The Travelin' Gringo

Ride along as travel writer/photographer Glen Abbott tours the country on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The Travelin' Gringo writes about people, places, events, and travel for motorcyclists and non-motorcyclists alike.

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Archive for Food

The Ya-Ka-Mein lady of New Orleans

// March 21st, 2012 // 4 Comments » // Food, People, Travel

Everyone in New Orleans knows Miss Linda. If you’ve ever been to a festival, a parade, or a concert in the city – and if you haven’t, you need to get out more, with all due respect – you’ve undoubtedly seen her, selling Ya-Ka-Mein and other delicious recipes from a tent, a table, or from …read more…

New Orleans’ chips with a Cajun crunch

// January 18th, 2012 // 10 Comments » // Food, Travel

[Gramercy, LA] – Here in the Big Easy, it’s all about the spice. From Po-Boys to potato chips, the proper seasoning is essential. So little wonder that our favorite chip comes in a variety of tastebud-tantalizing flavors, with imaginative names like Spicy Cajun Crawtator, Voodoo, and Cajun Dill Gator-Tators – along with the old standbys like …read more…

From Picnics to Prison, New Orleans’ Hubig’s Pies has you covered

// January 4th, 2012 // 11 Comments » // Food, People, Travel

[New Orleans, LA] – If you’ve been to a parade, picnic, or prison in the Big Easy, chances are you’ve eaten a Hubig’s pie. The delectable dessert has been part of the city’s culinary and cultural fabric since 1922, when Simon Hubig opened his bakery in a small warehouse in the Bywater neighborhood. The diminutive deep-fried …read more…

It Must be Maine: Whoopie for Bean and Boats!

// December 2nd, 2011 // 5 Comments » // Food, Travel

  [Maine seacoast] — In what may be my most confusing blog title ever, I’ve incorporated three disparate elements all found in the state of Maine: Whoopie Pies, LL Bean, and the Maine Maritime Museum. Lest you think there is some deeper meaning in this, there isn’t. I’ll give you the simple explanation — I’m …read more…

Great Day for a Po-Boy — Oak Street Po-Boy Festival, New Orleans

// November 20th, 2011 // 11 Comments » // Events, Food, Travel

[New Orleans, LA] — To my way of thinking, there’s never a bad time for a Po-boy. The iconic New Orleans overstuffed sandwich originated in the 1920s during a strike of unionized streetcar conductors. A local restaurant — in support of the workers — provided free sandwiches to the strikers, who they called “poor boys.” …read more…

Maine Lobstah — It’s What’s for Dinner

// November 6th, 2011 // 23 Comments » // Food, Travel

[Along the Maine Seacoast] — When you think of Maine, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it lobster? The clawed crustacean is certainly one of the state’s iconic symbols. And Maine lobster is known for its taste and quality, due to the state’s clear, cold waters. Lobstermen and women harvest their catch …read more…

Oktoberfest — New Orleans Style

// October 23rd, 2011 // 9 Comments » // Events, Food, Travel

[Kenner, LA] — Oktoberfest may not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of Louisiana. But this is New Orleans, so any excuse for a party is a good one, right? “Everybody knows New Orleans for its French and Spanish influences. The Germans have kind of been forgotten,” Keith Oldendorf, president …read more…

A Bowl of Gumbo a Day — Bridge City, LA, Gumbo Festival

// October 16th, 2011 // 6 Comments » // Events, Food, Travel

[Bridge City, LA] — Over the river and through the woods, to the Bridge City Gumbo Festival we go. Technically it’s not really through the woods; along the levee would be a tad more accurate. But it is over the river. Just across the Mississippi from New Orleans over the Huey P. Long Bridge, the …read more…

Smokin’ Blues and BBQ — Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival

// October 16th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Events, Food, Travel

[New Orleans, LA] — Smokin’ hot blues music and smoked, barbecued meats — an unbeatable combination. Throw in an Abita beer, and it’s practically more pleasure than the average person can handle. Thousands did just that, however, at this weekend’s Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival. Sponsored by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival …read more…

Beer for Good Paws — New Orleans On Tap Beerfest

// October 1st, 2011 // 9 Comments » // Events, Food, Travel

[New Orleans, LA] — Rarely does a day pass that I don’t utter the statement “Beer is Good,” with all the profundity one can summon for such a pronouncement. Normally, this proclamation occurs sometime around the hour of 6:00 pm, after I’ve popped the top of an IPA or similarly-flavorful brew and taken my first …read more…

Oyster Orgy at New Orleans Seafood Festival

// September 11th, 2011 // 22 Comments » // Events, Food, Travel

[New Orleans, LA] — In my newly-adopted hometown of New Orleans, it seems you can attend a different festival every weekend.  From Jazz to Jambalaya; you name it, most likely there’s a festival dedicated to it. So naturally, I’d be remiss in my duties as the Travelin’ Gringo if I didn’t attend the New Orleans …read more…

Tales from the Extraterrestrial Highway

// July 17th, 2011 // 32 Comments » // Food, Travel

[Rachel, NV] — Signs advising “Low Flying Aircraft” are your first indication. The next is a sign warning “Next Gas 150 Miles.” Then an illuminated, flashing advisory: “Cattle in Roadway: Open Range.” Hmm, I think; the government really doesn’t want you here, even going so far as to send in specially-trained cows to annoy motorists. …read more…

Wein-O-Rama — Rhode Island’s favorite weenie joint!

// May 9th, 2011 // 31 Comments » // Food, Travel

Cranston, RI — When you grow up in Rhode Island, you take certain things for granted. Drinking fountains are called “bubblers.” Milkshakes are called “cabinets.” Submarine sandwiches are “grinders.” (also, no one ever pronounces the “r”s at the ends of words — so “grinders” sounds more like “grinduhz;” “pictures” sounds like “pitchuhz,” etc. An interesting …read more…

Colors of Old San Juan

// April 18th, 2011 // 19 Comments » // Food, Travel

San Juan, Puerto Rico — Viejo San Juan truly vibrates with the pulse of the Caribbean. Pedestrians and traffic fill the streets and sidewalks at almost all hours. Music and the smells of food waft through the air. Spanish Colonial homes painted in vibrant colors, narrow cobblestone streets, shops, cafés, bars, restaurants, people, traffic — …read more…

Touring Casa Bacardi — World’s Largest Rum Distillery

// April 16th, 2011 // 19 Comments » // Food, Travel

San Juan, Puerto Rico – When you’re talking 100,000 gallons of rum distilled every day, 365 days a year, you’re talking a LOT of rum.  20 million cases a year worth. That’s a lot of Mojitos. From its humble beginnings in 1862 in Santiago de Cuba, Bacardi is now the largest distiller of premium rum in the world. …read more…

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