Rant: Don't Be An Ignorant Traveler

After the last two years of the pandemic, after facing numerous travel restrictions, much of the world is starting to reopen. Travel is now possible, and I know numerous people who have started to plan trips, whether it's just local, maybe to another part of New England, or to another country. Personally, I'm eagerly anticipating traveling back to Croatia in May.

Now, on these trips, whether it's a short day trip or a two-week vacation, your time is limited at your destination. How do you maximize your enjoyment, considering your limited available time? I think the answer is simple: Research before you depart. 

Whenever I go on a trip, I do plenty of research beforehand, especially seeking food and wine spots, from restaurants to markets, from wine stores to wineries. I have other interests as well, and will seek out places which meet those interests too. I want to know about some of the best and most interesting places before I get there. I want to know which places are closest to my hotel, those places I can easily walk to and those places I might need to drive to, or take a taxi. 

For my upcoming trip to Croatia, I've already been doing my research, finding fascinating spots that will be close to my travels. I did similar research for my first trip there in 2019, and as an example, I found Cahun, a hat shop in Zagreb that made hats by hand. I found a fine fedora there but it wasn't a shop I would have stumbled upon by accident. If I hadn't done the research before hand, I likely would be been ignorant of this place. 

Sure, I like to wander around a new place, to stumble upon place of interests by surprise but,I don't want to rely only on surprise. For that can be a mixed bag, sometimes finding a good place, and other times being very disappointed. And I'd likely miss some fascinating spots that never came within my usual travels. I want to minimize my potential disappointments, so I do my research first.

I might visit an area only once and never return, or not until years later. Thus, I want to experience the best of that area that I can, and that is unlikely to happen without research. A prepared traveler is more likely to have a better and more thorough time, getting to sample the cream of a city. I strongly doubt I could get lucky and just stumble upon all of the great places. 

There are some places you might never stumble upon, because they are hidden away, in more remote areas. They might be well off the established tourist routes, or simply difficult to find as they are but one of dozens of similar places in the same region. I want advance information and only research will bring that to me. 

Online research about most travel destinations is relatively easy. All it takes is a little time and you will have almost anything you need. Yes, you will have to weed through some useless information, but the search is more than worthwhile. It has definitely made my prior journeys so much better.

So why do some people remain ignorant travelers? Why do they fail to do the proper research before traveling? Why take such a huge risk, especially when you may only get a single opportunity to explore a new region?

When you travel, do you do research first, or just wing it?

Rant: Be Skeptical of Food & Drink Origin Stories

Over the years of writing historical articles about food and drink origins, I've realized how often the most popular origin stories aren't true. However, those same origin tales get disseminated by many different sources, creating an illusion of the veracity of those origins. Thus, those erroneous origins become "common knowledge" and trusted by many people. You need to be more skeptical of these origin tales, to seek out evidence proving or disproving these origin stories.

Companies and individuals like to be seen as the inventor of something, or at least be connected in some way to the inventor, such as a family member or community member. This helps them stand out, and gives them a sense of pride, of accomplishment. It can also sometimes be a marketing ploy. Many of these origin tales don't arise until years after the alleged invention, when it may be more difficult to disprove their claim. 

Fortunately, the digitization of newspaper archives has made it easier to conduct research, to assess the veracity of these claims, and I've done so with numerous food and drink origin tales. Sometimes, I've even found evidence to dispute a claim of invention within ten minutes of research. It certainly takes much longer to put together a fully researched article, but you can often quickly determine whether your research will be fruitful or not. 

For example, when I was researching A History of Sake Brewing in the U.S., the prevailing opinion was that the first Sake brewery outside of Japan was established in Hawaii in 1908. Some of the support for this opinion came from employees of the brewery during the 1970s. My research proved that wasn't the case, and that the first Sake brewery was actually founded in Berkley, California, in 1902. The Hawaiian Sake brewery was actually around the 4th or 5th Sake brewery in the U.S. I even found evidence that the original owners of the brewery were fully cognizant of the prior Sake breweries. 

I was once told that the earliest known written documentation concerning Pechuga, basically a flavored Mezcal which commonly adds meat to one of the distillation steps, was from the 1950s. As I was intrigued by this topic, I did my own research and wrote An Expanded History of Pechuga Mezcal, and found multiple documents referencing Pechuga, extending back to 1863. This has enhanced our knowledge of Pechuga, and shows what can be accomplished with some determined research. 

Most recently, I posted The True Origin of Hawaiian Pizza, disputing the common claim that Sam Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-born Canadian, invented Hawaiian pizza in 1962. On May 10, 2021, the Economist even published an article on Hawaiian pizza, repeating this claim about Panopoulos. However, I proved that pineapple on pizza existed for at least nine years prior to its alleged invention in 1962. It was even in a Boston restaurant prior to 1962. 

Like with most topics, you should be skeptical of food and drink origins. Even origin tales that seem to be the most popular and widely publicized can turn out to be false. Seek out evidence and proof of these origin tales. 

Rant: Some Pandemic Advice--Spend, Spend, Spend

In the midst of this Covid-19 crisis, health concerns have taken front stage. With nearly 80,000 Covid 19-related deaths estimated across the country, including nearly 5,000 in Massachusetts, in only a few months, there is certainly plentiful reason to be concerned. Social distancing, face masks, and other hygienic measures help to reduce the risk of spreading this infection. One of the measures has also been to significantly limit businesses, closing some down, while allowing others to offer take-out, delivery, or curbside service.

Economically, many of us have taken a hit, and there are far too many businesses that might not survive. For example, restaurants have been severely affected, as dining in has vanished for now. I certainly miss dining out, as I know most people do. Restaurant employees have been furloughed or laid off, so they aren't earning their wages. Many restaurant owners struggle to pay their bills. Plenty of other businesses, and employees, are in the same boat. There's so much uncertainty and fear, worry and dread.

Questions: How can we help? What is my pandemic advice?

Answer: Spend, spend, spend.

One of the best ways we can help our community, to help our local businesses, is to spend money at them. I know it might be tough for some who don't have extra disposable cash, but I'm directing my comments to those who have some money to spend, even if it isn't much extra. Order food from restaurants, buy flowers at the local florist, order books from a local bookshop, get wine, beer, and liquor at your local wineshop, purchase donuts and other baked goods, and so much more. Support these businesses rather than just saving all of your extra cash.

For example, I've ordered food from A Tavola in Winchester, which has an excellent Pantry where they sell a variety of delicious items, such as their Bolognese Sauce, Tomato Soup, Home-made Pastas, Pizza Kits, and more. They also have a Take-Out menu of prepared dishes as well. I've also ordered from Tonno in Wakefield, which has a Mercato, offering items such as a tray of Meatballs, Fruit & Veggie boxes, a tray of Manicotti, Bolognese Sauce, Steak Tips, and plenty of prepared foods too. These are great places to shop rather than the large grocery stores, and you generally don't have to wait in any long line. Plus, the quality of the food is high.

Plus, I'm pleased that Kane's Donuts is still open, and this is a great time for one of their Honey-Glazed Coffee Rolls. I've also gotten take-out and delivery from several, small local restaurants to me, such as Hong Kong City, Amore Pizza, and Alfredo's Italian Kitchen. As for non-food related items, I've also ordered books and other items from independent creatives as I know many authors are having economic difficulties at this time too. There are few, if any, small businesses which haven't been negatively affected by the current crisis.

Every bit helps, no matter how small. Spend what you can, trying to help local businesses. Tip generously. We need to help each other as we are all part of a greater community, and if we lose some of these local businesses, we all suffer. Please, please try to help each other and spend more during these times.

More on the Origin of the Everything Bagel

Who created the Everything Bagel? It's an issue mired in contention, with several different individuals claiming to have invented it. The main problem is that none of the contenders have offered sufficient evidence to support their claims.

A couple weeks ago, I read an Atlas Obscura article, Everything You Need to Know About the True Origins of the Everything Bagel by Dan Nosowitz. I enjoy Atlas Obscura, as it often showcases fascinating stories and locations. In general, Nosowitz wrote a very good article on this topic, although his research missed some items. When I researched my own lengthy Bagel History article, I had plenty of extra information that never made it into the article. I thought the information might be useful for future articles, and some of that information dealt with the Everything Bagel.

Nosowitz wrote that the person who may have coined the term "everything bagel" was David Gussin. "By his own and most other accounts, that person was David Gussin. Around 1979 or 1980, he says, he was a teenager working at Charlie’s Bagels in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens, New York." Gussin's work included "...cleaning the oven, where excess bagel toppings accumulated when they fell off." And Gussin once said, “One day instead of throwing them out like I usually did, I gave them to Charlie and said, ‘Hey, make a bagel with these, we’ll call it the everything bagel.” Nosowitz then noted, "Soon, a shop across the street started selling their own everything bagels, and word slowly spread."

Gussin's claim as the inventor of the Everything Bagel was highlighted in an article in the New Yorker, March 10, 2008. However, this article stated, "Within a year, Gussin said, “the everything bagel was everywhere.” This contradicts the claim by Nosowitz that the Everything Bagel slowly spread. However, if Gussin is to be believed, then where is the evidence of the Everything Bagel spreading so far within a year of his alleged invention? It doesn't seem to exist.

In the Atlas Obscura article, Nosowitz stated, "The first mention I can find of the everything bagel is in a New York Times food column from 1988, and at that time the concept was new or niche or local enough that the writer felt it necessary to place “everything bagel” in quotes and define it." The New York Times, August 3, 1988, mentioned the recent opening of the Bagel Baron in Manhattan, and stated they sold an Everything Bagel. "The 'everything bagel' is dusted with salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic and onion."

Why wouldn't the Everything Bagel have been mentioned previously if it were invented around 1979-1980, especially as Gussin claimed that it was soon everywhere within a year of its creation? Such a new offering would have been ripe for presenting in a bagel bakery advertisement. During my prior research, I found plenty of ads from bakeries and delis touting their new styles and flavors of bagels. It makes little sense that the first mention of the everything bagel in a newspaper would be 8 or 9 years after its invention.

However, there actually were newspaper mentions of the Everything Bagel prior to 1998, though they still don't provide support to Gussin's claims.

The above advertisement and coupon was from the Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghampton, NY), December 7, 1984. It mentions that the Everything Bagel is "new," topped with sesame, poppy, onion, garlic and salt. None of their prior advertisements mentioned this type of bagel. This was the earliest reference that I have found, four years before 1998, though it is possible older references may exist as well.

I next found a reference from an advertisement for a New Jersey bagel spot in The Record (Hackensack, NJ), April 13, 1986. This indicates that the Everything Bagel had already spread past New York, so no longer was just a local item. This ad though doesn't explain what was on their Everything Bagel.

Another mention was in the San Francisco Chronicle, November 11, 1987, in an article titled, "A Bagel-Lover's Guide To the Bay Area." At Holey Bagel, at 3218 Fillmore Street, they produce 16 varieties of bagels, including an "everything" bagel, with poppy, sesame, onion, garlic, caraway, and salt.

The next mention was in The Long Island News & the Owl, June 23, 1988, which published an ad for The Bagel Boys, listing an Everything Bagel. Again, there is no description of the toppings in this bagel.

The Herald News (NJ), August 3, 1988, printed a review of a store, Wanna Bagel, which also sold an Everything Bagel, with 5 toppings, though they were mentioned. Again, we see these bagels being sold outside of New York.

And though the following references occur after the article in the New York Times, August 3, 1988, they are relevant to the issue at hand. The Baltimore Sun, October 9, 1988, published an article and review about "bagels and....," a bagel shop located in Annapolis. They sold an Everything Bagel, noting it is  "full of seeds and no salt." Obviously the idea of this bagel has continued to spread, to Maryland, though it's curious that there isn't any salt on it.

And it continued to spread, all the way to Florida. The Tampa Tribune, June 16, 1989 wrote about a Clearwater bagel bakery, the New York Bagel Boys, which sold an Everything Bagels with dried onion, garlic, sesame and poppy seed. Again, no salt was listed as an ingredient. And the Green-Bay Press Gazette (Wisconsin), March 27, 1991, mentioned a local bagel shop making an Everything Bagel topped with poppy, caraway, and sesame seeds, onion and garlic.

So, the first newspaper reference to the Everything Bagel is actually at least from 1984, and during the 1980s, this bagel spread to places including New Jersey, Maryland, and Florida. Without any supporting evidence, I remain skeptical of David Gussin's claim that he coined the term "everything bagel." And I also remain skeptical of the other claimants to its creation as they too lack evidence supporting their claims. We may never know who invented this bagel and coined its name.