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.

When Restaurants Give Back

Any eatery is a vital part of any community. It not only provides good food and happy memories but jobs, commerce for local suppliers  and even food for soup kitchens. Many are a vital key to a town's and chef's success.

This was explored in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Kim Severson interviewed Vivian Howard, who not only is a chef and restaurant owner but also the quiet star of the PBS show "A Chef's Life." This is a reality show and a sedate one that's been on for five seasons. Her restaurant Chef & the Farmer. has helped the area , once prosperous with tobacco production and shirt manufacturing. Thanks to the show that Chef Howard and her husband, Ben Knight have brought tourists to the small town of Kinston, North Carolina. a small town located in the Carolinas coastal plain.It hasn't' always been like that. She had wanted to leave the area, heading for boarding school at age fourteen and then heading to North Carolina State. and ultimately to Manhattan. It was only when she became a chef and asked back to the area by a brother-in-law who wanted a restaurant  in the building he owned. Vivian and her husband brought prosperity back to a town that had been badly hit by Hurricane Floyd. Factories closed. It was hard for locals to find any kind of work.

They were able to bring life to a destroyed town. Chef Knight not only has the restaurant but also  an oyster bar and burger joint. There are plans for a bakery. Kinston, itself, has undergone a renaissance of sorts thanks to them and the show's popularity. A local investor has opened up a boutique hotel along with the well regarded Mother Earth Taproom and Brewery. Chef Howard sources from local farmers and butchers, The woman who taught her how to properly bake biscuits has turned this talent into a lucrative baking class. Local restauranteurs, no matter where they are should take heed of this, A restaurant can bring much prosperity to a town, especially in blighted areas. Those who are thinking of opening up an eatery should take into account their effect on the local community. Hire the neighborhood kids and seniors. Look to local farms for produce. Ask about local recipes or better yet go to church socials or community center parties.to see what they 're eating.Another important factor is don;t make too snobby and cater to one class. That'll mean a sure ending to both restaurant and chef's reputation.

Chef Howard knows that a restaurant feeds both the locals and the local economy. Hers should a model for future chefs looking to open their own eateries. Her inspiration  should be a fuel for these future restauranteurs.

Localvore Eating (And Yes, I Did Spell It Right)

August is the time for vacations,of going away and trying all sorts of new foods at exotic and fun locations. Yet what happens when a foodie is strapped for cash? Going away even for a weekend seems like a major expense. The answers lies literally around the corner. Eat locally. discover your neighborhood. You'd be surprised at what's there,waiting for you.

Luckily we live in the age of apps. There are all sorts of free restaurant apps that can be downloaded onto your phone. Many of these not only have ratings and pricings but thorough descriptions of their best dishes and desserts. You can type in or even ask about what's the best Chinese restaurant withing a five mile radius and the odds are good that four or five really good ones will be listed. Another way is to just ask. Old fashioned but it works. I recently went to a pizzeria that was always recommended to me by various locals. Turns out that what was said about the place was true. It really does make the best pizza in the area.

Another method is just hit or miss. I've been doing this recently on day trips, just stopping into eateries that intrigued me. I've found my new favorite, The Shoal Harbor Lobster House in Port Monmouth this way(although I did some follow up research on the web before a second visit just to see their full menu.) It's just fun being on the open road and picking a quaint little cafe to stop at. These are usually big on yummy homemade foods from biscuits to meat loaf. Almost every town has one and they're worth at least one visit. Stay away from major highways that are chock full of chain restaurants. Go to the town's heart where there are more privately owned eateries.

If you can't afford to go away this August, don't despair. There are plenty of local places, probably a block away, that can satisfy your foodie's culinary wanderlust. You'd be surprised at what's around the corner.