How to Get to the Rockies:

The best way to get to Rocky Mountain National park for your adventure in the Rockies is to rent a car in Denver, ideally at the airport. There is little transportation to the park; moreover, you will need a car to get from your hotel to the national park.

Where to Stay in the Rockies

The Estes Park Resort: The Estes Park Resort is a stunning property close to the national park and on Lake Estes. In fact, it is the only hotel that is actually located on the lake. Rooms are spacious and comfortable, and the hotel has its own restaurant so you don’t have to worry about where to get dinner after a long day of hiking.

What to Do

Visit Rocky Mountain National Park: A visit to the park will obviously be the highlight of your trip! The national park is huge, so I would recommend reviewing hike options with the outfitters at the resort in advance to decide which hike or hikes you want to do. Also, remember to reserve a ticket to enter the park in advance as well; if you wait until the day of it will likely be sold out. If for some reason you do forget, general entry is allowed after 3 pm. In addition, to enjoy the many hikes at the park, be sure to take a long drive through the winding roads of the park, there are so many stunning vistas you will want to stop 100 times for pictures! From alpine lakes to mountains to forests it is truly spectacular. In addition to the views, you could also get lucky enough to see some of the wildlife, which includes bighorn sheep, elks, and mountain lions. We saw a pair of moose swimming in a small lake and it was spectacular.

Visit Roosevelt National Forest: Adjacent to the national park is this gorgeous national forest that you should consider visiting. We hiked the Lily Mountain Trail, which was arduous but well worth it considering the views. Estes Park has lots of small cafes and shops where you can get sandwiches packed for a picnic at the top of the mountain.

Visit Estes Lake: If you are staying at Estes Park Resort a visit to the lake is essential. Wake up early, go for a run, bike ride, walk around the lake, or visit the marina and rent a kayak. The lake is so breathtaking with the mountains all around you won’t want to leave!

Where to Eat

Dunraven: Estes Park Resort has a restaurant with a great breakfast, including hearty fare like avocado toast, eggs benedict, and French toast with dulce de leche. They serve dinner as well. Grab a seat on their outdoor deck which overlooks Lake Estes and enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine before dinner!

The Barrel Beer: Colorado is well-known for its craft beers and the Barrel Beer is a great place in downtown Estes where you can sample some. We tried their beers and ciders and loved them all; they also have a food truck on site where you can get burgers and cheese fries.

The Rockies: The Verdict

An adventure in the Rockies is exactly what you need if you are looking for fresh air, beautiful views, and outdoor activities!

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21. Blue Rock Restaurant’s Maitake Mushrooms

The Blue Rock, located in Rappahannock County, Virginia, has a cozy restaurant that hosts stunning views of the blue ridge mountains. The restaurant features a nightly tasting menu that changes based on the seasons and availability of local ingredients. This recent dish featured by Chef Bin Lu is simple but divine, quite frankly, simply divide. Local maitake mushrooms are cooked to a gorgeous crisp and then doused in a buttery and garlicky mushroom sauce, for a mushroom on mushroom flavor profile, making for an epic vegetarian entrée that definitely qualifies as one of the best vegetarian dishes of the year.

20. Oyster Oyster’s Corn Soup

As noted in my best summer dishes piece, this is no ordinary corn soup. The sweetest of baby corn, combined with filet beans and potato, come swimming in a gorgeous chilled peanut broth. It’s cool, it’s refreshing, and it’s brimming with seasonality. The dish was so memorable I had to include it again as one of the best vegetarian dishes of the year. Hopefully the team Oyster Oyster will feature this dish again this coming summer.

19. Dodah’s Kitchen’s Seafood Mac n Cheese

This mac n cheese may be vegan, but with the silky smooth cheesy sauce and the distinct seafood flavor, you would never know that this classic Southern dish at Dodah’s Kitchen isn’t made with cheese or fish. The noodles are springy, the sauce is thick and velvety, and the dish is complete with flecks of seaweed and lots of paprika and garlic. This is comfort food at its best!

18. Maxwell Park’s Shishito Peppers

A little sweet, a little smoky is the way I like to describe shishito peppers. At Maxwell, which has a new Japanese-themed menu devised by Chef Masako Morishita, the shishito peppers come roasted with garlic and soaked in a soy sauce saturated butter, making them extra flavorful. Enjoy it with one of the venue’s fantastic wines!

17. La Casita Pupusaria’s Loroco Pupusa

Pupusas are one of those Latin American dishes that I never get sick of. We are very lucky in the D.C. area because we have a significant Salvadorean population, many of whom have opened restaurants and pupuserias to give all of us the opportunity to indulge in this favorite Salvadorian snack. Made with cornmeal that is stuffed with cheese and then griddled to perfection, pupusas are the ultimate in satisfaction. The ones at La Casita are particularly tasty; I am a fan of the loroco where the filling includes bits of the Salvadoran herb blended with loads of melted cheese. The herb has an earthy and floral flavor, the perfect accent to the mild cheese. Served with homemade slaw and a spicy tomato sauce, the pupusas at La Casita will cure any hangover, satisfy any craving, and can be eaten at any time of day. La Casita has a handful of locations around the DMV; see their website to find the one closest to you.

16. Daru’s Black Daal with Burrata

Italy meets India in this luxurious dish, available at D.C.’s newest Indian restaurant, Daru. The dish features a dollop of burrata, which is a sphere of mozzarella cheese with a decadent stracciatella center, that comes swimming in a pool of buttery and smoky lentils. Decadence marrying extravagance is the only way to describe the dish!

15. Cane’s Doubles

Cane serves up all kinds of delicious dishes from Trinidad and Tobago, including the classic Trinidadian street food, Doubles. Made with round crispy fried bread topped with chickpeas simmered with curry powder, garlic, cumin, and turmeric and a sweet and sour tamarind chutney this dish is aromatic and offers an exciting rollercoaster of flavor and texture for your taste buds.

14. Mansa Kunda’s Peanut Butter Chu

Chu is a traditional Gambian dish that is essentially a stew, comforting, and chock full of veggies. The peanut butter chu at Mansa Kunda, a West African restaurant in Takoma Park, is especially tasty with the addition of peanut butter, which gives the dish an element of creaminess and nuttiness. I love it spooned over fluffy white rice.

13. Tequila and Mezcal’s Ttayluda

Featured in an article I wrote about Mexican food this summer, this is a dish I come back for time and time again. Tlayudas, for those who may not be familiar with the dish, is a classic Oaxacan dish, made with a crispy toasted tortilla that is smothered with creamy mashed refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, queso fresco, and any additional toppings you may choose. Served everywhere from food carts to high-end dining venues, tlayudas are a quintessential Oaxacan dish, and for good reason. Tlayudas are uber satisfying with just the right amount of crunchy, a hint of smoke from the beans, freshness from the vegetables, and creaminess from the cheese. At Tequila & Mezcal, you can have yours with meaty portobello mushrooms and corn, making the dish even heartier and more delicious.

12. L’Ardente Arancini

I feel like Italian arancini are the perfect food. Crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside, oozing with the creaminess of mozzarella and the fragrance of saffron, it’s hard to imagine anything better. At L’Ardente the arancini arrive freshly fried and delightfully warm, ideal for sharing but also available to feast on alone.

11. PLNT Burger’s Save the Bay

Captured in my best new summer dishes piece, this new veggie burger from PLNT Burger really is one of the best vegetarian dishes of the year. Made with a vegan fish burger, the sandwich is crunchy, meaty, and features a distinctive seafood flavor profile. The dish consists of a Good Catch Food’s crispy fish-free filet served on a butter-toasted potato bun with house-made tartar sauce, pickles, and shredded lettuce. It is a satisfying, crispy delight. Be sure to get some onion bloomies or tarragon dusted fries on the side, and a cool strawberry milkshake to wash it all down!

10. Lupo Pizzeria’s Margherita Pizza

Lupo Pizzeria’s pizza is the epitome of simplicity at its best. Cooked off in a wood-fired oven, the dough is soft but crispy burnt in just the right spots, with loads of stretchy mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce, and whole basil leaves. Pair it with a cold Peroni and you may be having the best vegetarian meal of the year.

9. Cielo Rojo’s Vegan Torta

It’s hard to find a veggie torta that isn’t just a non-vegetarian torta, minus the meat. But at Cielo Rojo, the kitchen serves a vegetarian torta with house-made chorizo comprised of mushrooms and tofu, that is layered with smoky refried black beans, avocado, tart, and spicy pickled jalapenos, and rich cashew cream served on a soft, crusty pambazo roll. It is the heartiest and most filling of tortas.

8. Thip Khao’s Kao Soi

There are so many dishes at Thip Khao that I love, but the Kai Soi is a reigning champion on the dynamic menu. Khao Soi is a northern Laos noodle soup, where chewy house-made noodles in a savory broth infused with a fermented tomato bean paste. With mushrooms, puffed rice, tofu, and greens for texture and cilantro and fried garlic for even more flavor, this dish is life-giving.

7. Bantam King’s Veggie Tantanmen

We have come a long way in the world of vegetarian ramen. Haikan’s is creamy and silky with the infusion of miso, Ren’s is savory and salty with a kombu broth, and Toki Underground’s comes with fried enoki mushrooms and hunks of crispy tofu. But only Bantam King serves a version where Impossible meat and tempeh are included to provide the meaty texture and flavor of non-vegetarian ramen bowls. The dish is spicy and heady and ripe with the flavor of chilis, sesame, and soy. You will devour it as soon as it appears in front of you!

6. Blue Duck Tavern’s Omelet

Most people who love Blue Duck Tavern agree that brunch is really the best meal the venue offers. From decadent pancakes and French toast to pastry baskets and avocado toast, it’s hard to choose just one item. For me, it’s the omelet that is the standout breakfast dish. It may be simple, but the quality of ingredients makes it an unbeatable dish. Farm fresh eggs are cooked perfectly and stuffed with fresh spinach, loads of melted cheddar cheese, and meaty local mushrooms. It feels just right for a Sunday morning. Enjoy it with a butter biscuit and a sorbet mimosa and do save room for one of Colleen Murphy’s dynamite desserts!

5. Anju’s Yache Wang Mandu

There is almost nothing I love as much as I adore these dumplings at Anju. They are extra large and stuffed with seasoned Impossible meat and come sprinkled with a chili crunch, adorned with spring onion shavings, and in a puddle of glassy dumpling sauce. They are so dense and substantial and savory, exploding with the taste of ginger, garlic, chilies, and soy sauce, you will have to close your eyes to get the full umami flavor. The key to your success is to eat one order at the restaurant and take one order to go so when you wake up in the morning and long for another dumpling, you will have them in the fridge! That is actually how delicious they are.

4. Modena’s Roasted Honeynut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Helmed by local favorite John Melfi, the Modena kitchen is known for churning out dreamy seasonal hits that are visually as memorable as they are to devour. My current favorite is a winter ravioli that has a tang from goat cheese, a hint of sweetness from local honeynut squash, crunchiness from pumpkin seeds, and woodiness from sage.

3. Centrolina’s Pappardelle with Wood-Fired Mushrooms

This dish may sound simple, but when you take your first bite you will know that these gorgeous noodles were made with love. The noodles have the perfect chew and are accented by the smoky meatiness of locally foraged mushrooms, the richness of butter, and the earthiness of herbs like rosemary. Although all of Chef Amy Brandwein’s vegetarian dishes could qualify as the best vegetarian dishes of the year this is one that I find myself craving most often and coming back for again and again!

2. Rasika West End’s Sweet Potato Peanut Curry

There is nothing at either Rasika location that isn’t delicious so I often have a hard time choosing my favorite item. This year however it will have to be the nutty, rich, heady, sweet potato peanut curry at Rasika West End that is so silky yet dense and hearty that I can’t help but be obsessed with it. Mop it up with the restaurant’s truffle naan for the ultimate feast.

1. Makan’s Curry Mee

This was hands down my favorite dish of the year. Chef James Wozniuk’s Malaysian noodle soup at Makan is warm and aromatic and everything we need in our lives. The rich coconut milk-infused broth is brimming with the fragrant flavors of lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and turmeric. A combination of egg and glass noodles come alive in the broth, along with hearty mustard greens and hunks of tofu that have soaked up all the flavors of the soup. A dollop of sambal tumis, a puree of chilis, adds even more heat and earthiness. This is the dish that will get you through winter, and anything else life throws your way!

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Priya’s guide to Cape Town: 

Where to Stay: Derwent House. This charming boutique hotel is in Tamboerskloof, one of Cape Town’s trendiest neighborhood, which means it walking distance to lots of great places to eat, drink, and hang out. The staff is wonderful, which is another reason to stay there. Case in point: While we were there it was the owner’s birthday, so they served champagne and small bites to everyone! Rooms are spacious and clean, there is a pool, and breakfast was great.

What to Do: There is literally no end to the exciting sites to see and experiences to have in Cape Town. But here are a few that you absolutely must not miss:

Table Mountain: The most iconic sight in Cape Town, and one of the most famous mountain ranges of the world. Buy tickets for the cablecar in advance and then head to the entrance of the cableway. The ride up offers unbelievable views of Cape Town, and once you get to the top you can spend hours walking around and admiring the view. The top is flat—hence the name!

Robben Island: Visiting the prison where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for eighteen years is undoubtedly one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The tour of the prison is given by a gentleman who was jailed with Mandela, making the experience all the more impactful. I cannot recommend this enough. The prison represents not only an important part of South Africa’s history, but of the world’s history as well.

Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point & Boulders Beach: At the very end of the cape peninsula is Cape Point, a stunning natural reserve within the table mountain range where you can see impressive views of the ocean. Use the Flying Dutchman funicular to see the mind-blowing panoramic view. En route, try to take the Chapman Peak’s Drive, a scenic mountain route, and be sure to stop at Boulders Beach, where you can see cutest warm water penguin colony!

Where to Eat and Drink: There are so many places!! Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong anywhere in Cape Town. The food is diverse, the booze is plentiful, and the quality is impressive at most venues. But, I did get some awesome recommendations from friends and did some serious research, so the places I went to were really awesome, and I am happy share the details! Keep in mind no matter where you stay Uber and taxis are everywhere in Cape Town so it is very easy to get around.

Lunch/Brunch:

The Old Biscuit Mill: Literally the best food market I have ever been to. Bitterballen from the Netherlands, pizzas, dumplings, falafel, baked goods, beer stalls and wine tastings and so much more. There are also a few sit down restaurants, including The Test Kitchen, which is one of the 50 best restaurants in the world. After eating and drinking to your heart’s content, pursue the artworks and knicks and knacks at the many local shops. The Mill is located in Woodstock, one of Cape Town’s many suburbs.

Clarke’s Bar & Dining Room: This fun brunch spot has mimosas, eggs, avocado toast, burgers (which Cape Town is famous for) and a great atmosphere. It’s small, but full of locals so you know it’s good.

Happy Hour:

The Rumbullion: The terraces of The Roundhouse (which is also a great restaurant!) is the perfect place to grab a drink and a snack, largely because of the stunning views. The restaurant and terraces are a part of Table Mountain, offering some of the best views of famous mountain range you can ever imagine. Come in the evening so you can relax at a one of Rumbullion’s picnic bench with a cocktail while watching the sunset behind the mountains. It will be the most memorable happy hour of your life!

Dinner:

Bukhara: Being Indian, sometimes I just want a good Indian meal, even when I am travelling. Luckily my husband loves Indian food as well. Luckily, Cape Town has an impressive international food scene, and that extends to Indian food. Bukhara has lemon rice and garlic naan and mushrooms and peas cooked in a spicy gravy and paneer, which is cheese, served with spices and spinach, spicy potatoes, and more. The beautiful restaurant is located near the V&A Waterfront which is a beautiful area to walk around, with its lovely views of the Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain.

The Greenhouse at the Cellars-Hohenort: One of the best fine dining options in all of South Africa. The stunning dining room has several tasting menu to choose from, all of which showcase the best of South Africa’s seasonal produce. Be sure to get the wine pairing and the cheese course: it features the same cheese served four times, at four different temperatures. It is epic.

Drinks:

Asoka: This trendy and charming cocktail lounge and restaurant is in the ever-popular Tamboerskloof neighborhood. It’s a great place to grab a drink before or after dinner.

The Verdict: This is the vacation of a lifetime. Experience it for yourself!

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Dining Out: Not Your Average Joe’s

The Scene: Casual and comfortable; the Silver Spring location has a great outdoor patio which is where I dined.

The Food: My recent first time experience at Not Your Average Joe’s Silver Spring (the newest location) included a dining partner who happened to be a NYAJ’s veteran so I let her do the ordering: first, a green salad with candied walnuts, a generous scoop of biscotti –encrusted goat cheese (it sounds weird but it’s so good! The coating adds a sweetness and a crunch that balances the creamy and tangy aspects of the goat cheese) and a raspberry dressing. This was accompanied by the buttery house bread, which comes with a lovely parmesan-olive-oil-red pepper dipping sauce.

Next, we got spaghetti squash, smothered in a meaty mushroom bolognese and sprinkled with cheese, and pappardelle coated with a fresh, summery arugula pesto and tossed with asparagus. Both were incredibly hearty and big enough for two! Next time, I am looking forward to sampling their three cheese pistachio pizza, the veggie burger, and the watermelon feta salad.

But, I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet. Not Your Average Joe’s really does save the best for the last, with a selection of American-inspired desserts (which everyone knows are my favorite!) like strawberry shortcake, with chewy housemade biscuits, macerated strawberries, piles of vanilla ice cream, and fresh whipped cream. Even better is the peanut butter-oreo ice cream pie that features a tableside pouring of chocolate and caramel! A word to the wise: skip reading the calorie count on this one. Although, it doesn’t really matter: regardless how many calories it is, it’s worth it.

The Verdict: Not Your Average Joe’s is fun for a easy night out. They have some decent cocktails, and the calorie count of each dish and drink is listed, so if you are trying to cut back, this is a perfect choice.

Not Your Average Joe’s Silver Spring, 8661 Colesville Rd #153, Silver Spring, MD 20910, http://www.notyouraveragejoes.com/silver-spring/

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Grand Place, Brussels

Bourse, Brussels

Smoked Salmon at Saint Catherine Christmas Market

Saint Catherine Christmas Market

Ferris Wheel at Saint Catherine Christmas Market

Oyster Stand at Place Saint Catherine Christmas Market

Ice Skating, Place de la Monnaie

Oysters at the Christmas Market

Belgian Waffle at Place Saint Catherine

The post Merry Christmas: A Photo Essay of Brussels Christmas Markets appeared first on The Dining Traveler.

A little piece of Paris on my wall.

The wall at la cueva

*My Nine Mags order was complimentary by NineMags. Review is my own. As always, I only write about brands and products I love.

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