Stonington Farms Shellfish - Paying it Forward with Love & Oysters

Stonington Farms Shellfish - Paying it Forward with Love & Oysters

Growing oysters is a labor of love for anyone who does it. But when the confluence of life’s harsh challenges creates a serendipitous dream of family, futures and paying it forward — as well as fabulous oysters — it’s a beautiful thing. And that’s what Stonington Farms Shellfish in Mystic CT is all about.

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Cassetta Rossa Restaurant, Lake Chelan - Primo Pasta, Simple style.

Cassetta Rossa Restaurant, Lake Chelan - Primo Pasta, Simple style.

Sometimes a restaurant serves up a side of emotion with their excellent food, and when it does it is never to be forgotten. Casetta Rossa in Lake Chelan WA is one of those unsuspecting places — a trattoria and pasta market that not only excites your tastebuds but also sauces your heart.

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A half day of half shells: Oyster Exploration at Elliott’s

A half day of half shells: Oyster Exploration at Elliott’s

If you really want to know oysters you have to eat a lot of them. And there are few better places to get your oyster on in Seattle than at Elliott’s Oyster House. So I had to try them all.

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It’s not just a party, it’s a Paella Party!

It’s not just a party, it’s a Paella Party!

Would you drive 80 miles for a huge pan of Paella — that iconic Spanish dish that’s hard to find a good version of? If you’re in Seattle you would, because just once a month a little place in the Skagit Valley throws a paella party worth traveling all the way to Spain for.

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Geeking out in the Hama Hama Oyster Class

Geeking out in the Hama Hama Oyster Class

Oysters are one of Nature’s most perfect foods and tireless protectors of the sea, and the Hama Hama Oyster Class on Washington’s Hood Canal reveals their secrets in ways one might never expect. And — oh yeah — they’re insanely delicious, too!

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Project Sichuan #10 - Slivered Pig Ears (Hongyou er si) - great pig is more than just pork

Project Sichuan #10 - Slivered Pig Ears (Hongyou er si) - great pig is more than just pork

Pig Ears are under-appreciated in the US and, unless you’re having soul food or nose-to-tail dining, you may not have even tried them. But in China — and especially in Sichuan Province — the Slivered Pig Ear is beloved and delicious. An immensely popular porcine treat either served as a small bite starter or with shots and beer at night.

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Linda’s Fish & Chips - Mad dash for food truck perfection

Linda’s Fish & Chips - Mad dash for food truck perfection

Sometimes good food is worth racing against the clock - and traffic laws — to get to. And Linda’s Fish & Chips is so good that the South Bend WA cops better get ready, ‘cause I’m coming back for more!

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Amarin Banh Mi – Chincoteague Island’s Happiest Food Truck

Amarin Banh Mi – Chincoteague Island’s Happiest Food Truck

A simple food truck in Chincoteague Island VA serves up some of the best Banh Mi sandwiches this side of Hanoi, along with a heaping helping of Happy in every order. Because at Amarin Banh Mi the philosophy is: Happy is what Happy eats.

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El Sitio is The Place for tacos in Santa Barbara

El Sitio is The Place for tacos in Santa Barbara

At El Sitio Restaurant in Santa Barbara, California the tacos and burritos are so authentic that they will transport your tastebuds to a taqueria in Mexico that you will not soon forget.

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Project Sichuan #8 - Gong Bao Chicken by any other name…

Project Sichuan #8 - Gong Bao Chicken by any other name…

Gong Bao Chicken is perhaps the most popular of all Sichuan dishes and is found in nearly every Chinese restaurant around the world under any variety of names, including Kung Pao. But there is only one real-deal Gong Bao dish — and this is it.

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Project Sichuan #7 - Mapo Tofu: a tribute to Pock-Faced Grandma

Project Sichuan #7 - Mapo Tofu: a tribute to Pock-Faced Grandma

Mapo Tofu is one of those Sichuan Food masterpieces that Chinese restaurants the world over now serve. And for those who think they don’t like tofu, Mapo Doufu is the dish to try to gain tofu enlightenment and a smile from the pock-faced grandma who created it.

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Project Sichuan #6 - Water Boiled Fish - Silky fish meets Sichuan fire.

Project Sichuan #6 - Water Boiled Fish - Silky fish meets Sichuan fire.

Water Boiled Fish (Shui Zhu Yu) is one of of those special Sichuan dishes that causes a hush of voices at the table when first presented – sizzling oil bubbling atop a boiling caldron of blazing red chiles, Sichuan peppercorns and snow white tiles of silky fish unlike any you’ve ever had anywhere.



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Project Sichuan #5 - Dan Dan Noodles - Small eats with big taste

Project Sichuan #5 - Dan Dan Noodles - Small eats with big taste

With so many riffs on the recipe, it has been a search for great Dan Dan Mian and a lot of noodle eating to find the real-deal Dan Dan of my dreams. Wanna try them, too? Here is what you need to know.

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Project Sichuan #4 - Fish-Fragrant Eggplant, the sultry beauty of Sichuan simplicity

Project Sichuan #4 - Fish-Fragrant Eggplant, the sultry beauty of Sichuan simplicity

The soft, sultriness of Fish Fragrant Eggplant is something that Sichuan food fans swoon over. With the deep color, silky texture and ticklish taste of this unique flavor, this classic favorite causes all who eat it to immediately crave more.

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Project Sichuan #3 - Lazi Ji - Searching for Gastronomic Gold.

Project Sichuan #3 - Lazi Ji - Searching for Gastronomic Gold.

Lazi Ji — or Chongqing Chicken — Those crispy little chunks of deep fried chicken buried in a pile of blazing red chiles and a fistfull of Sichuan peppercorns. It’s one of the most popular — and misunderstood — Sichuan dishes that needlessly strikes terror in the mind of diners who love the flavor but fear the heat.

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Project Sichuan #2 – Twice Cooked Pork — Putting the “home” in Homestyle flavor.

Project Sichuan #2 – Twice Cooked Pork — Putting the “home” in Homestyle flavor.

To understand Sichuanese food it’s a good idea to start with Twice Cooked Pork. Highlighting the Homestyle Flavor profile of this cuisine, this most-popular of all Sichuan food is so good that it can stir your soul and make you cry.

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