We Travel, Therefore We Eat

Museums, monuments, and natural wonders are all great. But, as travel pleasures go, it's hard to beat the discovery of a really good place to eat. Junking the usual restaurant guide model, the authors of several new
travel books provide inspiration to get readers out of the kitchen in pursuit of adventures in food. Forget about page after page of listings requiring a magnifying glass and elaborate key codes. These books are mini-courses in history, culture, and cooking, and will enable readers to navigate the culinary terrain from Colorado to Morocco.
If you travel to the nation's capital, stash The Quest for the Holy Grill: 50 Crummy But Good Restaurants Within Rambling Range of Washington, D.C. in the glove box of your rental car. Better yet, read it on the plane before you get there. Donovan Kelly has taken his columns from The Washington Post, added the reader participation of his Crummy but Good Scouts, and provided a truly funny look at places my dad would call "joints." Kelly rates eateries using "Cs" for the "crummy" aspects and "Gs" for the "but good" qualities. "The worse the initial impression," he writes, "the more yuck points it racks up, the
more Cs it gets." He rates the menu, food, and atmosphere of these joints, which are conveniently arranged by region.
Kelly includes photos to keep you from being scared away from the crummy places, and some funny stories about patrons, wait staff, and
owners-not all of whom were tickled to make the list. Completing the tour, sections on local BBQ and crab cake wars may spur readers to pick their own favorites.
Centered on major Colorado cities and resorts, Culinary Colorado: The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide by Claire Walters tells where to find the best bakeries (the author is a self-described "bakery freak") and includes information on local cooking schools and classes, food festivals, farmers'
markets, food retailers, and, yes, restaurants. This book, organized by region, offers helpful Web site information, but readers should not look to it as a restaurant guide. It doesn't provide such prosaic information as prices, hours, or reservation
policies, but it does include details on the history of establishments, qualifications of the staff, and the kind of food served.
Colorado food and culinary history may be a relatively short subject; Walters sees the rise in standards there as a fifteen-year trend. For travelers sampling a more seasoned food culture, Charming French Restaurants is stuffed with
excellent summaries and information, organized by region so readers can plot their way across any area of France, locating lovely places to dine. "Charming" is one of the requirements for getting listed, as are value, a friendly welcome, and good service. The book includes a map of restaurants that are twenty minutes from the motorways or close to camping sites, as well as menu translation guides.
Although Charming French Restaurants has some of the characteristics of a traditional restaurant guidebook, it goes beyond that convention to give readers a better understanding of the country's eating culture, with sections on the history of each region's food traditions.
For those who want to concentrate their journey on France's most famous city, there's Paris by Bistro: A Guide to Eating Well. This book, by Christine and Dennis Graf, demystifies the Paris bistro. Each section contains a history, with details of the food culture, and a map. The Romantic Bistros section is especially fun for readers who travel as a couple. A glossary helps with the basics, and the honesty of the presentation is both refreshing and comforting. If the authors say to "go for the ambiancenot for the so-so food and the
over-priced drinks," readers should feel
confident taking their advice.
CafZ Life Rome takes readers on a similar
culinary tour of the Eternal City. The photos
illustrate the flavor of the book: it's not just about the food, but the people who own, run, and hang out at the cafZs. This book could help a reader
easily, and quickly, feel at home in Rome's cafZs, not only becoming acquainted with what kind of coffee or gelato is available, but getting a feel for how the personality and ambiance were created. Brief boxed summaries lend the novice tips for touring as well as eating: "When you are planning a day at the Vatican, this is the place to grab a quick, Roman-style breakfast at the bar."
For help in planning a travel food adventure, the Eat Smart series books are gems. Authors Joan and David Peterson aim to "get to the very heart of a culture through the cuisine." The books are subtitled, How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure. Recent releases include volumes on Mexico, Poland, and Morocco, each covering the historical and cultural cuisine, regions, tastes (recipes), shopping markets, and resources (travel and cooking) of a country. They also provide a list of helpful phrases, a menu guide, and a glossary of terms.
The "Shopping in the Markets" sections serve as primers on local customs, telling the reader what to look for-and beware of. From the Morocco book you learn, "So many images in the markets beg for photographic capture. Moroccans, however, are reticent about having their pictures taken. Always ask first." A guide to phrases such as, "Is this dish spicy/hot?" will also come in handy. The extensive bibliographies, which include books on cooking, history, archeology, and anthropology, are for the serious trip-planner.
If half the fun of travel is in the planning, these books are like appetizers. The recipe sections bring the destination into your own kitchen to get you ready for your travel adventure, priming your tastes for the food to come. The recipes come from a variety of people, including professional chefs, book writers, anthropologists, and Peace Corps volunteers.
These food travel books mix information and inspiration to give readers the tools to journey into the culinary soul of their destination. They invite a deeper look at cultures and an understanding of their history through food. If war and terrorism earlier drove us inside to our own kitchens for
so-called "comfort food," then travel adventure books now urge us to get up, do some homework, and taste all the world has to offer.