Dining and Drinks
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Dining and Drinks
I don’t get it. From the moment I landed on Oahu, I’ve heard more about its snow cones than its beaches. OK, not snow cones. They call it shave ice (leaving off the “d,” a pidgin held over from Japanese immigrants who never mastered the hard stop at the end of some English words). Locals have directed me to five “best shave ice” stands. Now a friend says, “Go to Waiola, in Moiliili. It’s the original.” If I don’t, he says I’ve blown my entire week. Really? Shave ice is that important? When I was growing up in New York City, I’d see men selling flavored ice or Italian ice or snow cones or whatever you want to call it. They had pushcarts in front of parks or at the top of subway stairs, and their arms were toned from sliding a planer over the ice blocks. They’d mound the ice into paper cones and add a drizzle of syrup from bottles that glittered disco red, green and blue. How different could shaved ice taste here in Hawaii? Um, I mean ...
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It’s practically a crime around here: I’m a Painkiller virgin. That’s right, I’ve never had one (please don’t tell my fellow editors). Yes, I understand that the Painkiller is the Caribbean drink. I am well aware that I should order the original from the British Virgin Islands’ Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke, where creamy coconut, dark rum, fruit juices, cinnamon stick and — waitaminnit, is that nutmeg?! — will whisk me to my happy place. And I know that I know any of this only because ...
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Tags: Tropical Drink Recipes
We can hear them scrambling through the darkness in the jungle of Dominica. They have us surrounded. Outnumbered. “When I shine my light in their eyes,” whispers our guide, Martin Carrierre, “grab them from the rear. Fast.” But my husband, Steve, isn’t quick enough. “What do I do now?” he asks, lifting his left sneaker. Attached to it by a claw is a land crab. Consider this: In 1655, British Admiral William Penn and his men fled at the sound of land crabs, thinking it was Spanish cavalry...
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Tags: Blogs
All around me an endless stream of tame deer rambles near the waterfront of Japan’s Miyajima Island. Like me, they’re looking for something to chew on. For them the targets are paper maps and bread crusts. For me it’s something smoking on the street corner. Grills that are sizzling with oysters. Understand, I adore oysters so much that I once judged an oyster-shucking contest, but seeing them barbecued is new to me...
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Tags: Blogs
Pinch of salt, dash of sunset salty sea air is the secret ingredient in traditional Greek dishes like grilled octopus and stuffed grape leaves served on this beach. And sea breezes are easy to come by because the restaurants that line Skala Eressou on the southwest coast of the Greek isle of Lésvos don’t just face the beach — they are on top of it.
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Tags: Blogs
Japan's Yamazaki has put itself on the map by distilling single malt scotch whiskies that can stand toe-to-toe with those of Scotland, and at almost $13,000 a bottle, Yamazaki's 50-year scotch - being released in an ultra-limited run of 150 bottles - has taken the title of Japan's most expensive single malt.
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Tags: Blogs
Do you love dim sum? This video from the Louis Vuitton 2012 City Guide to Hong Kong showcases a few savory selections and talks about dim sum's background.
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Tags: Travel Tips
One daring ISLANDS editor submits to an authentic hookah lounge experience on St. Thomas – all in the name of research.
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What better way to celebrate (or bid good riddance) to Tax Day this April 15 than with a new tropical drink recipe?
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Straight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, a sweet cassava pudding treat you can make at home.
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