ColumnA step-by-step guide to making sure you travel like a food lover.

“You can’t eat yet.”

My tablemates were ready to dig into their meal when my best friend and travel partner Rachel alerted everyone that they had to wait for a few.

“Just one second,” I said, while whipping my phone out to snap a quick photo.

“She does this a lot, you just have to get over it,” my friend said matter of factly, with a slight eye roll.

It occurred to me then and there that most people don’t take a photo of everything they eat. Let’s not go overboard here: I don’t photo document every single thing that ever crosses a plate in front of me. I do however like to have inspiration for other meals, and when it comes to travel it’s all about keeping a visual diary of all the new foods that were experienced. Again, normal for some, not so normal for others.

But there’s just something about the right composition of your passport, a postcard and a double espresso that you don’t want to miss out on. If you have mastered how to pretend you’re a foodie, now you’re ready to travel like one, and this guide will help you do just that.

1. Take the Same Daily Photo

Every day is a little better with good food porn, and this way you have a good visual comparison of what you consumed during your travels. Choose one meal or a specific thing to photograph every day. It could be your morning cup of tea or coffee or simply your daily afternoon snack. Get creative.

2. Order Sparkling Water With Everything

Because espresso never tasted better. Just be aware that when you do so on your flight home you might get a “what is the deal with everyone ordering sparkling water? Do they think they’re French?” from your flight attendant.

3. Keep At Least Two Photographic Devices on Hand At All Times

You never know when you need to take a photo, and sometimes the DSLR is just too obnoxious. You have to maintain a level of class after all, and sitting by your meal with a huge camera in your lap through the entire meal isn’t really the way to do so.

4. When All Else Fails, Use Your Journal.

Keep a notebook and write down meals, ingredients and translations of new food related words. It will be like your own food encyclopedia when you’re done.

5. Befriend a Local and Make Them Order

Forget Yelp and Travelocity and every other restaurant recommendation service out there. Find someone that knows what they’re talking about and ask them for advice.

6. Spend Quality Time in a Local Grocery Store

It doesn’t need to be a fancy market, because in this case, the more basic the better. Some of the best food adventures can be had in the biggest of supermarkets, because you get the chance to find out what locals eat on an everyday basis. You’ll never know what you might find.

7. Always Say Yes

Unless of course this is in regards to an in-flight meal, then go with your own sense of culinary discretion. In other words, you do not need to say yes to that odd looking potato, jello sausage thing with a cold mini sausage served on Lufthansa.

8. Write Down Every Single Meal and Where You Ate It

When you’re later asked for food recommendations by fellow travelers you won’t be stuck saying to yourself, “what was that one cute place by that one river called?” Flipping open to page 6 of your food journal and knowing exactly where to tell them to go is much better.

9. Plan Your Day According to Food Stops

Why stand in line at museums when you can plan your entire itinerary around breakfast, lunch, dinner and frequent coffee breaks?

10. Learn to Say “Cheers” in Every Language of the Places You Are Traveling

Not only will you impress locals, but you’ll seem so worldly when you come home and refuse to cheer in your native tongue. Worldly or pretentious, depends on your friend circle.

11. Forget Your Normal Self-Imposed Food Restrictions

Just say yes to carbs, dairy and more. Because why would you want to miss out on fennel seed salami pizza? You wouldn’t.

12. Select Airlines Based off of Food Selection

Air France? Almost as good as actually being in France. KLM? Always a good selection of hearty European breads. China Airlines? They happen to serve really good Chinese tea.

13. Carry a Spork At All Times

You never know when you might need it.

14. Avoid McDonald’s and Starbucks At All Costs

You’re traveling, no need to be the obnoxious American who can’t ditch their chain food habit.

15. Learn About The Process From Something Basic

Take a class on cheesemaking, or a tour of a winery. Learning the background and history of a local specialty makes it that much more special.

16. Always Choose Cheap Lodging in Exchange For Being Able to Splurge on Meals

Five stars all the time is certainly not an indicator of a good culinary trip, but if you can order that aperitif or go all out and get the dessert without thinking about what it will do to your pocketbook, you’ll be much better off. 10 person dorm room in a hostel? If it means you get an extra bottle of local wine at dinner, by all means.

17. Be Willing to Mark the “Foods and Seeds” Section on Your Customs Card Just to See What Happens

Chocolate does not count.

18. Find a Couple of Key Items That You Always Buy Abroad to Add an Extra Level of Foodie Pretentiousness at Your Next Dinner Party

You can’t deny how much fun it is to say, “try some salted licorice! I stocked up last time I was in Europe.”

19. Get Lost

Leave the map and guidebook at home and let your stomach guide you. Whether you end up at a farmers market you didn’t know about, a hole-in-the-wall candy store or a friendly neighborhood joint, you’ll always be pleasantly surprised.

20. Celebrate the Unknown

You don’t have to always know what you’re eating. Life is more fun that way.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

The post Foodie Underground: How to Travel Like a Foodie appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnOur ongoing look inside the intriguing world of a foodie.

Whatever happened to the foodie that was in search of love and a good greens blog? We snagged her journal for a follow-up.

Wednesday April 4, 2012, 7:33 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Since I ditched the Greens Blog idea, I have been trying to focus on my coffee project. I have been taking a coffee roasting course (a cheese making course seemed so last year) and I think I have found my calling. And there’s a really cute coffee roaster leading the class… unfortunately his jeans are skinnier than mine. After class last night he asked me if I wanted to come up with a special sea salt, coffee cake recipe for the coffee shop he works at. Yes, please! In exchange he’s going to hook me up with free craft-roasted Americanos for a year. I just couldn’t say no.

Saturday April 7, 2012, 9:20 a.m.

Dear Diary,

So I’ve been working on this sea salt coffee cake recipe, and I found that the secret ingredient just has to be truffle oil. They were out at the local artisan market, so I broke down and ordered some from Italy. I just can’t mess this recipe up.

Saturday April 7, 2012, 6:36 p.m.

Dear Diary,

With truffle oil on its way, I took a break from recipe brainstorming this morning and biked over to farmer’s market. Picked up a new flavor of goat cheese from my favorite artisan cheese guy. Chili lavender. Ok, sounds kind of weird, but I think it will be good. And they pack it in a mason jar. Love. I had it in my basket on the way home, laying on a bed of fresh chard and kale. Instagram time! Definitely worthy of the Amaro filter. I love Saturday mornings.

Sunday April 8, 2012, 12:45 p.m.

Dear Diary,

20 likes on my cheese in a mason jar sitting on top of kale photo yesterday. Crazy! People do love good food porn. I’m thinking that maybe it could be fun to launch a Polaroid food photography course. Like Instagram, but in real life. I think I’ll ask the coffee roaster what he thinks. It would make for such a cool art installation. Hang up the Polaroids with clothespins on a piece of twine strung around the room… I can see it now…

Tuesday April 10, 2012, 9:34 p.m. 

Dear Diary,

Since I express shipped the truffle oil, it finally showed up. Coffee cake is a success. I threw in a couple of teaspoons of ground beans from the coffee roaster’s Rwandan blend. Delicious. I also ran the Polaroid food photography class and art show by the barista at class last night. He loved it. He also brought me a couple of heirloom tomato plants. So sweet of him.

Thursday April 12, 2012, 8:46 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Ok, the urban garden has gotten a bit out of control. There are seedlings everywhere. I went to the hardware store and they let me take home two old pallets for only $5. Vertical garden! So excited to get this going. Going to fill it with culinary herbs so that I can quit buying basil at the farmer’s market. I mean really, if you can grow it yourself… kind of makes me want to get chickens too. I wonder if the landlord would be into that.

Friday April 13, 2012, 6:30 a.m.

Dear Diary,

Throwing an impromptu dinner party tonight since the sun is out and it finally feels like spring! Invited the barista, because, well… why not? He told me he’s bringing homemade coffee liqueur. I have to swing by the urban winery on the way home to grab a few bottles, and since I’m up early I might as well make a batch of ginger, honey lemonade for pre-dinner drinks tonight.

Saturday April 14, 2012, 10:28 a.m. 

Dear Diary,

Ugh. Dinner party nightmare. Barista dragged along another skinny jean wearing friend of his who had the audacity to bring a 6-pack of PBR. I’m sorry, a 6-pack of PBR at a dinner party? Where does he think we live? Portland? Williamsburg? So much for the barista. At least I only have one coffee roasting class left. As for those free Americanos in exchange for my coffee cake recipe, I think I am just going to avoid that coffee shop entirely. There are so many better craft roasters in town anyway.

Wednesday April 18, 2012, 8:17 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Coffee roasting class is officially complete and one of the other people in the class is super excited about the Polaroid food photography idea. He even knows a guy that owns an Airstream that has been thinking about launching a coffee shop in it and as wanted to have an artisan spin to it. Imagine it, Christmas lights, Polaroid food porn and a dark shot of espresso. It’s all coming together. Now we just need a pottery studio so we can make our own mugs.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Image: Eleaf 

The post Foodie Underground: The Secret Diary of a Foodie Part Two appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnInside the intriguing world of a foodie.

Monday February 27, 2012, 8:55 p.m.

Dear Diary,

A serendipitous afternoon today. Having left my kale slaw with Meyer lemon vinaigrette at home, I was forced to buy lunch, so I went over to the food carts. Why the pickle cart is still in business is beyond me, but I went for three fish tacos next door. I started talking with the guy in front of me, who ordered the avocado and cactus burrito (his first point, given that the cactus burrito is my second go-to after the fish tacos). He told me he comes here a lot. He was cute, had a coffee thermos under his arm, looked like he had his life together. He told me the best taco he ever ate was in Austin. Second point for him – he loves the Austin food cart scene too! I think we had a good connection. We’ll see what happens.

Wednesday February 29, 2012, 10:26 p.m.

Dear Diary,

I left my lunch at home again. Food carts it is. But Mr. Cactus wasn’t there. The guy serving the wood-fired pizza asked me if I wanted an extra serving of arugula on my portobello and chevre pizza. I said yes, of course. Who passes up extra arugula? I did an Instagram photo series with the pizza. Greens are so beautiful and photogenic. Maybe I should start a blog focused just on greens. Yes, I should.

Friday March 2, 2012, 9:57 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Okay, so still haven’t been able to track down Mr. Cactus, but since I have been to the food carts every day this week, I’ve been trying out some new ones, which of course has led to the new obsession with the creme brulée cart. French dessert in a food cart? Yes, please. Why don’t they have one with cardamom in it, though? The chocolate one is so overrated.

I took more photos for the Greens Blog today. Had good wilted chard salad at & last night, but realized that I had forgotten my Moleskine so I couldn’t write down the exact name for the dish and when I checked their website this morning they had already changed their daily menu offerings. But it had to have been a combination of chard, ginger and anise. There had to have been anise. Why is anise on every menu these days?

Monday March 5, 2012, 8:32 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Forgetting Mr. Cactus. I’m sure he hasn’t even been to Austin. In better news, I did get a kitchen torch on Sunday. Thinking that I should try my hand at creme brulee this weekend for Supper Club. Just need to get some ramekins.

Thursday March 8, 2012, 6:26 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Did you know you can make creme brulée with purple sweet potatoes? I think I am going to do one with olive oil and sea salt. Keep things easy. I wonder if there is a site devoted to olive oil and sea salt? I should start one. Speaking of which, I haven’t had any time to work on the Greens Blog, but I did eat some good kale chips yesterday.

Saturday March 10, 2012, 7:45 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Epic disaster. I burned the creme brulée – blaming it on the caliber of the kitchen torch, must ask for a nicer one for my birthday – and of course there was no time to make a new batch. Obviously couldn’t show up to Supper Club with nothing in hand, so here I am on my couch instead, alone with a glass of wine working on the Greens Blog. It’s probably better to spend a Saturday night at home being productive anyway. And I get to enjoy this entire bottle of local, organic Pinot by myself.

Sunday March 11, 2012, 10:46 a.m.

Dear Diary,

I woke up and the kitchen was full of three kinds of kale chips. Apparently I went on a Pinot induced cooking rage. Molly wondered why I didn’t make it to Supper Club. I told her I had a family emergency.

Went on an afternoon walk to get some coffee, and the obnoxious barista had the audacity to glare at me. What? Sometimes I don’t want pour-over coffee made with a ceramic filter. Ugh. This city can be so snobby when it comes to food. Fortunately on my way home I came across a free box full of mason jars! Can’t wait to put those to use. Thinking I should make a fig cardamom whiskey. Maybe I could pitch that recipe to Saveur.

Tuesday March 13, 2012, 7:20 a.m.

Dear Diary,

Out of chia seeds for my green smoothie this morning. Flax oil had to suffice. Green smoothie is definitely going on the Greens Blog. I bought the domain today, which means it’s official. Now I just need to get a few Pinterest boards started.

Tuesday March 20, 2012, 7:18 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Ack! I haven’t written in a week. The Greens Blog has taken over my life. I took Friday off of work just to spend some time on the design. Fortunately the girls and I all went to Food & Drink on Friday for bottomless mussels and bubbly. I admitted that I didn’t really have a family emergency. Molly wanted the recipe for the cumin kale chips. I told them about Mr. Cactus. Why hasn’t he been at the food carts lately?

Saturday March 24, 2012, 9:20 a.m.

Dear Diary,

I think I am going to ditch the Greens Blog idea. It’s too narrow. I think I am going to focus on a coffee subject instead, inspired by the set of white porcelain mugs that I painted with chalkboard paint this morning. Now I can write the roast of coffee on the cup with chalk so I know what I’m drinking. I posted a photo of them on Facebook and everyone loved them. I should host a brunch with them tomorrow. Yes, brunch.  I could make some anise hazelnut scones.

Saturday March 24, 2012, 3:30 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Oh god, I ran into Mr. Cactus at the grocery store and he had a box of cupcakes from the bakery department. Oh god. Cupcakes!! What man buys cupcakes? I bet he doesn’t even know how to make his own salad dressing. Has he even read Omnivore’s Dilemma? I bet those cupcakes aren’t even made with real sugar as they’re probably full of high fructose corn syrup. He did ask me if I had eaten any good tacos lately, but I don’t know if I am interested anymore. People just have no taste.

At least I have this brunch to fall back on. Must go put the star anise in vodka now so that it has 12+ hours to sit and be infused enough to throw in the scones tomorrow. If only more people had an appreciation for what’s good in life.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

The post Foodie Underground: The Secret Diary of a Foodie appeared first on EcoSalon.

A journal to document your caffeinated adventures.

What was that varietal of espresso you drank last week?

If your coffee drinking ventures are a blur, it’s time to jot them down. Just like a good wine journal to keep track of your favorite vineyards and vintages, this pocket sized coffee journal lets you remember all the important parts of your coffee drinking experiences, from the roaster to the taste. Just make sure your java is organic and fair trade, so it matches the ethos of this journal, made with 100% recycled papers sourced in the Pacific Northwest and printed using US-grown soy-based inks.

Available for $4 from 33 Coffees.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

The post Lustables: 33 Cups of Coffee Journal appeared first on EcoSalon.