Lastest Stories by Colman Andrews

When the first colonists arrived in New England in the early 17th century, they started brewing beer — not making wine. Wine grapes didn’t grow well in the Northeast, and, anyway, the colonists...
Like most countries around the world, America is full of Irish pubs, and in addition to beer and whiskey and the like, they tend to serve what most of us think of as Irish food — fish and chips,...
The new coronavirus, COVID-19, is affecting many areas of life internationally, with whole regions and even countries closing borders. Italian authorities took drastic measures, imposing a nationwide...
Everybody talks about craft beer these days, but what people mostly drink is the mass-produced, distinctly non-craft stuff. Sales of specialty brews are definitely rising: The nation’s 7,500-plus...
“America runs on Dunkin’,” goes the slogan of the widespread chain formerly called Dunkin’ Donuts (it dropped “Donuts” as of January 2019). That might be exaggerating a little, but it is...
The abundance of wine produced around the world today is truly overwhelming. It’s made in every U.S. state (yes, even in Alaska and Hawaii) and in more than 75 countries around the world. There are...
Working as a fur trader in Labrador, Canada, in the early 20th century, Clarence Birdseye noticed that locals often froze their food to ensure that they’d have plenty to eat when fresh fare...
Frozen food as we know it today was developed by New York businessman Clarence Birdseye, who was inspired by observing the way locals preserved food while he was working as a fur trader in Labrador,...
The British government has a plan to reduce binge drinking among its citizens: Mandate smaller wine glasses in restaurants. The government agency Public Health England, whose mission is “to protect...
There’s no American equivalent to France’s famed Guide Michelin, with its much coveted star ratings of restaurants and recommendations of hotels. Michelin itself does publish guides to Chicago,...
America’s most famous carnival, Mardi Gras, will be celebrated on Feb. 25 this year. The occasion, whose name is French for “fat Tuesday,” began as a last-gasp bacchanal before the temporary...
The restaurant business is a tough one, and it’s no surprise that restaurants come and go with some regularity. Statistics on restaurant failure rates vary widely. One estimate suggests that up to...
Food is the third-largest living expense (after housing and transportation) for the average American family. That’s probably inevitable. We have to eat to live, and for a whole host of reasons, the...