Joe Ray
Food & Travel / Words & Photos
Published Work
ARCHIVE OF THE YEAR 2011
The Daily - Saturday, December 31, 2011
Blue-Plate Specials - Haute diners are making a continental comeback
From Vancouver to Philly to NYC, diners old and new are upping the ante and putting better food on the plate…
The Daily - Saturday, December 31, 2011
The History Page: Bling in a Bottle
Czar Alexander II’s personal pick, a Veblen good and the bane of Jay-Z’s existence - the bubbly (and bumpy) history of Roederer’s Cristal Champagne…
WIRED.com - December 28, 2011
Exploring the Carbonated Cocktail
After a few lessons with the pros at Clyde Common and The Aviary, it was time to try carbonating cocktails at home…
AFP - Saturday, December 10, 2011
Slow as the mountain: making wine in Etna’s shadow
When a would-be winegrower comes to Salvo Foti, Sicily’s top wine consultant, for tips on starting a vineyard, he begins with a warning: to make good wine you have to be in it for the long haul.
The Daily - Saturday, December 3, 2011
Empire of Delights
Federal Donuts is the latest gem in chef Michael Solomonov’s crown. Philly’s hot food scene just got hotter…
The Daily - Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Morgenthaler Method or The King of the Carbonated Cocktail
Grab your Urban Dicitonary and meet the Portland, OR, bartender whose drinks become cocktail trends.
The Daily - Saturday, November 5, 2011
Jaeger, Meister: A visit to Vancouver on the tips of one of the city’s great chefs
Pear Tree chef Scott Jaeger leads the way on a culinary tour of Vancouver.
AFP - Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Bitters adding spice to Canadian, US cocktails
Tiny producers are behind a big boom in cocktail bitters…
The Daily - Saturday, October 1, 2011
Le Stuffing - Eight Chefs & Eight Meals in 48 Hours
It begins with a discussion about trick journalism. It ends with a self-imposed dare to eat eight meals in two days, cooked by some of the world’s best chefs. I don’t even need to move. All I have to do is stay awake and hungry.
The Daily - Arts and Life - Saturday, September 3, 2011
The Maine Event
Following Maine lobster on an ocean-to-table odyssey
Private Clubs Magazine - September 2011
Southern Sicily’s Secret Restaurants
From grandma’s home cooking to haute gastronomy, four off-the-beaten-path restaurants - some without even a sign out front - are the stars of the Sicilian South.
The Daily - Arts and Life - Saturday, August 27, 2011
Dinner, Side of History
In a research office in the upper reaches of the New York Public Library’s main building, the rare books curator, the culinary collections librarian and the manager of a peculiar new project called NYPL Labs are throwing digitized pasta against the wall to see if it sticks.
The Daily - Saturday, August 13, 2011
Taking Flight at The Aviary
From the outside, The Aviary, the new Chicago cocktail emporium run by chef Grant Achatz (see: many of America’s best restaurants), is a model of exclusivity. There’s no phone number to call, but you can request reservations online and they might get back to you. Or you can just walk up. You may get in. Stranger things have happened. It’s wildly annoying.
It doesn’t matter. Suck it up and go anyway; this is more than just a bar.
The Daily - Arts and Life - Saturday, August 6, 2011
Holy Cow! Forget pork belly – Italian beef is the Windy City’s ultimate meat
As ubiquitous and popular a Chicago institution as pizza and Vienna hot dogs, Italian beef needs a guide. I’ve got family.
The Daily - Arts and Life - Saturday, July 23, 2011
Reviving Applejack
Steinbeck and Hemingway approved of what’s called America’s oldest native spirit beverage yet American apple brandy almost went to pot. Now, thanks to craft bartenders and distillers who care, applejack’s back.