Eat your way through New York City with Edmonton globetrotters, Steve Cooper and Twyla Campbell along with renowned Ottawa Chef, Louis Charest, who is taking time off to act as guide on this spectacular tour, April 12-16, 2015. The last time the trio traipsed through the Big Apple was in 2011 when they presented an Arctic feast of whale and caribou at the James Beard House. This time, the culinary explorers will take you on an epicurean adventure through Manhattan, Harlem, Brooklyn, Astoria and Queens visiting shops and restaurants familiar to Chef Charest during his tenure as Executive Chef at the Canadian Consulate in New York.

Our first morning will have us winding our way through Brooklyn tasting delicacies of Morocco, artisanal chocolate, savoury soul food, and mind-altering pizza. By the afternoon, we will have the opportunity to learn about Carl Luger’s Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley, the establishment that became Michelin- starred Peter Luger’s Steak House and consistently rated one of the best steak houses in the country. We’ll find out for ourselves over dinner in this esteemed, old-school restaurant where bow-tied waiters serve monstrous, USDA prime steaks that have dry aged to perfection in the restaurant’s custom hanging room.

Dig into waffles and chicken in Harlem, stroll through Central Park, and find out what the buzz is at Jacob’s Pickles. If you’re hankering for good nosh, you’ll find it at Zabar’s, a Manhattan institution for kosher foods. Take an afternoon to wander around Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, and the American Museum of Natural History. Take in the exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art or explore Rockefeller Center; you never know who you’ll run into in the famous plaza or the NBC studio.

You’ve heard of the Bible Belt, the Grain Belt and the Corn Belt, but have you ever heard of the Kim Chi Belt? You’ll not only learn about it but you’ll eat your way through it in Queens. Get ready for Korean Black Goat and spicy, stuffed chicken wings.

We’ll visit the Arepa Lady and nibble on her famous, heavenly, corn cakes as we meander through the colourful Latino neighbourhoods of Jackson Heights. Your senses will be stirred by tasty Tibetan food and aromatic Indian food markets as we make our way to the famous Jackson Diner for lunch. Forget cheeseburgers and milkshakes; this diner is all about tandoori, tikka and creamy lassis.

You’ll need some time to walk off all that food. The afternoon is yours to discover the retail shops, food stores and cafes of multi-cultural Astoria. Stop by historic Kaufman Astoria Studios and see where the Marx brothers filmed Cococanuts and Animal Crackers in the late 1920s, and where TV shows including Judge Judy, Law and Order, and Sesame Street call home. Head down the street to The Museum of the Moving Image, a museum dedicated to the art, history, technique, and technology of the moving image in all its forms. Or, take the afternoon to relax before we embark on a Greek epicurean adventure at Telly’s Taverna where we will be treated to specialties of the house including mouth-watering grilled octopus, skordalia, saganaki and more. Warning: ouzo will be involved.

The price per person: $1900 includes four nights hotel (April 12, 13, 14, 15 – based on double occupancy), itinerary food stops (breakfast, lunch, dinner), subway, limo and/or taxi fares to itinerary destinations. What’s not included: 1) any wine or alcoholic beverages purchased during meals 2) Airfare and airport transfers (transportation to and from airport to hotel).

There are 10 spots available; cut off date to reserve is March 28, 2015. Please contact Twyla Campbell at twylacampbell@gmail.com for more information.

The fine print:

A $500 per person deposit will secure your spot. The balance shall be paid by April 4, 2015. No refund of the deposit will be repaid if the balance is left unpaid.

This trip depends on a minimum of seven attendees. If the minimum is not reached, the organizers reserve the right to cancel the trip upon refunding the full deposit without further liability or cost. Each participant shall be responsible to obtain their own insurance commensurate with a trip across national borders, are responsible for their transportation from their home community and the hotel in New York. The organizers reserve the right to modify the itinerary without reduction of trip costs and do not guarantee availability of any of the proposed visit sites. Once the deposit is paid, refunds are at the discretion of the organizers unless the trip is cancelled at which time the deposit will be refunded in full. The participants hereby absolve and release the organizers and each of them from any liability for any aspect of the trip described herein. The participants acknowledge and voluntarily accept the risks inherent in a trip of the nature herein described particularly in a major American urban setting thereby absolving and releasing the organizers and each of them from any liability resulting therefrom or otherwise.