Savor Dallas is in full swing. This wine and food festival is an annual event that highlights wine, regional cuisine, and area restaurants. Savor Dallas also does a great job of scheduling events around the Dallas attractions such as the Arts District Wine Stroll, the Grand and Reserve Tastings in Fair Park, and Savor the Arboretum. Savor Dallas is an epicurean feast and highly recommended if you like to go to events just to taste many different types of wine and food. I mean, who doesn’t? But, as with most event like this, the tickets do come at a pretty hefty price depending on the event. Usually, the more varieties, the higher the price of the event.

As fun as tastings are, I wanted to try something different this year. I was delighted to see that Savor Dallas added a new event to their usual offerings. The Toast of the Town is a series of lectures that focuses on several contemporary food-inspired topics, specifically those doing with Texas cuisine.

New Orleans is such an iconic city. I’ve been several times and each time is a different experience. As a Southern city on the water, it always makes me think of Palermo, Sicily. A place that I call home. So on my recent trip to NOLA, I decided to go treat it like home and travel without a plan. As just one member of a fairly large group, I knew that there would be no lack of planning or entertainment, and I would just come along for the ride. I let the city (and my friends) take me where they would.

I had a blast.

This is simple to do in New Orleans, it is one of the greatest cities in America. And you can quote me on that. The sights, tastes, sounds, and smells (even those not so great ones on Bourbon Street) all make up the city whose essence is steeped in history and culture. With 36 hours in New Orleans, it was a packed trip and I got the most out of the city.