|

Hyannis’ Pain D’Avignon Takes French Haute Cuisine to New Heights

Now that the CapeFlyer train is running once again from Boston to Hyannis, there’s no better time to sample the French fare at Pain D’Avignon. The café at the renowned bread bakery lured Massachusetts native Matthew Tropeano back to his roots last summer to serve as executive chef. Tropeano has an impressive resume, including an eight-year tenure at New York’s La Grenouille, where he received a three-star rating from The New York Times. At the helm of Pain D’Avignon, the chef takes full advantage of the bounty of produce and seafood found on the Cape to create his innovative menu.

 
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he’s backed by a bread factory that produces 6,000 to 16,000 pounds of product a day depending on the season. Over 200 varieties of bread are made on premises, distributed across New England to restaurants, resorts, and individuals via the increasingly popular Bread of the Month Club. 
 
Last summer, I sampled the innovative fare and wrote this story for The Boston Globe. 
 

Similar Posts

|

WayGo is the Way to Go When Visiting China

I’ll never forget that hellish taxi ride my brother and I took from the Bangkok airport to our hotel. After an exhausting flight, we drove aimlessly around town because the taxi driver couldn’t understand where we were staying that night. We pointed to our trusty guidebook but quickly realized that the driver had no idea what we were reading because the Thai have a completely different alphabet. It wasn’t until my brother neighed like a horse and pointed to the gold on a watch that the driver figured out where we were spending the night, “The Golden Horse.” I’m not a linguist, so translating other alphabets is, well, Greek to me. That’s why I was delighted to hear about the WayGo App that travelers are already using on their trips to China. Simply point your iPhone at any Chinese menu or street sign and it translates. No internet connection is necessary. Other languages are on the way, including Thai, hopefully. 
 
|

Abercrombie and Kent Announces Limited-Edition Journeys in 2020

Having now traveled with Abercrombie and Kent on group trips to Kenya, Botswana, and Peru, I can recommend this company without hesitation. Guides are exceptional, groups are small, the properties they choose are unique and memorable, and dealing with logistics in challenging parts of the world is as close to seamless as I’ve witnessed. New in 2020 is A and K’s Limited-Edition Journeys to more remote locales in the world like Sri Lanka, the republic of Georgia, Madagascar, Southern India, and Zimbabwe. Itineraries range from 12 to 15 days and pricing starts at $5,995 per person. If any of these trips gets you excited, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll check availability. We can also help with flights and design routes before or after your memorable journey. 

 
|

Dinner at Honeywood in Lexington

On our last night in Kentucky Bourbon Country, we started with Old Fashioned’s (made with Buffalo Trace bourbon) at Middle Fork in the Lexington Distillery District. Then it was on to an upscale section of town to have dinner at the recommended Honeywood. We started with Tokyo Spice Chicken, wings with a nice jalapeno bite, and their signature dish, sweet potato beignets. Then moved on to tender grouper and a dish of pork roast. Afterwards, we wandered over to one of the best ice cream joints in town, Crank & Boom, for a dish of blackberry and buttermilk ice cream. Across the way, we stumbled into a cozy bar, Whiskey Bear, and met the owner Daniel, who has assembled an impressive roster of top-shelf bourbon and whiskey. A great place for a nightcap or to watch a sporting event on the large-screen TVs when in Lexington. 

 
|

A Good Budget Choice for Toronto

I was in Toronto this May on my way to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a little biking, vino, and theater at the Shaw Festival, I was roaming around the city and found an intimate 6-room B&B called the Baldwin Village Inn. Located on Baldwin Street, a block known for its variety of good ethnic restaurants, and only a 2-block walk to the AGO, you’re in a great locale to check out the city. Rates start at $90 CDN a night, including continental breakfast, and reviews on TripAdvisor are excellent. 
 
|

Introducing Hopper

In my last column for Men’s Journal on the latest indispensible travel apps, I didn’t have the space to mention one app I recently came across. Called Hopper, the app analyzes data to tell you when is the best time to purchase tickets for a particular flight. For example, I just looked into a flight to Croatia and it told me that there’s no rush to purchase the flight in late April. In fact, they told me the price might drop in the next couple weeks. We shall see. In a recent press release by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), they mentioned that booking a flight on Friday, not the weekend, is when rates are usually the cheapest. Also, George Hobica, the founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, recently noted in a New York Times story that Google Flight Search is “by far the best way to find a low airfare.” Use all these strategies the next time you book a flight. 

|

Dream Trips 2010, Biking Vietnam

Vietnam is that coveted destination that’s jaw-droppingly beautiful, yet still not overrun with tourism. Traveling this lush, mostly flat country by bike (the locals’ preferred transportation method) is an ideal way to see it. Many biking outfitters like VBT, Backroads, and Butterfield & Robinson now offer guided bike trips across the country. Pedaling 15 to 50 miles per day, you’ll roll past untrammeled coastline, terraced emerald rice paddies, ultra-green mountains, and rarely visited rural villages. Many of the trips starts in Ho Chi Minh City and ends in Hanoi, so you’ll have time to explore urban Vietnam, as well. All include post-trips to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Sign me up!

 

Leave a Reply