The drugstore lunch counter is a dying breed all over the country, but it's alive and well in Albuquerque, N.M., where Duran Central Pharmacy (1815 Central NW, Albuquerque, 505-247-4141) has been around for 45 years and in the same location since 1975. It's close to the tourist-haunted Old Town, yet locals make up most of the clientele. The food isn't fancy, but it's definitely special, highly local, and because it's full of chile peppers, it's good for you. Not only does the red chile sauce here have no beans, it also eschews such adulterants as cumin. The green chile is likewise a straight-ahead stew of chopped green chile peppers with just a little sautéed onion and garlic. Those sauces alone would keep me coming back, but I'm even more impressed with the freshly rolled and griddled flour tortillas. On Thursdays, the drugstore even serves carne adovada, the chile-laced New Mexican dish that's a spicy cross between pork barbecue and roast pork. Arrive early to get a seat.

Globe travel contributor Patricia Harris also writes about food and travel in the Hungry Travelers blog.

Photos by Patricia Harris for the Boston Globe.

For a great change of holiday shopping scene, head to Providence's Downcity arts district where everthing and everyone is an original. RISD students are holding their holiday sale called RISD Exposé right now until Dec. 11 at 232 Westminster St. (Daily 11 a.m.-6 p.m. except Mondays.) Right close by, the artists of Craftland will open their holiday show at 235 Westminster on Dec. 4, running through Dec. 31 (Open 7 days, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Thursdays and Saturdays to 8 p.m.) Segue to 265 Atwells Ave. for an Italian deli fix at Venda Ravioli, and take your first skate of the season on the Kennedy Plaza ice ($6, skate rentals available).

Posted by Patricia Borns, Globe correspondent

Photo by Patricia Borns for The Boston Globe

Portland’s Dean’sSweets is celebrating its one-year anniversary by giving visitors to its 82 Middle St. store between now and Dec. 12, a free champagne truffle. No purchase is necessary, but wouldn’t truffles be the perfect ending to a Thanksgiving meal?

Can’t get to Dean’s? Then place a phone or web order before Jan. 1 and Dean’sSweets will tuck in a free two-piece box of those champagne truffles.

All Dean'sSweets truffles are nut free.

It’s a wonderful feeling to know you’ll need to come back to a place before you sit down.

Eyes wide and fresh from the plane, we head to Bar Juanito in Jerez De La Frontera, Spain, for a crash course of a menu of the good and the local.

We try langoustines and mushrooms in a deep, sherry-laced sauce with bits of shell that give away some of its secrets. Then we dig into a little plate of fried fresh anchovies that, matched with a glass of the salty counterpart--loving fino wine, was toe-tapping goodness.

The bar’s signature artichokes slip by unnoticed -- our fault for trying them offseason. The show stopper is an Andalusian native that arrives with our drinks for free: chicharonnes -- bite-sized cubes of pork that are like bits of crispy, fatty pork roast from heaven. My friend who’s on a diet takes one look and groans. I pop another and my heart skips a beat.

Count on 5-15 euros, depending on how peckish you feel.

Bar Juanito
C/ Pescadería Vieja 8-10
11403
Jerez De La Frontera, Spain
956-33-48-38


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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

I’ve done my fair share of articles on the increasingly popular trend of placing green roofs on buildings, used to absorb rainwater and cool the structure, thus saving on energy costs. But I knew something was up last night when I followed Chef JW Foster to the roof of the Fairmont hotel in downtown Dallas. Wearing his goofy chef hat, Foster pointed out some of the 2,000 plants up top. We’re not talking grass. There were heirloom tomatoes, sweet potatoes, a half-dozen varieties of peppers, pumpkins that were recently used in the Halloween carving contest, numerous herbs including cilantro and mint, and a small fig tree. He tells me that 60 to 70 percent of all the vegetables he uses in the hotel’s restaurant, Pyramid, come from the roof’s organic garden. A new greenhouse just arrived so Foster can plant saplings and four beehives are coming shortly so he can have homemade honey for his cheese plate. In the meantime, take the elevator down and sample the braised buffalo short rib, raised on the Broken Arrow Ranch in west Texas, topped with an heirloom tomato chutney. Then ask sommelier Hunter Hammett to bring over a coffee liqueur that he makes in-house for eight months. Life is good when the food and drink are local. 1717 N. Akard Street, Dallas, 214-720-5249.

Posted by Steve Jermanok, Globe correspondent, who blogs daily at www.ActiveTravels.com.

When I die, I’m sending friends to scatter my ashes in a couple of my favorite places around the world. Barcelona’s La Boqueria food market will be one of those spots.

I’ve said it before: I’d trade a meal at the market’s Pinotxo food "kiosk’' for many a three-star meal in a heartbeat. The world hums at a happier frequency whenever I’m there.

That said, I’ll make sure they keep my ashes on Pinotxo’s side of the market when the time comes.

We checked out Kiosko Universal a while back and though it felt a bit like I was dining with the enemy, a friend had sung its praises and I wanted to see for myself.

One of the wonderful things about the kiosks is how it’s all there for you to see. You sit at the bar and watch the cooks cook up the best the market has to offer. Look left -- there’s someone selling fish! Look right -- there’s someone cooking fish! There’s flash and bang and life everywhere and there you are in the middle of it all with a glass of Cava to celebrate. If you can’t draw inspiration from a space like this, check your pulse.

You also see when it all goes wrong.

At Kiosko Universal, we ordered Cava and immediately watched somebody’s fresh-cooked lunch get cold on the counter for five minutes before being delivered once a cook finally remembered it. Then we watched a cook work on our mushrooms by sautéing a big batch in a wok. It’s a great idea: Blast something fresh with heat and serve it up quick, but there are simple rules to sautéing that should be observed, most notably, as a chef once barked at me, “Hot pan. Hot oil.” Heat the pan, then heat the oil and then (and only then) add whatever you’re cooking. Flub up and need more oil? Send a trickle down the side of the pan so it heats up before it hits your food.

Cold oil on cold product leads to mush.

Here, however, we watch the cook pour an extra dose of cooking oil right on the mushrooms.

The cook looks bad, the chef looks worse, and we lose our appetite…

…almost. We repent with coffee and dessert at Pinotxo.

Kiosko Universal - MAP
La Boqueria
La Rambla 91
08002 Barcelona
93 317 82 86

Count on about 10-20 euros.

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

I thought my horseback days were done when I took my last pony ride at the age of 8. But my friend, Patti Nickell, a devotee of all things equine, had other ideas. A few years ago her enthusiasm trumped my fears and I found myself back in the saddle. So I can’t think of anyone better to write the Horse Lover’s Guide to Kentucky, a loving tour of the Bluegrass country where the horse is king. She focuses on the breeding and racing operations in Lexington and the thoroughbred racing culture in Louisville, but also covers horse shows, horse-related museums, horse-oriented gift shops, and even equine cemeteries. Patti may have coaxed me into riding, but we’ve always shared a love of good food. Her “Where to Eat” chapter hits the high points of horse country dining and drinking—the best spots for pecan-fried chicken, the best bourbon bars, and the snazziest steakhouses serving nothing but USDA Prime. Tuck the Horse Lover’s Guide to Kentucky in your luggage if you’re heading to Lexington next year for the World Equestrian Games.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe Correspondent

Photo by Patricia Harris for the Boston Globe

I thought my horseback days were done when I took my last pony ride at the age of 8. But my friend, Patti Nickell, a devotee of all things equine, had other ideas. A few years ago her enthusiasm trumped my fears and I found myself back in the saddle. So I can’t think of anyone better to write the Horse Lover’s Guide to Kentucky, a loving tour of the Bluegrass country where the horse is king. She focuses on the breeding and racing operations in Lexington and the thoroughbred racing culture in Louisville, but also covers horse shows, horse-related museums, horse-oriented gift shops, and even equine cemeteries. Patti may have coaxed me into riding, but we’ve always shared a love of good food. Her “Where to Eat” chapter hits the high points of horse country dining and drinking—the best spots for pecan-fried chicken, the best bourbon bars, and the snazziest steakhouses serving nothing but USDA Prime. Tuck the Horse Lover’s Guide to Kentucky in your luggage if you’re heading to Lexington next year for the World Equestrian Games.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe Correspondent

Photo by Patricia Harris for the Boston Globe

Every December, the Country Inns in the White Mountains, hosts an Inn to Inn Christmas Cookie Tour, and trust me, it's a delicious event. Fueled by butter and sugar and cider and tea, you can nibble your way through the Mount Washington Valley, touring 14 New Hampshire inns and one Maine inn, all of which are dripping with garland and ribbons, wrapped-up for the season like holiday presents.

Now family recipes deliver cookies with a story, but if you want easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing goodies, ask the pros: New England’s innkeepers. Welcoming guests with cookies and a warm drink is part of the New England hospitality tradition. It’s a tradition that goes hand-in-mitt with Christmas.

For the best deal, book a package at a participating inn. Packages include two event tickets, lodging, and breakfast. Some also include dinner.

If you just want to make a day trip, event-only tickets are $27. Advance purchase is available Dec. 1-8, 2009, by calling 800-233-8309 or 603-383-9339. Any unreserved tickets available (they are limited) can be purchased the day of the event, see website for details.

If you're thinking of getting back to basics for Thanksgiving, head off to Tamworth, N.H., this Saturday, Nov. 14 for Remick Museum and Farm's signature annual event -- a Historic Thanksgiving. Traditional foods such as roasted turkey, bread-sauce stuffing, hearth bread, boiled cider, and Indian pudding will fill the table. Visitors will enjoy a warm fire, story-telling, craft-making, and museum exhibits depicting over 200 years of agricultural life in the state.

There will be horse-drawn wagon rides, a holiday gift preview, and a demonstration on how to properly "dress" a turkey. Admission is $5. Call ahead to register at 603-323-7591.

It's not the chocolatey heaven that Bill Cosby touted, but it's the original kind that Colonial and Wampanoag cultures created in Plymouth. Join Plimoth Plantation this Friday, Nov. 13, for National Indian Pudding Day, which focuses on 17th century puddings and those that became favorites of the colonists. A walk and talk to the 17th century English village begins at 1:30 p.m. A "bag'' pudding, a "hasty'' pudding, and "pudding in guts'' will be demonstrated.

Take home a copy of Plimoth Plantation's recipe and stop by the Patuxet Café to sample some warm Indian pudding. For more information visit online.

Photo credit Plimoth Plantation

Back in July the French government decreed a whopping tax cut for diners. The country’s menu prices always include a 15% service charge (what we call a “tip”) as well as all the government taxes. The Sarkozy government proposed a win-win when it trimmed the meals tax from 19% to 5.5%. Economically stressed French folk (and dollar-poor Americans) could still afford to go to restaurants, and the increased business would create (so they said) 40,000 jobs in the first year. The opposition called it crazy, and pointed out that half those jobs were for apprentices.

Well, the first scorecard is in, and the program is working as planned. Between July and September, 6,500 jobs were created in the restaurant sector (mostly staff rather than apprentices) and the numbers are growing. The only problem is that there’s nothing in the law to keep restaurants from pocketing the difference between the old tax and the new. But most reputable establishments are printing menus that show the old (pre-July) price crossed out and replaced by a new lower figure. More jobs, lower prices to eat out — I can get behind that.

Posted by David Lyon, Globe Correspondent

As we enter the holiday season, food gets a lead role. Nonprofit, Child & Family from Newport, R.I., knows this, and tempts you to come out and take a Taste of Newport Sunday, Nov. 15. The evening will feature over 45 of Newport County’s best chefs, caterers, and confectioners showcasing their talents. Cocktails are served at 5:30 p.m. followed by a dinner buffet. Individual tickets are $100 each, with an option to buy a Contributor's ticket for $150, which includes entry to the private cocktail and auction preview party, preferred seating, complimentary wine at your table, and listing in the evening program. The 26th Annual Taste of Newport will benefit Child & Family's Supportive Housing Program for Homeless Mothers and their Children. Purchase tickets at 401-848-4150 or online.

It might be my inner Red Sox fan talking, but the best pizza we found in New York was in Boston.

This is completely unscientific but while in New York, I had to make a choice between burgers or pies and went with the former. Pizza stops were a bonus. Spills and all, Spunto was grand and Lombardi’s had fantastic toppings, but their crust must be an acquired taste.

Seeking a slice in Boston’s North End a few weeks later, we asked a Sox-capped local in front of a packed back street bar where to get a slice. The "slice'' part of the request gave him some trouble as he flipped through his mental Rolodex.

“Ah! Il Panino Express.”

Sold.

We ordered at the cafeteria-style counter, sat, bit, and stared at each other in amazement.

She said: “This is better than New York.”

He said: “Yeah.”

Crisp crust, sweet sauce, a good dose of good cheese.

We’ll get ‘em next year.

Il Panino Express - MAP
264-266 Hanover St.
Boston
617-720-5720

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

I lied. I said there was "one'' NYC restaurant I’d really like to go back to eat in and, well, here's another:

Even at brunch a short while back, you could tell Le Pescadeux is a spot to watch: There’s a perfect smoked trout omelet and a steak and eggs that might stop your heart for multiple reasons at prices that won’t. And that’s not even counting champagne and chats with Chuck.

Dinner’s what I’d really like to try, preferably with a partner for footsie. The restaurant’s fish-focused Quebec cuisine (harking back to owner Charles Perelmutter’s origins) is on display – and he’s breaking his new chef’s back to please by offering dinner ''duets’' -- a pair of half-sized portions – a great way to showcase what you can do and get a new restaurant’s name out there. Perelmutter chalks it up to “culinary ADD.”

I checked in with Perelmutter to find out about a chef change – the impressive Matthew Ridgway left and has been replaced by Adriano Ricco (clever poaching on Chuck’s part as Ricco’s done stints at BLT Fish and Tabla) – here’s what Chuck had to say about the ‘'duet’' concept:

"Even if I am in a great seafood restaurant I get bored with my fish halfway through, and look to see what I can 'mooch' from others, usually with no success (people don't share anymore). I decided I would not be bored again and now I, and my guests, can enjoy two different half orders of fish prepared two different ways without getting their reaching fork slapped away.''

Right now, I’d take the grilled octopus and Wild Rock bass with a little neck nage … kick the tires on a fun concept and see what the new chef can do.

Le Pescadeux - MAP
90 Thompson St
New York
212-966-0021
lepesca@yahoo.com

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

There’s a lot to notice when we arrive at WD-50. The most outstanding is a booth of guys who look like they could be fraternity brothers, yet they’re silent as monks, paying close attention to what they’re eating; the antennae are up, they love the challenge.

You have to be up for the ride. Chef Wylie Dufresne bristles at the thought of preparing anything leaning toward making standard bistro fare for his customers. He’s just not interested.

What would he rather do? Stuff like floating plump scallops and pine needle udon in a bowl of grapefruit dashi. He deconstructs eggs benedict. He chars avocado. (?!?!) Even if his family is in the business you have to wonder how he thinks of this stuff, but when you put bites in your mouth, the combinations and preparations will stand hairs on end and leave you wondering how no one thought of it before.

Daniel Boulud’s kitchen at Daniel has a beautiful wall of spices sourced from around the world while Dufresne’s wall has pectins, starches, and syrups. Yet the adjectives Dufresne cuisine inspires are words like "clean'' and "clear'’ – you leave feeling like you’ve eaten a healthy Japanese dinner. His parsnip tart somehow makes me rethink my understanding of the vegetable. Parsnips!

Some argue the validity of this type of experimental cuisine -- they should eat here to join the converted.

Finally, all hail Dufresne for having the confidence to keep and highlight the work of pastry chef Alex Stupak. Instead of a clash of egos (that would usually lead to the latter getting dumped), you just sit there and say "wow’' all meal long.

Count on about $65 plus drinks if you go à la carte. The tasting menu runs $140 plus $75 for wine pairing.

WD-50
50 Clinton St.
New York
212-477-2900
www.wd-50.com

Full disclosure: I ate at the restaurant while working on an upcoming story about Dufresne and his collaboration with chef Daniel Boulud. That said, Dufresne didn’t realize we were in the restaurant for dinner until dessert was over and the check was paid.

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

They could serve Spam in the can here and I’d still come back. With a view this good, it really doesn’t matter what you eat. At Alma, it’s all about the view of southern Manhattan from the roof.

I joined friends here -- they were nibbling on sturdy Mexican food -- and accidentally figured out a peculiar system that allows you to bypass the restaurant’s Mexican-themed drink offerings, get a tasty microbrew at the b51 bar downstairs (I recommend the Sixpoint Ale), then walk it topside and enjoy it with your guacamole and fish tacos.

“It’s almost winter!” you cry?

No worries -- the roof deck is still open on the weekend and imagine it to be just as blissful watching an autumn sunset or when the snow flies.

Alma - MAP
187 Columbia Street Brooklyn, NY 11231
718.643.5400
www.almarestaurant.com

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

Now that I’m back home and typing up a bushel of NYC blogs, the one place I really want to go back to is Brooklyn’s Fort Defiance. Not only are the drinks top notch, chef Sam Filloramo wowed me while, thanks to some sort of new restaurant timing/shipping glitches, he was still working from a half-empty* kitchen.

His deviled eggs were so good, I went home and told my mom about them and if that wasn’t enough to get me to want to go back, the ever-changing menu they now post on their Web site does: rabbit and chorizo hash, oysters Rockefeller, pan-fried catfish … my word.

Apparently, they even do breakfast and all I can do is imagine the possibilities.

I’m interested to see how the combination of a serious drinks bar combined with chef who’s making his mark pans out. It can only be good.

Fort Defiance - MAP
365 Van Brunt St
Brooklyn, NY
+1 347-453-6672
www.fortdefiancebrooklyn.com/

*Apparently, in mid-September, after the equipment arrived, a health inspector stopped in to check the kitchen and found gas equipment without gas service - like a car with an empty gas tank - and decided the restaurant would be better off closed for the week until they got the pipes hooked up… go figure.

Click here to see my Boston Globe Travel story, “Small Wonders” - featuring an interview with Fort Defiance owner and drinks expert St. John Frizell.

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

Chef Daniel Boulud recently picked up a third Michelin star for his restaurant, Daniel, only a few weeks after I spent an hour interviewing him for a Centurion Magazine story.
I was impressed by his attachment to the city – at this point, he’s more New Yorker than Frenchman and when I asked what was most "New York'' about Daniel, he replied with a bit of native French impishness: “Moi.”
…and???
“Service – it’s unique to NYC,” he says. “Europeans always find something in the gentilesse of the people here.”
Clearly, this Frenchman has lost his way, giving up his Gallic roots and praising service.
What turns out to be most impressive about Boulud is his openness to outside influences – he is a big fan of experimental chef Wylie Dufresne of NYC’s WD-50 and Basque chef Juan Mari Arzak.
For my story, Boulud works to create a tasting menu with Dufresne, and there’s a huge Asian influence in one of the plates he suggests, pairing scallops with miro, miso, and black garlic.
My brow arches.
“Nothing to do with French,” he says flatly.
It’s like he’s cut off the cuffs.
Three stars, indeed.
…
For a little bit of back and forth between Francois Simon and the New York Times, check out their differing reviews of Boulud’s new restaurant, DBGB.
FS said.
NYT said.

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Courtesy photo by T. Schauer

The Food Leprechaun strikes again.

We found SoHo’s 10-seat Snack by walking in front of it -- all three paces of the facade’s width. The name is odd for a sit-down Greek restaurant, but it’s a perfect lunch spot: The hummus is deep-flavored, brightened by lemon, and there’s a fish roe spread that’s pure sea-salty goodness.

Two doors down, there’s an even tinier establishment – Porto Rico Importing – a four-seat coffee shop with three beautiful ladies holding court on a bench out front. We sit with them, sip an espresso and watch the world go by.

Snack - MAP
105 Thompson St, NYC
+1 (212) 925-1040

Porto Rico Importing
107 Thompson St. NYC

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

The staff of the Ashmont Grill in Dorchester loves to dress up, making Halloween a much-anticipated holiday for the lively crew. Join them for their annual Halloween Bash this Saturday, Oct. 31, starting at 5:30 p.m. and running till 2 a.m. Reserve your spot for dinner, and warm up with signature cocktails like their Ashmont Apple Toddy, The Great Pumpkin, BooBerry, and The Berkshire Manhattan. When the evening begins to fade into black, the DJ starts spinning, and dancing follows, with raffles and prizes in between. You can party with the other spirited guests if you call 617-825-4300 for reservations.

Our gang watched late-summer jazz in Madison Square Park, but eyes rolled when we saw the line at the Shake Shack. It snaked hundreds of feet from the order window out through the park gates.
“What about the secret burger place?” said Maria.
We all stared and she smiled and dragged her toe in the dirt like she might not share her secret. It was rather sexy.
We got her to spill the beans and six of us bolted uptown by bike and subway to the … Parker Meridien. A burger joint in one of the city’s fanciest hotels? Hard to figure.
The lobby was everything you’d expect: high ceilings, artwork and fancy bars and restaurants … but it smelled like burgers.
Sure enough. A David Lynch-esque floor-to-ceiling curtain juts out into the lobby concealing the secret space. Approach and you’ll notice a skinny corridor with a neon-sign hamburger and a right-pointing arrow at the end.
Inside, it’s night and day; the space looks like a cross between Arnold’s Drive-In from “Happy Days” and my fraternity house basement. The burgers are great - you get to choose the cooking temperature and usually, you can elbow your way to a just-opened table right when they call your order number.
A good burger joint in one of the city’s fanciest hotels. Go figure.
Count on around $15-$20.
Burger Joint – MAP
119 W 56th St
New York, NY
+1 212-708-7414

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

Years ago, when I cooked at the Left Coast’s Betelnut, a hidden army of wizened Chinese men would come in to roll dumplings in the basement. These quiet, artistic men were lost in their craft, turning dough into flat discs that, with a twist of the fingers, would encase whatever filling they put inside: crustaceans, meat, vegetables, love.

They would make what seemed like thousands at a time and, unlike the other cooks in the kitchen, once that task was done, so were they.

My first visit to Joe’s Shanghai was part of a get-to-know-you weekend with a former sweetie’s parents a decade ago. Then as now, there’s a reason the grease-splattered walls are festooned with pictures of mayors and glitterati with their arms swung around the owners: Joe’s dumplings are the bomb.

Instead of searing something (like a steak) and hoping all the tasty juices stay inside, here, the pork and crab goodness is held neatly inside the dumpling.

Skewer one with a chopstick and sip the juice that fills the spoon, or take a bite and blush as it runs down your chin.

Shudder with happiness as you swallow.

Joe’s Shanghai – count on about $10-$15.
While on their site, do not miss the “Kill Soup Dumpling” video.

Three Locations – I went to Chinatown
9 Pell Street
New York, New York 10013
+1-212-233-8888

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Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

Last year at this time, William "Chopper" Young of Wellfleet, Mass, shucked his way into first place at the Galway International Oyster Festival, becoming the first American to win in 34 years. Last month, Young returned to Galway and took second place at the 55th Guinness World Oyster Opening Championship, opening 30 oysters in 2.40 minutes, coming in one second behind the winner while a crowd of 1,600 cheered them on.

Speaking of oysters, the ninth annual Wellfleet OysterFest is taking place Oct. 17 and 18. Young is still the reigning US champ, and you can see him demonstrate his speed and skill on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Other weekend highlights include a festival along Main Street, an oyster farming talk, oyster cooking demonstrations, guest speakers, live music, a shucking competition, and oysters galore.

Posted by Necee Regis, Globe Correspondent

Cape Cod’s present and past shucking champs return to compete in the two-day Oyster Shuck-Off at the annual Wellfleet OysterFest Oct. 16-17. Last year’s champ, James Grey, faces serious competition from at least 20 other entrants, among them Barbara Austin, winner the previous two years. When opening each tray of 24 local oysters, entrants must remember that the mollusks’ final appearance on the half shell counts as much as speed. The top prize is $1,000. Audience members bid on the opened oysters. The rest of the 9th annual fest revolves around a 5-K road race, arts and crafts fair, food tastings and talks, demonstrations by American oyster shucking champion William “Chopper” Young Jr., walking tours, music, and a spaghetti supper. (See website for required reservations and fees for some programs.) The festival is sponsored by SPAT, a nonprofit organization that promotes the local shellfish industry. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Main Street, Wellfleet, Mass. Visit the website for schedule and parking information. No pets allowed.