"tourism" news and stories

Intrepid diners who were nervously approaching the final suggestions on Alabama's official "100 Dishes to Eat Before Your Die" list now have 67 new reasons to keep on eating.

The state's department of tourism this month issued a third edition of its phenomenally popular brochure, which now features 215 signature plates. While a few dishes have dropped off the list since its first printing in 2005, the department has understandably refused to let go of favorites like Dreamland's ribs and white bread, Ezell's catfish and Irondale Café's fried green tomatoes.

"We'd like everyone to try all 215 dishes," department spokeswoman Edith Parten says.

This year's new additions span the state, from Huntsville – where the Cotton Row Restaurant serves up peanut butter and jelly in phylo – to Mobile, home of NoJa's ginger donut. As the brochure's adjoining cover photos of high-end chef Frank Stitt and cheeseburger maven Lucy Buffett suggest, the showcased dishes run the gamut from homespun to hoity-toity: The 2010 list includes smoked meat and homemade stew, slaw dogs, green beans, strawberry salad, prime rib and day boat scallops with wild mushroom risotto.

We all know that drinking and driving don't mix. However, in certain circumstances, drinking and tourism make for pretty great bedfellows.

The next time you're in Amsterdam, make sure that you check out the old Heineken brewery – known grandiosely as "The Heineken Experience". The theme park/brewery tour/marketing junket is the pleasant antidote to the hustle and bustle of the famous Dutch city.

During the hour-long tour, you'll learn the history of the Dutch beer company over the last century as told through the very memorabilia that has propelled the business from a small-time family operation to one of Northern Europe's best known (and loved!) beer makers. Like any good theme park, there's something for everyone at The Heineken Experience – video games, computer simulations, and my personal favorite – the beer hall, which pours fresh from the tap brew.

As a note of personal endorsement, I've always believed that beer in green bottles just tastes better – or as they would say in the Netherlands – het bier in groene flessen proeft beter!

Starbucks is making inroads into France, one of the two countries in the world most famous for its cafe culture, but the process is a long and slow one. In France, operating costs are extremely high and the competition is stiff; the long standing national past time of lounging in cafes has produced very high quality coffees and loyal patrons that are formidable competition for the American chain. And though Starbucks is slowly gaining acceptance from its French consumers, the mainstay of its clientele is foreign, which is why Starbucks has chosen to in tourist heavy areas and branch outwards.

Lines form out the doors at Paris locations, mostly of Asian and American tourists. The tourists are likely to order more traditional drinks, like espressos, but come for the familiar feel of the large, comfortable cafe, not to mention the smoke-free atmosphere that they maintain. More and more frequently there are French university students and young professions joining the queue, looking for something over-the-top that they can only find at the American cafe. Starbucks is finding its new niche in the country, despite the fact that there are only 23 outlets in France, compared to more than 55,000 traditional cafes there. Will Starbucks' popularity prove to be real competition for the other cafes? Unlikely, and certainly not in the near future, but it will probably be able to hold its own, even if it operates on a limited scale.

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