The Immoveable Feast

dreamed for years of living in a city where any food could be found.

The best bread, strawberries, asparagus, wine, chocolates, the rarest wild mushrooms, perfect cheese, goose foie gras and duck breasts.

New Orleans has both a unique tradition - both Creole and Cajun - and a very competitive market that keeps chefs on their toes.

  We discovered a new neighborhood, what New Orleaners call Uptown. It's way out St. Charles near Magazine and Webster streets. We had a great evening at Clancy's where the crowd was local but waiters wore tuxedos and the food and wine were fabulous.

e were a couple weeks too early for the fall colors but that was intentional. No tour buses and lots of space in the best restaurants, inns and hiking trails.

It was our first extended trip to New England or Chesapeake but - with lots of research and tips - we managed to find half a dozen outstanding restaurants - one each in Vermont, Maine, Maryland and Washington, D.C., and two in Massachusetts.

ven when you've had your fill of rain and Europe's urban pollution you can always count on a brilliant little pastry shop to pop up in front of you. Or a street full of wonderful old buildings. Or a glass of honest wine.