I came into Antwerp via train at Central Station—one of the world’s best arrivals. This gorgeous station, one of the world’s most beautiful train stations, was completed in 1905. From the impressive train shed to the sumptuous main hall, it welcomes you to this Belgian city in the grandest style. And it invites you to dine at Le Royal Café, one of the most beautiful cafés in the world. Read about it >
Tag Archives: dining
Dinner With a Mexican-Honduran Flair
Chela’s Latin Cuisine was ready for Halloween. Spiders climbed along the walls, cobwebs fluttered in the air being stirred by the air-conditioning, and skeletons saluted and waved to you (or beckoned you, if you’re in a darker mood). I had a feeling that any other holiday—or any regular day, for that matter—would be just as festive. A new addition to the downtown Tucson restaurant scene, Chela’s serves up a great Mexican-Honduran menu, served by some pleasantly chatty waiters. Read about it >
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Eating Local in Luxembourg
I headed past the Ducal Palace in Luxembourg City for just a couple of blocks and arrived at my destination. I was hunting for a restaurant with traditional Luxembourgish dishes, and Um Dierfgen was touted as one of the best. I easily located the beige building flying the national flag and entered the refined rustic interior, and I quickly learned that the restaurant’s excellent reputation was well-earned. Read about it >
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A Marvelous Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Meal—in the Heart of Luxembourg
I liked the building. I liked its location. I liked what I saw through its windows. And I liked what I read on the menu outside. Although it was an unusual place for my first meal in Luxembourg City, Bazaar—with its Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors—was irresistible. Result? I definitely liked my choice. Read about it >
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Everyting Is Irie in Richmond, Mon
My first few nights and early mornings in Richmond, Virginia, were shockingly cold for early November. That put me in the mood for something warm and cozy for dinner. And I found it on a quiet corner of downtown in the form of Irie Ting Jamaican Grill. Read about it >
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Lunch at the Lake of Love
The historic core of Bruges, Belgium, one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe, throbs with tourists throughout the day. I was still confronting packed restaurants and cafés, waffle and chocolate shops, even at the southern edges of the core. But then I spied a romantic waterside castle, with outdoor tables that didn’t seem overly populated. The umbrellas indicated food service, so I crossed a little bridge and was soon enjoying a tasty lunch at Minnewater Castle along the Lake of Love. Read about it >
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Once Bitten, Twice Shy: How a Restaurant in Richmond Redeemed Ethiopian Food for Me
I had eaten Ethiopian food only once, in Washington, D.C. (often ranked as one of the best U.S. cities for this cuisine), and, frankly, it was gross. But that was three decades ago, so when I came across Addis Ethiopian Restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, I was eager (and a bit apprehensive) to give it a second chance to cure my aversion. Read about it >
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Pub Grub Done Right
I had just taken a one-mile late-afternoon walk along the old canal in Richmond, Virginia, now transformed from an abandoned industrial hub to a quiet pedestrian walkway where you can still see glimpses of the manmade canal’s heyday when it spurred the city’s economic growth. Up the stairs to street level, I began to search for a dinner spot, in the mood for comfort food. I quickly found it in the sole survivor of a mostly demolished freight depot that shut down in the 1980s at Southern Railway Taphouse. Read about it >
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Comfort Food Without the Wrong Kind of Spirits
I was trying to determine if my hotel in Richmond, Virginia—the Commonwealth—was haunted or not. Drawers that opened by themselves, toilet bowls that never flushed the same way twice, lights turned on after I switched them off earlier in the day, an air conditioner that continued to click on and off after I unplugged it from the wall. The Commonwealth doesn’t bill itself as haunted, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the 110-year-old hotel in this terrifically historic city has a few supernatural things lurking about. Fortunately, none of them showed up during my dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, Rueger’s, so you can enjoy your meal where the only spirits come in a glass. Read about it >
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Northern Italian in the Southern United States
Sometimes you just happen upon a restaurant that beckons you. Here in Richmond, Virginia, I was admiring the four-story Art Deco building that used to be the flagship location of Miller & Rhoads Department Store when I noticed that much of the ground floor was now given over to La Grotta, an inviting Northern Italian restaurant that left no choice as to where I would be having dinner. Read about it >
Stephen Travels 