GAZELLE MAGAZINE MAY 2017 | Page 68

CUISINE Travel for Food Dining Staycations By Suzanne Corbett I t’s time to plan my escape. A vacation to destinations designed to delight the senses and indulge my passion for food. While New Orleans beignets and California’s cabernets are calling, I’ll have to pass. This year, I need to modify my Champagne tastes to better fit my beer budget. To get a bigger bang for those beer bucks, I’m opting for dining staycations, becoming a traveling locavore. Ballpark Village 66 GAZELLE STL To begin, I select locations as if I’m collecting ingredients for a good stew - choosing an eclectic mix. Destinations from James Beard-honored restaurants, to kitschy roadside sandwich shops and traditional agritourism sites such as nearby wineries, U-pick farm operations and markets offer unique, culinary experiences rated among the Midwest’s best. Dining staycations should begin with a plan. Decide what you’re hungry for; then chew over the information and make your picks. I’ve