Articles by Irvina Lew
Chicken Fricassee Recipe with Fallot Dijon Tarragon Mustard
Inspired by meeting Marc Désarménien, the General Manager of the family-operated Edmond Fallot Moutarderie, at the Summer Fancy Foods Show in New York City in 2026, Real Food Traveler’s Europe Editor and author, Irvina Lew, shares a classic recipe using the mustard. Here’s a Chicken Fricassee recipe, using one of Fallot Dijon’s mustards. Save this recipe to Pinterest to make Chicken Fricassee with Fallot Dijon Tarragon Mustard. Photo courtesy of La Moutarderie Edmond Fallot.
Fancy Food Show: Mustard and More, Part One
Having the opportunity to sample and discover a huge variety of foods from around the world, all under one roof, sounds like a dream come true. When Real Food Traveler’s Europe Editor, Irvina Lew, attended this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show in New York, she learned about many products both new and classic.
‘Tis the Season for Fried Zucchini Blossom Beignets
There’s a certain time of year when home gardeners start offering up their overly-plentiful zucchini harvests. Sometimes it’s to friends and family. Sometimes it’s in a cardboard box on the porch with a sign saying “FREE” for the taking. In addition to zucchini bread, muffins and a simple saute in olive oil, the bounty of squash will likely find a use. But for those who purposely caught their harvest at the right time, when flowers appear, a deliciously delicate treat awaits.
Review: Vetri Cucina
The City of Brotherly Love boasts memorable fine-dining restaurants, such as Vetri Cucina, one of the first to bring attention to Philadelphia’s culinary achievements. Chef owner Marc Vetri — a Philadelphia native — and business partner Jeff Benjamin have worked tirelessly to put the city’s food scene on the map. The destination launched in September 1998 within a historic townhouse, where I had previously dined when it housed Le Bec-Fin, then the city’s most notable French restaurant.
Dining at Le Jules Verne Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower
One of our most popular articles on RealFoodTraveler.com is one written by Irvina Lew, our Europe Editor. It’s about the best restaurants in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Imagine being able to dine IN the Eiffel Tower! In this article, Irvina tells us what to expect from the experience of dining at Le Jules Verne restaurant. Save this article to help plan a visit to Le Jules Verne in Paris. Photos by Irvina Lew. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.
Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday in The City of Brotherly Love
Business and leisure travelers consider The City of Brotherly Love the ideal destination to commemorate our nation’s 250-year quest toward a “more perfect union.” A multitude of year-long events, exhibitions, openings and upgrades showcase the significant milestone.
New York Lifestyles Magazine
A Paris Spring Escape Filled With Markets, Museums, Fine Dining, And Grand Views A spring return to Paris becomes a richly layered journey through riverside neighborhoods, lively markets, beloved museums, memorable meals, and the timeless elegance that keeps travelers coming back to the City of Light. Gastronomy, glamour, grandeur. The words evoke visions of Paris, the cultural capital that has lured Americans for almost 200 years.
New York Lifestyles Magazine
A Paris Spring Escape Filled With Markets, Museums, Fine Dining, And Grand Views A spring return to Paris becomes a richly layered journey through riverside neighborhoods, lively markets, beloved museums, memorable meals, and the timeless elegance that keeps travelers coming back to the City of Light. Gastronomy, glamour, grandeur. The words evoke visions of Paris, the cultural capital that has lured Americans for almost 200 years.
Hotel De Sers Review
The stunning, six-story Hôtel de Sers retains the beauty and “bones” of its 19th-century Haussmannian architecture, with wrought-iron balconies, high ceilings, herringbone parquet floors and intricately crafted wood paneling. The former private villa was owned by its namesake, the Marquis de Sers, and transformed into a small hotel around 1935 alongside other posh townhouses in the neighborhood.
Le Jules Verne Review
There’s something serendipitous about a gastronomic lunch, especially one with an unobstructed view of Parisian landmarks. I experienced my third bucket-list pleasure at Le Jules Verne in Paris, after loving the iconic destination in 2004 and 2013, when multi-Michelin-star chef Alain Ducasse was at its helm. This time, I vowed to lunch again within the three contemporary glass-framed dining spaces on the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
ON THE BIG SCREEN
The 79th Festival de Cannes will take place from the 12th to 23rd May 2026 in and around the Palais des Festivals, on La Croisette, the city’s broad tree-lined seafront boulevard. Better known to Americans as the Cannes Film Festival, it is one of the most prestigious movie industry events in the world.
InterContinental the Willard Washington D.C. by IHG Review
The iconic Willard InterContinental Washington D.C. impresses year-round, but is especially beautiful in spring when cherry blossoms bloom and the nation’s capital is at its most alluring. The AAA Four Diamond luxury hotel and Historic Hotels of America affiliate dates back more than two centuries to its 1818 debut. In fact, the hotel’s History Gallery displays a rare collection of photographs of people and events during its more than two century presence.
New York Lifestyles Magazine
Northern Virginia’s Premier Golf and Spa Resort Escape By: Irvina Lew Spring arrives early in Virginia, where Lansdowne Resort in Loudoun County is an idyllic destination that occupies a former riverside plantation in Leesburg, just 30 miles outside Washington, D.C., only 12 miles from Dulles International Airport, and about a four-hour drive from Manhattan.
New York Lifestyles Magazine
Northern Virginia’s Premier Golf and Spa Resort Escape By: Irvina Lew Spring arrives early in Virginia, where Lansdowne Resort in Loudoun County is an idyllic destination that occupies a former riverside plantation in Leesburg, just 30 miles outside Washington, D.C., only 12 miles from Dulles International Airport, and about a four-hour drive from Manhattan.
for Winter Holidays
for Winter Holidays By Irvina Lew Washington, D. C. is steeped in both history and modern vitality with emblematic venues that showcase the heights that exceptional people reach culturally, intellectually, and politically. Visiting during the holidays is a quintessential opportunity to experience some of the historic national monuments, parks, museums—and the spectacular Hillwood, Marjorie Merriweather Post’s former home—garland-strewn and decorated in seasonal finery.
for Winter Holidays
for Winter Holidays By Irvina Lew Washington, D. C. is steeped in both history and modern vitality with emblematic venues that showcase the heights that exceptional people reach culturally, intellectually, and politically. Visiting during the holidays is a quintessential opportunity to experience some of the historic national monuments, parks, museums—and the spectacular Hillwood, Marjorie Merriweather Post’s former home—garland-strewn and decorated in seasonal finery.
Lansdowne Resort Review
In August 2025, I spent the weekend at Lansdowne Resort and Spa, an independently owned, AAA Four-Diamond property just 30 miles outside Washington, D.C. Its convenient location on a former riverside plantation only 12 miles from Dulles International Airport in Leesburg, Loudoun County, attracts both business and leisure clients for its amazing facilities and proximity to the capital’s historic and cultural sites and the pleasures of North Virginia’s rural wine country.
IN AND AROUND NICE
By Irvina Lew From the airplane, the view of snow-topped mountains, craggy cliffsides, pool-strewn landscapes and megayachts in the glistening Mediterranean has produced goose bumps—what the French call Chair de Poule or chicken skin—and lured me to return since my first descent into Nice-Côte d’Azur airport in July 1990.
Touchless Wellness at The Carillon Miami
The Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, an oceanfront spa resort affiliated with The Leading Hotels of the World, recently added new touchless wellness equipment to its array of high-tech experiences. I had the chance to sample a few of the numerous new modalities, during a two-hour-plus Wellness Circuit when I revisited this past March.
CASTLES ON THE LOIRE
A Fascination with a Beautiful History Realized By Irvina Lew Apicture book called The Châteaux of the Loire I love first lured me to the Loire Valley, in 1976; my grand-niece’s fascination with castles inspired our recent add-on trip, there, from Paris. I booked tickets for the 68-minute high-speed Trains à Grande Vitesse (TGV) via Rail Europe from Gare Montparnasse to Saint Pierre-des-Corps, outside Tours, where we picked up a Citroën rental car.
I Returned as a Student to the Sorbonne in Paris
Scrolling through my daily emails last November, I lingered when I noticed the word: Sorbonne. I might as well have tasted Proust's madeleine for the way the name triggered memories of Paris 1958, when I studied French there at age nineteen. The announcement invited me to participate in the school's first l'Université d'hiver en Sorbonne, winter courses about French culture, taught in English, or French literature, philosophy or language, in French.
Loire Valley Spa Escapes
My grandniece Lyndsey and I have happily shared spa adventures in the past; so, during our Paris getaway, I proposed a four-day road trip along the Loire where we could savor the region’s three best hotel spas.
Best Restaurants with a View of the Eiffel Tower
If you’re going to go to Paris, two things (at least) come to mind – eat at wonderful French restaurants and see the Eiffel Tower. Irvina Lew, Real Food Traveler’s Europe Editor, did her own, delicious research and has created a list of the best restaurants in Paris that have a view of the Eiffel Tower. Save this article to Pinterest so you can plan your visits to restaurants with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.
EXPLORING FRANCE’S GEMS
A Week Of Culinary & Cultural Delights Via High-Speed Rail By Irvina Lew Aweek-long trip to Paris is time enough for three full days and nights in the capital and still have time for visiting some of the other amazing destinations France has to offer. France’s high speed rail system Trains à Grande Vitesse makes it easy. PARIS Paris was buzzing this November, as the first Christmas markets opened, seasonal decorations appeared, and snowflakes descended.
Restaurant Christophe Hay Review
Chef Christophe Hay had already achieved an enviable culinary reputation before he transformed the former 17th-century riverfront hospice in Blois to an extraordinary first-floor namesake restaurant; it’s the centerpiece around which he built Fleur de Loire, his 44-room, 12-suite Relais & Châteaux affiliate. Our multicourse dinner at Restaurant Christophe Hay — one of Les Grandes Tables du Monde — took place last Thanksgiving.
Castles on the Loire – A Culinarian Christmas
As if a trip to see castles along the Loire River in France wasn’t dreamy enough, imagine indulging in all of it at Christmastime! A real gift to Real Food Travelers, our Europe Editor Irvina Lew shares how one can immerse themselves, deliciously, in the experience. Castles on the Loire – A Culinarian Christmas Thanksgiving weekend 2024 was an opportunity to introduce my grandniece, Lyndsey, to the chateaux along the Val de Loire.
Château des Fleurs Review
Just a short block from the Champs Elysées, flower-bedecked window boxes grace the corner and clearly identify Château des Fleurs. This 37-room boutique hotel is one of Vivre-LMB’s five small hotels in Paris owned by Olivier Bertrand and his sisters and affiliated with Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Inside, the 1910 building welcomes with a whimsically inviting, light-filled, ground-floor lobby, bar and dining area.
İstanbul Magically Integrates Past and Present, East and West
CHECKING IN WITH İSMAİL BÜTÜN General Manager, Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency, Turkish Tourism Board What’s new in terms of development and business opportunities? Recognizing İstanbul’s unparalleled significance in global tourism with its diverse cultural tapestry, Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency seeks to elevate its profile further by showcasing its unique offerings.
Impress Clients as you Navigate D.C.'s Vibrant Quadrants
Steeped in both history and modern vitality, Washington, D.C., is a city where emblematic venues showcase the heights exceptional people reach intellectually, culturally, politically and physically. A case in point: The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.
Relais Christine Review
Relais Christine, a posh 5-star Left Bank hotel occupies the former Hotel Particulier, a private mansion from 1607. Like many luxe Parisian townhouses, it was constructed around an imposing courtyard and hidden behind an impressively grand wooden doorway from the narrow, block-long Rue Christine. Its covered passageway leads to the landscaped courtyard, with its romantic seating areas.
Barcelona Serves a Full Menu of After-Hours Treats
Not quite ready to switch your closet over to sweaters and snow boots? Head to laid-back, still- warm Coastal Mississippi. Steeped in Southern charm and dotted with quirky waterside towns, it’s the perfect destination antidote to temperature drops in other parts of the country.
3 Parisian Subterranean Spas
Overnight flights coupled with the stress of flying leave me, like so many others, exhausted upon landing. Recently, I’ve started booking my arrival-day spa treatment at mid-morning instead of late afternoon, to make better use of the wasted hours waiting for a room key. Is there a more appropriate time to focus on wellness or a more fitting place than a quiet, calm retreat? The service feels so welcome that, once refreshed, I’m ready for the day.
Taste Quintessential French Fine Dining at Le Grand Café Fauchon in Paris
The name Fauchon has been synonymous with culinary excellence since 1886 when Auguste Fauchon launched a luxury food store across from the Madeleine church in Paris. Architect Richard Martinet, known for phenomenal Parisian palaces including Hotel de Crillon, Hotel George V, The Peninsula Paris and Hotel Shangri-La, created a carefully curated design in partnership with Atelier Paluel-Marmont and transformed two Haussmann buildings into the ultra-luxe, 54-room boutique Fauchon L’Hôtel Paris.
Hotel Pilgrim Paris - Quartier Latin
I was eager to stay at the newly opened Hotel Pilgrim because its 5th arrondissement location is in the same Left Bank neighborhood where I lived in a rooming house when I was 19 studying at The Sorbonne. The hotel, with its distinctively designed, industrial-chic aesthetic, is an entirely contemporary experience.
Where to Eat During the Paris 2024 Olympics
For those lucky enough to be attending the Paris 2024 Olympics, there’s no shortage of places to find to grab a bite to eat. But to really experience some of the best of French cuisine while there, Irvina Lew, Real Food Traveler’s Europe Editor, has 10 recommendations for where to eat. Having just recently returned from Paris, she shares her memories and suggestions for places and dishes to make your Olympic journey complete.
Hotel Vernet, Champs-Élysées Review
En route to Hôtel Vernet from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the taxi driver circled Place Charles de Gaulle, better known as the Étoile, and turned right between the distinctive Louis Vuitton flagship store and iconic Le Fouquet’s restaurant on chic Avenue George V, one of the better known of the 12 streets radiating from the largest of the Parisian circles.
La Cuisine Paris: Cooking Class in Paris
Experiencing the cuisine of Paris, France is an essential part of any visit. Our Europe Editor Irvina Lew recently visited her beloved Paris and took her culinary delights to a new level by attending a cooking class at La Cuisine Paris. Here, she tells Real Food Travel readers what it’s really like to attend the school.
New York Lifestyles Magazine
From Towering Skyscrapers To Sun-kissed Beaches By Irvina Lew Tihany Design—one of New York’s most prestigious design ateliers—has announced that Partner Alessia Genova has assumed full ownership and management of Tihany Design. Ms. Genova began her career at Tihany Design’s Rome office in 2007 shortly after graduating from Politecnico di Milano, served as Senior Designer for 10 years and became Studio Director in 2017. Adam D.
LONG ISLAND’S GOLD COAST
Castles, Chateaux & Charm By Irvina Lew My passion is to travel where architecture enhances topographical beauty; a calling that often leads me to France, where the sheer beauty, permanency, and history of castles and chateaux delight me as much as the actual landscape. Here, on Long Island, we’re lucky that former travelers with means constructed their own such luxurious retreats, often with walking paths and water views of our northern and southern shores.
where to eat Archives
by Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher and Managing Editor | Apr 28, 2024 | Florida, Real Travel, United States There are many destinations that say they have the best beaches. But only some can say it’s official. St. George island, off the gulf coast of Florida, has been enjoying that designation of “Best Beach in the U.S.” since the venerable Dr. Beach declared it... by Chef Tariq Nasir | Oct 21, 2019 | Africa/Middle East, International, Real Travel Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Spa Beauty at The Breakers
The Spa at The Breakers encompasses 20,000 serene square feet at The Breakers Palm Beach, an historic oceanfront resort that opened its luxurious doors in 1896. Its current reincarnation debuted in the late 1920s, after a second fire destroyed the wooden beachfront hotel. To this day, it continues to be a posh winter retreat. The family-owned property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and invests $30 million annually for maintenance, restoration, and improvements.
Flagler Club at The Breakers Palm Beach Review
Flagler Club — a private, 21-room boutique “hotel-within-a-hotel” atop The Breakers Palm Beach — has been recently refurbished in collaboration with famed New York City-based luxury hospitality design atelier Tihany Design. The update was headed by partner Alessia Genova, who had direct oversight of the project, which features a contemporary and elegant décor that showcases custom-made carpets, warm wood pieces and tropical artwork.
PATISSERIE VANESSA
Some of you are familiar with my affection for Provençal food, which I enjoy wherever I find it, including in New York City, where there are wonderful places reminiscent of Provence. One example is Boulud Sud, across from Lincoln Center, another is a new pastry shop in a corner of a landmark townhouse in Carnegie Hill, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Review: Woodstock Way Hotel
My four “grand” pups visit — and sometimes stay — at my home, but I had never traveled with any of them until my youngest daughter, Jen, adopted Penny, a 5-pound Chiweenie who spends much of her time quietly in a pouch, inseparable from her caregiver. So, when Jen proposed traveling together, I applauded her dog-friendly choice just two hours from Manhattan: Woodstock, New York, the artsy Catskills colony where music flourishes.
Review: The Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus
When Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus opened in 1992, it added a one-of-a-kind, S-shaped design to the European side of the city skyline. The magnificent hilltop setting is adjacent to a park in the vibrant Besiktas neighborhood, known as much for its football team, club and stadium as its thriving business and shopping streets and iconic destinations, including the luxe waterside Dolmabahce Palace and new Ataturk Cultural Center.
Review: Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus
Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus launched a major reconstruction and redesign project in January 2023. Its completion date is set for 2025 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the star-studded hotel debut, which took place June 10, 1955, after only 21 months of construction. Happily, the hotel will retain its urban resort ambiance, complete with its lush sprawling gardens and iconic pool.
Pâtisserie Vanessa: A Taste of France in New York
When you happen upon an authentic taste of a destination you love in another, very different, destination, it makes the world feel a little smaller. Until you can get to France, and when you’re in New York, there’s a bakery that’s a must to try. A true Francophile, Irvina Lew, Real Food Traveler’s Europe Editor, recently visited Pâtisserie Vanessa, appreciating just how authentic the cafe is. Here, she tells us what it was like.
Review: Hilton Head Health
As a peripatetic traveler, I am always trying to balance the pleasures of dining well with a life-long challenge to control my weight. It’s not always easy, because I consider tasting typical, authentic regional dishes among the highlights of most journeys, and those foods are rarely known for “healthful” rankings! So, I started staying at spas way back in the 1980s — before they were ubiquitous — because meals were assured to be pure, clean and wholesome.
Restaurant Daniel, New York Review
When Daniel Boulud moved to New York from Lyon, France, in 1982, he brought his unique culinary talents and Lyonnaise traditions into top Manhattan kitchens, including the iconic Le Cirque (on 65th street), where he was executive chef, precisely where two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Daniel is today. In 1993, the original Restaurant Daniel opened on 76th Street, where his interpretation of fine dining à la française received immediate accolades.
Moroccan Salmon Recipe from Hilton Head Health
A stay at Hilton Head Health, in South Carolina, enables guests to have an all-inclusive stay in a beautiful setting, while learning how to improve and maintain good health. Writer Irvina Lew shared her “H3” experiences in a recent podcast and article on Real Food Traveler (see the link below). Now, she and Hilton Head South share a recipe for Moroccan Salmon. Moroccan Salmon Recipe from Hilton Head Health Hilton Head Health note: Any seafood could be substituted including mahi mahi or grouper.
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