For Chowhound. March 2018.  Tired of ordering the same few drinks each time you visit Starbucks? What if you could invent your own pick-me-up at your favorite coffee shop? What if all your favorite desserts were made into beverages? No need for a magic wand to grant this wish! Starbucks has a secret menu, unofficially […]

For Chowhound. March 2018.  You don’t need a plane ticket to enjoy food from different countries. Brighten your morning routine with these internationally inspired casserole dishes that can be made ahead. From Mexico to Nigeria, expand your breakfast culture knowledge one egg at a time. Mexico: Huevos Rancheros Meaning “rancher’s eggs” in Spanish, these are […]

For Chowhound. February 2018.  Airport food doesn’t always have to be greasy fast food, pre-packed sandwiches, and run-of-the-mill chain restaurants. Over 100 million passengers fly through the world’s busiest Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport each year, and they have several options where they can taste local flavors. While most travelers don’t have enough time to step outside the airport […]

For Chowhound. February 2018.  You know you are in the South when you hear men and women screaming “what’ll ya have, what’ll ya have?” as they move you down quickly through the line. If you don’t respond quickly, you’ll be sent back to the line. Sounds like a high school cafeteria? This fast food restaurant […]

For Chowhound. February 2018.  An American girl travels to Italy, meets a charming Italian man, gets married, and together they live happily ever after. It sounds like a cliché love story, right? Well, it happened in January 2009 when Meredith Hall, a resident of Atlanta, met Luigi D’Arienzo (who goes by Gigi) during a milonga […]

For Chowhound. January 2018.  Khaled and Ruwaida had a deep-rooted life back in Damascus, Syria. They owned two apartments and a few electronic shops. Khaled worked, while Ruwaida took care of their two kids. But political unrest forced them to leave their home country and walk across to Jordan, where they lived as refugees for four […]

For Cuisine Noir Magazine. January 2018.  I arrived in Dar es Salaam with Grace Odogbili, a Nigerian-American chef and caterer from Brooklyn. Having worked with New York’s top restaurants and caterers, Odogbili started her own business, Dining With Grace, in 2010 to offer people a chance to savor regional cuisines of the African diaspora. She teaches nutritional […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta. December 2017.  Seewai Sayavong welcomes me into a 12,000-square-foot Victorian mansion overlooking 15th street. “Tennessee Williams has lived here!” she says. Upon further research, I find that no one is quite sure whether this factoid is true or not, but the building, often referred to as “the castle,” was indeed a […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta. October 2017. “Refugee cookies!” a 10-year old Syrian boy screamed from the front porch of an Oakhurst home. The shortbread style cookies, known in the Middle East as mamool and flavored with orange blossom, dates and pistachios, were an instant hit. In less than three hours, the entire batch sold: 45 […]

For CheapOAir Miles Away Blog. August 2017. While most people know of Georgia, the peach state in the southern US, very few are aware of Georgia, the former Soviet republic that’s tucked between Europe and Asia. The country is one of the oldest in the world, and has a rich culture that has managed to […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta. July 2017. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows wrap around a sleek interior of red and black. Waves of natural wood cover the entire ceiling. A lone painting of Atlanta’s skyline adorns one of the walls. Designed under the Japanese minimalist principal of Ma, the space is uncluttered, the lines clean. This is CO, […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta. April 2017. Into Atlanta’s ever-widening ring of regional and modern Indian restaurants steps Jai Ho Indian Kitchen and Bar. Located in the former Madre + Mason spot in Morningside, the restaurant’s name means “let there be victory” in Hindi, perhaps in hopes that it will fare better than its locational predecessors. […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta. March 2017.  From the outside, Royal Myanmar Cuisine looks like nothing more than a drive-through converted into a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, standing by itself in a quiet commercial plaza with a strip club, a liquor store and a few questionable-looking eateries. The interior of the former Crazy Wings is also very plain, […]

For The Huffington Post. February 2016. On a Wednesday afternoon, Gotham Bar and Grill is bustling with executives, vacationers and retired folks. There is a wait to get a table for lunch at this 30-year old legendary Greenwich Village restaurant. I savor every bite as I dig into my rainbow beet salad with toasted hazelnuts and creamy […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta, December 2016.  Amara is easy to spot, thanks to its electric blue and white sign. A Persian rug welcomes diners into the spacious, modern-industrial interior with pendant lights dangling from a high vaulted ceiling. A glass-backed bar with yellow chairs is central to the space, where one can watch people stopping […]

For CheapOAir Miles Away Blog. December 2016.  There’s no doubt that Bangkok is one of the most bustling and abundant cities in the world when it comes to street food. The smells of steaming noodle soups, simmering coconut curries, slow roasting chicken and frying fish cakes draws crowds from near and far into an around-the-clock eating frenzy. […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta. October 2016. Take a stroll through a narrow brick corridor decorated with glowing patio lights, aromatic herbs, and a mural of the Mediterranean. Listen to the cheerful clinking of glasses coming from a wrought iron Juliet balcony above the fountain as you make your way up a flight of steps. The […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta, October 2016.  For South Asians living in metro Atlanta, fall is a nostalgic time of the year. It is when Hindus from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and many Caribbean islands celebrate the festival of Diwali. This auspicious event not only holds a religious significance; it’s a cultural practice. Known as the […]

For Creative Loafing Atlanta, October 2016.  Le Gomier is not a traditional restaurant. Nestled in an unassuming strip mall in Lawrenceville, it boasts no distinct landmarks nor nearby neighbors. And although the restaurant and event hall has been open for three years, it has managed to slide quite discretely under the radar of Atlanta’s culinary scene. […]

For CheapOAir. August 2016. Mongolia is one of the few countries where nomadic culture still thrives today. As I drove through the country, I saw nothing but grasslands with free roaming herds of animals accompanied by a nomad or two. They lived in traditional gers (also known as yurts) and survived on whatever the land offered them. Here are Some Notable Dishes […]

For CheapOAir. July 2016. The beautiful city of Naples may be known as the birthplace of the pizza, but trust me, fellow foodie travelers, there are so many other mouthwatering delights to consume in this great place! Its narrow alleys are bustling with open air food markets, family-run stands selling fried snacks, and centuries-old pastry shops. Just […]

For One Travel. July 2016. Last week, I set off to Naples, Italy with only one goal – to eat pizza! One of my Italian friends forewarned me, “Once you eat in Naples, you can die and go to heaven.” Each day I bit into the warm, fresh, crispy dough, crowned with creamy, melt-in-your-mouth cheese; sweet, […]

For CheapOAir. May 2016. My perception of Cuban food while eating at restaurants in the US was limited to Cuban sandwiches, pulled pork, rice, beans, and a few meat staples. It was only when I visited Havana a couple of years ago that my entire perception of Cuban cuisine was proved to be false. It […]

For Creative Loafing. May 2016. A trip inside Botiwalla in Ponce City Market transports me to a canteen circa 1955, in the city of Ahmednagar, India. The British had just left India, granting its independence, leaving behind Victorian-style buildings and a bustling Parsi café scene. The fifth concept restaurant by James Beard Award nominee Meherwan […]