Safaris for Lobster Lovers

How to Speak Oktoberfest

Did you just challenge me to an oabischwoam? You, sir, have quite the wampn. Please, please don't tell me you just ordered a quartl. Ugh, that is some nasty gschwoabats.

Among other things -- a useful place to download sudsy apps for your iPhone or shop for lederhosen and dirndls -- Oktoberfest.de, the official website of Oktoberfest, provides a useful dictionary of Bavarian words, terms, and phrases to help you successfully navigate the sloshy fall festival.

Puro Chile: A Taste (and a Sip) of Chile

Puro Chile, a new shop billing itself as a Chilean "wine, food, design, and travel emporium," officially opens next week at the corner of Grand and Centre Streets in Manhattan (it will open this Thursday for "tastings," but no sales).

The shop takes its name -- which means "Pure Chile" -- from the first words of Chile's national anthem: Puro, Chile, es tu cielo azulado ("Pure, Chile, is your blue sky").

The private enterprise -- unaffiliated with the Chilean government -- retails exclusively Chilean products.

Eating Amsterdam

The Wall Street Journal reports on Amsterdam as an emerging culinary destination.

Ruth Reichl Starring in New Culinary Travel Show

If you've been following Ruth Reichl's Twitter stream, you may have noticed she's been on the move as of late: you know, baking bread in Marrakech, feasting on crabs and caipirinhas on the beach in Brazil, and sampling ant eggs in Laos. I figured the life of the Gourmet editor-in-chief must be good, but is it always this good?

Eat Like a Roman

GlobalPost recently featured a profile of Fernanda D’Arienzo, a Roman restaurant critic whose Roma nel Piatto ("Eat As the Romans Do") guides that aim to help travelers navigate the Italian capital's restaurant landscape and avoid the dreaded menu turistico. Says D'Arienzo:

Rome is not particularly famous for the quality of its restaurants, and besides, tourists often find themselves all eating in the same restaurants that cater specifically to them: restaurants that have very little in common with the more authentic places where Romans eat out.

Jacques Pepin Teams Up With Cruise Line

Chef and author Jacques Pepin will open "a signature French bistro" aboard the Marina, a new Oceania Cruises' ocean liner that launches late next year. The restaurant will be called "Jacques."

Purr Me a Cup of Tea

Guests relax with felines at Tokyo's cat cafes. Via coldmud.

Most Dangerous Foods for Driving

The top ten most dangerous foods to eat while driving, according to insurance.com.

From the Archives: Cool Off, Catania Style

Guest author Renée Kaplan contributed this post on how to fight back against the oppressive heat she calls "City in the Summer Syndrome" (which New York seems to be oddly immune from so far this year). Learning a lesson from the Sicilians, she writes about the ideal heatwave breakfast: thirst-quenching almond granita and a brioche for dunking.

Read More: City in the Summer Syndrome