Links - foodtourist.com


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1.	A World of Tea More...
	Some useful in-depth information about the history and cultivation of tea.
	http://www.stashtea.com

African Heart Safaris

Do you hang your head in shame at fashionable parties because you haven't been to Zanzibar recently? Are you the only member of your tennis club who hasn't been on safari in Tanzania?

Well, this site can help. Two Belgians and a Masai have established JMT African Heart Expeditions and the Web site details the types of experiences available.

While the thought of a budget camping safari doesn't appeal to the sedentary editors of foodtourist.com, we would enjoy the luxury lodge safari, where you can watch the animals come and go from the comfort of the bar!

They also organise trips to fascinating Zanzibar.

This site is well worth visiting!

http://www.africanheart.com

3.	Ale Street News
	We were attracted to this site because it had received a number of awards. There is certainly tons of information here about boutique breweries, home brewing and beer in general. Also some good articles.
	http://www.alestreetnews.com

4.	Bonjour Paris
	Its excellent articles and features make this much more that just a straightforward travel guide. for example, the Food and Wine section currently has stories such as 'Alain Ducasse: France’s Super-Chef' and 'A Beginner’s Guide to French Cheeses' and the very practical 'Great Restaurants at Half Price', a stand-by late-booking service covering many parts of France. Restaurant reviews are comprehensive and cover a range of styles and prices. Bonjour Paris also hosts Chat sessions and Discussion forums, many of which are on food-related topics.
	http://www.bonjourparis.com
	Address: Paris

Chez Panisse web site

There are so many restaurants to eat at in San Francisco and so little time (especially considering we’re lucky to get to visit more than twice a year) that we tend to try to visit places we’ve never been to on each visit. There’s one exception though, Chez Panisse (well, maybe two - it’s hard to be in San Francisco and not go to Zuni’s at least once either). We’ve included this web site in our database because it gives you more of an idea of what Chez Panisse is about. The menu changes daily and the web site includes the current week’s menus and the current month’s Monday night dinners. Monday night is significantly cheaper than other nights ($39 a head) and features more rustic, regional dishes.

You probably should book a month ahead to be sure of a table although we’ve usually been able to get in with about a week’s notice provided you’re not too fussy about what time you eat.

http://www.chezpanisse.com

Address: San Francisco

6.	Citysearch San Francisco
	One of the most comprehensive sites available about San Francisco but we find there’s probably too much information if you’re visiting briefly. If you have a preferred style of restaurant in mind, try searching for Top Picks in the Eat and Drink page and then selecting the style you’re interested in. The reviews are fair and, impressively, Citysearch tags reviews of restaurants which advertise so that you know. More useful if you’re planning to become a local and have a few years to digest everything that’s here. There’s often a featured new restaurant on the main page of the main Eat and Drink page and these features can be invaluable if you’re keen to try the latest.
	http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com
	Address: San Francisco

7.	Cooking.com
	An extensive collection of cookware, tableware and small appliances for sale through this site. There are also links to a quite extensive recipe collection sourced from publications such as Food and Wine or the Cordon Bleu Cooking School.
	http://www.cooking.com

Dine Online

An independent guide to eating out in London that’s been around since 1996. The reviews are extensive describing the food in some detail. Restaurant reviews are organised into several categories ‘Dining out in greater London’, ‘Dining out in the country’, ‘Recommended Asian Restaurants’ and even ‘Dine Online goes abroad’, which includes Dublin, Japan, the Bay of Naples, the Riviera and Philadelphia, an eclectic collection of overseas venues to say the least! There are also reviews of restaurants in a number of Asian and Australian cities, including Hong Kong, Manilla, Bangkok and Sydney.

Restaurants aren’t rated although some do receive annual awards (we’re not sure what for because that does not seem to be explained, it’s probably just for being very good). Readers are also encouraged to add their own comments about listed restaurants.

There are interesting and useful features about UK and overseas destinations, for example ‘Is there a foodie scene in Birmingham?’ (you’ll have to visit Dine Online or Birmingham to find an answer!) .

Even though it won’t win any design prizes and navigation is somewhat serendipitous, this site is well worth visiting regularly.

http://www.dine-online.co.uk/

9.	Divina Cucina Cooking School
	Beautifully designed home page for the Divina Cucina cooking school in Tuscany.
	http://www.divinacucina.com/

10.

egullet.com

A Web site dedicated to conversations about food, wine and fun! Forums range from in-depth discussions of the restaurant scene around the globe to detailed explorations of the science and lore of cooking.

No matter what your area of interest there will be something here for you.

http://www.egullet.com

11.	Epicurious More...
	Formerly the Epicurious site. An extensive food and travel site with lots of valuable information. Mainly concerned with the United States.
	http://www.concierge.com

12.

Fodors Restaurant Index

Although, given the depth of its coverage of so many cities, it is likely to be out of date at times, Fodor's Restaurant Index is a must-visit site if you’re planning to visit any of the cities it covers. We never leave home without its list of recommendations if we’re visiting an unfamiliar city.

It is a worldwide guide covering more than 100 cities in every continent, including all the ones we have reviews for.

You can list all the restaurants for a city or limit a search by location or price range. Alternatively you can compile a list of Fodors own choices.

Fodors lists encompass a wide range of restaurants, not just those at the top end of the market. Be sure to check on the currency of the data though. For example, in Sydney it lists places that have closed (e.g. Bistro Pavé) or have had name changes (Bilson’s to The Quay) and it does not include some of the more recent worthy additions to the scene. (It’s a bit like reading last year’s restaurant guide, albeit a good one.) In San Francisco Todd Humphries is still at Campton Place and Julian Serrano is still at Masa’s and in Paris Eric Frechon is still at Le Restaurant d'Eric Frechon.

As well as the Restaurant Index, Fodors (www.fodors.com) has more general travel-related information including forums on major tourist destinations.

http://www.fodors.com

13.

France in your glass

An invaluable resource for anyone seriously interested in wine who is planning a visit to France. Features on Bordeaux, Burgundy, Provence, Alsace, Champagne Languedoc-Roussillon, and also Paris.

In many countries, e.g. Australia and the United States, most substantial wineries are open to the public. That’s not true in France where most establishments, especially the well-known prestige houses, are not normally open. You need an invitation. France In Your Glass is your means to securing an invitation.

As well as a list of formal tours, for example, an 8-day ‘Great Estates of Burgundy’ tour, France in your Glass can arrange private programs in the great wine region . We spent one day with Paul Cadiau in the Cote d’Or and found it an invaluable introduction. This approach is especially good if you don’t have a great deal of time but want to learn as much as possible.

http://www.inyourglass.com

Country: France

14.	Graham Tigg's Dining in France
	A small but independently-reviewed selection of restaurants, especially recommended for the Languedoc, Normandy, and Burgundy.
	http://www.languedoc-dining.com

15.

Greatfood.ie

This lovely Web site, based in Ireland, is packed with useful information for food lovers.

Information is categorised into the following topics - News, Recipes, Ingredients, Books, Cookware and Wine as well as hints and tips.

In the News section you will find information about upcoming food events, cookery courses and good places to eat and shop.

In the Recipes section there are dozens of recipes classified into sections such as Bread, Beef, Eggs, Offal, Pasta and many more. The recipes are well laid out and east to follow. Some even include sensible advice on the pairing of wine with the dish. For example, a recipe for beef cooked in red wine calls for a lovely Montepulciano D'Abruzzo red to accompany it.

In the Ingredients section we see categories such as Fish, Herbs, Seasoning, Spices and more. Descriptions we liked included one on harissa, another on coffee and another on aubergines.

The Books section has reviews of many interesting books. In the French section there is a review of Patricia Wells' wonderful Bistro Cooking and Saulier's massive tome Le Repertoire De La Cuisine and Atkinson's Encyclopaedia of Eastern European Cooking.

The section on Cookware includes advice on both buying and using various cooking items.

Finally, the Wine section contains some useful general information about wine as well as a nice article on wines to buy under 15 Euros.

One of the strong features of the site is the multiplicity of ways you can navigate your way through the information. You can select sections from the menus at the top, choose from a drop-down list, search directly or browse topics alphabetically.

Browsing this Web site, we got the distinct impression that it is gaining momentum and will become a significant contributor to the food community. We will track its progress with interest.

http://www.greatfood.ie

16.	Imperial Tea Court web site More...
	An excellent site where you can shop for tea or learn more about this fascinating subject in their tea classroom.
	http://www.imperialtea.com
	Address: San Francisco

17.

James Beard Foundation

There is a lot of useful information about United States restaurants and chefs on this site. Occasionally they travel outside the United States and give mention to a Canadian or Italian event, but its main focus is the US.

One of the features we like to scan regularly is the Dateline section where they post gossip and upcoming openings and closings of restaurants and the movement of well-known chefs. We find it useful to find that Todd Humphries has left the restaurant at Campton Place to head to the Napa or that Julian Serrano formerly of Masa's is now ensconced in Las Vegas. It is also useful to peruse the winners of the James Beard Foundation awards each year to find out which restaurants and chefs are hot (although we do have a great deal of difficulty at understanding some of the choices).

http://www.jamesbeard.org

18.	Makan Time in Singapore More...
	An interesting and individualistic site that is almost like an underground guide (a people's guide) to eating in Singapore.
	http://www.makantime.com
	Address: Singapore

19.	Patricia Wells
	Patricia Wells' own web site (see also www.iht.com/iht/dine for her International Herald Tribune articles). This is good for the latest news (e.g. this is where we found out the changes to Michelin stars for 1999). Especially useful is her Paris Page which lists her current favourites in Paris. We’d trust her any time.
	http://www.patriciawells.com

20.

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

This useful site contains information about all the hotels that are members of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group. There are some excellent properties listed here, for example Pangkor Laut Resort in Malaysia, Raffles Hotel in Singapore, The Huntington in San Francisco, The Jefferson in Washington DC and the lovely St James in Paris.

Each property has a full description including contact information via conventional means or via e-mail. There is additional information for each site including extra photographs, a full description of the property and the room rates.

If you like the look of the property then you can make a booking on-line.

http://www.slh.com

21.	St. John USVI
	This site has information about St. John in the United States Virgin Islands including where to stay and an insider’s guide to St John vacations.
	http://www.stjohntraveler.com/

22.

Tasting Menu

A Web site we really like - mainly because the recommendations seem to coincide with ours!

Particularly strong on Seattle restaurants. The recommendations for this city are good.

We love the diary idea.

http://www.tastingmenu.com

23.

Telephone and electrical plugs for travellers

Going to Zimbabwe for a conference? Dropping in to Egypt on your way home? Don’t leave the country without first visiting the 'kropla' Internet site

Here you will find all the information you need for telephone and electrical connections in every country of the world. To find which type of electrical plug you need, simply scan down the list of countries and click on the plug type and a clear, three-dimensional diagram of the plug you need is displayed. You can also look up all the telephone connectors and international dialling codes.

http://kropla.com/

24.

The Farm Cottage

The Farm Cottage at Chez Le Brun is exactly the type of quiet, relaxed environment that inner-London executives crave for a break from the stress and worry of their frenzied existence. The cottage is close to the charming, historic village of Confolens - but not too close, so the only sounds you hear are the bleating of sheep and the chirping of birds! However it is only a short drive into the village to buy your vegetables at the market or your baguette for breakfast.

It is a very comfortable cottage with two bedrooms, so it is ideal for a family or a small group who want to escape city life for a relaxing break.

http://www.frenchfarmcottage.com/

Address: Chez le Brun, Esse, 16500

Country: France

Phone: +33 (0) 545 713 845

25.	The Tea Centre More...
	A small site but one that is quite well-designed and informative. Mainly a promotional site for their stores.
	http://www.theteacentre.com.au
	Country: Australia

26.	Travel.com.au
	This is the site we mainly use when booking overseas trips. The information is reliable and timely and if you need to contact the staff for any reason they are knowledgeable and caring. An excellent service.
	http://www.travel.com.au

27.

Vinote.com

This Web site embodies a great concept. Many of us have cellars which we don't maintain very well. We have the wines down there, but we don't know how many we have and we don't know how long they have been there!

Vinote has the two solutions - software to record the wines in the cellar and bottle tags to identify the bottles in the cellar and to reconcile against the database.

There is also a set of useful links to other software and suppliers.

Well worth a look.

http://www.vinote.com

28.	Wheelhouse Luxury Apartments
	Wheelhouse Luxury Apartments are delightful accommodation with a spectacular view over the wild and remote Macquarie Harbour. If it is comfort and luxury you are looking for then this is the obvious choice when you visit Strahan on Tasmania's rugged West Coast.
	http://www.wheelhouseapartments.com.au/
	Address: Strahan, Tasmania
	Country: Australia
	Phone: +61 3 6471 7777

29.

Wine Spectator Web site More...

The Wine Spectator is one of the best wine magazines in the world. Their professionalism also extends to their Web site which is a treasure trove of information about wine, food and travel.

We like the articles but be wary of some of their wine recommendations. They tend to support the 'full on' styles of reds, for example, rather than those with more subtle yet ultimately more satisfying complexity.

http://www.winespectator.com

30.

WorldRamen.Net

World Ramen is a site totally dedicated to the wonders of Ramen. There are very good explanations of the differences between various Ramen types such as Shio Ramen and Miso Ramen, including some interesting graphics that help you understand the differences.

The site also contains some descriptions of the best ramen restaurants in Japan as well as some in the United States and other countries through Asia and Europe. There is a database containing these descriptions.

Although the information is still valid, it does not appear to be updated very often these days.

http://www.worldramen.net

31.	Yahoo Travel
	This is a highly structured web site that will suit some but not others. Travel is structured by location or lifestyle choice. The site is extensive and the information useful, but if you are planning a trip to a few counties you might find the searching tedious.
	http://travel.yahoo.com.au