ColumnHow do you say “cheers” in Hungarian?

“Normally they have rooster testicles, but I think they’re out of them today.”

Right.

We were staring at the wide array of meats behind the glass, busily snapping photos of everything from beef lungs to goose liver, knowing perfectly well that meat photos aren’t necessarily the most appetizing of food porn. With several floors of fresh produce and more meat than you can handle, the Great Market Hall, the largest indoor market in Budapest, has plenty of it, and Carolyn Banfalvi, owner of Taste Hungary, a Budapest-based company that offers food, wine and market tours, was taking us on a quick run through to make sure we knew all about fried fat and the importance of duck meat.

When you want to explore food culture, the market is often a good place to start. It is here that I learned that in Hungary, bacon is a big deal, the Hungarian countryside is full of fruits from apricots to blackberries and because wild mushroom picking is a popular pastime, there’s a “mushroom office” in many markets, where you can take your mushrooms to get checked, just to make sure you’re not eating anything poisonous.

Food is a central component of my plans anytime I travel, so it was no surprise that I was attempting to take in an entire food culture in five days.

“What is a classic Hungarian dish that we should eat?” I asked our apartment host Krisztina, a fashionable and savvy young Hungarian that was intent on giving us a long list of “underground” places to explore.

“Well, there is of course goulash, but it’s so heavy and not a summer dish, so please don’t eat it,” she responded.

“We will certainly not,” I responded. Always take the advice of a local.

Which is exactly how I ended up at a taco bar drinking fröccs.

A few nights earlier, Krisztina and her boyfriend Vandy had taken us out to explore the local ruin bar scene. What started as people taking over abandoned buildings, mostly in the Jewish quarter, and setting up makeshift bars, has turned into quite the scene, the kind of place where you’ll pick out a few tourists, but mostly you’re surrounded by hip Hungarians that ride single speeds and talk film and art. For the most part, they’re in courtyards, with packed seating and a mixture of low lighting and funky fixtures. My kind of place.

“So what do we order?” I asked.

“Fröccs,” said Vandy.

I quickly scribbled it down in my notebook, attempting to correctly pronounce it about five times first. Note: Hungarian is hard. Fröccs is a popular drink combining wine and soda water, mixed with varying proportions depending on how much you’re feeling like drinking, and for summer it’s perfect.

“Egészségedre!” Vandy and Krisztina pronounced, holding up their glasses.

More pronunciation repetition and scribbling in the notebook; it’s important to know how to say “cheers” in multiple languages after all.

Goulash may not have been on the list of recommendations but at least now I was well aware of how the cool urban crowd was spending their evenings. Budapest has a convivial culture, sitting in open courtyards in the summer and hunkering down in cozy basement bars in the winter. On Kazinczy street there is a handful of them, and you could spend an entire evening going from courtyard to courtyard, checking out the garden decor at Szimpla to sitting in a hammock chair at Köleves Kert. The winding cobblestone street is filled with bikes, parked up for the evening and entrances decorated with hanging lights.

“It’s two different worlds,” said Vandy, referring to the difference that the season and weather has on drinking habits, as he poured us a shot of Unicum. “You can’t leave Budapest without trying this!”

He was referring the the classic Hungarian herbal bitters, that is such a part of Hungarian culture that I later saw sample shots of at the airport at 8 in the morning. Just for the record, 8 is too early for herbal bitters. But at midnight in a ruin bar, it’s the perfect night cap. Just as tacos are the perfect street food.

Given my personal taco obsession, it came as no surprise that I would somehow end up eating them, even in the middle of Central Europe, but the beauty of globalization is that even in Hungary you can eat chicken paprikash for lunch and tacos for dinner. Sometimes exploring a food culture reminds you of how small the world has become. But because the Hungarians are good at preparing meat – when I asked Carolyn if there were any vegetarians in Hungary she said, “well, just a few” – the tacos were excellent.

Bacon, tacos, herbal bitters, the popularity of pickles and the large amount of hip people on single speed bicycles… Budapest was almost starting to feel like Portland. With more Hungarian of course, and less vegans. Add to that the extensive culture of cafes and the city is one continuous experience of eating, drinking and talking with people.

As a Hungarian proverb goes, “Good coffee should be black like the devil, hot like hell and sweet like a kiss.” And that’s exactly what you get in the multitude of kávéház that line the city streets. A double espresso and a classic Hungarian pastry will do good things at any time of day.

Jó étvágyat!

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.

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Shop ’til you drop.

When I travel, the first thing I do in a new town is check out the local flea market. Nowhere am I better able to get a sense of a place’s culture than by hobnobbing with locals while perusing dusty antiques, trying on secondhand clothing, or sampling bizarre street foods.

The world’s most famous markets are a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, and smells. These 40 photos provide a taste, just enough to jog that wanderlust.

(above) Bazar Mora, Valparaiso, Chile

Camden Passage Market, London, England

Feria de San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Izmailovsky Flea Market, Moscow, Russia

Otavalo Market, Otavalo, Ecuador

Chengalpattu Market, Chennai, India

Monastiraki, Athens, Greece

Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Buleshwar, Mumbai, India

Place du Jeu de Balle, Brussels, Belgium

Boxhagener Platz, Berlin, Germany

Anjuna Market, Goa, India

Jaffa Flea Market, Tel Aviv, Israel

Le Marché aux Puces, Paris, France

Food Market, Mopti, Mali

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo, Japan

Alemany Flea Market, San Francisco, California

Otavalo Market, Otavalo, Ecuador

Night Market, Luang Prabang, Laos

Central Market Hall, Budapest, Hungary

Flea Market, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Flea Market, Nairobi, Kenya

Kolaportið, Reykjavik, Iceland

Khan-El-Khalili, Cairo, Egypt

Montmartre Street Fair, Paris, France

Ubud Market, Bali, Indonesia

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey

Christmas Markets, Barcelona, Spain

Food Market, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Panjiayuan Market, Beijing, China

Porta Portese, Rome, Italy

Chinchero Sunday Market, Urubamba, Peru

Portobello Market, London, England

Brooklyn Flea Market, New York, USA

Floating Market, Ratchaburi, Thailand

Flea Market, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Flohmarkt, Calw, Germany

Setagaya Flea Market, Tokyo, Japan

Brooklyn Flea Market, New York, USA

Grand Bazaar, Tehran, Iran

SEE ALSO:

40 Gorgeous Photos of Europe

40 Gorgeous Photos of North America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Latin America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Asia

40 Gorgeous Photos of Africa

25 Photos of Islands Threatened by Climate Change

25 Images of Female Adrenaline Seekers

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Behind-the-scenes footage with some of our favorite indie designers from EcoSalon’s video archives.

Nowadays, designers are really having to develop their collections in a holistic way, being attuned not only to seasons and color trends, but to how versatile their pieces can be. In the case of jewelry line Mi Asunta, donning each piece is an expression of the wearer and luckily, there are many ways to be expressive.

We caught up with designer Sara Brancato at Market in New York City, showing A/W ’11 and got her to show us a piece that does double-duty, triple-duty, and more. Enjoy this behind-the-scenes footage – we’ll let Sara show you how much her jewelry can do.

And look at her jewelry and not how hot she is.

The post From the Video Vault: Convertible Jewelry With Mi Asunta appeared first on EcoSalon.

Designers offer insights on why some styles sell more than others.

Designers will be the first to admit that when it comes to their collections they have their favorites. But does their cloth-crush sometimes outshine the actual needs of the buyer?

A boutique owner has to be part fortune teller, part knowledgeable curator. A smart buyer realizes that above all, they need to be prudent. Getting caught up in the hype of Market Week with a designer telling them something is “Amazing!” and “Will sell through,” can translate to merchandise that doesn’t move.

What this means for you is an uninteresting store selection and a buyer whose investment isn’t going to give much return.

I caught up with a handful of sustainable designers at Market in New York this past week and had them show me a piece they loved, but was it what the buyers were choosing for their Fall 2011 assortments? Not necessarily.

Alice Wu, founder and designer of Feral Childe (above), says the Paganini Practice Shift was her favorite but the more colorful signature prints of her line were buyers’ favorites.

Lara Miller, founder and designer of Lara Miller: “The Callie Flip Cardigan was one of my best sellers and is also one of my favorites. Buyers like that they can wear it more than four different ways and get so much from one piece.”

Tracey Forrest, Owner of True Collaborative Showroom, representing Pendleton’s Portland Collection: “The Cape was placed by every buyer but the men’s pants were sometimes overlooked which typically happens in bottoms that are not denim or khakis-This is often a missed category for men’s clothing.”

Raina Blyer, designer and founder of Creem: “These two were my favorites and the buyers’ because they’re different, but not so different to alienate any type of customer.”

Moriah Carlson, co-designer and founder of Feral Childe, said her Rabbit Bump Dress was a bright spot for buyer’s ordering because she loves it and thankfully, so did they.

Lizz Wasserman, founder and designer behind the line Popomomo, says her A/W ’11 Ferus Shirt is a favorite of hers as well as the buyers: “It’s a shift in silhouette for the buyers but they’re able to see the piece has cross-appeal and accommodates lots of body types.”

The post At Market, Favorites Aren’t Always Best-Sellers appeared first on EcoSalon.

We’ve been falling hard for the NOW Showcase for the past three seasons at Market in New York City and are glad to be this season’s exclusive media sponsor. With all that amazing talent in one big room, not only are we excited to see all the new fall collections, we’re hoping we might even see you!

On two separate evenings, the EcoSalon team will be on hand to mingle and answer all the questions you ever wanted to ask us, like, “Is fashion columnist Gretchen Jones really 10 feet tall?” and “Does Fashion Editor Amy DuFault really have a thick New England accent?” and of course, the top question you’ve secretly been wondering: “Are they fun?”

We totally are.

So come meet our fashion columnist and recent Project Runway winner Gretchen Jones on Saturday, February 19th, 4-6:30 p.m. Jones, a designer and EcoSalon fashion columnist of “My Designer Life,” will be on hand to talk about anything you deem sustainable. About to launch her first collection since her Project Runway win, Jones will have look books on hand to show buyers and a leopard turban on to impress anyone else.

Fashion Editor, Amy DuFault (yours truly), will be on hand the second day – Sunday, February 20th, 4-6:30 pm entertaining a motley crew of eco-boutique owners (the ones you love shopping online but have never met), fellow sustainable fashion writers, and Garment District representatives. I’ll be at the ready with my Flip, pad and pen to take notes about anything you think might be EcoSalon-story worthy.

In addition to sipping fair trade wine from Appollis and Fair. vodka cocktails, you can warm up with hot Gypsy Tea and snack on some delicious Regal Vegan Faux Gras™ and then (ahem!) there’s the every-15-minute-giveaway on the 20th from Chem Line, Deborah Lindquist, Creem, NatureVsFuture, SDN, Lipstockist and Heidi Roland – all for the price of a business card.

If you weren’t able to make it to any New York Fashion Week events, this is a unique and special opportunity to meet the real designers behind the inspiring lines and see just what Fall 2011 has in store for us.

We look forward to meeting you!

For a complete list of designers showing at NOW, go here.

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I’m guilty as charged when it comes to a standard farmers’ market routine; my Saturday morning market run always includes a visit to my egg guy, then my favorite stand for whatever greens are in season, and then a swing by the Irish man who runs a smoked salmon stand. After that I pick up a container of plain spreadable chevre at Fraga Farm and finally cruise by the New Cascadia booth for some gluten-free seed bread. Every. Single. Weekend. This kind of a routine certainly never feels like a rut, but this week marks National Farmers’ Market Week, and even the most seasoned of farmers’ market visitors sometimes need some new inspiration for enjoying all that markets have to offer.

National Farmers’ Market Week kicked off yesterday and runs through August 7. This bodes well for promoting healthy, local and sustainable food, even in more conventional areas that are new to the farmers market trend, which means if you haven’t made it out to a farmers’ market yet this season, it’s about time! Here are just a few ways you can celebrate.

1. Find a new market

Feel like you need to hit the refresh button and see some new stands and farmers? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a search engine that lets you track down markets geographically. This is also a great way to track down markets to visit when you’re out of town for the weekend and visiting a new city.

2. Take the kids

Making a trip to the farmers’ market a family event is just another step in creating food savvy, local-loving kids.

3. Get creative

If you’re a frequent market-goer like myself, why not try cooking-up some seasonal dishes that are new and exciting? Check out what’s local and in season and then pick a few items that don’t normally make it into your market basket.

4. Throw a party

Plan a farmers’ market themed potluck and require your guests to bring dishes made solely from market produce. Encourage them to bring recipes and you might just end up with a few new seasonal recipes favorites.

5. Take pictures

The only thing better than shopping at farmers’ markets is taking pictures at farmers’ market; take your camera with you on your next visit and try to capture just what makes your local farmers market special. To celebrate National Farmers Market Week, I’m bringing you a selection of my favorite Portland farmers’ market photos from this season. Enjoy!

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: Celebrate National Farmers’ Market Week appeared first on EcoSalon.

E-readers are spineless compared with hardcover books, lacking the soulful carbon fingerprints of readers past. You cannot fold the pages of the wafer-thin gadgets, or make your mark with splotches of food or wine. And the idea of clutching the casing to your chest after reading the final line of a novel just leaves me cold. As one book club friend of mine waxes, “There’s just something about the smell of a book.”

Still, we all can smell and see the writing is on the screen when it comes to these devices outsourcing print media, sparing trees and saving money. According to ID TechEx, the total market size in 2010 is a whopping $131 million, and is expected to soar to $1.7 billion by 2014. Much of that growth is attributed to huge success of Kindles and other portable e-readers. “In 2020, the market value will reach $7.45 billion thanks to the availability of flexible, color displays and faster refresh rates,” the market analysts predict.

Why do users find them so friendly?

“I bought one for my wife for her birthday and enlarged the fonts so she can read the words on the screen without squinting or wearing reading glasses,” says Steve Montoya, a Bay Area IT consultant. “She’s an avid reader. Recently, she read a series she couldn’t get in e-print, and couldn’t wait to finish it and get back to her Kindle.”

While you can’t download all desirable titles now, the Amazon library and others are growing every day.

“You can get books, magazines, newspapers, even audio books to listen to with headphones,” Montoya says.

The graphite feature also is a huge power saver, he finds, noting you can get several days of reading on one charge. And since it works on a cellular network, it also makes it easy to instantaneously order books and have them appear on your library. Plus, the e-readers never seem to lose connection.

“My brother-in-law is in Afghanistan and his iPhone doesn’t work, but his Kindle does,” says Montoya.

If the prequel of our paperless future is the tragic death of magazines and newspapers, will the sequel be the disappearance of paperback and hardcover reads? Are there upsides to this plot? Here are some of the pros and cons of e-reading devices:

Cost

Pro: If you are a voracious reader without a library card, you probably will save money on an e-reader. If you are a voracious reader with a library card, you probably will save on late fees.

Con: You have to spend a lot for the cheapest iPad, which is wifi-only, holds 16GB of storage and sells for nearly $500. The Que is $649 and has a 4GB of data storage. The 3G wireless Amazon Kindle is more affordable at $250.

Storage

Pro: When the Kindle was introduced in 2007, travelers loved the benefits of of storing up to 1,500 books on a device the size of a small paperback read. And the library of available books to download keeps expanding (the first chapter of any book is free). Let’s face it, we are a storage-challenged human race with too much junk and not enough apartment and home space. This eliminates the need for shelving.

Con: Our private libraries are important for sharing with our friends and children and passing down treasured collections – classics and complementary fiction that rocked our world. Plus, it’s a lot easier to lose a gadget than an entire dusty collection.

Green

Pro: Many green publications, including Inhabitat, sing the praises of e-readers because they ultimately aid the environment by requiring no deforestation to manufacture, compared to the traditional paper publishing industry. This doesn’t even include the energy, materials, dyes and carbon from shipping that shames the print industry. According to a study by Cleantech, the carbon emitted in the lifecycle of  a Kindle, for example, is fully offset after the first year. And more earth-friendly models are on the move, like LG’s Solar ebook introduced last year, boasting a thin photovoltaic cell which keeps the juice pumping so your novel won’t go kaput during the climax.

Con: What is being offered is a new thing to buy, to keep you busy on the subway. High tech by nature is incompatible with green with exceptions such as solar panels, which also require an investment in energy to make. Green means a return to what your grandparents did, a return to simplicity: Walk a few blocks to school and work. Open a book on your front porch and snooze. That’s 18th Century technology. Also, the effectiveness of reducing emissions by popularizing these gadgets is dependent upon the publishing industry standardizing its adoption of the technology while committing to cutting down the production of physical books and other print media. Is this likely to happen anytime soon, other than by default?

Convenience

Pro: Toss the paper thin, lightweight, wireless device in your bag and you’re good to go. The new generation of Kindles is lighter than a paperback at 6″ and 10.2 oz. and you can hold it with one hand, which aids those carpal tunnel issues. This is why so many e-readers are the new companions of commuters. Hopefully, driving laws will keep users from biting into New Moon while behind the wheel. If you thought texting was was a dangerous distraction while driving…

Con: The tactile experience of gripping a book, magazine or Sunday paper can outweigh the fact it might be heavier to lug. It is this experience that is woven into our cultural wiring. No matter how hard technology tries, the tendency for consumers to prefer print over e-readers will endure for many years to come. With regard to our cultural connection to books, a graduate student at the University of Toronto wrote that his first experiences with a reader felt like “a courageous betrayal of every word written from the moment papyrus gave way to paper.”

Connection

Pro: We are a society that needs to stay connected now more than ever. In terms of signal range, e-readers never seem to drop out.

Con: Losing connection might be easier on the eyes. Having your head in a book just isn’t the same as having your peepers fixed on a screen for hours of pleasure reading. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) cases are rising in people looking for relief from fatigue, strain and irritation caused by focusing on worlds and images on a surface without well-defined edges contrasted against backgrounds. Eyes simply respond better to most printed text of bold black letters on a bright, white background.

Images: E-readers

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