Your Local Food Road Trip

 It's going to be a tough summer to travel  thanks to gas prices  starting at five dollars a gallon. itr's even worse for those who love to go to food oriented  cities and towns. However some gems may be in your back yard and only a walking distance or short hop away.

Before you travel map out where you'd like to go. Nowadays it doesn't pay to wander aimlessly and burn up one hundred dollars of gas. If you are planning a distance drive, not only check out that one restaurant or farmer's market, but check out other food related businesses. There might be a great bakery or creamery that;s worth investigating.If you're headed to the Jersey shore, then any one of the Boardwalks that dot the coast should be included. There you can get such classics as cotton candy ,frozen custard and clams on a half shell. Also make a visit to any of the waterfront candy shops where you can buy such favorites as salt water taffy and homemade fudge.If you're driving through quaint country towns, there's usually a few farms on the way too. These are perfect for picking up fresh corn and tomatoes along with other veggies. Make sure there's plenty of room in the back seat or trunk for your haul too.Some farms even have strawberry and  early raspberry picking right now. Wear the appropriate clothing and bring containers in case the farm doesn't supply any.

City dwellers have a whole cornucopia a their fingertips. New York City may be a gourmet town but there are plenty of down to earth real food eateries. Luckily the city, like any metropolis has a great transit system. You can try the trendy restaurants and bistros in Greenwich Village along with gelaterias and pastry shops.Harlem has some of the best foods and it's an easy trip uptown. Try the ever popular Melba's for eggnog waffles and fried catfish. There's also Brooklyn, home of hipster breweries and fun ice cream shops that offer unusual flavors.The other boroughs , queens. The Bronx and Staten Island also have some great hangouts. Staten island has the plus of Kim Kardashian who has been hanging out with boyfriend Pete Davidson at his favorite haunts. Go to Philadelphia if you live not far from this historic city. It's the ultimate foodie town too , known for its' food markets like the Reading Terminal. Here food lovers can try and buy all sorts of goodies and treats from home made German   pretzels to  hand made.Italian sausages Baltimore has it's waterfront rich with local seafood dishes while Chicago has some great steak houses and of course deep dish pizza.

There's a whole local food scene waiting to be discovered. Best of all, there's not that much traveling. You can find good food and interesting places without burning up a lot of gas.

The Poetry Of Cheese

There's nothing like a hunk of a good cheese.Just ask the cheesemongers who try to sell it. It's hard to sell the taste of it yet this is what those sellers do. Tnere's nothing like creative writing to sell a product.. The lyrical cheese mongers were the subject of an article in today's New York Times Dining section.The piece, written by Dining regular Jeff Gordonier, tell how mostly Manhattan sellers go to great iambic lengths to sell their from ages.Some descriptions are succinct such is the case withHarlem's Fairway.The cheeses can be labelled anywhere from "bland and forgettable" to "strong and Gooshy" to Creamy and Dreamy. This aids in not only in garnering new customers but also steers buyers into making the right choices. Most of the cheese mongers though go beyond that. Some compare them to rock stars , others even offer comparisons to our president.It first started with Steve Jenkins, again of Fairway, who first started cheesy prose thirty years ago. Now, it's practically normal. each cheese store has it's own writing style, ranging from punchy to sarcastic. there is a reason for this Most cheese stores hire out of work artists, writers , and musicians. writing descriptions is a creative outlet for them and a great way to continue their creativity. Cheese is an easy sell on it's own.However there 's nothing like a little poetry to push a new brand and type. bring on the kind words .There's nothing like an ode to cheese.