Joe Ray
Food & Travel / Words & Photos
Published Work
Sunday, March 7, 2010 - The Boston Globe - Travel
At the nexus of food, art, and soul
Standing in the kitchen of what may be the best restaurant in the world, I shake hands with Ferran Adrià, the chef behind it all. Every year, it’s said that millions try for the few thousand seats at his restaurant, El Bulli, for the six months it’s open. The odds are not in their favor.
If, like me, they are lucky enough to be invited by a friend, they drop everything and hop on a plane.
Sunday, February 21, 2010 - The Boston Globe - Travel - RAVE
A fresh take on Scottish cuisine? Haggis and more
Traditional Scottish cuisine might not have the best reputation, but Sandy Smart’s take on it should…
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The Boston Globe - January 10, 2010
A Place, Distilled
Good Scotch whisky is a road trip in a bottle.
Pour a glass, close your eyes, breathe in, and be reminded of the place where waves turn the seaside into a rough and craggy path for the strolling thinker.
Another glass may contain a wall of smoke that overwhelms the senses, or a delicate wisp that transports you to a bog where heather becomes peat.
A whisky tour through Scotland is a firsthand taste of the rocks and wind, fire and sea, mud and flowers that are a distillation of this thornily self-reliant part of the United Kingdom…
December 27, 2009 - The Boston Globe - Travel
Stalking A Wild Brew
BRUSSELS, Belgium—Belgium is boring.
That was the preconception. Then I remembered: great fries, friendly people, beautiful architecture, and beer that makes aficionados drool.
What was I thinking?
I grab a cone of fries and head to a brewery where I begin to understand why beer, particularly lambics - “wild beers’’ that are products of “spontaneous fermentation’’ and aged for three years in oak barrels - runs in Belgians’ veins…
The New Waver - December 2009
Eating Greens
A bit of post-award flattery segues into a story about two high-end, eco-friendly chefs - Jean-Marie Amat near Bordeaux and Alain Passard in Paris…
Sunday, December 13, 2009 - The Boston Globe - Travel - RAVE
RAVE - Outside the center, still Parisian
A needed breath of fresh air has hit the northeastern arrondissements of Paris, slowly luring Parisians and tourists alike away from the city center. Here’s one of the best of the bunch…
November 16, 2009 - Agence France Presse
Winemakers face climate change with dread
Before the Copenhagen Climate talks, wine experts weigh in on why it’s in the industry’s best interest - and their own financial interest - to go green.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - The Boston Globe - Travel
The Road To Real
I grew up driving a route that has disappeared.
For years, our family would hop in Dad’s silver diesel Dasher wagon every weekend for the drive from my hometown of Atkinson to our Lakes Region cottage. For 66 miles along Routes 111, 125, and 11, it was New Hampshire at its best: tree-lined local highways passing through small towns flecked with mom-and-pop establishments.
Sunday, October 4, 2009 - The Boston Globe - Travel
Small Wonders
Where so many things can seem so big, impersonal, and expensive, New York City offers intimate, delectable tidbits for the visitor and the native
Sunday, September 20, 2009 - The Boston Globe - Travel
Savoring elegant yet relaxed Bordeaux
On a trip through the Bordeaux countryside, I find a region of unexpected extremes - relaxed and sophisticated, wild and wonderfully civilized - a mix that demands the grandeur of a composed photo and the spontaneity of a point-and-shoot…
Fall 2009 - Centurion Magazine
Precious Discovery
Sequestered in Oregon’s picturesque Willamette Valley, could American Charlie Lefevre be about to change the face of the global truffle industry?
Fall 2009 - Platinum Magazine
Bottled Brilliance
Traditionally renowned for its beer, brewing in Belgium is still a love affair and lambics – ‘wild’ beers dependent on the naturally occurring yeasts in the air and an expert touch – are a conviction: a reminder of a different time and a balm for our own.
“When it comes to lambic,” cautions one producer, “forget everything you know about beer.”
August 30, 2009 - The Boston Globe - Travel
Fall Might Find You…
For better or worse, French wineries don’t have an American-style open-door policy for visitors. At many you have to call ahead to set up an appointment to visit. Now, they are playing catch-up and Bordeaux’s La Winery is ahead of the curve…
August 9, 2009 - The Boston Globe - Travel
Delightfully local in Paris
On a no-frills budget? Drop the tourist routine and savor the City of Light’s simpler luxuries…
June/July 2009 - Paris Magazine
Fresh Produce from an Irish Farmer
Sandy McKeen brings the special taste of raw milk and tender lamb straight from Normandy to the Paris streets…
April/May 2009 - Paris Magazine
Master of Seafood
By scouring the wholesale market for top-quality products, fishmonger Jacky Lorenzo draws demanding clients and chefs to his stall.
May 27, 2009 - Penthouse Magazine
Scotch Whisky Photos
We don’t quote Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy often (probably not often enough, in fact), but who better to sum up the appeal of a tour of Scotland’s distilleries? Story by William Spain, Photos by Joe Ray
Spring 2009 - Platinum Magazine
Raise Your Glass
A man on a quest to build the perfect ice cube might be the best way to describe Javier de las Muelas. A worldwide mixed drinks legend and the head of Barcelona’s Dry Martini and Gimlet cocktail bars, he’s constantly straddling the line between innovation and class.
For his mixed drinks, ice is as important as liquor. The cube should make a drink cold, not wet; most important, it should not affect the drink’s flavour. Barcelona was the logical birthplace of his killer cube; the city’s tap water is so chlorinated it can taste like a pool, and so calcified it renders the steam function of an iron useless after about three shirts.
“Without good ice,” says de las Muelas simply, “your drink is a disaster.”
Spring 2009 - Centurion Magazine
Ring Road
A traditional jeweler typically works in confined circumstances – engulfed by a crowded workbench, they create objects that, at their crudest, have limited creative potential; an engagement ring is a metal circle, a mount and a stone.
For French jeweller Philippe Tournaire (above), the idea of being confined doesn’t hold much truck and it’s rather doubtful that it ever did.
Spring 2009 - Centurion Magazine
Chef Mauro Uliassi - Going global
It was a big year for the maestro of fish. Mauro Uliassi, head chef and owner at Ristorante Uliassi in the Italian town of Senigallia, won a seafood award, a fish soup award, a best dinner of the year award and second star in the Michelin Red Guide.
“We won everything!” says the smiling chef with an English and humour that are uncannily similar to Roberto Benigni circa his 1999 best actor Oscar speech. “We should close and stop while we’re perfect!” Fat chance. Along with the second star and a year’s worth of different accolades, Uliassi capped 2008 by opening Hong Kong’s Domani restaurant in November…
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