The Best Thing I Ate Last Week By Andrew Zimmern I wait all year for the first foot long hot dog from my favorite booth. The first bite is a toe curler. The snap of the skin, the peppery frank, the well done caramelized onions and kraut. It’s simply the best bite of the year… Read More →
Eat Andrew Zimmern’s favorite fair foods and share your pics for a chance to win. There’s a reason Andrew finds himself at the Minnesota State Fair for every one of its 12 days: the food. Sure, every year brings new booths to peruse and novelties to try, but nothing beats traditional state fair chow from… Read More →
We tasted new food at the Minnesota State Fair – here’s our take. By AndrewZimmern.com Staff Tasked with sampling a slew of new foods at the State Fair, we skipped breakfast and headed out early Thursday morning with empty stomachs and open minds. There were pleasant surprises (maple bacon shaved ice!), a few safe bets (anything with… Read More →
Forget Takeout, Make Thai Food at Home The stunning complexity of Thai cuisine, studded at brief intervals with simple, elegant dishes, makes it one of the world’s most popular cuisines. Hot, sour, salty and sweet, the flavors of Thailand are truly addictive. Most of these recipes are easier than you’d think, but if you’re looking… Read More →
Mind Blowing Thai Food at Soei Catch Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food: Bangkok, Tuesday August 23 at 9|8c on Travel Channel. Located along the railroad track in the Dusit neighborhood, Soei is my new favorite restaurant in Bangkok. Our meal at this casual, open-air restaurant simply blew me away. Nearly every single thing I ordered… Read More →
52 Things to Look for at the MN State Fair Looking for a fun way to explore the Minnesota State Fair this year? Try completing this State Fair scavenger hunt. Mullets, crazy tattoos, award-winning baked goods, celebrities, fair hair… if you can think of it, you can find it at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. So… Read More →
Tomato Flavor Bombs By Andrew Zimmern Here’s one irresistible way to use up and preserve that bucket of tomatoes you bought at the farmers’ market last weekend. Roasting the tomatoes at a low temp for several hours intensifies the flavor. Put these oven-dried tomatoes in salads or sautés; puree for homemade tomato paste and sauces;… Read More →
Nothing beats simple, homemade pesto in the summer. Most recipes for traditional basil pesto call for pine nuts, but I’m here to make the case for pumpkin seeds. I fell in love with pumpkin seeds (pepitas) after visiting Mexico, where seeds and nuts are used in a variety of recipes, from salsas to desserts. I… Read More →
Cebiche a Tonno By Andrew Zimmern This flavor-packed ceviche pairs fresh tuna with a spicy ancho chile paste, salty capers, tart lemon and fresh herbs. The beauty of ceviche is that it gives a cook plenty of leeway to experiment with their food, so feel free to add your own twist.
Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food kicks off in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, August 16 at 9|8c on Travel Channel. In the series premiere, I’m visiting the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro to experience it like a real carioca, tapping into three local cab drivers to get a true feel for this bustling, diverse metropolis.… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week (And the Week Before That) By Andrew Zimmern Of all the great regional Chinese cuisines, Sichuan food has a special place in my heart. While we don’t have as many great Chinese restaurants as I would like in Minnesota, we do have a few that absolutely blow me… Read More →
Embrace the Transformative Power of Travel In my new series Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food, I discover the street behind Main street, the off-the-grid dive and the unexpected with a local guide—from a rickshaw driver in Hyderabad to a Nashville cab driver who knows all the hidden gems in Music City. Together, we’re exploring food and culture from a whole new perspective.… Read More →
Tia Lea’s Private Restaurant Traveling with a local has its perks, including a reservation at the most exclusive restaurant in town, Tia Lea’s. She runs a private restaurant out of her home in Rio de Janeiro, cooking for no more than 20 people at a time. The food is beyond amazing. And the view? One of… Read More →
Mediterranean Food Heaven in Cyprus Cyprus is an island paradise, and a crossroads of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culture. It’s also a nation ripped in half by decades of conflict. In Nicosia, Cyprus, the world’s last remaining occupied and divided city, there is a small café called the Berlin 2 Wall Kebab House. They serve a… Read More →
My Top Restaurant Recommendations for Rio Rio de Janeiro has a beat all its own; it’s a city that moves you. From Sugarloaf Mountain to Copacabana Beach, it’s easy to see why Rio is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere. Cantinho das Concertinas The large CADEG market is filled with hundreds… Read More →
Modern Food, Age-Old Technique Defined more than a decade ago by chefs Claus Meyer and Rene Redzepi, the New Nordic food movement is reimagining what Scandinavian cuisine is, with a focus on seasonality, sustainability, animal welfare and traditional Nordic ingredients. And while this ground breaking philosophy has famously fueled avant-garde creativity, exploring old traditions is… Read More →
Tips & Recipes for the Best Grilled Seafood Grilling seafood is one of the most delicious ways to eat what comes out of the water, but it’s like kissing a porcupine, it has to be done very, very carefully. Technique is everything. Here are a few tips for success: • Use grill baskets and nonstick perforated… Read More →
Braised Leeks with Beet Vinaigrette By Andrew Zimmern In this riff on the classic French dish, I add beets to a tangy mustard-based dressing for a heartier, vegetal leeks vinaigrette. Serve as is, or crowned with grilled chicken, pork or crumbled feta cheese.
Shengjian Bao with a Cult Following Eating your way through the world’s most populous city is one of life’s greatest pleasures. As Shanghai’s landscape becomes more international, many traditional places have disappeared, but thankfully Da Hu Chun has stood the test of time. Open along the river since the 1930s, this restaurant is known for shengjian… Read More →
‘Cook & Sell’ Siu Mai Dumplings By Andrew Zimmern These siu mai dumplings are the southern Chinese version of potstickers with a carrot crown.
Surf & Turf at the Cultivate Festival For my demo at this year’s Cultivate Festival in Kansas City, I’m cooking what I call street food surf and turf, a winning combination of crispy garlic short ribs and char-grilled chili shrimp. Invite friends over for some cocktails and a snack…serve this street food surf and turf along with… Read More →
Grilled Mahi Mahi with Mango Relish By Andrew Zimmern This easy citrus-marinated mahi mahi with sweet-and-sour mango relish has all the right components for a fresh, summery meal. Serve it with island rice and a salad, or with tortillas for taco night.
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week? Dinner at Upland in New York City. By Andrew Zimmern Justin Smillie’s Upland is as impressive a dining experience as New York offers. Here, serious food intersects with a rambunctious and spirited environment in a thoughtfully designed and beautifully lit space. Credit: Corry Arnold The five lettuce Caesar salad… Read More →
My Favorite Japanese Recipes The foods of Japanese izakayas are among the most beloved in the world. There’s not a chef in the country who doesn’t try his or her hand at ramen, soba, egg custards, robata-style fish, sashimi, yakitori, goya and so on. Surprisingly, though, very few home cooks do. Making Japanese food at home requires having a few… Read More →
Where to Eat Tuna Eyes in Okinawa Japan’s version of a neighborhood bar, the izakaya has been an integral part of the country’s culture since the 1600s. They were the original gastropubs, serving shareable tapas-style small plates to sake-soaked patrons way before it was the trend. Today, izakaya specialties are some of the most beloved… Read More →
Classic Sicilian Caponata By Andrew Zimmern Caponata is a wonderful Sicilian snack made with sweet and sour roasted eggplant, onions and tomatoes. If you have a lot of eggplants to use up, I suggest making a big batch of caponata and canning or freezing the leftovers. You’ll thank me mid-winter when you open up a jar… Read More →
Honest Puerto Rican Food in the Bronx An international community of settlers, the Bronx celebrates diversity everywhere you look. Today, as immigrant success stories become the new norm, the borough is a far cry from the symbol of decay it represented a few decades ago. And with such a vibrant and constantly evolving immigrant community, it’s easy to stumble… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week I had meals at some amazing places this week on my clam shack tour, but the best clams were at the Clam Box in Ipswich. Woodman’s was a close second, but the ones at Clam Box were perfect. It helped we went at 4pm when no one was there.… Read More →
Almejas y Langosta Enchilado By Andrew Zimmern This Floribbean-Cuban-inspired enchilado is especially delicious on a cool summer evening when the shellfish is at its peak. It’s typically served over rice, but I always serve it over rigatoni, ditali or other similarly shaped pasta to soak up all the sauce. Take note: this recipe makes a… Read More →
Celebrating North Carolina’s Culinary History Chef Vivian Howard worked in New York City at Wylie Dufresne’s WD-50 and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market before packing up and heading home to Kinston with her husband to open Chef & the Farmer. Like many residents of Eastern North Carolina, chef Howard has an ingrained pride for her rural… Read More →
