family recipes.
I interviewed Assaad for Forbes this week. We discussed the history of Lebanese food and how it’s changed, how what is often broadly thought of as Mediterranean food breaks down into specific regional dishes, and how economic hardship has bred innovation. Read the whole thing here.
A very important takeaway:
“If it doesn’t have chickpeas it is not hummus! Hummus is not a puree. It means chickpeas, the garbanzo beans,” Assaad says.
Folks, you cannot create ‘zucchini hummus’ or ‘avocado hummus’ or ‘beet hummus,’ to name a few I’ve seen recently. Just call it something different!
Another important takeaway, for those considering visiting Lebanon:
“The best thing, when you come here, is just to be kind to people, because people are going through a lot. We still have things to see, experiences to do, although a lot of restaurants have closed down or are struggling. Just keep in mind that by visiting here and supporting local people and local businesses, you are helping people by doing that. But don’t just come and be a tourist because it’s cheap right now. Get someone to help you get to know people and make sure you’re getting the full experience, and see how people are living, so you’re not just in a bubble.”
More about visiting Lebanon here.
And finally, a tip for working with Assaad’s recipes:
“One thing I learned from watching my mom is to cook with heart and soul,” Assaad writes in the book’s introduction. “In Arabic, we call it nafas–a breath–and it means to put your essence into cooking. We believe that people who cook with nafas don’t have to know the rules, yet will always make delicious food.”
Here’s Assaad’s recipe for Daoud Bacha, or Meatballs & Onions In Tomato Sauce:
For the meatballs:
800 g coarsely minced ground beef
100 g onions, finely sliced
Handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
½ tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp vegetable oil
For the sauce:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
500 g onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
750 g fresh tomatoes, grated (keep the juices)
1 tbsp tomato paste (optional)
1 tsp salt
“The origin of this popular Levantine dish is commonly attributed to an Ottoman ruler or Pasha who loved eating this dish every day. The dish evolved regionally with different variations: some add potatoes to stretch out and reduce the meat quantity and make it more filling, while others flavor the tomato sauce with pomegranate molasses. Pine nuts are also an optional addition to level up this recipe.
This is the classic version, but I do suggest you try adding some starchy potato cubes that have first been fried until lightly golden and then finished in the sauce.”
First, make the meatballs. In a large bowl, mix the beef with the onions, parsley, allspice and salt until combined, then form into meatballs, about 1.5 inches in diameter.
In a shallow skillet, heat the vegetable oil over a medium heat and fry the meatballs for 6-8 minutes until brown and cooked on all sides, then remove and set aside.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over a medium-high heat, add the onions and garlic and saute until slightly translucent. Add the meatballs and mix well. Add the grated tomatoes and their juices to the pot, season with salt, then add 2 cups of water, or enough to cover the meatballs. If the tomatoes aren’t ripe enough and lack flavor, dilute the tomato paste in a little water and stir into the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Serve with rice pilaf:
“The base for any Beiruti pilaf recipe is this simple, but perfectly cooked combination of rice and vermicelli noodles. Toasting the vermicelli until golden adds a nutty flavor and I like to toast the rice in oil and butter for the same reason.
Back in the old days, long before rice was introduced to the Levantine diet, this pilaf was made with burghul, since it was the local crop and had more nutrition benefits. Some people still prefer burghul pilaf instead of rice with traditional stews. My grandma told me that, before vermicelli was commercially available, to pass the time on long nights the family would gather and roll pieces of unleavened dough into long, thin strands and toss them in a basket to be dried later to make vermicelli. If a man wanted to get to know a girl from a certain family, he’d ask to join one of those nights of vermicelli-making as a way to see her and talk to her in a family-approved setting.”
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
60 g (⅔ cup) crumbled vermicelli noodles (can use no. 1 spaghetti)
1 ½ cups long grain rice, rinsed
2 cups water or stock
1 tsp fine salt
Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over a medium-high heat, add the vermicelli and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in the rice, then pour in the water or stock. Season with salt and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the water is completely absorbed.
Turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork, then put the lid back on the pan and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Thanks to Hisham for letting me print these recipes! Buy the book! The intro is an ode to the city packed with history, the recipes are incredible, the photographs of the food and markets are beautiful. And if you do go to Beirut, book a tour with Taste Lebanon. One of my favorite travel memories is wandering the markets of Tripoli with Hisham.
Food stories around the web
When did following recipes become a personal failure?
The bitter past and promising future of sugarcane
Fromage fictions—the 14 biggest cheese myths debunked
Is Gruyère still Gruyère if it doesn’t come from Gruyères? (Wisconsinites will bristle at the quotes)
Wine of the Week
Just kidding…Wine of the week will be back next newsletter. In honor of those of you doing dry January, let’s talk sparkling water.
It’s hard to remember our lives without sparkling water, but it only became massively popular a few years ago. Back in college, I worked in restaurants and the people who ordered sparkling water were fancy. Those bottles were expensive! This was long before the days when you could self-serve sparkling water from a little silver tap at your local coffee shop, and definitely pre-sodastream. Then I moved to Italy, where sparkling water was the norm, and only about one Euro with any meal. Luckily by the time I returned home we were in the early stages of La Croix mania. Fast forward a few years and there are hundreds of sparkling water varieties.
Europe and most of the rest of the world make mineral water, while the U.S. generally makes flavored carbonated water. This is a major distinction. There is very little mineral water made in the United States.
I’ve tasted dozens and dozens of sparkling water varieties, and think I’ve found the best.
Spindrift is the best fruit-flavored water, Topo Chico is one of the most bubbly, and has some of the best branding, Singha is the sparkliest by a mile, Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher is the water I never knew I wanted until last month, Borjomi is the best for a hangover, and the actual, overall best sparkling water in the world is…… Guess you’ll have to read the article to find out. But I’ll give you a hint: it’s from Slovenia.
Wine stories around the web
How Instagram made wine an aspirational life choice
The unspoken challenges for mothers in wine
Final thoughts:
Reading: I only just started Paolo Cognetti’s “The Eight Mountains” but it’s gorgeous so far.
Watching: This is not a recommendation, just a note to say ‘And Just Like That’ is making Sex and the City 2, the Abu Dhabi spectacle, seem like a good movie. I know a lot of people who are watching the reboot out of loyalty to the characters (myself included), but no one who is actually enjoying it. Are you? I’d love to hear from you if so.
An actual watching recommendation:
Go: Would love to know if anyone is an avid ice fisher (aside from my uncles). If you’re looking for something farther afield the Scott’s Cheap Flights deals have been insane lately.
Do: If you’re in Chicago and like bakeries, this run looks fun!
Eat: Hisham’s recipes, obviously! I’m also recently addicted to these Estrella Dill Chips.
Drink: The world’s best sparkling water. In Chicago it’s available at several stores on Devon Ave., and at Ann’s Bakery in Ukrainian Village (where you can also get the dill chips).
Missing: This. January in Chicago < January in Bora Bora.
Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free and fun to make, but does take (sometimes a lot of) time. Sharing is very much appreciated.
Stay safe! xx
–Rebecca