Bahia is the country?s beachside boom state, the red-hot resort of the moment drawing a new wave of pleasure seekers.

  As long as the fish is fresh and the charcoal spit lighted, you can hardly go wrong at any of the dozen or so tavernas around the bay of Loutro, on Crete's southern coast.

  A culinary pilgrimage to Prince Edward Island, where nature has created a watery heaven on earth for shellfish.

  In San Francisco, restaurants are treating meatless cooking as cuisine rather than neurosis.

  The prototypical hip hotel gets a face-lift, but the Royalton can?t mask its age in a city of younger and prettier hotels.

  At Goumanyat &Son Royaume, the spice emporium where the star chefs Pierre Gagnaire and Alain Ducasse shop, saffron is the signature product.

  Move over, Spain. The latest culinary trail leads to Germany?and it?s not your mother?s blutwurst anymore.

  Food markets offer colorful links to the economy, customs and even dialects of a city. They?re one of the few opportunities where visitors can glimpse locals going about one of their essential daily chores.

  If your knowledge of Middle Eastern food starts with falafel and ends with hummus, a few hours on Atlantic Avenue should set you straight.

  A new culinary movement is taking place on Brick Lane, one that has less to do with Indian food and more to do with satisfying the tastes of the trendy crowd living in the East End of London.

  This laid-back surfing resort is not for weak-willed dieters; there are sweet-smelling cafes and mouth-watering bites to tempt you at every turn.

  New dining choices at the nation?s airports offer an alternative to the dried-out turkey sandwiches or unappetizing snack boxes the airlines sell on most domestic flights.

  Aquavit, made from potato spirits and aged in wood, is the country?s best-kept secret.

  The country?s beach towns are coming back to life. The water is calm and clear, and you have only small fishing boats to compete with. At least for now.