As a kid, growing up in Italy, I used to often read the Babysitter’s Club series, along with similar kids’ books about everything American, such as tree houses and baseball and shopping malls. I remember being particularly stuck on the concept of garage sales. My mind was boggled by the

It is my ultimate destiny to bake bread: I am too broke to buy it every day, and bread is delicious. It is only a natural progression. Unfortunately, said natural progression didn’t happen so naturally. Initially, I wanted to blame most of my inability at baking bread (actually, all of it)

The Infamous Arrow Bar (Image taken from Yelp) I lived in San Francisco back when I used to puke a lot. And pee in alleys. Be it, cuz I was drunk, or high – my glory days – I would find myself in front of the Arrow Bar with some

Exterior of El Salteno  As I said in a previous South American dispatch, things get looser, more flavorsome, and less racially homogenous in Argentina the further you penetrate the Northwestern region of the country.  Also, dustier.  I hopped off the bus in the tiny, quaint town of Tilcara, and had

The Argentinian food scene, which I had found fairly monotonous heretofore, is improved markedly the closer your proximity to Bolivia and Peru.  The most remarkable city of that region is Salta, a frenetic, dirty pearl dropped into the psychedelic northwestern desert.  The eyes are more native brown than European hazel

Clockwise from left: heart, corn, rocoto The flower of Peru’s glory is at its highest peak of florid magnificence when the traveler steps outside the bounds of urban settlements.  This can be difficult at times; the central yolk of most Peruvian cities is broken here and there and allowed to

Ay, los tacos. Is there really any more perfect food? Compact, convenient, little envelopes of heaven. And, now, apparently an essential part of a well rounded diet. México, for the taco, the world is forever in your debt. And whereas they are what hamburgers are to Americans across the country

In November 2005, after having lived in Mexico City for close to a year, I lost my appendix. By lost, I should rather say it violently decided to check out by causing me to wretch up my organs and writhe in pain ‘til a doctor cut it out of me