The Author, Karen Landes
Born and bred on Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and the Eastern Shore's sweet Queen-Anne corn, Annapolis, Maryland, to this day, remains the city I call “home.” My father was a gourmet explorer before the term "foodie" even existed. My earliest memories include family vacations in the old station wagon, traveling the Interstate from Maine to Florida. Armed with Jane and Michael Stern's, “Road Food, Good Food,” our trips would invariably take three times longer than necessary. But my father was determined to find "The Best BBQ" in South Carolina, "The Greatest Diner" in New Jersey, or the famous "Lobster Rolls" from Abbott's restaurant in Noank, Connecticut.
At 18, I left Maryland’s sailing capital to pursue my degree at Loyola University in New Orleans. If ever there was a city that knew how to eat, and eat well, it is definitely New Orleans. Four years of gluttony ensued and the city left its mark. Rare is any other town that can measure up to the sheer volume of gastronomic pleasures that exist within the Big Easy.
From the Deep South to Southern California, my next stop was sunny San Diego. Although San Diego lacks a notable culinary culture, good eats can be found if you are willing to leave behind the trendy sub-par Italian Bistros that plague the Gaslamp’s Fifth Avenue. For me, San Diego’s allure was its proximity to Mexico where lobster tacos and margaritas could be had almost every other weekend.
I have lived in Japan and traveled extensively throughout Asia. I have eaten fried grasshoppers in Thailand, river fish in Cambodia, too much Vietnamese fish sauce for one lifetime, Peking Duck in Peking, Dim Sum in Hong Kong, and Japanese Okonomiyaki. To be honest, there were times I truly did not even know what I was eating. But I ate anyway. And what I didn’t eat, I slipped into my napkin.
Most recently I lived in Sicily within the Province of Catania. My first book, "In Etna's Shadow: Culinary Adventures from Eastern Sicily," is not simply a gastronomic guide through the province, but a chronicle of my personal experiences. Unfortunately, I was unable to record, for lack of space, everything that is unique and wonderful. I do not believe there is any one book that could ever completely capture everything that is Sicily.
My family and I currently make our home in Naples, Italy where our culinary adventures continue to unfold.
