WandaLUST » Culinary Adventures

Berlin celebrates currywurst. So what about poutine and bunny chow?

editor — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:28:28 +0000

I thought I knew all about Germany food, sausages included. Bratwurst, bockwurst and leberwurst were on my family’s snack menu from when I was a child. And I discovered the joys of weisswurst while on a extended stay in Munich some years ago. But please excuse my gross culinary ignorance. I had never heard of currywurst until last week when I learned that a Deutsches Currywurst Museum opened in Berlin last year, near Checkpoint Charlie. I also learned that the fast-food urban snack has a cult following and countless fans. In ...

Too many cooks? Not at this table

editor — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:05:28 +0000

When eight East Bay culinary divas stir the pot and spill the beans, what you get is a sizzling stir fry of raucous musings, candidness, collaboration, ebullience and deliciousness.

By Wanda Hennig — See full story in Oakland Magazine, November 2009 and Alameda Magazine, November 2009

They met around three tables pulled into a rough circle at Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland. During the roundtable discussion, the women talked together, talked over each other and talked totally off-topic — more like being at a good dinner party where wine and conversation flow freely. But there was no wine, just coffee beforehand and slices of carrot cake with walnut at the end.

Cuisine Noir Magazine goes live — epicurean adventures for African Americans

editor — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:12:35 +0000

Oakland publisher discovers the joys of culinary diversity, educates her palate — and now, shares the flavors online Story by Wanda Hennig When V. Sheree Williams moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from the American Midwest, she had no idea there was such a thing as culinary travel. “In fact, the first time I ordered a salad out here (at the Oakland Marriott) and they brought me all this greenery that wasn’t iceberg lettuce, I thought — ‘What is this?’” she laughs. That was then. Now, less than a dozen years later, the ...

Are you a culinary traveler? — 22 clues

editor — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:40:13 +0000

You know you’re a culinary traveler when: Whether it’s a day trip, a weekend escape or a round-the-world vacation, what you eat and drink will be interesting, memorable and a highlight. Returning from a vacation, it’s not tschotkes that weigh down your suitcase. It’s the edible delights. Maple syrup from Quebec, a bottle of Clément V.S.O.P. (rum) from Martinique, Tabasco if you’ve been to Louisiana, your plunder from Harrods Food Hall if London was your destination. Returning from a vacation, food memories make you want to pack you bags, kick up your heels ...

Best Beaches Northern California: Flavors of Capitola and Santa Cruz

editor — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:23:18 +0000

Which beach is best? Capitola with its cocktail cuisine has a party flavor — plus family appeal. Santa Cruz main beach has sea lions alongside the wharf, surfing beneath the cliffs and the famous Boardwalk.

Story and photos by Wanda Hennig All travel has a culinary flavor, given that one has to eat. True culinary travel, however — I’d say what defines it is the focus. It’s about eating the specialties of a place. Learning about the food traditions of the people. It doesn’t imply eating lavishly, isn’t necessarily about haute cuisine, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot. Visiting a farmers market and creating a picnic from the produce stall ... Read more

The Moss Beach coastal stroll — Highway 1’s best kept secret?

editor — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:38:21 +0000

A breathtaking beach walk; a scenic cliff-top hike; a chance to see harbor seals up-close-and-personal; and if you keep your eyes peeled, perhaps a whale to two breaching and blowing or, at this time of year, flocks of pelicans heading north. Story and photos by Wanda Hennig Then there are the rock pools to explore; sand for the kids to dig in if you take them along; and an incidental visit to one of the world’s most famous surfing spots, which just happens to be a marker on the trail. And if ...

If it’s extra virgin, it must be olive oil

editor — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:16:53 +0000

Ever thought of using virgin olive oil in your chocolate cake instead than butter? Just one of the delicious ideas in Fran Gage's latest book, The New American Olive Oil — Profiles of Artisan Producers and 75 recipes.

And one of the many delights served to guests at a book launch lunch and olive oil tasting ....

Wisdoms of A Culinary Traveler

editor — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:10:23 +0000

She’s been called Alameda’s Julia Child and like Child, Weezie Mott is in a class of her own. By Wanda Hennig From Alameda magazine You know you’ve arrived at “The Motts” when you glance down and see it printed on the doormat. The appetizer-sized woman summoned by the doorbell simmers energy. She could be wearing her Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise Ritz-Escoffier apron that has her name, Weezie, custom-stitched in bold letters above the Paris-based cooking school motif. But there’s no class today. No guest chef coming in to cook, or culinary field ...

Napa and Sonoma Cook

editor — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:00:30 +0000

You can too! Have you thought of adding “culinary education and cooking skills” to your wine country travel menu? Story and photos by Wanda Hennig First published in Black Diamond Living magazine A food writer friend recently came to visit me from South Africa for the second time. On her first visit, at the end of the first day, she sat me down, poured me a glass of wine, and firmly advised me that she was not interested in any more of this sightseeing — unless the sight was between one good place to ...

Slow Jammin’

editor — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:45:50 +0000

Fruit, spice and all things nice … By Wanda Hennig From Alameda magazine, November 2008 Rachel Saunders is in the commercial kitchen space she rents on Santa Clara Avenue slicing melon. Not any melon, mind you. These are heirloom Charentais and Crenshaw melons that she came upon during yesterday’s farmers market forage. Also in her juicy, colorful and scrumptious world today is a box of ruby-red Satsuma plums that somebody gave her from their tree. Slow Food Alameda charter member Saunders makes jams, jellies and marmalades from the freshest and most unusual fruit she ...