Category Archives: Travel

by Steven Doyle | June 22, 2012 · 11:00 am

The Road To San Antone: Czech Stop

by Robert Bostick

The wife had a conference in San Antonio and it was decided that we’d make it a family affair so we loaded up the KIA and headed South, and thought it might be interesting to document some of the stops along the way.

Anytime (and I mean every time) we drive up or down the I-35 corridor there is the obligatory pullover at that Capitol of Kolaches in West, TX known as the Czech Stop. Since 1983 this deli-bakery-Shell station has been crankingout Czechoslovakian goodness that has six hundred travelers daily taking exit 353 to fill their tanks and their bellies.

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Filed under Chomp!, Crave, Crave Camera, Food, Food Photos, Road Food, Road Trip, Robert Bostick, Travel, Travels in Texas

Tagged as Bakery, Czech Stop, Kolaches, Photos, Robert Bostick, San Antonio, West

by Steven Doyle | May 29, 2012 · 11:16 am

Kenny Bowers Checks Out The Memphis World Championship BBQ Cook-Off

by Kenny Bowers

When we caught wind that Kenny Bowers was traveling to the BBQ Cook-Off in Memphis we clamored to have him send us the details. Kenny, who is the chef-owner of Kenny’s Woodfire Grill, Kenny’s Italian and Kenny’s Burger Joint did one step better and penned a fun look at his week of competition and BBQ.

As a kid growing up in Boston, when someone said BBQ we thought hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill; Texas was my BBQ culture shock.

The southern culture thrives off BBQ and Memphis is a big driving force in how to do it right. Every year, a month long festival takes over Memphis, TN. The appropriately named, Memphis in May consists of four main events:

The Beale Street Music Festival
International Week
Sunset Symphony
Most importantly, the BBQ Cooking Contest Continue reading →

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Filed under BBQ, Crave, Travel

Tagged as 2012, Kenny Bowers, Memphis, Memphis in May, World Championship BBQ Cook Off

by Steven Doyle | April 27, 2012 · 10:34 am

In a NY Minute: Guide to Germany and Poland

by Jayne M. Chobot

I am full-on in the weeds in my professional life these days and have no idea what time zone I am in right now. But I didn’t want to wait too much longer to write about some of our experiences in Germany and Poland last week as jet lag has a wretched effect on memory. So to get this done I will revert back to my New York disposition and give it to you quick, to the point, and without all of the niceties that get in the way of efficiency. That is, after all, also the German way.
Should you ever need to fly through Frankfurt, stop there instead and rent a car for the weekend. Drive the hour and a half to the quaint little town of Bacharach on the Rhine River and stay in a charming hotel built onto a Medieval wall where your window view includes a castle and the remains of a cathedral.

Walk through on the cobblestone streets and hike up into the vineyards and have a cup of coffee in that castle and enjoy the view of the river valley early in the morning. Should you take a boat up the Rhine to see the Rheinsfels Castle in St. Goar, be sure to confirm the return times. If you don’t and the boat doesn’t arrive, take the train and don’t worry if the ticket machine doesn’t work- the conductor is cool.

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48 Hours in New Orleans: How I Learned to Love the Chili Dog

by Jayne M. Chobot

It was a thrown-together weekend as a result of a speaking engagement for my Texan. Upon hearing that complimentary Jackson Square apartment accommodations were offered as an incentive, two Southwest tickets were promptly purchased. Boarding dead-last onto the flight I ended up sitting snug between two male strangers who spent most of the flight trying to convince me to go into pharmaceutical sales, making it painfully obvious that my New York edge must have softened considerably since my move to Dallas. A glass of wine made this realization slightly more tolerable but I was grateful when the discussion turned to the much more pleasant topic of the cannibal nature of the alligators in the swamps we were soaring over upon arrival in New Orleans.

This was my second visit to the city and my first visit post-Katrina. Although we would be attending a conference, we also had three dinner reservations; at a classic New Orleans institution, a brand new seafood restaurant from one of New Orleans’s most beloved local chefs, and a contemporary Cajun spot with an award-winning chef. My Texan, a graduate of Tulane University, also had a few casual sentimental favorites in mind for other meals, so we knew we were prepared to eat well. We were still not prepared for what ensued in the Crescent City this past weekend. Continue reading →

NOLA’s Tennessee Williams Literary Festival

By James Casarez

craveDFW contributor Dorothy Hernandez, writer James Casarez, and Dallas Diva Farah Fleurima attended the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival as part of their travels to the Big Easy. Here’s one of their dispatches:

An author as prolific as Tennessee Williams, who penned over 33 full-length plays and over 75 one-act and shorter plays, is bound to have an arsenal of hidden gems through his lesser-known works. The Tennessee Williams Literary Festival class “Hiding in Plain Sight” brought together a collection of scenes through staged readings of both his lesser-known works and more recognizable ones. Luminaries of the stage and page came together to breath life again into some of Williams’ most outstanding characters. Continue reading →

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Filed under Crave, Festival, New Orleans, Travel

by Steven Doyle | March 28, 2012 · 11:29 am

NOLA Off The Beaten Trail

By Farah Fleurima

So it’s your third or fourth day in New Orleans, and you want to do something miles away from Bourbon Street in spirit — where to go?

If it’s imbibing you want, away from the boisterous rowdiness of Bourbon, turn up St. Peter Street to find a low-key little locals spot called Boondock Saint. No frills, but also no hawkers standing outside trying to pack the place with partiers. And partiers would flock if they saw the prices here. “We’re a local bar with local prices,” the sweet-faced bartender told me. That meant $3.75 vodka sodas at 2:30 a.m. Who needs a happy hour or hawkers with prices like that? Continue reading →

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Filed under Farah Fleurima, Holiday Fun, New Orleans, Nightlife, Party!, Travel

by Steven Doyle | March 26, 2012 · 9:51 am

Post Card From Nola: The Alibi

by Dorothy Hernandez

Bar food doesn’t immediately bring to mind gourmet, or even edible, food. Its purpose is utilitarian, whether you’re trying to soak up the booze or prep for a night of heavy drinking. The choices are pretty standard: fries, nachos, any heat and serve product that you can take out of a bag and dump into a deep fryer.

At The Alibi, 811 Iberville in New Orleans, there are mysterious dollar bills pinned to the ceiling. Even at 1 p.m., it smells like Bourbon Street at 3 a.m. It seems like a bar this dive-y would have food only fit for the inebriated but The Alibi is one of those serendipitous vacation finds.

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Why Wine Took Me To A Motel Off I-20 In Shreveport

by David Donalson

Shreveport is known as Dallas’ little Vegas, full of craps tables and ante-free blackjack, but no one goes to Shreveport thinking they are going to get the full Vegas treatment. I may now have a solution for you. While I cannot magically make Cirque du Soleil appear at the Horseshoe, I can now tell you where to go to dinner to impress… a little motel off I-20 and Diamondjacks. Continue reading →

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Filed under Asian Cuisine, Crave, David Donalson, Food, fun with food, Travel, Wine